PIE #48 - Eggnog Pie

Eggnog is a traditional holiday beverage in my house. As a child I looked forward to sipping the thick slurry spiced with nutmeg each Christmas season. My parents would make their own adult version called Tom and Jerry, a warm eggnog drink spiked with brandy and rum. Whether trimming the tree, decorating sugar cookies, or hosting a neighborhood open house, eggnog was ever present and indelibly infused into each Christmas memory I have as a child.

I carried on the eggnog tradition after I got married. The Christmas of 1985 (right on the heels of my Thanksgiving pumpkin pie fiasco), I purchased a carton of eggnog to sip while decorating the Christmas tree. Much to my dismay, I discovered that my husband Joe detested eggnog. This did not deter my resolve to make it a holiday standard, however. A few years later, after my firstborn Kara was a toddler, I was delighted that she fell in love with eggnog after her first sip. My son Drew, however, inherited his dad's distaste of it. Oh, well. I'll have to settle for 50% of the family being pro-eggnog.

Kara adores all things Christmas, so much so that every year we launch prematurely into the holiday hoopla by trimming the tree the first weekend of November. Of course, eggnog is the first holiday food purchase of the season. As I write this on November 4, I am anticipating my daughter's upcoming visit this weekend where we will continue the tradition of decking the Coco halls early.

In honor of this tradition, I have baked an eggnog pie. The filling is rich with a dense, creamy texture, almost like a cheesecake. I decided upon a crust made with, of all things, 7-Up soda. I had a recent conversation with a woman who went through life trying to perfect her pie crust. She at last found the 7-up crust recipe that she claimed was her pie salvation. When I found the recipe online, I read a hilarious quote about it. "If your pie crusts tend to look like Frankenstein's monster, this recipe will cure it." Indeed, I discovered my pie crust rolled out easily and didn't shrink, buckle or devolve into a contorted wreck while baking.

This year, a slice of eggnog pie will go along with a mug of eggnog. Perhaps a new tradition has been born!

Crust:
2 3/4 - 3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup shortening, chilled
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold 7-Up soda

Cut butter and shortening into 2 3/4 cup flour. Add 7-Up. Mix until flour is moistened through. Add more flour if dough is too sticky. Form dough into two discs. Wrap one well in plastic wrap and freeze for a later use.

On a sheet of lightly floured waxed paper, roll the pastry into a 12-inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Invert the pastry over a 9-inch pie pan, center, and peel off the paper. Tuck the pastry into the pan, without stretching it, and sculpt the edge decoratively over the pan rim. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove and line pastry shell with foil and place dried beans or pie weights into foil to prevent pastry from puffing up during baking. Pre-bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Remove foil, beans or pie weights and then prick the pastry all over the bottom with a fork. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake the pie shell for 10-12 minutes. Watch carefully. If the pie shell starts to puff up, prick the problem spot with a fork. Remove from oven and cool.

Filling:
1 1/2 cups dairy eggnog (do not use canned)
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
Whipped cream and nutmeg for garnish

In 1-quart saucepan, place 1 cup of the eggnog. Sprinkle gelatin evenly over eggnog; let stand 1 minute to soften. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat; set aside.

In large bowl, beat powdered sugar, butter and cream cheese with electric mixer on low speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in nutmeg, rum extract, gelatin mixture and remaining 1/2 cup eggnog. Beat on high speed until smooth. Refrigerate about 15 minutes or until mixture mounds slightly when stirred.

Pour filling into cooled crust. Refrigerate pie until firm, about 4 hours. To serve, top each serving with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Cover and refrigerate any remaining pie.