Description
Virginia Peanut Pie is a classic Southern dessert featuring a flaky pie crust filled with a rich, sweet, and nutty filling made from corn syrup, brown sugar, eggs, butter, and roasted salted peanuts. This pie is baked to a golden finish and set with a crunchy peanut texture, perfect for gatherings and special occasions.
Ingredients
Scale
Pie Crust
- 1 9-inch pie crust
Filling
- 3/4 cup light corn syrup
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick), melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups roasted salted peanuts
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F to ensure it reaches the correct temperature for baking the pie perfectly.
- Prepare Pie Crust: Line a 9-inch pie plate with the pie crust, crimping the edges as desired. Place the crust in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the filling, which helps prevent shrinking during baking.
- Make Filling Mixture: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the light corn syrup, packed light brown sugar, room temperature eggs, melted unsalted butter, and vanilla extract until smoothly combined.
- Prepare Peanuts: Use a rolling pin to lightly crush about half of the roasted salted peanuts, leaving roughly large pieces to maintain texture. Add both the crushed and whole peanuts to the filling mixture and stir until evenly combined.
- Assemble Pie: Pour the peanut filling evenly into the chilled pie crust, smoothing the top gently.
- Bake Pie: Place the pie on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake until the filling is set and slightly puffed, about 1 hour.
- Cool and Set: Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature. Let it sit for at least 3 hours before slicing to ensure the filling fully sets and slices cleanly.
- Serve: Slice and serve the Virginia Peanut Pie. Enjoy this rich, nutty classic dessert!
Notes
- Chilling the pie crust before adding the filling helps prevent the crust from shrinking during baking.
- Lightly crushing half the peanuts retains a pleasant crunch and texture inside the pie.
- Letting the pie sit for at least 3 hours is crucial for the filling to fully set.
- You can substitute roasted unsalted peanuts and add a pinch of salt if you prefer a less salty pie.
- Use room temperature eggs to ensure the filling mixes smoothly without curdling.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/9 of pie)
- Calories: 410 kcal
- Sugar: 28 g
- Sodium: 170 mg
- Fat: 26 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 16 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 75 mg
