Foodie Friday: The State Pie of Indiana

So, lest you think I would drop the ball on Foodie Friday, please think again.

In fact, for those of you who do not live in Indiana and may not be familiar with this delicacy, prepare to have your minds blown.

Kind of like this:

The display of this commercial in no way, shape, or form indicates that I approve of AT&T in any way, shape or form. It just made me laugh, and it should you too. Especially if you picture my 10yo in place of the adult. Because my 10yo does that. Often.

Anyway…prepare to have your mind blown. By a pie.

Now, I must confess that it doesn’t blow my mind. Not even a little bit.

Because I don’t really like pie. Except pumpkin pie. And that’s only ON Thanksgiving. And maybe I’ll indulge in a leftover slice the day after…if there’s any to be had.

And it has to have Cool Whip on it. Yes, I like artificial cream with lots of oil and sugar in it.

Don’t judge.

So anyway…back to the official state pie of Indiana. Anyone Googled it yet?

Well, I shall spare you the effort. It is the Sugar Cream Pie. (Supposedly also called Hoosier Pie, although I have never personally heard anyone call it that; for my friends across the pond, someone from Indiana is called a Hoosier. You had no idea my blogs were so educational, did you?)

“Sugar Cream Pie?!?” you may be asking yourself, “What in the world is that?!?”

Well, for people who love pie and who love sugar, it is apparently a little taste of Heaven right here in Indiana.

As though simply LIVING in Indiana were not enough.

Please let me pause here and point out that not only does Indiana have the Sugar Cream Pie as it’s official state pie (does your state have an official pie, BTW? Yes, I may be bragging a little bit here), Indiana also has the nation’s highest ratio of obese people too.

So there.

Another piece of the puzzle falls into place, right?

So…the pie. Well, as you can probably imagine, it is not healthy. And you might be wondering why I do not like it. ‘Tis true…it does not have fruit in it; as you may recall, I hate fruit being included in my desserts.

But still, it is missing something: chocolate.

And it is still pie, so there's that too...

Since I am sure that you are wondering why on God’s green earth would I be talking about a pie I do not even like, let me explain. It is Mr. Always Random’s favorite. And his birthday is this week-end. And his mother used to make said pie for him, but as of late, she has not been able to do so.

So, I have picked up the gauntlet and run with it. Or at the very least: moseyed.

But I did have to Google the recipe. Why didn’t I ask her for it? I’m not really sure, but I did not. And the recipes I found varied slightly…mostly in amounts; the basic ingredients remained the same.

I even asked my friends who like Sugar Cream Pie to look at the recipes and give me their input. I wanted the pie to be good…and for what is probably the first time ever, I knew that even if I sampled it, I wouldn’t be able to tell if it was good or not.

Because I don’t like pie (just in case you missed that tidbit of info).

So I don’t know if he’s just being nice, but Mr. Always Random said he likes my pies better than his mom’s.

Good man. The PBA should take a lesson.

I have gone on and on about this long enough…especially since I don’t even like it. But you might. So here is the recipe for you:

Sugar Cream Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 pie crust (don’t feel compelled to make one yourself...I use a premade one and no one in my house complains…but that may be that I have taught them that if you complain about someone’s cooking, then YOU have to do the cooking; it really scaled back the comments from the peanut gallery, I must say.)

This is what a pre-made pie cruse looks like...a dog bone. Don't judge.

• 1 ½ cups white sugar
• ½ cup flour
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream (ignore the fact that fat and calories are written on the side of the container...it will only serve to diminish the enjoyment of the pie...or so I am told.)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ cup butter – chipped and diced (keep cold until ready to use)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Place prepared pie crust in an 8 or 9 inch pie plate. Mold the crust to the bottom of the plate and crimp the edges.

I am well-aware of the fact that my edge-crimping skills are sub-par...but again, I don't hear complaining.

• In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, vanilla and cream. Mix until smooth.
• Pour into the unbaked pie crust.
• Dot with diced butter.

This is simply so you can see what I meant by "diced butter"; these are little pieces, but it appears to make it easier to get good butter coverage
...and who doesn't love good butter coverage? Keep all comments to yourself, actually...

• Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon.

Seems like it should be obvious but just in case it's not...

• Place pie plate on a cookie sheet (in case it spills) and bake for 15 minutes (I really hope you remembered to preheat to 450 degrees, otherwise you may be waiting a while).
• REDUCE the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for an additional 45-50 minutes, or until the center of the pie is somewhat jiggly (feel free to include your own crude comments here…frankly, I am above such childish behavior…).
• You may need to cover the pie loosely with foil if the pie begins to brown too much.

This is what "loosely-covered with foil" looks like in my house; tent the foil in the middle to keep it from sticking to the middle of the pie. 

And yes, the edges of the foil are all willy-nilly.

• Remove from oven when done and allow to cool completely; store in fridge until ready to serve. You can heat in the microwave for a few seconds, as I hear that makes it tasty, but you are going to need to let it cool quite a bit after it comes out of the oven; at that point, the inside is burning-magma hot. Just a caution to those who think they can dig right in.

So there it is, in all its jiggly goodness.

The 10yo exclaimed to his brother when I took the pie from the oven: "Come and see this pie! It's a beaut!"

Happy Birthday, Honey! Nothing says “I love you!” like a pie full of sugar and fat. Enjoy!

PS If you've ever had Sugar Cream Pie, please let me know in the comments below. And if you plan to make it (or DO make it), I'd love to know that too. But if you also think it is less than palatable, I'd love to hear that as well. Bottom line: make a comment. I live for them.

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