Happiness Is a Brown Sugar Pie

A couple of days ago I wrote about happiness in old age and how different it is from the happiness of youth. In youth we explore. In old age we relish what we’ve found.

My pal Barbara and I agree that one major source of happiness for us is good homemade food. Having been around for more than seven decades, we know good food and we know how to prepare it. So do most of our friends.

Both Barb and I wear hearing aids, which make eating in restaurants a trial. Restaurants, especially those with the trendy stark décor, are too noisy. The food is almost always disappointing. We prefer to eat at home or with friends in their homes. After all, we can cook!

Not only can we cook, we also can innovate and try new recipes. Yesterday, for example, I made some sugar pies. Sugar pies traditionally are made from scraps of pie dough, rolled thin, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, and baked. My grandmother made them, my mother made them, and I’ve made them my whole life as a cook.

I thought sugar pies would be a good accompaniment to egg custard – something crisp to complement the custard’s soft texture. I had made the custard using brown sugar, so I decided to carry that theme on in the sugar pies. Instead of sprinkling white sugar and cinnamon on the rolled-out piecrust, I sprinkled on brown sugar mixed with cinnamon. Here half of the sugar pies are, ready to bake.

I baked them for 14 minutes in a 375º oven. I knew they were done when the aroma of melting brown sugar drifted through the kitchen.

The brown sugar, melting, forms a crusty, crunchy top. We can’t stop eating them!

Happiness is a brown sugar pie!

Copyright 2014 by Shirley Domer