This Muscadine Pie uses the whole grape, giving each bite a burst of classic Southern flavor.
Muscadine Pie
Yields: 1 (9-inch) pie
Ingredients
- Crust:
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
- ½ cup cold whole buttermilk
- Filling:
- 6 cups muscadine grapes
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
- Vanilla ice cream, to serve
Instructions
- For crust: In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, and salt. Add cold butter, pulsing until mixture is crumbly. Gradually add buttermilk, pulsing until a soft dough forms. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and shape into 2 disks. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
- Position oven rack to lowest setting, and preheat oven to 425°.
- For filling: Separate hulls from
pulp of grapes. (See tip below.) Place grape hulls and ½ cup water in a medium saucepan. Place grape pulp in a separate medium saucepan. Bring both pans to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring both frequently. Remove from heat. Stir sugar into hull mixture. Strain pulp mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding solids. Add pulp juice to hull mixture. - Place hull mixture in the container of a blender, and pulse several times to break hulls into smaller pieces. Pour mixture into a large bowl. Stir in cornstarch, egg, zest, vanilla, and cinnamon.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll half of
dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate, pressing into bottom and up sides. Pour filling into prepared crust. - Roll remaining dough into a 12-inch circle, and cut dough into 1½-inch-wide strips. Arrange strips in a lattice design over filling. Brush dough with cream, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 375°, and bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes more. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes before serving. Serve with ice cream, if desired.
Notes
Kitchen TIP
To save time, use 1 package of refrigerated piecrusts instead of making a homemade crust.
To save time, use 1 package of refrigerated piecrusts instead of making a homemade crust.
Muscadine Tips
Keep Them Fresh
To prolong the shelf life of these wild grapes, store them in the refrigerator. Do not rinse first.
Get to the Good Stuff
The pulp can easily be removed from the hulls by cutting a small slit in each grape and squeezing firmly.
Seeding Secret
Instead of picking out each seed, cook the whole grape or pulp, and then strain the mixture to remove the seeds.
Made this recipe but found it to be a tad wet. I had to add more cornstarch and cook twice as long to reduce liquid. The balance of cinnamon really helped balance flavors.