Mamaw Nicholas's Tyler Pie

Depending on where you're from, grandmothers are called nanas, grannies, grams, grammies, meemaws and a host of other names. And if you're from the part of Appalachia where I was raised, they're called mamaws. (Grandfathers are papaws.)

My Mamaw Nicholas was known for four dishes--fried potatoes, deviled eggs, potato salad and Tyler Pie, sweet filling rich in eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla served in a flaky pastry shell.

According to family legend, my father once ate an entire Tyler Pie. (Yes, it's that good.) It's also extremely rich. He got so sick that he vowed he'd never eat another piece for as long as he lived. As far as I know, he didn't, which was fine with the rest of us since it meant more pie for everybody else.

Hope you enjoy Mamaw Nicholas's Tyler Pie, too. (Just don't make a pig of yourself, okay?)

Ingredients

• 3 C. sugar
• 1 C. butter (at room temperature)
• 4 Tbsp. flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 eggs
• 3 tsp. vanilla
• 1 C. milk
• 1 unbaked pie crust

Step One

Bring the oven to 450 degrees. Meanwhile, cream together softened butter and sugar until the mixture is a fluffy light yellow.

Step Two

Sprinkle in the flour and salt, mixing well. At this point, the batter will be very thick.

Step Three

Add well-beaten eggs, and then the milk and vanilla. Mix until the batter changes from golden to pale yellow.

Step Four

Pour batter into unbaked pie shell.

Step Four

Place in oven. Immediately reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake one hour or until set.