Walnut Sesame Pie

Undoubtedly, any request for a pie (recipe) I've made comes from this little book I bought when I was preparing to live in Prague.

The cranberry is a standard for us in the fall and the Walnut-Sesame is Kevin's favorite. I made it this week and had to guard the last piece for him. I figured if I didn't he would complain that one of the kids ate the last piece and I'd be obligated to make another.

It is similar to a pecan pie with the gooey toasted nut filling but with a unique sesame flavor. The walnuts perfectly balance the sweet.

It is really hard to tell the kids to eat right when your husband rationalizes that pie has nuts, wheat flour, eggs... and is better than a donut for breakfast! Of course he says that about cake too.

Don't let the length of this post make you doubt that this is as easy as pie.

A fabulous pie crust recipe is:

1 cup of butter flavored crisco
(I am not going to get into butter vs. shortening, I use crisco here because it is easier to work with ,for my schedule, than butter and cheaper. Butter makes a superior pie, if you do it right. OK, so I got into it a little.)
3 cups of white flour
1 cup of sugar

I use a kitchen aid to cut the shortening into the flour. I know gourmet cooks will scoff but I have enough to do and I like the speed. Just be careful that you don't overwork the mixture. Watch it close and run it for the shortest time possible. You don't want any large chunks of shortening left.

Then I freeze the mixture for at least a half hour.

Take the mixture from the freezer and with a wooden spoon stir in a little less than a half cup of water. You just want to pull the dough together. (If my hands are really warm I run them under cold water a minute before I touch the mixture.)

Then lay half of the mixture on a piece of wax paper or silicone mat and roll it out. Here is a little more info about pie crusts from the quiche recipe.

Repeat with the second half of the crust mixture. Use that for a top crust or freeze it for a future pie. It is so convenient to pull out a pre-rolled pie crust when you are short on time! If you get into the habit of doubling what you need and freezing the surplus, you will save time another day.

It is is a warm day I will freeze my crust a little at this point before I bake it.

The walnut pie requires a partially baked crust. Partially baking a crust usually causes it to shrink. So you can make the crust a little long and press the edges up tall and/or place a piece of aluminum foil at the bottom of the unbaked crust and put about 1 cup of dry beans inside to help hold it in place.

Here it is what you waded through all of my rambling to get:

Preheat the oven 350 degrees. Combine in a bowl-
3 eggs
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of corn syrup (dark or light)
4 Tbl. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup white sesame seeds

Pour into the partially baked crust (which has cooled about 15 minutes) Bake about 50 minutes until a knife inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Do not over-bake it. Serve warm or at room temperature.