Kentucky Brown Sugar PieSimple, Thoughtful Recipes Work Best for Entertaining
(StatePoint) When you’re entertaining, you’ll want to ensure your meal includes flavorful, thoughtful dishes. Unfortunately, sorting through recipes, especially for dessert can be time consuming.

“There are a gazillion recipes in the world, but the lifesaving recipe for when times are crazy, that’s priceless,” says Anne Byrn, food writer and author of the new, “Anne Byrn Saves the Day! Cookbook.”

A collection of crowd-pleasing recipes from her network of friends and family, Byrn’s book features this recipe for Kentucky Brown Sugar Pie, perfect for a feast, as it takes only about 20 minutes to pull together, less time than a drive to the bakery and back — and is more scrumptious than anything complicated to make or store-bought:

Ingredients:

• 1 store-bought 9-inch pie crust, thawed if frozen

• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar

• 1⁄3 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 cups whole milk

• 3 large eggs, at room temperature

• 1 tablespoon salted or unsalted butter

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions:

• Let eggs come to room temperature, taking them out of the refrigerator half an hour before making the pie.

• Transfer crust to glass pie pan if leaving it in aluminum foil pie pan. If it’s not a preformed crust, fit it into a glass pie plate.

• Bake pie crust following package directions until light brown. Let crust cool on rack while making filling. Leave oven on, adjusting temperature if necessary to 400 degrees F.

• Place brown sugar, flour, and salt in medium-size saucepan and stir to combine. Slowly whisk in milk. Place pan over medium heat, stirring constantly until filling thickens and is bubbly, four to five minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking filling until completely thickened, two minutes longer. Remove from heat.

• Separate eggs, placing yolks in a small bowl and whites in a medium stainless steel or glass bowl. Set egg whites aside. Beat egg yolks with fork to combine. Add 3 tablespoons of the hot filling to egg yolks and stir well to combine. Whisk the egg mixture into the saucepan of filling. Place pan over low heat and whisk until yolks are well combined and filling is thick, creamy, and smooth, about two minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Pour filling into baked crust.

• Make the meringue: Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites on high speed until frothy, one to two minutes. Add cream of tartar and continue beating on high. Gradually add granulated sugar. Beat egg whites until stiff and glossy and sugar is dissolved, four to five minutes.

• Pile spoonfuls of meringue on top of filling. Using a spatula, push meringue to the edge of crust to seal in filling. Smooth the top of the pie.

• Bake until meringue is lightly browned, eight to ten minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool about three hours before serving.

More information about the book can be found at www.Workman.com.

At your next dinner party, wow your guests with simple yet flavorsome recipes.