Buttermilk Pie

When I pick up a book or turn on a movie or television show, it is most likely in the genre of supernatural/paranormal thriller.  I have been known, on more than a few occasions, to wait until midnight, triple check the door lock, turn off all the lights, and turn on a horror flick.  A little weird? Sure.  But, everyone gets to have their things and this one makes my list.

At the moment, I have been very nearly devouring any supernatural YA book series I can get my hands on.  My library card is working overtime now that it is summer. The current series I am reading, Beautiful Creatures, has a character - Amma - who has a penchant for making charms toward off evil and is also quite the baker.  If you saw last week's post you know that I am currently wishing I could have Amma make me a charm to ward off stupid mistakes in the kitchen!

Several times throughout the book it talks about her pies, including Buttermilk Pie.  Every time it was mentioned, I kept thinking to myself, "is this really a thing or did they just slap two words together and pretend."  So, I looked it up.  Buttermilk pie is a thing.  Apparently it originated in the United Kingdom and is now a staple of the American South.  My "investigation" also revealed that there are really only two ways to make buttermilk pie - with some zing and without.  With zing equals the use of lemon and a little nutmeg, which were the only variations to the basic recipe that I found.  It seems the recipe for Buttermilk Pie is pretty standard.

I was just going to use one of the online recipes and try the basic version to see what the fuss was all about until I came to the end of book one, finding that there were recipes included.  You bet I did a little happy jig in my seat.  This was a little treasure added to the digital versions.  The first book did not include the buttermilk pie recipe, but it was included in the second book.  What follows is that version.  I figured I had to use the book's recipe otherwise I was not being true to what originally inspired me to try it and obviously I would not want to anger Amma by eating anyone else's buttermilk pie.

Ingredients:

1 ½ c. granulated sugar

1 Tbsp flour

4 eggs

1 stick butter - melted

1 c. buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 unbaked 9 inch pie crust

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sugar and flour.

Whisk in the eggs, one at a time.

Add the melted butter, buttermilk, and vanilla.  Mix well then pour the mixture into the pie shell

Bake for 60 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and the center is set.  There should be just a bit of jiggle when the pan is shaken.

Cool to room temperature before serving.

As you may have guessed, this is a super simple recipe with amazing results.  I brought it to work and I received rave reviews from my co-workers.  One even referred to it as sinful.  It is pretty sweet, so be warned, a thin slice goes a long way with this recipe.  Regardless, it's worth keeping in the recipe arsenal!