Every week we’ll post a recipe that we both made. This week’s recipe was Sugar Cream Pie, found over at My Indiana Home. Printable recipe can be found at the bottom of this post.
Robyn’s Take:
This week’s recipe was Nance’s choice – she noted that she’d never heard of it, that it was Rick’s suggestion. I thought for sure it must be some kind of Southern recipe, but when I asked Fred if he’d had it before, he said he’d never heard of it either.
Okay, then. Something new for both of us!
Ingredients: heavy cream, flour, brown sugar, white sugar, whole milk, vanilla, pie crust, butter, cinnamon.
Throw all your filling ingredients into a bowl and whisk them together. Easy, right?
Dot the bottom of your pie crust with butter. EASY, RIGHT?
Well, here’s a note on the whole pie crust thing. The recipe says “9-inch pie crust.” I HAD a deep-dish pie crust in the freezer, but since the recipe did not SPECIFY that a deep-dish pie crust was called for, I bought a goddamn regular pie crust SINCE THAT IS WHAT I THOUGHT I NEEDED.
Imagine my GREAT PLEASURE when I poured the filling into the regular-depth pie crust and found that, OH HI. NOT DEEP ENOUGH.
There was a lot of cursing at this point, motherfuckers. Also, a lot of stomping and yelling. I stomped down the hallway to the living room where Fred was, recipe clutched in my sweaty hand, and demanded that he show me where it said that I NEEDED a deep-dish pie crust. But he couldn’t SINCE IT SAID NO SUCH THING. I’m thinking that if a deep dish pie crust is called for, one might suggest that the recipe SPECIFY a deep dish pie crust? Perhaps? Perhaps the NON-SPECIFYING of this item is what one might call shoddy recipe writing.
THAT’S RIGHT, I SAID IT. I’m still pissed off about it, because that was a fucking waste of a pie crust. I got the deep-dish pie crust out of the freezer, thawed it out, dotted the motherfucking bottom with butter, and then dumped the filling in. It barely fit the deep-dish pie crust. (I know what you’re thinking – “But Robyn, what about the butter you dotted the INCORRECT pie crust with?” Worry NOT – I fished it out.)
At least the pigs were happy, because they got the pie crust I’d attempted to use.
Deep dish pie crust, dotted with butter.
With the filling in it, and the cinnamon sugar sprinkled across the top (there was a LOT of cinnamon sugar, which I have nothing rude to say about, because cinnamon sugar makes EVERYTHING better.)
Then the pie needed to bake for about an hour, or until the pie was set and firm to the touch. At an hour, it was jiggly. Ten minutes later? Jiggly. Another five? Watch it jiggle. I finally took it out at an hour and twenty minutes because COME ON.
It was still not quite firm, but I wasn’t going to waste another fucking hour checking it every five minutes. At this point, I was hating on this fucking pie so much that I was ready to go toss it to the pigs without even tasting it. But I DIDN’T, because I’m a professional
(HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAA)
and I was hoping that it’d be the best pie EVER.
It cooled for about an hour before I cut into it.
Fred took one bite and actually spit it out in the pig bucket instead of swallowing it. But he’s a drama queen (oh, the times he’s said, all purse-lipped and prim, “It’s too sweeeeet!”), so I took a bite.
I hated it.
“Maybe it’ll be better after it cools all the way?” Fred suggested. We covered it and put it in the fridge.
The next afternoon, the pie thoroughly chilled, we tried it again.
Nope. I took one bite and tossed the rest of the pie in the pig bucket.
I’ll be interested to find out what Nance’s family thinks of that pie. I wonder if you have to have grown up eating it to truly appreciate it. All I know is that I’m not making THAT stuff again.
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Nance’s take:
I’m from Western Pennsylvania. The part that eats haluski and pierogie (that’s Polish for DELICIOUS) on the regular. My husband is from Missouri. The part that is known for eating…uh, soybeans? I kid. Maybe. Look, I don’t want to trash talk an entire state because my husband hates cabbage like it’s his job…but when He Who Has No Taste Buds offers up a recipe idea I tend to be wary.
Enter Sugar Cream Pie. I had never heard of it and I had to admit that I was intrigued. Especially when Rick told me that he remembered it from his Southern Baptist childhood days. A dessert from a church potluck dinner that I never tasted before? I’m in!
I waited until the last minute to make this recipe because I am still stuck in the throes of Our Nightmare Decision to Repair Our Own Home After That Bad Goddamn Storm. NEVER AGAIN, PEOPLE. NEVER AGAIN. You know, Robyn could have offered to give me a week off, but NO, don’t let that nice lady bullshit fool you! Demanding is what that one is.
Heh. I really waited because I needed to find a spot on the counter that was clean to take photos. Thank God this was a one-bowl recipe! Please pretend not to notice if you see paint and/or any other repair tools laying around.
Any time I have to add flour to a liquid it wrecks my nerves and I haven’t had a lumpy gravy in years. No idea what this is all about, but I blame advertising and society. Lumpy gravy isn’t even all that bad. It’s still gravy! And why am I defending lumpy gravy in the middle of a pie post any how?
I love a recipe when all you have to do is dump and stir. Except this is where I had a brain dead moment and got it into my head that I should not stir it too much. Please don’t ask me where this idea came from because I have no answers and I don’t want to tell anyone about the voices in my head just yet. Okay, the truth is, I have no excuse. I’m just stupid.
Regular 9-inch pie pan with my not stirred too much slop being poured in. Beautiful action shot and Polish pottery! But I had a shit-ton of the pie “filling” left over and decided right then and there that the voices in my head are dumber than dirt and I needed to take control NOW.
So I dumped it back into the bowl and decided that I should stir the shit out of it and see what happens.
And it was still too much for the damn pie crust. I double checked the recipe to make sure it only said one 9-inch pie crust since I wanted to be sure that I wasn’t as stupid as Robyn looks. Hee!
By now I was just getting annoyed with the entire damn thing so I solved the problem by pouring the extra filling into the other 9-inch crust that I had. Please note that I did not say that I divided the filling because that would actually make sense. Nope, not me. I just filled the one up as full as I could and then dumped the rest into the extra pie crust. I’m obviously the thunker of this group!
Um, I just don’t know. I tried it and it was okay. I guess. My mother came along and ate some. She said it was okay, but then said she thought ice cream or whipped cream would go good with it. I decided I would wait to hear what Rick said because he’s suppose to be the authority on this damn pie.
He had some and said it was really, really good. And the way he raved about it made me go try some again (when it was really cold) and I still just thought it was meh. I can’t even describe it. A creme Brulee without the eggs? I don’t know. It was just weird to me, I guess. But Rick liked it so I’m guessing it’s because he’s from Missouri and what do I know of culinary delights amongst cabbage haters?
Recipe probably won’t go in the cookbook. I’ll google it if I need it and it won’t be a great loss if I can’t find it again. Oh wells.
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons sugar, for sprinkling
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 (9-inch) DEEP DISH pie crust
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- In a medium bowl, combine heavy cream, flour, brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, milk, and vanilla.
- Fit crust into a 9-inch DEEP DISH pie pan and dot bottom with butter. Pour filling into crust. Combine cinnamon and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and sprinkle on top. Bake pie until set and center is firm to touch, about 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack.
I’m excited for the day you funny ladies both find a recipe you luv to deth. In all seriousness. But that might defeat the purpose of the site, too.
The purpose of the site isn’t to beat up on recipes (for real). We just like seeing what the other thought about the same thing and the easiest way to do it was to try it out and post it since we live so far away, etc. And one of these days (when Robyn gets off her dead ass) we’re going to be doing separate recipes, etc., on here. But you know how it is with some people…
Ha!
I’m pretty sure we’ve made SOMETHING that we both liked, but I don’t remember what it was. 🙂
Didn’t we just like the banana split ice box cake? I think sometimes we like stuff, but still bitch about the actual recipe so we’re probably confusing people. I guess that we’re just “keeping it real” – hee!
Yes, we liked that! I almost made it again last weekend, but my bananas refused to ripen in time.
My husband is from Indiana, and he LOVES sugar cream pie. I’ve made it a few times from different recipes, and I think you’re right, Nance, you have to grow up eating it. If I’m going to eat that many calories, I want it to be something really good, and this pie just… isn’t.
I love reading what you guys write here, you’re both hilarious! Anybody who can use motherfucker that many times while making a pie has my undying devotion! 🙂
Rick is going to be so glad to read this on here because I really think he was offended when I was less than impress with his childhood pie.
I would also like to note that Robyn is the one that got all ranty over the 9 inch pie fiasco. I, on the other hand, remained calm. So she’s the resident cuss mouth (I think, I haven’t counted) so far. Heh.
I’m still pissed off about that whole pie crust thing!!!
I grew up in Michigan and have never heard of such a thing. Of course, I was raised in the Lutheran church by German/Scottish/Irish parents. We ate meat and potatoes and sauerkraut (well, THEY ate the sauerkraut because I wasn’t eating anything that smelled so bad). All I could think reading this recipe was “Ew Ew Ew Ew Ew… too sweet.” My jaw has locked in protest. Way to take one for the team, ladies 😉
It did have an awful lot of sugar in it, but to be honest, I didn’t measure out the sugar I put on top and maybe that’s why it didn’t rot my teeth the moment I tried it. I have a pretty light hand when it comes to adding sugar (too bad I’m not that way with salt). I’m willing to bet Robyn actually did measure out the topping because she’s a goody-two-shoes that way. 😉
Well, SOMEone had to make it the right way, damnit! 🙂
Hush. I prefer to think of it as my offering up an alternative and not my just being a dumb fuck in the kitchen!
I grew up in Indiana and Wick’s Sugar Cream Pie is the state’s offical pie. They even deep fry it at the State Fair. But I’m not a fan of it. You all are a hoot.
Deep fry it? I guess if you like burnt sugar that would be the way to go. And let’s keep this little secret to ourselves (and away from my husband) because I refuse to road trip for a damn fried cream pie. 😉
OK, I grew up in the “deep South” (Birmingham & Atlanta), have gone to thousands of “dinner on the grounds” (Love those. Wish we still had them. Mmmmm…), have gone to family reunions out in the middle of pasture and farm country in the two room (still used) church (sanctuary, fellowship hall what more do you need?), and probably have some other southern credentials (oh, grew up southern baptist), but have never seen nor heard of this. And in all honesty – read the title and thought BLEH! still, very amused at both recitations of the process and outcome!!! Thanks for taking it for the team!
Cream, butter, sugar…man, I so wanted this recipe to work out!
Me too! With a name like “Sugar Cream Pie”, it was like it was meant for me!
These entries are the highlight of my week… drama queens and cabbage haters, I love it! Thanks for brightening up my Thursday morning. 🙂
Yeah, I live 10 feet from Missouri and my mother and father grew up in Missouri and I’ve never heard of this atrocity. That deep dish thing got me once on a pumpkin pie and I bitched so loud the pumpkin came back to life and ran away on jack-o-lantern legs.
I feel like this whole “Sugar Cream Pie” thing was an elaborate hoax Rick started to fuck with us.
I am STILL so annoyed by the pie crust issue. STUPID RECIPE.
So sorry to hear the Sugar Cream Pie recipe didn’t turn out! We have edited our recipe to specify that it should be a DEEP DISH pie crust. For the record, Sugar Cream Pie is a Hoosier thing – in fact, it’s the state pie of Indiana. I’m from Tennessee and had never heard of it before we featured the recipe from Nick’s Kitchen in our magazine, My Indiana Home. (The recipe has also been featured in other publications, such as Country Living: http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/hoosier-sugar-cream-pie-recipe-clv0510.) I wonder if the problem has to do with the recipe coming from a restaurant, where the filling is most likely made in large batches (and possibly a different type of oven than what we have in our kitchens).
We’d love it if you gave us another chance using a recipe from our sister site, Farm Flavor, where you can find hundreds of recipes for all occasions… though no Sugar Cream Pie.
Thanks for stopping by, Jessy! We’ll definitely check out Farm Flavor. 🙂
OH man! Did you go check out Farm Flavor?! That stuff looks GOOD. Hey – Robyn – pick one of them on the side dishes pages!! All of them look delicious!! (and you’ve got the farm fresh veggies to do it!)
Thanks, Sherry and Robyn! And I hope you have better luck with one of those recipes!
Boy, I saw the name of this recipe, read the ingredient list, and thought “This is going to be AWESOME.” Because, well, sugar? Cream? Pie? I like ALL those things! I’m sorry to hear it wasn’t as awesome as it initially seemed. I think I’d still be willing to try it (maybe if someone else made it).
Hilarious! So glad y’all do this.
I’m dying over Robyn’s resentment for the pie crust and Nance’s “stir…but not too much.”
I love this site. 🙂
HA – I had forgotten about Nance’s “not too much” stirring. That made me LOL, Nance.
Also, I like that bowl you mixed your pie filling in.
I love these entries – even when the recipe is something I would never make and/or eat, your entries are hilarious – and so are the comments of your followers. I give the recipes 5 stars for the entertainment value alone.
I’m glad we entertain you. 😉
The question I have is – Did the pigs like the pie? 🙂
Of course they did! The only thing I’ve ever found that the pigs don’t like is shredded carrots – and even those they’ll eat eventually. That pie had no chance. 🙂
I grew up in Indiana and my father can eat a whole sugar cream pie in one sitting. Store bought, we don’t even make it homeade, I can’t imagine how many he’d eat if it was from scratch! Sugary egg creamy, and good, but eh. If I have a choice I’d eat some pumpkin pie instead. Perhaps it’s an old people from the midwest thing? heh…sorry Rick. (or maybe it’s a Rick thing, my dad’s name too… weird)
I am a life long Hoosier (that’s Indiana native if you don’t know. And no, no one knows where it came from.) I have always heard of Sugar Cream Pie and you can get it almost everywhere here . But I have never had any. Cream soda either. It just sounds too sweet. But yeah, it is the state pie. Who knew we had a state pie? The things you learn on a recipe site. Love the site ladies. We are trying the flank steak/ London Broil/ slab of meat with merinade tomorrow.
A LOT of cake recipes tell you not to over stir or over mix the batter. You aren’t crazy, Nance. I bet that’s where you got it from.
I am half Polish and I like sour kraut but not stuffed cabbage-EWWWW. I really love the red pickled cabbage in the jar. I think that is more German. I also LOVE prunes and they are popular with the Polish peeps. I think they get a bad rap-they are sweet like candy and good for you too! I love Prune Danish.
I am from Indiana and have ate Sugar Cream Pie my whole life. But the only good Sugar Cream Pie is Wick’s Sugar Cream Pie. I have ate a lot of homemade ones and they do not hold up to Wick’s.
Sugar Cream Pie – Yummy – I was born and raised in Indiana and the Amish make the best sugar cream pie. When my mom was still alive and living in Berne, IN I would always seek out sugar cream pie on my visits to see her. Think I just might have to try is one.
saw a show on PBS here in Houston last night all about pies and the producers went to various places who make this pie. Sounds interesting and I want to try it. sounds similar to egg custard pie (my weakness) but the Sugar Cream has no eggs. Still intrigues me but will add nutmeg and/or mace to the top. Not as copious as cinnamon mixture.
love your humor.
It looks nice, Can I make it for my daughter?I am a worker