By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Pizzazzerie.
Southern Brown Sugar Pie
It recently came to my attention that brown sugar pie is not a commonly known dessert. “What?!”, I thought! The world doesn’t know about BROWN SUGAR PIE?! Well I intend to change that, one Pizzazzerie reader at at time. This pie is a family tradition that my mother made for every holiday, her parents made for every holiday, and generations back.
Southern brown sugar pie is very similar to chess pie but yet, so different. The rich brown sugar flavor and caramelizingon top is just.so.good. It’s hands down my favorite pie (even over my red velvet fudge pie, which is saying a lot).
Now I’m not saying it’s a gorgeous “look at me” pie. It’s simple-looking, plain jane, ho-hum. But watch out because there is a reason it’s the first dessert gone at holidays. The crispy caramelized crust on topis my favorite part. Then the ooey gooey brown sugar inside is so delicious.
Now you can give it a little extra pizzazz with some whipped cream or butter pecan ice cream but know that it doesn’tneed it as it’s stand-alone amazing. I also love that it only has a few ingredients (ingredients I often have on hand anyway) so it’s perfect for a last-minute dessert too! I might even make it into mini pies this year to give as gifts!
I’m so thankful for ALL of the readers that have shared their photos of the brown sugar pie, emailed to tell me how much their families love this pie, and those who have tagged me on social media to share pies.
It’s clearly a little hidden gem of a recipe that doesn’t necessarily look like it would be the “winning dessert” but in my family, it absolutely is!
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING:
“Thank you so much. The pie turned out just wonderful! This is hands down a new family favorite. My kiddos said it is better than birthday cake! (Which to them is better than anything else)” – Brittney
Your oven may take longer to cook, so just watch it. It will still “set up” once it cools but try to be sure your brown sugar pie is slightly firm before bringing out of the oven. I hope you’ll try it this year! It’s definitely a delicious southern tradition that would be a tragedy to never taste, especially if you have brown sugar.
My husband’s grandmother says it reminds her of a pecan pie (without pecans) so if you like pecan pie, you’ll definitely love this one too! And because it’s thin, you’re totally allowed to have two pieces. Enjoy!
Southern Brown Sugar Pie
While our original family recipe yields two pies, I have adjusted this recipe to one pie in my new book, The Southern Entertainer’s Cookbook. Follow the recipe for two pies below or if you only want one, I recommend following the adjusted recipe for 1 in my new book.
If you want to make your own homemade pie crust, I recommend THIS recipe!
More Desserts to Try
Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie
Chocolate Chess Pie
Homemade Brownies (from Scratch)
Southern Brown Sugar Pie
Author: Courtney Whitmore
A delicious southern favorite, this brown sugar pie is delicious!
SERVINGS 16slices
Print Rate Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutesmins
Cook Time 55 minutesmins
Total Time 1 hourhr15 minutesmins
Ingredients
1poundlight brown sugar
1/2cupunsalted butter - melted
3eggs
1tablespoonvanilla extract
2pie crusts
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare each pie pan with pie crust.
Lightly whisk together eggs and add in sugar, butter, and vanilla. You don't want to over-beat your pie filling.
Pour pie filling into each pie pan. Bake pies on middle rack of oven for 45-55+ minutes or until golden brown. Update: It might need longer based on oven temperatures. Check to see that pie is baked through (if you move it slightly, it shouldn't jiggle).
Note: You may need to loosely place aluminum foil around pie crust edges to prevent them from getting too brown. I often allow it to cool and then refrigerate it to set up further. Then I warm slightly before serving. Remember, this makes TWO pies.
Notes
You may need to cook your pie longer, but know that it will set up while cooling! This recipe yields TWO pies.
Sugar pie is a dessert in northern French and Belgian cuisine, where it is called tarte au sucre. It is also popular in Canada. Various type of tarte au sucre are made.
Again, if you use dark brown sugar, you will find a stronger flavor and the higher acidity will impact the rise, causing a higher rise or wider spread. That being said, if the recipe only calls for a small amount of brown sugar, it may not impact the final product.
Essentially, brown sugar hardens when moisture evaporates due to aging or improper storage. But hardened sugar is still safe to eat and use—you just have to soften it back up to a usable texture. If your recipe has the sugar dissolving or melting into a liquid, you can actually use the hardened stuff without issue.
Sweet and simple, the filling is made with butter, sugar, eggs, a thickener (typically cornmeal or flour, or a mix of both), and often an acid like vinegar or lemon juice to counteract the sweetness of the filling.
The dessert may also be called finger pie in reference to the filling being stirred by the cook's finger before baking, as doing so avoids breaking the crust. It is similar to chess pie.
Pie is a staple of Southern life, a comfort food eaten at a communal table with extended family and friends. It also helps define the region's cuisine.
Yes. The only difference will be in color and taste. Just to state the obvious, light brown sugar makes baked goods with lighter color and milder flavor; dark brown, darker colored baked goods with more assertive (but still very mild) molasses flavor. Structurally, the two sugars function the same.
While they are produced differently, resulting in distinct tastes, colors, and culinary uses, brown sugar is often simply processed white sugar with molasses. Contrary to common belief, they are nutritionally similar. Brown sugar contains slightly more minerals than white sugar but will not provide any health benefits.
Refined brown sugar is simply white sugar with molasses added to it. This means that brown sugar is pure, unrefined sugar and undergoes less processing than white sugar, allowing it to retain some of its molasses content and natural brown color.
If you don't have any bread or marshmallows, apples work too. Toss a few wedges (or even the core) into your container of too-hard brown sugar. Leave this to sit overnight.
It's especially important to keep brown sugar in an airtight container to retain its moisture and keep it from clumping. While it won't spoil, brown sugar is best used within 6 months since it tends to harden so easily.
The dessert typically features a nut-crumb crust, a cream cheese layer, a chocolate layer, a vanilla layer and whipped cream or Cool Whip layer. It can be made in a baking dish or a pie plate.
Flipper pie, also known as seal flipper pie, is a traditional Eastern Canadian meat pie made from harp seal flippers. It is similar to a pot pie in that the seal flippers are cooked with vegetables in a thick sauce and then covered with pastry.
The famous dessert reportedly originated in the 1850s in resourceful Amish communities in Indiana. According to What's Cooking America, the pie consisted of only four simple ingredients: brown sugar, flour, heavy cream, and an 8-inch pie crust at 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Ancient Egyptians were the first to invent a dish close to what we know as a pie today. They had a honey filling covered in a crusty cake made from oats, wheat, rye or barley.
Sugar pie, like most Quebecois cuisine, is an adaptation of recipes that originated in northwest France, where most of Quebec's settlers came from. In 1789, the British conquered the French in Quebec, creating a food culture that would marry the two countries' influences with indigenous staples like corn.
Introduction: My name is Carlyn Walter, I am a lively, glamorous, healthy, clean, powerful, calm, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
