Served at a popular Texas cafeteria called Luby's, Luby's Butternut Brownie Pie is one of our family's favorite pie. To be honest, I haven't been to Luby's in ages nor do I remember seeing this pie, but my mother recalls it quite vividly and says this version is similar.
And here's a slightly better photo. I had to wait until daylight when the light was better. The one above it was taken at night.
Oddly enough, there is no chocolate in this pie, yet it still has "brownie" in the title. It is kind of a brownish color, though, so maybe the name Butternut Brownie Pie comes from that.
Here's what it looks like assembled in a pie dish. In this shot it is baked, but not topped with whipped cream.
And here it is with a whipped cream topping.
Here's an older shot from back when I didn't put a crust under it.
And again -- an old photo of the no-crust version taken out of the oven. The orange stuff is crushed Butterfinger candy. It's marking the small quadrant where I mixed a bit of Butterfinger into the pie filling to see how it would taste. It's probably going to be too sweet, but I will let you know (Update: Okay, but not great. Don't bother with the Butterfinger).
Update: I've made this pie many times since posting, and since then I've started building the pie on a baked pie crust. It slices neatly with a crust underneath and looks better. However, no crust is necessary. The original recipe is baked in a greased pie dish with no crust. Also, I do bake it at 350 rather than 300. The original version in the Luby's cookbook calls for 300 degrees, but at some point I changed the temperature to 350. Here are a few pictures of the latest pie.
The filling is in the crust and ready to go.
Just out of the oven. The pie puffs up quite a bit, but will settle as it cools.
Here it is with getting topped with whipped cream. Hooray!
Ready to eat! I sprinkled some crushed graham crackers over this one just for fun.
Recipe
Luby's Butternut Brownie Pie
Ingredients
- Butter or shortening for rubbing pie plate about 1 tablespoon OR 1 fully baked pie crust
- 5 large or 4 "extra large" egg whites
- ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar or just leave it out
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 14 graham cracker squares broken into half inch pieces or crushed
- 1 cup chopped toasted pecans
- Optional: ¼ cup of butterscotch chips worth throwing in if you have some
Topping:
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 3-4 tablespoons granulated sugar or ¼ cup powdered
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (Note: Other recipes use 300, but I use 350).
- Rub a 9 inch glass pie plate (I use a deep dish) generously with butter. Alternatively, have ready a pre-baked pie crust.
- In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and baking powder until soft peaks form. Add cream of tartar, beating constantly. Add 1 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating constantly until stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla. Using a rubber scraper, fold in graham crackers and chopped, toasted pecans. Pour mixture into pie plate (or baked pie shell) and bake for 30 minutes.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack. The pie will sink a bit as it cools.
- Prepare topping. In a chilled bowl, using chilled beaters, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar and vanilla and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Do not overbeat. Top pie with whipped cream. Garnish with extra pecans if desired.
Notes
Here are some older Butternut Brownie Pie photos which I'm keeping for posterity.
Anna
Hello Vanessa,
I love how Texans have so many memories of Luby's. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure my mom won't be able to be any more descriptive about the pie, but I'll bet this is the one you remember. It's truly a "different" type of pie, and you can dress it up as much or little as you want with more whipped cream, nuts, different types of crumbs. With all of the whipped cream and nuts I can see how people would get it confused with Millionaire, but in terms of taste and texture it's nothing like that. Let me know if you try it! I need to make it again soon.
Vanessa
For many years, I've been asking about this awesome pie I used to eat with my dad at Luby's when I was a teen. It's been about 20 years since I've had it - and it's since been discontinued, I guess! When I try to describe the pie, some people will say, "oh, you're thinking of the Millionaire Pie", and NO! I am not. That pie is very different. Anyway, I've been searching and searching and stumbled upon this recipe today - I'm going to try it! It looks most similar to what I remember. And if your mom can recall the name of the Luby's pie she's thinking about, PLEASE SHARE! xoxo
Anna
Kathi, since you like the crispy, crunchy crust it's probably best to put it on later. I usually put it on a few hours before serving and have never had an issue with sogginess, but if you are making it a day ahead of time and want to be crunchy, then put it on closer to serving time. Also, when I make the pie I usually serve it on day 1 and then freeze the rest that same day. But I'm guessing you are making it for a group and won't have any leftover to freeze.
Kathi Holsomback
Is it best to put whip cream on right before serving? I have made this before and if I remember correctly the top of pie is a bit crispy or crunchier and I like that, so I don’t want to make it soggy....?
Stephanie
Hi Anna! I have some leftover graham crackers and amazingly, I remembered this pie! Other sources online recommend baking it at 300 degrees for 30 minutes, though. Did you change it upon testing the recipe and should i go 350?
Anna
Lynn, that's interesting! The Millionaire Pie I know is made with whipped cream, pineapples and lots of nuts.
Lynn
This was called Luby's Millionaire Pie. Here in San Angelo, Texas ?
Anna
I hope you like it! My mom used to order it all the time at Luby's so we were really happy when they published the recipe.
Mary L Mathis
Awsome! I've been looking for this for a long time it was my go to desert as a kid and I haven't had it since I moved to louisiana 30 yrs ago. I didn't even know the name of it lol. Thanks so much
Anna
Hi Dedra,
I hope you like it!
Dedra Amato
This was my very favorite pie growing up as a kid and going to Luby's! I can't believe I found your recipe! My pie is in the oven now!
Thank you!
Dedra
Krystle
This was my absolute favorite dessert at Luby's. Its cooling right now... I cant wait to put the whip cream on it and dig in. I will be back to let u know how it came out....
Anna
Hi Terri
It's been a while since I made this, but I knew I'd forget whether it was squares or rectangles so I wrote "squares". So if you make it, use 14 squares. If you feel it's not enough, you can throw in some more.
terri
i'm confused. is it really only 14 of the squares of graham crackers or 14 of the rectangles? 14 squares doesn't sound like enough
Anna
Hi Sarah,
Thanks so much for your comment!
If you get a chance, please tell your aunt I said thanks for making it. I was very happy with the recipe too and posted it because it seemed unique.
Sarah
This is the best pie I have ever tasted in forever... my aunt made it for thanksgiving and i got to try a piece and it is awesome~!!
Anna
I took a look at the Culinate site Carol posted. Wow! It's pretty neat. Thanks so much to those of you who voted. I really appreciate it.
Poutine
Whenever I think of Luby's, I think of that horrible shooting there. My ex's dad loved Luby's and we used to go there a lot in AZ. I never had this pie though.
Kristen
This pie looks scrumptious! Creamy and delicious.
Anj
That's a really neat website. You're up to 17 this morning -- go Anna!
Debbi
Anna - if that Culinate contest is real you should post it on your site. I just saw that your blog is #24. The contest just runs through next week. Might be fun to see where you end up.
Claire
This pie looks really good. I hope I get a chance to try it. I thought it said buttermilk...reading too fast!
carole
that is the wrond url. here is the correct one.
http://www.culinate.com/grillme/register
carole
Hey, everyone. If you go to this web site and register you can win a cookbook.
While you are there enter cookie madness as your favorite food blog and Anna can win a prize, too.
http://www.glam.com/g/p/3014655/49247976/5/49247976/5/49247976_1/205/147682702/?page=9
always write
This could be quite diet-friendly, using low-fat grahams, replacing 1/3 to 1/2 sugar with Splenda, and topping with Cool Whip instead of creme. (Lactose intolerant-friendly too 🙂
Anna
Ingrid, thanks for trying it so quickly. The pie has gone global.
Here's my pie report.
My mother and her boyfriend stopped by for a quick visit so I gave them a slice of pie. George loved it and my mother commented on how she'd tasted this pie at some point in her life but didn't know what it was or where she had it (Luby's maybe??). She liked it enough that it brought back a taste memory, so that was good.
I saved the Butterfinger quadrant for myself. It wasn't bad, but I think I'd try using chocolate grahams or playing with other buttery flavors before adding candy.
Ingrid, your fast dutch friend :)
Hi Anna,
I saw the recipe on your blog this morning before I went to work.
Gathered the ingredients so that when I got back all I had to do was make it, and bake it.
And, as I said, we love it.
I had it for dessert just two hours ago and allready long for a second piece
(my poor diet)
Ingrid
Anna
Hi Amy,
My friend in The Netherlands just made this pie (she's FAST!) and said she liked it too. Good question about the name. It sounds like either a brownie pie or a squash pie.
George is genuinely nice and I guess that comes across on TV. My mom and dad both commented (separate phone calls from separate towns) on how funny he was and what a good job he did. My dad is a barbecue expert and was very, very impressed at George's success at the Humble Barbecue Cook-Off.
Amy
So why is it called butternut pie? I was expecting a sweet potato pie like recipe, but no. Then I thought, "Lots of butter and nuts?" But no to that too. Interesting.
I saw you on Secret Life Of. . .this week. I think george Duran is funny.