Big Weather's Big Recipe: Muscadine Pie

One of the things I love about fall...produce! We get so many great things in our fall harvest and in North Carolina, one of those things is Muscadine grapes.

You may have heard of Muscadine wine, but I wanted to make something non-alcoholic. This recipe was sent to me last year from a viewer who wanted to remain anonymous.

So I got to work and made it for the first time. I'll tell you, it won't be the last time. Let's get to it!

Ingredients

6 cups muscadine grapes

1/2 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 egg beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon milk

Extra sugar to sprinkle

1 box of premade pie crusts (2 to a box)

Vanilla ice cream, to serve

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425 and place rack on second lowest setting

2. Separate the grape skins and the insides into two different pans

3. Add water to the skins and bring both pans to a boil over medium-high heat

4. Boil for 15 minutes stirring frequently

5. Remove from heat. Stir sugar into skins, strain the insides through a metal strainer. Discard the seeds and insides.

6. Place both skins and insides into a blender and pulse several times to make small chunks

7. Pour into the bowl and add the following ingredients: cornstarch, egg, cinnamon

8. Hand mix the ingredients and pour into a pie dish lined with one of the two pie crusts

9. Cut second crust into strips to make a lattice on top.

10. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar

11. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce heat and continue to bake for 30 minutes until bubbly

12. Cool on rack for, at least, 45 minutes

13. Serve with Ice Cream

This took a little work, but it was SO worth it. The pie is tart, and the ice cream works REALLY well with it. My wife is notorious for NOT wanting to try new things, and she loved this. Hopefully, you will too!