Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pie

A recipe gone a little bit wrong! It wasn’t the Buttermilk Pie recipe or even the Gingersnap Crust recipe … It was in the baking! The crust lifted into the filling during baking! The taste was amazing but I hadn’t intended the crust to become a topper. Didn’t I press the gingersnap crust into the pie plate firmly enough? That’s a possibility because after my failure or success, depending how you look at it, I did a search for buttermilk pie with crumb crust. It does work! The crumb crust seemed more inviting with this pie … Gingersnaps because of the spice … And who likes a soggy crust? Conventional crusts tend to get soggy with this pie filling as with custard pies. Would I try this combination again? Possibly! But the next fallback is my cheesecake crust instead. And while I’m talking about cheesecake this pie has a similar taste, tangy sweet. The texture is a little different but not by too much.

Recipe

.

Crust

1 Cup all purpose flour
1/4 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup cold butter
1 Egg yolk-beaten by hand
1/2 Teaspoon best vanilla

Whisk together the first two ingredients and then cut in butter until crumbly.

Add yolk and vanilla.

Press into an eight inch pie plate.

Bake in 400 degree F preheated oven until golden. About 5-10 minutes. Be sure to check often.

Remove from oven and let cool.

If you wish to try the Gingersnap Crust:

1 1/4 Cup ground gingersnap cookies
1/4 Cup sugar
5 tablespoons butter-melted

Mix the ingredients and press into 8 inch pie plate firmly.

Bake in 375 degrees F preheated oven for about 7-9 minutes until crust looks toasted but not too dark. Cool completely before filling with buttermilk mixture, and baking. Since this pie is usually baked in an unbaked pie crust would the gingersnap crust be less likely to float to the top in baking if refrigerated for an hour before baking (& not pre-baked)? I’m not sure! Again, my best guess is that I didn’t press the crumbs into the pie plate firmly enough before baking.

Conventional Pie Crust here

Typically this pie is baked in an unbaked pie crust but often this leaves the pie crust soggy. Here are several ways to avoid a soggy crust. Thank you TheKitchn!

Buttermilk Filling

3 Eggs
1/2 Cup butter-room temperature
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1 Cup buttermilk
3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Teaspoon best vanilla

Beat together the first 3 ingredients until well mixed.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Pour into prepared pie crust and bake. Have oven preheated to 400 degrees F and after placing pie into the oven decrease the heat to 350 degrees. Bake the pie until a knife comes out clean when the tip is poked into the near center of the pie. About 40-50 minutes.

*If not using gingersnap crust lightly sprinkle filling with nutmeg before baking. 

To serve: Sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with a dollop of whipped cream or sour cream. Refrigerate leftovers.