Big Mama’s Egg Pie

Rating: Unrated

This recipe comes from author, Jocelyn Adams of Grandbaby Cakes.

By Jocelyn Delk Adams

Gallery

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe Summary

active:
35 mins
total:
3 hrs 55 mins
Servings:
8
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For Jocelyn Delk Adams, author of the cookbook and blog Grandbaby Cakes, Christmas tastes like Big Mama’s Egg Pie. “Egg pie has become my Big Mama’s legacy, with each slice representing a small piece of who she was, and I will continue to serve it to honor her for years to come,” Adams writes. Adams loves Egg Pie for its simplicity—only requiring standard pantry ingredients, this pie comes together like magic. Milk, butter, sugar, and eggs form the base of the custard, which is then lightly flavored with vanilla and nutmeg (freshly-ground, if possible). The flavors are reminiscent of eggnog, rendering this a lovely Christmas dessert.

Freezing the pie crust before baking helps it keep its shape in the oven. Custard pies can easily overcook, so our Test Kitchen recommends setting an alarm for 5-10 minutes before the desired bake time to check on the custard. Slice and serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a glass of bourbon. A bite of Big Mama’s Egg Pie just feels like home.

Ingredients

Crust
Filling

Directions

  • Prepare the Crust: Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl to combine. Add butter. Using a pastry cutter, cut butter into flour mixture until various-size crumbs form. Slowly add water, mixing with hands until dough forms, adding more water if needed until dough just comes together (there may still be some dry flour in bowl). Shape dough into a ball. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap; chill until cold, 45 to 55 minutes.

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  • Meanwhile, prepare the Filling: Cook milk and butter in a saucepan over medium-low, undisturbed, 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature, 45 minutes.

  • Whisk together eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Whisk in cooled milk mixture. Set aside.

  • Preheat oven to 425°F. Unwrap chilled dough; place on a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll dough out to ¼-inch thickness. Transfer to an ungreased freezer-safe 9-inch pie plate. Press dough into bottom and up sides of plate. Crimp edges. Freeze Crust 10 minutes.

  • Remove Crust from freezer. Line with parchment paper; add pie weights. Bake in preheated oven 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Remove Crust from oven; remove weights and parchment. Cool 10 minutes. 

  • Pour Filling into Crust. Bake at 325°F until top of pie is lightly browned and center jiggles just slightly, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool completely, about 1 hour. Sprinkle with additional nutmeg, and serve.

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