Well, the back was, other than, “absolutely amazing and delicious – oh, my god!” – “It’s like pecan pie with walnuts and instead and not the weird corn syrupy taste. It’s better.”

I’ll take that!

Now that we are into the season where nutcrackers emerge, I thought I’d introduce our kitchen to some freshly shelled walnuts – in a pie.
The crust is infused with raw walnuts, the filling is composed of a brown sugar custard, and then the top makes it all – brown sugared, caramelized walnuts. Yup. SO good!

Brown Sugared Walnut Pie

And remember, Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Why not make an out of the ordinary pie this year for the feast?

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Brown Sugared Walnut Pie

Crust:
8 Tbs. butter, ice cold and cubed into 1″ squares
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups ground almonds (a little chunky, but mostly grainy)
1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
2-3 Tbs. ice cold water

Brown Sugar Custard Filling:
6 large eggs
1 cup brown sugar (loosely packed)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. sea salt

Brown Sugared Almonds:
4 Tbs. butter
1 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar (loosely packed)
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, pulse together the butter, egg, flour, nuts, and vinegar until crumbly. Drizzle in the cold water and pulse again until beady.
Once the dough begins to “stick,” pulse until a dough mound forms.

Transfer the mound to parchment. Top with another layer of parchment and roll out to an 11″ round.

Transfer to a deep dish pie plate and flute the edges for decoration.

Meanwhile, wipe the food processor clean and add the eggs, brown sugar, baking powder, and sea salt. Process until smooth, creamy, and a bit fluffy.

Fill the pie crust with the brown sugar custard and bake for about 45 minutes, until the center is just about set and browning. Remove from the oven and allow to fully cool and set.

While the pie is cooling, in a large cast iron pan, melt the butter over low heat. Next, add the brown sugar and heat into a sugar “gel.” Add the nuts and thoroughly coat in the sticky sweet gel, stirring constantly to toast the nuts, but not burn them, nor the sugar or butter. Keep stirring. Keep stirring. Keep stirring. Add the salt. Keep stirring. Keep stirring. After about 10-12 minutes, the nuts should be toasted and everything should be caramelized. Spread the nuts in heaps and mounds over the top of the cooled pie crust.

A.M.A.Z.I.N.G

Now you have a new pie to try at Thanksgiving Dinner! You’re welcome.