The journey through life is a life-long learning process. No matter our age, there is always something to learn about the world around us and ourselves. One thing I have recently learned about myself is that my least favorite thing to make/bake is pies. That most certainly is not a conscious choice. I don’t even know why it is other than pie crusts were the last thing in the list of “baking essentials” that I learned to make. I do have vague memories of hearing my mom say that pie crusts were difficult to make, but other than that, I have no reason to relegate pie to the bottom of the preferred baking list.
Because of my minimal affinity for pies, I always have a difficult time trying to find a recipe that I want to try when pies roll around in our regular baking rotation. For this week, I narrowed my choices down to three recipes that I had waiting in my “to-make someday” recipe box’ – one savory pie, one fruit pie, and this one. I deferred to my husband as he likely will be the one who will eat more of it than I will. Hmmm…maybe the reason I don’t like to make pie as much as other baked goods is because I also don’t like to eat pie as much as I like to eat other baked goods!
So Maple Sugar Pie it is.
Essentially, this is a pudding-y, custard-y pie (except that it uses no eggs in its filling) with maple syrup added. Again, since I am not a big pit maker, I don’t have a lot with which to compare the recipe, so I soldiered on following the instructions…almost.
I varied to crust.
CRUST
Aside from the cream cheese, this crust is made and handled in the same way as any basic pie crust.
Because I am not an experienced pie crust maker, I opted for a regular pie crust rather than trying this one with the cream cheese. I may give it a try at another time. Also, several of the recipe reviews said that a regular pie crust worked just fine. Another review posited that maybe even a graham cracker crust might be good. Suffice it to say that this pie can be made and enjoyed with your pie crust of choice.
The filling is super easy!
FILLING
All of the filling ingredients are carefully mixed together. The carefully comes in making sure that everything is evenly mixed while introducing no bubbles in the process. This mixture is then poured, over a spoon to again reduce the formation of bubbles, into the already-baked pie shell.
Then comes the hard part…getting the pie into a 375 degree oven without sloshing filling all over the place in the process. I was not successful with this step! I managed a trail, much like the pie version of Hansel and Gretel, between the counter and oven. Fortunately the dogs were at my feet and were more than happy to clean up my mess. I also managed to drip on the oven door. That mess I had to clean up myself. Because this filling uses no eggs, it has minimal viscosity, making it a challenge to move in a full pie plate!
Once in the oven with most of its filling, then came the second challenge with this pie…knowing when it was done. The recipe gives these baking instructions:
“Bake the pie until the custard appears set on the outside but is still slightly wobbly in the center, 28 to 32 minutes.”
Knowing that I have to bake most things for the maximum time suggested in recipes, I set my timer for 32 minutes. When I checked the center of the pie at that point, it was not the least bit done. If I had removed it at that point, I would have had a repeat performance of Hansel and Gretel and the Pie, but in the opposite direction. I set the timer for another three minutes. It was still soupy, which is not wobbly, in the center. When all was said and done, I ended up baking the pie for an additional nine minutes. I know that my oven temp is off, but I never have to cook anything for a third again as much time as the recipe directs.
All that said, when I finally cut the pie, the center was done and the edges were not overdone. As I said at the outset, the filling’s texture/consistency is somewhere between a heavy pudding and custard.
The flavor is good, but I’m not sure that I would have known it contained the maple syrup had I not been the one to make the pie. I would like a little more maple flavor and perhaps a little more cinnamon. As is the case with most custard pies, the nutmeg is definitely the primary flavor here.
Since Weber was the one who chose this particular recipe, I asked him for his opinion. He really liked the fact that it was too sweet. He also said that it is a good pie to have with coffee. Although, with him anything is good to have with coffee! 🙂
This is an easy pie to make and has the potential to be a good go-to recipe when you need a quick dessert. I will definitely tweak the flavors a bit when I make it again. I might also cheat and add an egg, maybe two, and reduce some of the other liquid. We’ll see.
I look at working with this recipe as one of those important learning experiences in life. What can we do to make our relationship and experience together the best that it can be.
Give the Maple Sugar Pie (a name that is a bit misleading, in my opinion) a try. Id love to hear your thoughts!
from Tracey G.
I’ve made hundreds of Pecan Tarts through the years – with my mom when I was a kid, then on my own when she couldn’t anymore – the torch of that holiday baking tradition passed to me. But – I’ve never made a Pecan Pie! Never ever! Running across some chopped pecans in my freezer, that I needed to use up, actually made the decision for me – this week Pecan Pie was my pie adventure of choice!
I’m also in agreement with Kris on certain Pie thoughts – I seem to shun them too, and I think for me it’s the making of the crust that’s always a challenge for me. There’s always something that seems to go awry. Anywhere from the actual making the dough to shaping it. There’s a lot of space for me to mess something up! And I never seem to have everything go right at the same time. Like this go around, I got the dough made easily, rolled out lovely but messed up the fluting the edges. Oh well. But, I do love pies – they’re a favorite dessert of mine!
Anyway, the recipe is super simple – even the pie crust recipe. You could easily substitute a ready-made crust if you didn’t want to make your own. But since I need the practice, I made what the recipe called for. 😉
Crust Ingredients
•King Arthur Unbleached Pastry Flour (or KAF Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• Salt
• Shortening
• Butter
• Ice Water
Filling Ingredients
• Chopped Pecans
• Salt
• Eggs
• Dark Corn Syrup
• Light Corn Syrup
• Granulated Sugar
• Butter
• Vanilla
• Pecan Halves
Making the crust is straightforward – made like any pie pastry. Once made, rolled and in the pan you blind bake it for about 10 minutes. While it’s baking, put the chopped pecans on a baking sheet, sprinkle with the salt and when the crust comes out of the oven, the nuts go in (after reducing oven temp) for a toasting before they go in the filling mixture.
The filling is easy as well: you mix the syrups, granulated sugar, vanilla, butter and eggs together. Once well-combined, stir in the now toasted chopped pecans and it all goes in the crust and in a 375° oven to bake for 45 minutes. And that’s exactly the amount of time it took in my oven.
Once it’s out, cool it completely before you cut it or you’ll have a running filling!
I was really eager to taste-test this pie – and I’ll say it was ok/good. Not as flavorful as I would’ve liked – but they do have a few Pecan Pie recipes on the site, so I’m going to keep trying – because in my opinion, even a “meh” pecan pie is still ok in my book! The other thing I really didn’t care for was it had a whole stick of butter in the filling – I think that could be backed off on, because when it came out of the oven, the grease from it was bubbling at the edges and on the surface.
Aside from the “meh” aspect of it, I’m really happy because it turned out as it was supposed to! And I think that’s got to count for something! 😀 I have some tweaking ideas for it, but I’ll try the other recipes I think before I get creative with this one, I may find what I was looking for without any brain effort!
Gingerbread Waffle Mix
