Pinto Bean Pie (The Depression Pie That Tastes Like Pecan Pie)

Ingredients

Makes one 9-inch pie, 8 slices. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.

• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust, homemade or store-bought
• 1 cup cooked pinto beans (about 180g), drained well, cooked plain without seasoning
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (113g), melted
• 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (100g)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• A pinch of ground cinnamon (about 1/4 teaspoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

Beans cooked from dried, with no salt or onion in the pot, are best. Canned pinto beans work if you rinse them very well under cold water and drain them until they are dry. Measure the beans whole, before mashing.

How to make pinto bean pie

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Fit the crust into a 9-inch pie plate, crimp the edge, and put it in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
2. Mash the beans until nothing is left of them. Push them through a fine sieve with the back of a spoon into a bowl, scraping the paste off the underside, or run them in a food processor for a full minute, scraping down the sides once. You want a completely smooth paste with no skins and no lumps, about 3/4 cup.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar until smooth and glossy, with no lumps of brown sugar.
4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, cinnamon and salt.
5. Add the bean paste and whisk until the filling is uniform, thick and the color of caramel, with no pale streaks. If you can see even a fleck of bean skin, push the whole filling through the sieve. It is worth the two minutes.
6. Pour the filling into the cold crust and smooth the top. Set the pie on a baking sheet.
7. Bake at 350°F for 50 to 55 minutes, until the top is brown and crackled all over, the edges are set, and the center barely trembles when you nudge the plate, like set gelatin. A knife pushed in an inch from the edge should come out clean.
8. Cool the pie completely on a rack, at least 3 hours. The filling finishes setting as it cools. Slice it at room temperature or cold, and do not tell anyone what it is until the plates are empty.

Tips that make the difference

• Drain the beans until they are dry. Watery beans make a filling that weeps and will not set.
• The brown sugar must dissolve completely into the butter before the eggs go in, or the top bakes up spotty.
• If the crust edge browns before the filling is done, cover it with a ring of foil for the last 15 minutes.
• Serve it the way you would serve pecan pie: a small slice, cold or at room temperature, with whipped cream. Nobody will ask.

Variations

• Pecan top. For the version that gives the game away, scatter 1/2 cup pecan halves (55g) over the filling before baking. The taste is even closer.
• Brown sugar only. Use 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar (300g) and no granulated sugar for a darker, more molasses-flavored pie.
• Coconut. Stir 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut (45g) into the filling for a texture more like a chess pie.
• Little pies. Pour the filling into 24 unbaked tart shells and bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes, for a potluck table.