Just a very nice pine nut pie

Life’s been swell lately, but if that sounds tone-deaf to your ears, I hereby offer you some sweet solace in a delightful pine nut pie that I save religiously for my Monday breakfast because God knows sweet potato and nuts just ain’t anointed enough to save my soul in that ungodly hour.

Pine Nut Pie – makes one 9-inch pie or 8 servings

• 1 deep-dish frozen pie crust, unbaked
• 1 1/2 cups raw pine nuts
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1/4 cup salted butter
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tbsp fine sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, with the rack placed in the center of the oven.
2. In saucepan, brin the brown sugar, corn syrup, and butter to a boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, along with the vanilla and salt, until completely smooth.
4. Place the cold pie crust (aluminum dish included) on a baking sheet and sprinkle the pine nuts in an even layer into the crust.
5. Pass the egg mixture through a sieve directly onto the pine nuts – they will be covered at first then they will rise to the surface, coated in the egg mixture which is what we want. If there are any “dry” ones, push them down with a fork to baptize them.
6. Bake for about 50 minutes or until the top puffs evenly into a dome (meaning the cook has reached the center).
7. Cool completely before chilling in the fridge to fully set.

This pie is quite well-endowed, so either share or course it out over several weeks for optimal enjoyment – always straight from the fridge, because otherwise it can be quite overwhelming (but you really shouldn’t try to reduce the amount of sugar or syrup in here because they carry both the structure and the texture in the pie. Also don’t skip the boiling step – it’s what gives it its dark, treacly appeal and stability for weeks – I mean I made this pie almost a month ago, and the crust is still crumbly-crisp despite being a “wet” pie. To cut the cleanest slices, use a room temperature, chefs knife (or any unserrated knife with a longish blade). Drag the knife in swift, horizontal strokes while applying sufficient downward pressure to essentially slice through each pine nut gradually in a sawing motion. Once you’ve cleared the pine nut layer, you can tilt down the tip of your knife and pull it back towards the edge. Repeat.

God bless,

A.