Margaret Bragg's Buttermilk Pie

Rick Bragg's mom knows the secret to a great buttermilk pie.

Southern Living Margaret Bragg's Buttermilk Pie sliced and ready to serve
Photo:

Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

Active Time:
20 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 30 mins
Servings:
8

In her recently released cookbook Baking in the American South, author Anne Byrn shares the story of Margaret Bragg's Buttermilk Pie:

In The Best Cook in the World, Alabama’s storyteller and author Rick Bragg wrote about his mother, Margaret Bragg, watching her mother bake a buttermilk pie to mend fences with a neighbor in their Appalachian foothills.

"My mother stood in a chair, well back from the stove and its bubbling, molten, sugary delightful mess, and watched her momma cook not just for the usual reasons but for detente." This cousin of chess pie and transparent pie is simple to pull together and bake, and as Bragg’s mother and grandmother knew, it is peacemaking too. Who can resist it? What makes Bragg’s recipe special is the blend of buttermilk and whole milk and the smidgen of flour to keep the filling creamy and smooth.

NOTE: If you have only unsalted butter, you can use it; just add 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Ingredients

  • 1 (9-in.) piecrust

  • 8 Tbsp. (1 stick) salted butter, very soft (see Note)

  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

  • 3 large eggs

  • 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

  • 3/4 cup whole buttermilk

  • 1/4 cup whole milk

  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

  • Dusting of ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)

Directions

  1. Gather your ingredients:

    Southern Living Buttermilk Pie ingredients

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

  2. Prepare piecrust:

    Heat the oven to 350ºF, with a rack in the lower middle. Crimp the edges of the piecrust, prick the bottom lightly with a fork, and set aside.

    Southern Living Buttermilk Pie preparing the pie crust

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

  3. Make pie filling:

    Place the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes, or mix really well with a wooden spoon.

    Southern Living Margaret Bragg's Buttermilk Pie beating the butter and sugar together

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

    Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

    Southern Living Margaret Bragg's Buttermilk Pie adding the eggs to the pie filling

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

    Add the flour, buttermilk, milk, and vanilla and beat until just combined.

    Southern Living Buttermilk Pie after adding the buttermilk

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

  4. Add filling to piecrust:

    Pour the filling into the piecrust and, if desired, sprinkle a little cinnamon or nutmeg on top.

    Southern Living Margaret Bragg's Buttermilk Pie

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

  5. Bake pie:

    Bake until the filling and crust are deeply golden brown and the center is set when you shake the pan gently, 1 hour and 5 to 10 minutes. By 45 to 50 minutes, the pie will be brown. Lay a sheet of foil on top if the crust seems to be overbrowning before the pie is done.

    Southern Living Margaret Bragg's Buttermilk Pie baked and cooling on a cooling rack

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

  6. Cool pie:

    Let the pie rest on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.

    Southern Living Buttermilk Pie cooled and ready to serve

    Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox

Recipe Credit

Taken from Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories by Anne Byrn. Copyright © 2024 by Anne Byrn. Photographs © 2024 by Rinne Allen. Used by permission of Harper Celebrate.

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