Banana cream pie, with attitude

I want you to make Butter Brickle Banana Cream Pie. You can take a few shortcuts, like buying a prepared pie crust, but the filling and brickle need to be made from scratch. You will make new best friends with this pie and possibly be promoted at work if you bring one to the office potluck.

The pie combines the soft banana slices, smooth vanilla filling and luscious whipped cream topping with the nutty-sweet-buttery candy bits famously laced in ice cream.

The most seemingly daunting part of the recipe is making the butter brickle, which actually is no more difficult than scrambling eggs. Sugar, butter and sliced almonds are heated in a skillet until the butter and sugar melt and the mixture browns. Pour the melange on a large piece of foil to cool and harden. Break in pieces by hand.

Butter brickle is worth the effort even if you don't make the pie. Stir crunchy bits into ice cream or sprinkle over a strawberry-spinach salad.

Butter Brickle Banana Cream Pie

Pie Dough for a 9-inch pie shell, homemade or store-bought
Butter Brickle:
1/2 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds
Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
21/4 cups milk
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large, ripe bananas
Whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Roll out the dough and fit it into a 9-inch pie pan. Trim and flute the edges, then bake the pie shell fully. Cool completely before filling.

To make the butter brickle, line a shallow baking pan with foil. Combine the sugar, butter and almonds in a large skillet. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring almost constantly, until the bubbling mixture turns golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Pour into the foil-lined pan and cool completely; it will harden as it cools. Break the butter brickle into pieces and chop coarsely in a food processor. Set aside.

To make the filling, in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Pour in the milk and whisk until smooth. Place over moderate heat and cook, whisking almost constantly, until the mixture boils.

Cook, whisking constantly, for about 2 minutes; then whisk in the egg yolks.Bring the mixture back to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Set aside to cool for about 20 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times.

To assemble the pie, spread about 1/2 cup of the chopped butter brickle in the baked pie shell. Peel the bananas and slice them about 1/4-inch thick, placing the slices over the butter brickle as you work.

Cover the bananas with the filling and cool to room temperature. Sprinkle the filling with another 1/2 cup of the butter brickle. Prepare the whipped cream and spread it over the pie. Sprinkle with the remaining butter brickle.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. This pie is particularly good served within a couple of hours. If you need to wait longer, the brickle will gradually soften but will not lose its flavor.

Source: "Pie Pie Pie" by John Phillip Carroll (Chronicle Books, $19.95).

Basic All-American Pie Dough
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

To make a 9-inch pie shell, combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Drop in the shortening and then, with your fingers, break it into several pieces as you push it around the flour. Rub the shortening into the flour while keeping the mixture light-textured and dry. It should resemble a mixture of coarse and fine bread crumbs.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of water over the dough and stir briskly with a fork. Continue adding water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring after each addition and concentrating on the areas of the dough that seem the driest. When the dough forms a rough, cohesive mass, reach into the bowl and press the dough together into a roundish ball. If it doesn't hold together, or if parts of it seem crumbly and dry, sprinkle on a little more water.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is about 12 inches around. Pick up the dough gently and place it into the pie pan. If it tears, push it back together.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Fold and flute the rim of the pie shell, and then prick the dough all over the bottom and sides with a table fork.

Press a 12-inch square of heavy-duty foil (or a double-thick square of regular foil) snugly into the pie shell, over the bottom and sides of the dough. Bake for about 8 minutes, until the edges of the dough are beginning to look dry but not browned. If they still look wet, bake the shell a couple minutes longer. Remove the foil and bake for 6 to 10 minutes more. The pie shell is done when the dough is light brown and looks dry all over. Cool before filling.

Source: "Pie Pie Pie" by John Phillip Carroll (Chronicle Books, 2005; $19.95).