Foxlily

My mother made this fabulous peanut butter pie as one of several desserts for Christmas dinner.  We liked it so much that she made us another one for New Year. We’re not used to such a surfeit of sugar, and so retreated from rich sweets once the holidays had passed.  When we recover, we’ll definitely try this pie again.

Here’s how to make the pie:

Bake a 9-inch pie crust, and set aside to cool.

Separate three eggs, beat the yolks well, and set the yolks aside.

Combine 3/4 cup of powdered sugar with 1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter until mealy, and set aside.

Combine 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a saucepan.  Turn burner to low heat, and slowly stir in 2 cups of milk.  Stir constantly over low heat until mixture thickens.

Stir 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the well-beaten egg yolks, then add back into the remaining hot mixture.  Cook 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove pan from heat, and stir in 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.

Sprinkle half of the confectioner’s sugar/peanut butter mixture into the bottom of the cooled, baked pie crust.

Top with the custard mixture from the pan.  Sprinkle the remaining peanut butter mixture over the custard.

You can stop there, or top the pie with meringue.

To make meringue:

Beat the saved three egg whites with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla until frothy. Gradually add 6 tablespoons of sugar.  Beat well after adding each tablespoon of sugar.  Continue beating till stiff peaks form when you pull the beaters away from the meringue.

Using a spoon, place mounds of meringue around the edge of the pie, sealing meringue to the inner edge of the crust.  Heap the remaining meringue in the center of the pie, and push out to meet the meringue border.

To prevent the meringue from “weeping,” add a teaspoon of cornstarch with the sugar.

According to my mother, the cornstarch cure works fairly well some of the time.

Even with weeping meringue, this pie is delicious, especially with strong hot coffee or tea.

The great thing for the Kitchen Valkyrie, who fears the oven more than the stove top, is that only the crust requires much baking, though you’ll need to put the pie in a 350° F oven for 10-12 minutes to set the meringue.