I wrote about this recipe years ago when it first came out in Food & Wine Magazine and have made it every Thanksgiving since! It's the perfect non-traditional end to one of the most celebrated meals of the year and beautiful to boot! I love the look of the cranberry glaze on top of the speckled creamy filling and the little golden orange dollops of deliciousness by the way of sweet potato and white chocolate on top! Brown Butter Custard Pie with Cranberry Glaze 2 teaspoons plain powdered gelatin Reserved browned butter solids from Cinnamon Toast Crumb Crust (below) 1 cup whole milk 1/3 cup light brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon Kosher salt 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream 1/4 cup sour cream Cinnamon Toast Crumb Crust (recipe below) 3 1/2 ounces white chocolate, chopped 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes 1 cup cranberry sauce, pureed and strained

Cinnamon Toast Crumb Crust 2 sticks unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 4 cups diced crusts and end pieces from 1 loaf of packaged white bread (10 ounces crusts)

Instructions for the crust:

Preheat the oven to 325°. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the butter is golden brown, about 8 minutes; strain into a glass measuring cup. Reserve the browned butter solids for the Brown Butter Custard Pie.
Pour half of the melted butter into a bowl. Add the sugar, salt, cinnamon and bread, and toss. Spread the bread on a baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes, stirring once or twice, until golden. Let cool.
Rewarm the remaining butter; pour into a food processor. Add the croutons and pulse to fine crumbs; spoon the crumbs into a 10-inch pie plate. Refrigerate for 5 minutes. Press the crumbs over the bottom and sides of the pie plate; refrigerate the crust until chilled, 15 minutes.

Instructions for the pie:

In a microwave-safe bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tablespoons of water and let stand until softened, 3 minutes. Microwave at high power for 10 seconds, until melted. In a microwave-safe measuring cup, microwave the reserved brown butter solids with the milk, sugar, 1/8 teaspoon of the cinnamon and a pinch of salt until warm. Whisk in the gelatin and refrigerate until set.
In a bowl, whisk 3/4 cup of the heavy cream and sour cream to soft peaks. Whisk the custard to loosen it, then fold into the whipped cream. Pour the custard into the Cinnamon Toast Crumb Crust; refrigerate for 30 minutes.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate and butter. Add the mashed sweet potatoes, the remaining 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of salt; whisk until smooth. Transfer the sweet potato ganache to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip and refrigerate until chilled slightly, 15 minutes. Pipe 1-inch mounds around the edge of the pie. Refrigerate until the ganache is set, 10 minutes.
Pour the cranberry puree over the pie and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate until set, at least 30 minutes. Cut the pie into wedges and serve.

The pie can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Enjoy!

Image from foodandwine.com

Oh strawberry pie, how have I never heard of you or thought that you might be the most delicious concoction I've ever tasted? I just don't know, but I sincerely apologize for neglecting to make you until now! If you've never had strawberry pie (obviously, I hadn't - I know, I must be living in the hole), please run, don't walk, to the grocery store and/or market to get the supplies for this most scrumptious dessert! I promise, you'll be wondering why you waited so long to make this!

Last week after returning from the National Stationery Show in NYC, we were driving by Mom's Apple Pie in Leesburg and there was a giant strawberry cutout sitting by the side of the road and a sign for Strawberry Pie in the window. We meant to stop, but then forgot, but once I remembered, I couldn't get the thought of strawberries nestled inside a pie crust out of my head, so I had to find a recipe STAT. Here's the recipe I put together using a strawberry pie filling recipe from Cook's Country and my Cornmeal Pie Crust.

Crust I used my Cornmeal Pie Crust recipe.

Filling 2 pounds frozen strawberries 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons water 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin 1 cup sugar pinch salt 1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced thin

Topping 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 3 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup heavy cream

Bake pie crust shell and let cool.

Cook frozen berries in large saucepan over medium low heat until berries begin to release juice, about 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium high and cook, stirring frequently, until thick and jamlike, about 25 minutes. (Mixture should measure 2 cups. If you have more than 2 cups the pie will not set or slice properly.)

Combine lemon juice, water, and gelatin in small bowl. Let stand until gelatin is softened and mixture has thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir gelatin mixture, sugar, and salt into cooked berry mixture and return to a simmer, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Fold fresh berries into filling. Spread evenly in pie shell and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. (Filled pie can be refrigerated for 24 hours.)

With electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth, about 30 seconds. With mixer running, add cream and whip until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Serve pie with whipped cream topping. I like to add chiffonaded basil or mint to the cream to give it an additional flavor profile.

Enjoy!