buttermilk pie, sans diabetes

On paper, this pie sounds like a toothache. It's a traditional Southern dessert, so you know it must be crazy sweet. I worried it would approach momofuku-milk-bar-crack-pie levels of sweet, which quite literally gives me an instant headache and makes me shiver. But then I came across this recipe on NPR with alternative measurements for a less-sweet version. Call me a wuss, but I'm drawn to the idea of buttermilk pie because of the creamy custardy tanginess, and I just don't need killer sweetness to cover it all up.



And it was a good call. I got my creamy custardy tanginess, a simple, wonderfully satisfying pie, and we didn't make faces at the sweetness level. This one is a winner, except for the danger associated with how much of it we can eat in one sitting. Recipe after the jump:

BUTTERMILK PIE
From the recipe by Natalie Moore on npr.org

4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour, plus a little for dusting
1/2 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Beat eggs slightly and add sugar and flour. Then add melted butter and mix well. Add buttermilk and vanilla and mix.

Dust the unbaked pie shell with a little bit of flour. Pour batter into shell, and then sprinkle a little more flour on top.

Bake at 325 degrees until the custard is set, approximately 1 hour.