lemon buttermilk pie

I think I've found the perfect pie.  It's a pie lover's pie, a dessert lover's pie, a fruit lover's pie.  A sweet, crunchy crust with a creamy, slightly tart filling.  Just enough comfort and just enough spring.  I am in love.

So in love that when I found the perfect crust, I invested a few extra minutes in late night light braiding long strips of dough in a decorative edge.  (This extra step is completely unnecessary, of course, and so is the Instagram filter.  Can we get a real life view, you ask?)

And I happily spent several more recipe test runs adapting traditional buttermilk pie ratios to the right lemony-vanilla balance for a single pie... to share with you.  I tried more flour, less flour, extra buttermilk, meyer lemons, regular lemons, and so on, until it was just right.  It's my gift to you, friends, and it's so good.

By the way, happy 6th birthday, Boo Bear.  We love you. 

The recipe for my new favorite pie follows.

Lemon Buttermilk Pie

Sugar pie crust
Adapted from Kelsey Nixon's sweet dough variation

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4-6 tablespoons ice cold water

Pulse dry ingredients and butter together in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, or cut together with a pastry cutter or 2 forks until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Slowly add water (one tablespoon at a time) and vanilla, mixing just until combined and the dough starts to come together.

Form into a ball, using your hands as little as possible to keep dough cold, and wrap in plastic wrap.  Flatten into a disk.  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough to a circumference at least 2 inches wider than your favorite pie dish.  Transfer to your pie dish, folding the extra crust along the outer edge underneath itself to reinforce the edge of the pie crust.  Crimp or decorate the edges, and dock the bottom of the crust by pricking it with a fork.  This will prevent the crust from puffing up during baking.  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes more to firm up the dough.  (This is super important because otherwise the dough will slump down while baking, trust me.)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Line the crust with foil and fill with pie weights (or dry rice or beans) to blind bake.  Bake 10 minutes or so until the edges start to turn light golden brown, then remove foil with weights, and bake 5 minutes more to dry the bottom of the crust.  Set aside.

Lemon buttermilk filling
Adapted from various Southern recipes and inspiration on Food Network

1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), melted and cooled slightly
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs, lightly beaten

In a medium size bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together.  Add flour, salt, vanilla, and melted butter. Whisk in buttermilk.  Add lemon zest and lemon juice very slowly, while stirring, to avoid curdling. Pour into prepared crust.

Bake at 350 until golden brown and just barely set, about 35 minutes.   (I recommend using a pie crust guard or aluminum foil to cover edges of pie crust so it does not get too brown.)  Allow the pie to cool to room temperature before serving.  Store any leftovers chilled in the fridge.

If you'd like more reading on lemon buttermilk pie, check out this informative post about one blogger's trial, error, and ultimate success with a similar version.