Blackberry-Buttermilk Pie Recipe - Tasting Table (2024)

Recipes

The secret ingredient in the silky filling: moonshine

Blackberry-Buttermilk Pie Recipe - Tasting Table (1)

Photo: Rachel Vanni/Tasting Table

ByTasting Table Staff/

It wouldn't be summer without a berry pie cooling on the windowsill of our Test Kitchen. This year, however, we wanted to shake it up from the traditional strawberry-rhubarb. Turns out what we were looking for was down south, where buttermilk pies reign supreme.

"We like to kid that culture is our culture," Meredith Layton, co-owner of Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop in Knoxville, Tennessee, jokes. "Buttermilk is a staple in Southern cooking; our grandmothers used it in everything from cornbread to bath water. We knew that as a shop that embodies Southern culture and tradition we had to include buttermilk in our namesake pie."

In this exclusive recipe for TT, a custardy buttermilk filling is studded with fresh, ripe blackberries. While her husband and co-owner Scott may fight her on it, Layton uses a shortbread crust in lieu of the traditional flaky crust. Since you are in concept making a cookie crust, the easiest trick that we found to get the dough just right, and Layton agrees, is by rolling it out between sheets of parchment paper.

And the secret ingredient to this creamy pie? Moonshine, of course. "Moonshine is a bragging right to life in Southern Appalachia," Layton explains. "Moonshine wakes up food flavors and enhances their natural tastes as well as textures." This recipe calls for blackberry moonshine, a spirit you can buy or make yourself by infusing moonshine with fresh blackberries. It adds the perfect kick of blackberry flavor and booze to cut through the sweetness of the pie. And if you can't get your hands on moonshine, simply substitute blackberry brandy.

"We encourage people to try their hand at baking pies for their family," Layton explains. "Dig out old treasured recipes from your family. If you aren't from a baking family, ask friends for their family recipes. In the South, recipes are treasured like gold and every good recipe holds memories to pass on to the next generation."

We couldn't agree more, so you heard her: get your oven going to crank out the best pie you've had this summer. Trust us, it's to pie for.

Check out our best pie recipes.

Recipe adapted from Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop, Knoxville, TN

Blackberry-Buttermilk Pie

4.8 from 32 ratings

Fill 202Print

Creamy custard mixed with blackberries makes for the Southern pie of your dreams. Get this exclusive blackberry-buttermilk pie recipe at Tasting Table.

Prep Time

20

minutes

Cook Time

1

hour

Servings

9

pie

Blackberry-Buttermilk Pie Recipe - Tasting Table (2)

Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • For the Crust
  • ? cup granulated sugar
  • 1 stick salted butter, softened
  • 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
  • For the Filling
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 stick salted butter, melted
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon blackberry moonshine
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 cup blackberries
  • For the Blackberry-Moonshine Drizzle
  • ¼ cup blackberries
  • ½ cup blackberry jam
  • 3 tablespoons blackberry moonshine
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

  1. Make the crust: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the flour, milk and vanilla, and mix until a smooth dough comes together. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and butter until incorporated. Add the flour and eggs, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the buttermilk, moonshine and nutmeg to incorporate, then set aside.
  3. Make the blackberry-moonshine drizzle: In a small bowl, mash the blackberries with a fork until they fall apart. Stir in the remaining drizzle ingredients and set aside.
  4. Roll the dough out, between 2 sheets of parchment paper dusted with confectioners' sugar, into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a 9-inch pie dish and trim the excess, then crimp the edges. Transfer the pie dish to the freezer to freeze for 1 hour.
  5. Preheat the oven to 350º. Remove the pie shell from the freezer and layer the blackberries in an even layer on the bottom. Pour in the filling and bake until lightly golden, 30 minutes. Cover with foil and continue to bake until the filling is set, 30 minutes more.
  6. Let the pie cool completely, then slice and serve each slice with a spoon of the blackberry-moonshine drizzle over top.

Nutrition

Calories per Serving544
Total Fat22.4 g
Saturated Fat13.6 g
Trans Fat0.8 g
Cholesterol108.7 mg
Total Carbohydrates77.7 g
Dietary Fiber1.8 g
Total Sugars57.7 g
Sodium346.4 mg
Protein5.4 g

The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Blackberry-Buttermilk Pie Recipe - Tasting Table (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between a chess pie and a buttermilk pie? ›

Both pies are very similar but have a few distinct differences. Like a chess pie, buttermilk pie starts with the same main components of butter, sugar, and eggs. But instead of milk and lemon juice (or vinegar), it uses straight buttermilk to give it a tart lusciousness.

Why did my buttermilk pie not set? ›

Remember, this is a custard pie, which means it is not only going to continue cooking once it comes out of the oven, but it also needs time to cool and set. Custard pies need at least 2 hours to properly set before being cut into. If your Buttermilk Pie is runny, it might have been underbaked.

Does buttermilk pie taste like? ›

Buttermilk pie tastes like a buttery, vanilla custard, baked into a flaky, also buttery pie crust. Buttermilk lends a pleasant creaminess, and lemon zest and juice help to boost the pies tang. It's a simple, sweet, tangy delight!

Why is it no longer called crack pie? ›

Name change

Some food writers and others have criticized naming foods including Crack Pie after addictive substances as insensitive and offensive. In May 2019, Devra First of the Boston Globe criticized the name in a column for making light of addiction by alluding to the addictiveness of crack cocaine.

Why is it called crack pie? ›

Crack Pie — the trademarked name for the chain's buttery, sugary pie — will now become Milk Bar Pie. Get the Eat Voraciously newsletter for delicious dinner inspiration, delivered straight to your inbox. The name was a reference to crack cocaine — the gag being that the pie was just as addictive as the drug.

What is a patsy pie? ›

The English word "pasty" derives from Medieval French (O.Fr. paste from V. Lat pasta) for a pie, filled with venison, salmon or other meat, vegetables or cheese, baked without a dish. Pasties have been mentioned in cookbooks throughout the ages.

Why is it called flapper pie? ›

Flapper pie is a wonderful Canadian dessert that originated in the Prairies in the 1920s. They called it Flapper pie because it was popularized in the same era as the Flapper girls - fabulous!

Why is my buttermilk pie runny in the middle? ›

Why is My Buttermilk Pie Runny? It may not be fully cooked, OR it may be fully cooked but not fully cooled. You want to make sure to fully let the pie cool at room temperature (at least 2 hours) before you slice it to avoid it being runny.

Can I use buttermilk instead of heavy cream in pie? ›

Yes, you can swap them in a recipe, but it's not as simple as switching buttermilk for heavy cream/heavy cream for buttermilk. For example, if you're replacing buttermilk with heavy cream you'll probably need to switch out your baking soda for baking powder.

Should butter be cold for pie dough? ›

If the butter is too warm, it will combine too well into the flour, making the dough hard to work with and the final crust tough or cracker-like. If you've had problems with your pie crust recipe, chances are the butter's to blame. Here's how to keep it under control: Start with cold butter, straight from the fridge.

What is another name for buttermilk pie? ›

Buttermilk Pie. Buttermilk and chess pies are alike in a lot of ways: They're both made with few pantry staples, they both have rich custard fillings, and a pale yellow hue makes them almost identical. However, these Southern desserts aren't quite the same thing.

Why do bakers love buttermilk? ›

Buttermilk is made up of a variety of acids – the results of the fermentation process, which give baked goods a couple of benefits. First, the acidity provides tangy flavor to balance all kinds of sweet baked treats. Second, it activates baking soda, producing the gas that makes dough or batter rise.

Can buttermilk pie be left out overnight? ›

The eggs and buttermilk have cooked and are not a threat to spoil at room temperature. Just like so many other things, if you are more comfortable refrigerating it, by all means do!

Why is buttermilk pie called chess pie? ›

No one is entirely sure how chess pie got its name. Some say the pie used to be stored in an old-fashioned pie chest, or "chess" if you've got a Southern drawl.

What is the difference between chess pie and regular pie? ›

“After reading through one of my older cookbooks, it's important to note that while most chess pies — especially the ones we see today — have dairy in them, some do not. Cornmeal as a stabilizer in the filling is distinct to chess pie.” Buttermilk is the main factor in differentiating the two pies.

What is different about a chess pie? ›

Though it's not always called upon to thicken the filling, cornmeal is frequently what gives a chess pie it's velvety texture and yellow color. Buttermilk pie, meanwhile, always has buttermilk. More acids, like lemon juice or vinegar, are also frequently added to brighten up the recipe even more.

Does chess pie have another name? ›

And so, supposedly, the name “Chess Pie” was coined. Chess pie and its many Southern variations — including vinegar pie, transparent pie and Tyler pie (a favorite of Edna Lewis's, putatively named for President John Tyler and perfected by the women of Miss Lewis's hometown of Freetown, Va.)

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