Maple Syrup Browned Butter Pie
I made this pie for Pie Night 2017. I combined two other recipes, links at the bottom.
Pastry dough (see below, can make a day ahead)
3/4 cup melted, browned butter*
3/4 cup light brown sugar, squoosh all the lumps out with your fingers until it’s soft and smooth
2 large eggs, blended
1/4 cup heavy cream (I used the super thick Trader Joe’s brand that comes in the aseptic packaging that needs no refrigeration)
3/4 cup maple syrup, real of course!
2 TB flour
* Melt the butter in a saucepot on medium-low heat until it gets medium chestnut brown. Watch it carefully as it will burn quickly. When it’s almost done, take it off the heat as it will continue to cook a bit. (It will froth, subside, froth again…just keep stirring to look through the froth to the butter). Let it cool. I happened to let it cool for an hour or more until hard, then microwaved it for a few seconds until it was thick and creamy and stirred the solids back into the fat. Not sure if that made any difference, but I will do it that way again again.
· Preheat oven to 350°F.
· Roll out dough into an 11-inch round on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin and fit into an 8-inch (3-cup) glass pie plate. Trim excess dough and crimp edges decoratively.
· Whisk together brown sugar and eggs until very creamy. Add cream, syrup, and butter, then whisk until smooth. Pour filling into pie shell.
· Bake pie in lower third of oven until pastry is golden and filling is puffed and looks dry but still trembles, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool on a rack to room temperature (filling will set as pie cools).
DOUGH
3/4 stick cold unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water
· Cut butter into 1/2-inch cubes.
To blend by hand:
· Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender until most of mixture resembles coarse meal, with rest in small (roughly pea-size) lumps. Drizzle 2 tablespoons ice water evenly over and gently stir with a fork until incorporated.
To blend in a food processor:
· Pulse together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a food processor until most of mixture resembles coarse meal, with rest in small (roughly pea-size) lumps. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and pulse 2 or 3 times, or just until incorporated.
Test mixture:
· Gently squeeze a small handful: It should hold together without crumbling apart. If it doesn't, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring or pulsing 2 or 3 times after each addition until incorporated (keep testing). (If you overwork mixture or add too much water, pastry will be tough.)
Form dough:
· Turn out onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough together and form it, rotating it on work surface, into a disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
Dough can be chilled up to 1 day.
The two recipes I combined:
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/maple-syrup-pie-102529