Thanksgiving at the Chef’s Table: Brown Butter Smoked Salted Honey Pie

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Thanksgiving brings a lot of delicious recipes to the table, from turkey and stuffing to apple pie, pecan pie and sweet potato pie. This Thanksgiving, impress your family by cooking dessert like a pro and creating this dish by NC Pastry Chef Savanna Brodar!

Savanna Brodar is the Executive Pastry Chef at The Country Club of North Carolina (CCNC) in Pinehurst. Savanna has always had a passion for cooking and loves to use local products anytime she can. Prior to her time at The Country Club of North Carolina, Savanna served as the executive pastry chef for The Ballantyne Hotel in Charlotte. Since graduating from Johnson and Wales University in 2014, Savanna has also worked for The Ritz Carlton and the Kimpton Tryon Park Hotel in Charlotte.

This past year, Savanna was named the 2024 Pastry Chef of the Year at the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association (NCRLA) Chef Showdown event in Raleigh. Each year, this event celebrates the most talented chefs and mixologists in our state, as well as a variety of local products for them to cook with. The Chef Showdown began in March and featured over 80 contestants. Through preliminary events, chefs and mixologists were narrowed down to the final contestants. At the final event, chefs and mixologists were given a local product to create a dish with that wowed the judges. Both judges and audience members could vote on their favorite dishes and drinks. Chef Brodar won the judges, and the crowd, over this year with her Pinehurst Beehive, which featured honey mascarpone mousse, candied sweet potatoes, candied bacon, spiced pecans and brown butter oat cake. In addition to the title of “2024 Pastry Chef of the Year,” Savanna Brodar also became a 2024 Got to Be NC Chef Ambassador, where she was given many opportunities to be showcased on social media, radio/tv interviews, and on-site events throughout the year.

For Thanksgiving, Savanna enjoys cooking a variety of delicious dishes for her family, but her Brown Butter Smoked Salted Honey Pie is a crowd favorite! Try it for yourself this holiday season and impress all your friends by cooking like a seasoned pro!

Brown Butter Smoked Salted Honey Pie

Makes one 9-inch pie

Ingredients:

For the Pie Crust:

  • 150 grams (1 1/4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 113 grams (1 stick, 8 tablespoons) cold, unsalted butter
  • 120 grams (1/2 cup) cold water
  • 30 grams (2 tablespoons) apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup ice cubes

For the Filling:

  • 113 grams (1 stick, 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
  • 150 (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons white cornmeal
  • 3/4 teaspoon smoked salt
  • seeds from 2 vanilla beans
  • 255 grams (3/4 cup) honey
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 120 grams (1/2 cup) heavy cream, plus an extra tablespoon for decorating
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1-2 teaspoons soft sea salt flakes (for finishing)

Directions: 

Make the Crust:

  1. Whisk flour, salt, and sugar together.
  2. Add water, vinegar, and ice cubes into a bowl together.
  3. Cut and mix the butter into the flour mixture until the largest piece is pea-sized.
  4. Sprinkle on the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time so that you can gather the dough into a cohesive mass. (chef note: I used 4 tablespoons, but this is highly variable! Use your hands and eyes to judge this.)
  5. Divide dough into two unequal disks: one that is 3/4 of the dough and one that is a little less than 1/4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  6. Roll out the large disk into a 10.5 inch round and drape over the pie plate, crimping the edges, then refrigerate.
  7. Roll the other disk out and cut out shapes as desired; freeze the shapes while you make the filling and preheat the oven.
  8. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Make the Filling:

  1. Brown butter in a large saucepan until it is darkened and nutty-smelling.
  2. Pour over granulated sugar.
  3. Whisk in cornmeal, smoked salt, vanilla beans, and honey (mixture may not homogenize at this point due to the large amount of fat).
  4. Whisk in eggs one at a time, making sure that they fully incorporate before adding the next.
  5. Whisk in the heavy cream and apple cider vinegar.
  6. Strain the mixture through a sieve directly into the pie crust.
  7. Place pie on a baking sheet and place in the oven.
  8. When the filling has partially set (still wobbly and jiggly in the center, but not runny at all), about 35 minutes, brush the extra tablespoon of cream over your frozen decorative shapes.
  9. Remove pie from the oven, and arrange shapes (carefully!) how you desire.
  10. Return pie to the oven on the top rack to encourage browning of the decorations and bake for an additional 10-20 minutes, or until the center is barely jiggly and the pie has puffed on the edges and the decorations are browned.
  11. Allow to cool completely, then ideally chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. (Chef note: The texture will be better if allowed to chill down, but serving from room temperature is also good! Don’t sweat it too much.)
  12. Enjoy!
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