A Pie Per Week: Amish Vanilla Pie

Amish Vanilla Pie

Brian:  What a wild couple of weeks!  Like many folks across the country last week, we were part of the blizzard that swept across the nation.

Snow!

And pie wasn't the only dessert being made, snow cream was also on the menu.  When I was a kid, we would sometimes put syrup on our ice cream, for a snow cone type of treat.  But Angie managed to make this amazing concoction that rivaled ice cream, it was delicious!

Making Snow Cream

We had decided to make a vanilla pie this week, but we found ourselves out of milk, and we were unable to travel on the roads unless it was an emergency.  Fortunately we found an Amish vanilla pie that did not require milk, and we were back in business!

Sophie kept warm under a blanket

Since Angie did everything last week, she just baked the crust, and I did the rest.  Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees F.  There are two parts of this recipe, the pie filling, and the crumb mixture.  Start by combining all of your pie filling ingredients, except for the vanilla.

Adding the ingredients

There were two very unique things about making this pie.  The first, is the consistency of the mixture when heated.  You actually heat your pie filling to boiling, and then you continue to boil until it is "thick and bubbly."  With most of the pies we have made, it means you heat until the mixture is thicker than pudding.  It feels like you are waiting forever, and then it very quickly starts to thicken. 

Adding the corn syrup

With this pie filling, that consistency was never achieved.  It will thicken, just not quite as much as what you would see with a cream pie.  Cooking it for 10-15 minutes should be more than enough.

All ingredients combined

The other strange part with this pie is that it advises putting in the vanilla, after the filling has cooled.  Neither Angie or I thought that made much sense, so I took it off the heat for just a minute or so and then added the vanilla.

Heating until thick and bubbly

Pour your pie mixture into the pie shell and then start preparing your crumb mixture.

Adding the vanilla

To start the crumb mixture you melt your butter, and then stir in the rest of your dry ingredients.

Crumb Mixture

Start adding your mixture to the top of your pie, I find it easier to do this by hand, to have the greatest control to get the best coverage.

Spreading the mixture on

After the pie is covered in the mixture, you place the pie into your pre-heated oven and heat for 50-60 minutes, until the pie is set.

Almost covered...

I really enjoyed this pie.  The crumb mixture really gives this pie a crunch, which is a really unique texture that we've never made in previous pies.  My daughter thought it tasted like pecan pie without the pecans.

Fully covered with crumbs 

Pie of the Week Recipient

Cheri is our pie of the week recipient!  Lucky for us, with the inclement weather conditions, she lives right in our neighborhood. She has helped watch our kids in the past, not only at church, but also in her home.  She always has a smile, she is a wonderful person, and we were happy to give her a pie.

To show you the type of person she is, she sent three packages of candy home with me, after delivering the pie.  :)

Recipe (from Buttercreambakers.com)

Amish Vanilla Pie

1/4 C Sugar

1 Egg; Beaten

1 T Flour

1/4 C Brown Sugar

1/2 C Light Corn Syrup

1 C Water

1 9" Pie Shell

1 t Vanilla

Crumbs

1/4 C Butter

1 C Flour

1/2 C Brown Sugar

1/2 t Baking Soda

1/2 t Baking Powder

1. Preheat oven for 375 degrees F. Mix sugar, egg, flour, brown sugar, light corn syrup, and water together in saucepan.  Bring it to a boil and continue to boil until mixture thickens.  

2. Let mixture cool and then stir in the vanilla.  Pour into pie shell.

3. Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and baking powder.  Crumble mixture over pie.

4. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

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