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Margaret’s Maple Sugar Pie

Brown sugar pie in a pan with slices cut and a slice on a plate topped with whipped cream.
Photo by Alex Lau

There’s no maple syrup in this pie recipe (not a mistake), but the finished product will remind you of maple-sugar candies thanks to the caramel notes in the brown sugar.

Ingredients

Make one 9-inch pie

Dough:

1 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
4 tablespoon chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup chilled lard or shortening
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Filling and assembly:

2 cups (packed) light brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon whiskey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Whipped cream (for serving)
  1. Dough:

    Step 1

    Pulse sugar, salt, and 1 1/4 cups flour in a food processor to combine. Add butter and pulse until the largest pieces are pea-size. Add lard and pulse again until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a large bowl and drizzle in 3 Tbsp. ice water; mix with a fork to combine. Knead 3–4 times to bring dough together (only a couple of floury spots should remain). Flatten dough into a 1/2"-thick disk, wrap in plastic, and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.

    Step 2

    Let dough sit at room temperature 5 minutes to soften.

    Step 3

    Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 12" round, rotating often and dusting with more flour as needed to prevent sticking. Transfer to a 9" pie dish. Lift up edges and allow dough to slump down into dish. You should have about 1" overhang. Fold edges under and crimp. Freeze 15 minutes.

    Step 4

    Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly coat a sheet of foil with nonstick spray and place in pie crust, coated side down, pressing into bottom and up sides. Fill with pie weights or dried beans and bake until edges of crust are pale golden, 15–20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and continue to bake crust until bottom is golden and looks dry, 12–18 minutes more. Transfer dish to a wire rack and let crust cool.

  2. Filling and assembly:

    Step 5

    预热烤箱至325°F。热的红糖,奶油,一个d butter in a large heatproof bowl set over a large saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring constantly, until butter is melted, sugar is dissolved, and mixture is smooth (do not let bowl touch water). Remove bowl from heat and stir in whiskey and vanilla. Whisking constantly, add eggs one at a time, incorporating completely after each addition. Add flour and salt and whisk just until smooth. Scrape filling into crust and place on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet.

    Step 6

    Bake pie until filling is browned all over, puffed around the edges, and still slightly wobbly in the center, 45–55 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack and let pie cool at least 4 hours before slicing (the longer you can wait, the easier it’ll be to slice; do not refrigerate).

    Step 7

    Serve pie topped with whipped cream.

  3. Do Ahead

    Step 8

    Dough can be made 3 days ahead; keep chilled, or freeze up to 1 month. Crust can be baked 1 day ahead; store tightly wrapped at room temperature.
    Pie can be baked 1 day ahead. Let cool, then store loosely covered at room temperature.

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  • There are mistakes in the recipe, I think. The crust shrinks and does not need nearly the amount of time in the oven that the recipe says (or will be wildly overbrowned). The three times that I have made it, I always have too much filling. That said, not sure I understand the pasty filling complaints. This recipe is, more or less, an ice cream to which flour is added. If you truly do not cut it for four hours, it is smooth and delicious (at least it was for me). I used 1 c of actual maple sugar, 1 c brown sugar.

    • bycott7873

    • Atlanta, GA

    • 12/3/2017

  • This pie is horrible - dense heavy, tasteless and pasty. There is a cup of flour in the filling and that has to be a typo. I emailed BA immediately on Thanksgiving night, asking for clarification on the amount of flour but there has been no response.

    • kkogl

    • Portland, OR

    • 1/4/2017

  • Flawed! Do not make this pie! My friend who is an excellent, meticulous baker, made this pie. We both thought it was terrible. The 1 cup of flour in the filling has to be a mistake. The pasty thick texture of the filling was awful, and the flavor wasn't good enough to redeem it. I only gave 1 fork so that the rating would show up. BA should withdraw this recipe.

    • shortr

    • Goshen IN

    • 12/21/2016

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