Last weekend, Clare de Boer gathered 33 amateur bakers for a pie competition at Stissing House, her historic restaurant in Pine Plains, New York. The judging panel was a who’s who of food writers and experts: Substackers Samin Nosrat, Tamar Adler, Aminatou Sow, Jessie Sheehan, Lidey Heuck, and Greta Caruso; Stissing House pastry chef Rebecca Ellis; New Yorker food critic Hannah Goldfield; New York Times food editor Emily Weinstein; chef Ignacio Mattos; cookbook authors Claire Saffitz and Dan Pelosi; novelist and food lover Katie Kitamura; and—crucially—the woman who “wrote the book on pies”: Martha Stewart.
We sent a film crew to capture every bit of the chaotic, joyful afternoon. Below, you’ll find the winning pie’s recipe, in case you’re still hunting for the perfect Thanksgiving dessert.
Salted Maple Bourbon Pie
By Nikki Freihofer
This pie is a pancake breakfast that grew up, put on a cashmere sweater, and decided to do boozy brunch instead. It’s sweet and custardy and cozy, the kind of thing people take one bite of and immediately start plotting their second. Use the good maple syrup, seriously. A darker, deeper one makes all the difference (I’m partial to a Hudson Valley variety aged in bourbon barrels). And don’t be shy with the salt.
Ingredients
For the maple bourbon custard:
10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) salted Irish butter, melted and cooled a bit
1 cup high quality dark maple syrup (I like Tree Juice brand Bourbon Barrel Aged)
130g light brown sugar
14g fine yellow cornmeal plus 19g medium grind yellow cornmeal (This is me being extra… you can use all fine or medium cornmeal and the pie will be lovely, promise. It’s about 1/4c total cornmeal in that case)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt (Yes, more salt on top of salted butter – it can take it)
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
3/4 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
3 tablespoons bourbon (Bulleit or nicer, if you fancy)
Maldon salt (to garnish)
For the crust:
270g AP flour
3 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (226g) salad Irish butter, very cold
Ice water + a few tablespoons vodka
For the vanilla mascarpone whip:
2 tablespoons mascarpone
1c heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
A few teaspoons powered sugar
Instructions
To make the crust:
Whisk flour, sugar, and salt in medium bowl
Cut each stick of butter into 4 equal pieces (twice lengthwise and once across) and add to bowl, toss to coat. Turn bowl out onto clean countertop.
Roll butter out into long flat strips, laminating the butter into the flour mixture with rolling pin, scraping surface and rolling pin as needed with bench scraper
Once the dough starts to form long, thin sheets, use a bench scraper to pile into a loose shaggy mound and drizzle exactly 6 TBSP ice water over. It won’t seem like enough!! It IS enough!
Roll out several times and fold top and bottom into the center like an envelope, re-rolling/laminating and folding until dough holds together well and looks fairly uniform (about 5 rolls)
Form into a disc with a diameter of approximately 5-6 inches and wrap with plastic wrap
Rest in refrigerator overnight
Roll out rested dough into a circle 16” wide for a 9” pie and transfer to pie plate. There will be lots of overhang but that’s what gets you a gorgeous crimp. Roll the overhang onto itself and crimp away.
Freeze until solid (overnight is best)
Blind bake at 425°F for 25min (lined with tin foil and pie weights) and let cool
To make the custard:
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter and maple syrup – give ’em a good hearty whisking together. Whisk in the brown sugar, cornmeal, and kosher salt.
In another medium bowl, whisk together the cream, eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla.
Slowly pour the egg mixture into the maple mixture and whisk just until combined. Add the bourbon and mix until just combined.
Place the blind-baked shell on a baking sheet and brush the edge with another beaten egg. Pour the filling into the pie shell until it reaches the bottom of the crimps.
Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the edges are puffed and the center jiggles only slightly when shaken. It will continue to set as it cools.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the pie to a wire rack to cool for 4 to 6 hours. Once fully cooled and at room temperature, sprinkle generously with flaky Maldon sea salt.
To make the whipped cream:
Add mascarpone, heavy cream, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla bean paste to a medium bowl and whisk gently until soft peaks form.
Serve on the side
