Butterscotch Pretzel Pie

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Our day was pretty low key for the most part and it was wonderful! Too many years we are rushed from one family to the next which leaves about an hour for naps for the little ones and it's just impossible. This year we ate with my husband's family and then went to a hockey game at night with mine. Next year we'll switch.

I know what you're probably thinking, another pie?! I've bombarded you with pie recipes this week but I promise this will be the last for awhile and it's a goody! I made this yesterday for our Thanksgiving meal, I'd never tried the recipe before and could only hope that Paula Deen would come through for me. Did she ever.

Last year for Christmas I received her newest cookbook, Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible. Can you believe that I haven't even tried one single recipe yet? I've started going through some of my cookbooks lately and tagging recipes I want to try with strips of post-it notes to make it easier for me when menu planning, etc. With a cookbook collection like mine it just makes it easier for me and I don't get overwhelmed when trying to find new inspiration.

I have to say the first thing I love about this pie was the fact that I was using staple ingredients in my pantry and fridge.  Combining graham cracker and pretzels into one crust is just genius, it went together so well and I love that sweet and salty combo. I don't think I've made my own pudding before but this was super easy, I'm confident you'll have no troubles and it tastes wonderful. I did cheat and use whipped topping instead of making my own from heavy cream but you can certainly make your own.

By looks you might be unsure if this is something you would like, I get that. But seriously; this crust is amazing, the pudding filling is so smooth and it just works well together. If you've still got another Thanksgiving celebration to attend this weekend, this pie would be great to bring along.

Butterscotch Pretzel Pie

Ingredients:
Crust:
3/4 c crushed graham cracker crumbs
3/4 c pretzel crumbs
2 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp melted butter

Filling:
3/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c cornstarch
Pinch of salt
3 egg yolks
2 c whole milk
2 tbsp cold butter, cut into small bits
2 tsp vanilla
Whipped topping, to serve with

Directions:
Combine graham cracker,pretzel crumbs and sugar into a medium bowl. Add in melted butter until it forms a crumbly mixture. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 350 for 8-10 mins. until crust is firm. Set aside to cool.

To make filling; in a medium bowl whisk together brown sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add in egg yolks and 1/2 cup of milk, whisk thoroughly to combine. In a saucepan heat the remaining 1 1/2 cups of milk over medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and slowly add the hot milk to the mixture, whisking constantly. You want to be careful not to scramble the eggs. Return the entire mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to boil and thicken, about 3-5 mins. Remove from heat, whisk in butter and vanilla until smooth.

Pour filling into cooled pie crust and smooth the surface with a spatula. Cover the surface entirely with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming. Make sure plastic wrap is right up again the filling. Place in fridge until cooled and set, at least 2 hours. Serve with whipped topping if desired.