Sugar Cream Pie (The Hoosier Pie)

Growing up in Indiana I ate my fair share of Sugar Cream Pie, most of the pies were from the Wick’s Pie Company in Winchester, Indiana.  When I moved to California I went searching for a Sugar Cream Pie and soon realized there were none to be had. Really, no pie!  No one in California had heard of a Sugar Cream Pie, and I asked a lot of people.  I keep looking but soon realized I was going to have to make my own.  Even though I made lots of pies, I never had made a Sugar Cream Pie, after all I would just buy the Wick’s Pie.  The search for the perfect recipe started to consume me and soon I had a stack.  Now, I had to figure out which one would yield that perfect pie similar to the Wick’s pie.  Over a weeks’ time I made eight pies.  This recipe was my favorite, and over the years I keep coming back to this one.

So what exactly is a Sugar Cream Pie and it’s association with Indiana? The pie originated in the 1800’s in the Shaker and/or the Amish communities.  The pie is simple and made from ingredients most families would have on hand.  Flour, cream, sugar, butter and nutmeg.  And the results are a sweet, creamy and firm textured filling, with hints of nutmeg in each bite. It’s heavenly when eaten warm.

Along with this recipe I decided to make the pie crust using the hot water method.  I remember doing this many years ago but forgot about this recipe.  When making pie dough I plan ahead and put my Crisco and butter in the freezer.  Everything has to be chilled to make that perfect pie crust.  Using hot water to make the dough really goes against my usual practice, no prechilling anything.  The results were yummy; a tender, flaky pie crust and just as good using the cold water method.  Actually, I find the hot water method to be quicker, which means my pie is done sooner. Okay, enough babbling, here’s the recipe

Lets bake a pie~

Sugar Cream Pie (The Hoosier Pie)

 

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Serves: 1 8" pie

Ingredients

Hot Water Pastry Pie Dough for an 8" Pie

• 2 cups sifted flour
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• ⅓ cup boiling water
• ⅓ cup shortening
• ⅓ cup butter
  

Sugar Cream Pie Filling

• 1½ cups sugar
• ½ cup flour
• 1 cup whipping cream
• ¾ cup whole milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• 3 Tbls. butter

Instructions

Making the pie crust

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.
2. Pour the hot water over the shortening and mix with a fork until creamy.
3. Add the flour mixture and mix into a dough.
4. Chill thoroughly before rolling.
   

Making the Sugar Cream Pie Filling

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Heat the milk and cream to hot.
3. In a medium bowl mix the sugar, flour and cream together.
4. Add the milk and vanilla and stir until mixture is smooth.
5. Dot the pie shell with butter.
6. Pour the filling into the pie shell and sprinkle with nutmeg.
7. Cover the pie with foil and bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees then reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil after 45 minutes. The filling should be bubbly and thick and will thicken more as it cools.

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Mix together until creamy

Add the dry ingredients and form into a ball.  Flatten into a disk and chill for an hour

After your dough has chilled, roll out on a floured surface and place in your pie dish. Yes, that is me!!

Dot the bottom of the pie shell with butter.

Mix your filling ingredients and pour into the pie shell. Bake for 1 hour or until the filling is firm.