Boiled Apple Cider Maple Pie

I've been making a certain boiled cider pie recipe for a while but usually for other people so I rarely got to try it myself.  Then a couple of years ago I made it for Thanksgiving and apparently was disappointed enough with the result that I told my friend who was hosting to remind me to retire the recipe.

Well, it's a good thing she keeps notes because she she reminded me the following year, I had totally forgotten and was thinking about making it again!

This year, I remembered that she had told me to retire the pie, but I was still intrigued with the idea of a pie that used boiled apple cider as a base so I decided to do some research and see if I could find another recipe to try.  I found one called Apple Cider Chess Pie that sounded pretty much like what I wanted to make and lo and behold, when I clicked on the link, it turns out it was my recipe!  Apparently I had had the same idea last year, developed a pie based on Sister Pie's salted maple pie, posted it on Food52, and then completely forgot about it!

Unfortunately when I went to make the pie this year, I realized I had forgotten the butter in the ingredient list but I couldn't figure out how to edit the recipe on the Food52 website, so I figured I should document it here, which I probably should have done in the first place.

Boiled Apple Cider Maple Pie
makes one 9" pie

Your favorite pie crust, blind baked and cooled (I like Erin McDowell's All Buttah Pie Dough)
4 cup apple cider

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 
3 large eggs, divided
Kosher salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of freshly grated nutmeg
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Boil the apple cider in a large saucepan until reduced to ~1/2 cup. When it gets close to that point, it will get thick and very bubbly so make sure to watch it closely so that it doesn't boil over. It should be about as thick as maple syrup and will get even thicker upon cooling. This may take around 20-30 minutes, depending on how large your pot is. Transfer the boiled cider to a pint-sized measuring cup and allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In the same saucepan (no need to clean it), melt the butter. I like to brown my butter for extra flavor, but you can just melt it too.

In the measuring cup that the boiled cider is in, add enough maple syrup to reach 1 cup total (i.e. ~1/2 cup of syrup). Add to the melted butter and whisk in the brown sugar, cornmeal, a pinch of salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In a medium bowl, whisk 1 egg with a splash of water and small pinch of salt. Brush the crimped edges of the blind-baked pie crust with the egg wash. Then add the remaining 2 eggs, egg yolk, heavy cream, and vanilla extract to the bowl and whisk to combine.

Slowly add the egg mixture to the boiled cider mixture and whisk to combine. Place the pie crust on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pour the filling in until it reaches the bottom of the crimps (you may have some extra filling, in which case you can pour it into a small ramekin and bake it alongside the pie for a baker's treat).

Bake for 45 - 60 minutes until the edges are puffy and the center only jiggles slightly. When done, wait until it has completely cooled to slice and serve. It will slice best if chilled in the refrigerator.

Previously:  Passion Fruit Nian Gao with Red Dragon Passion Fruit Spread