3 Variations of Mom & Grandma's Approved Sugar Pie Recipe With Secret Ingredients

Sugar pie is a satisfyingly simple pie to master, with a centuries-long history of gracing holiday tables. Learn how to make sugar pie, along with three popular variations of the classic dessert.

What Is Sugar Pie?

A sugar pie, or tarte au sucre, is a dessert consisting of three core ingredients—sugar, butter, and cream—baked together in a pie crust. The high proportion of sugar in the filling results in a caramelized sweetness much like crème brûlée. You can serve sugar pie on its own, with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Often described as pecan pie without the pecans, sugar pie is also known colloquially as “finger pie,” so named for the technique of using one’s fingers to mix the ingredients directly in the pie shell.

Origin of Sugar Pie

While the sugar pie’s simple construction and basic ingredients make it difficult to pinpoint a definitive location of origin, Northern France is commonly cited as the dessert’s birthplace. The classic dessert originally took the form of a brioche pastry topped with a mixture of sugar, cream, eggs, and butter.

The French immigrants who settled in the area of Canada now known as Quebec are responsible for incorporating maple syrup into the beloved comfort food. Over time, the North American sugar pie resembled its current format: A soft, just-set filling inside a flaky, buttery pie crust.

Sugar Pie Variations

Tradition and personal preference largely dictate the recipe for sugar pie. Some recipes require you to cook the filling on the stovetop before refrigerating it in a baked pie shell, while others call for par-baking the pie shell, then finishing the assembled pie in the oven. Ingredients tend to shift by region:

Tarte au sucre: The tarte au sucre dessert found in Northern France and Belgium resembles a tartlet made from brioche dough, baked with a top layer of sugar, cream, and butter. The French-Canadian brown sugar pie from Quebec resembles a traditional pie and features maple syrup and white or brown sugar in the filling.

Sugar cream pie: Sugar cream pie originated in early Amish and Shaker communities and is the unofficial state pie of Indiana, where it’s known as “Hoosier pie.” As its name suggests, sugar cream pie contains heavy cream in the filling, along with a small amount of all-purpose flour or cornstarch, resulting in a fluffier, denser texture.

Southern chess pie, vinegar pie, and pecan pie: In the Southern United States, these “transparent” pies are the natural siblings to the sugar pie. Some recipes, like Kentucky transparent pie, feature additional ingredients like bourbon. Learn how to make pecan pie with this easy recipe.

Simple Sugar Pie Recipe

MAKES One 9-inch pie

PREP TIME 25 min

TOTAL TIME 2 hr 15 min

COOK TIME 50 min

Ingredients

For the pie crust:

- 1 cup all-purpose flour

- 2 teaspoons sugar

- ½ teaspoon salt

- 1 stick unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1-inch pieces

- ¼ cup ice water

For the filling:

- 1 cup light brown sugar

- ¼ cup maple syrup

- ¾ cup heavy cream or half-and-half

- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

- 1 large egg, room temperature

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

- ½ teaspoon salt

• First, make the dough. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to distribute. Add in the butter cubes, and use your hands to combine the flour-butter mixture until it achieves a coarse crumb.

• Turn the dough out onto a work surface and drizzle the ice water over it. Comb through with your fingers, then knead the dough until it comes together into a shaggy mass. Form the dough into a rough disc, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Roll out the dough to an 11-inch round on a lightly floured work surface. Use the rolling pin to transfer the dough to a pie pan or pie plate. Pleat or crimp the edges as preferred, and trim away any overhang. Line the pan with a sheet of parchment paper, then fill it with pie weights. Bake for 7–10 minutes until the crust is a pale shade of golden brown. Remove the pie weights and let the crust cool.

• Combine the brown sugar, maple syrup, heavy cream, melted butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl to make the pie filling.

• Pour the filling into the par-baked crust, and return it to the oven. Bake until the crust and top of the pie are golden brown, and the filling is set around the edges (it should still have a slight jiggle at the center, much like pumpkin pie), about 40 minutes.