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Bob Andy Pie: An Amish Custard Pie
Bob Andy Pie is a delicious Amish recipe that originated in the Midwest. It can be described as similar to a Hoosier Sugar Cream pie with added spice. As the custard bakes, the cinnamon and whipped egg whites float to the top, creating a distinctive striped look, with a dark top and a white custard filling. Bob Andy pie is a delicious and easy pie to make with pantry staples.
What is Bob Andy Pie?
Bob Andy pie is a lesser known pie that’s most often found in the Amish communities of the Midwest states, particularly Indiana and Iowa. It’s sometimes compared to an Indiana Sugar Cream Pie. The two pies are quite similar, although Bob Andy Pie has spices mixed into the filling. The result is a delicious sweet, spiced vanilla custard in a flaky pie crust.
There are two different styles of Bob Andy pie. One kind whisks all the eggs together into a more typical custard base, while the other separates the eggs and whips the egg whites into a foam. The whipped egg whites are then gently folded back into the custard base. This recipe uses whipped egg whites to create a more distinctive layered look to the final pie.
History of Bob Andy Pie
Bob Andy Pie might seem like an odd name for a pie. The pie has origins in the Amish communities of the Midwest, particularly Indiana and Iowa. The story goes that an Amish farmer returned from working in the fields, and his wife had made him this pie with what she found in her pantry. Supposedly, he declared that the pie was as good as “Bob and Andy,” his best workhorses. There’s also a more mundane story that the pie was named after her two sons, Bob and Andy. Regardless of whether either of the origin stories are actually true, they’re cute stories for a deliciously sweet pie!
The earliest published recipe I can find for this pie is in The Lawrenceburg Baptist Cookbook published in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky in 1913. However, unlike some other claims that don’t have primary sources and I’m pretty confident can be debunked (spaghetti pie being from Colorado for example), I’m pretty sure Bob Andy Pie truly is Midwest Amish. This is for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a pretty unusual pie, and you’re not going to find a lot of people that know what a Bob Andy Pie is off the top of their head. Second, almost every reference I can find to Bob Andy pie starts with a story about a recipe passed down for generations from a grandma or great-grandma that lived in Indiana near or in an Amish community.
The pie certainly has strong ties to Amish identity, being published by many Amish news sites, featured on Amish social media pages, and written about by bloggers who have connections to Amish heritage.
A pie shop in Baltimore called Dangerously Delicious Pies claims that in his family, Bob Andy Pie is also called White Trash Crème Brulée. Although the pie shop is on the East Coast, the recipe is from his Dad and Uncle who grew up in the Midwest.
Step-by-Step Bob Andy Pie Recipe
Crust:
Bob Andy pie is most often made in a dark, blind-baked flaky pie shell. You can find my recipe for all-butter pie crust here. However, I’ve tried this pie in a graham cracker crust as well and it’s just as delicious. Around the holidays, it would make a great unique pie in a gingersnap crust.
Bob Andy Pie Recipe:
Ingredients
- ⅔c Granulated Sugar (135g)
- ⅔c Brown Sugar (135g)
- 1c Whole Milk (237ml)
- ⅜c Heavy Whipping Cream (90ml)
- 2 Eggs, separated
- 4t All-Purpose Flour (10g)
- 1t Vanilla Extract (5ml)
- ½t Ground Cinnamon
- ¼t Ground Cloves
- ¼t Salt
1.
Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C).
2.
Whisk together sugars, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and flour.
3.
Whisk together the egg yolks, milk, cream, and vanilla extract together. Slowly add this mixture to the sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and flour while whisking continuously.
4.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form.
5.
Gently fold or whisk the whipped egg whites into the rest of the custard filling mixture until no clumps of egg whites remain. However, be sure not to whisk out all of the air bubbles.
6.
Pour the Bob Andy pie filling into your prepared, blind-baked pie crust.
7.
Bake the pie for 35-45 minutes until the custard is set at the edges but still slightly jiggly in the center.
8.
Remove the pie from the oven, and allow it to cool to room temperature on the counter.
9.
Refrigerate the pie until set.
10.
Slice and serve!
Some accounts of people reminiscing about Bob Andy pie on social media say that their families would dig into the pie as soon as it came out of the oven. Other people typically eat the pie chilled. Try your Bob Andy pie warm and chilled and see which you prefer!
How to Separate Eggs for Bob Andy Pie:
Some recipes of Bob Andy pie call for separating the egg yolks and egg whites. Other recipes don’t. This recipe is one that separates the egg whites from the egg yolks. In testing this recipe, I found that folding whipped egg whites into the custard base led to a more distinctive 2-layer appearance in the final baked pie.
You can separate eggs with a special egg separator tool that is very affordable online. Or you can use the egg shell itself or clean hands to separate the whites from the yolks.
The most important part is to cleanly crack the eggs so the yolk does not break when the egg is opened. Then either crack the egg into an egg separator, or, using clean hands, lift the yolk out of the bowl and allow the egg whites to slip through your fingers.
Other Amish Pies to Try
- Dutch Apple Pie – A classic Pennsylvania Dutch dessert with a spiced apple filling topped with a buttery crumb topping. Also called an apple crumble pie. This is a classic apple pie with a crumb topping.
- Shoofly Pie – This iconic pie comes in two versions: wet-bottom and dry-bottom. Wet-bottom is more common, featuring a molasses custard filling topped with crumbs.
- Oatmeal Pie – Sometimes called “mock pecan pie,” this Depression-era dessert has a sweet, nutty filling similar to pecan pie with rolled oats instead of nuts.
- Schnitz Pie – A double-crusted Amish pie made with schnitz (dried apple slices) to create a rich filling similar to apple butter.
- Funeral Pie – A traditional raisin pie that’s usually made with a double crust.
- Sour Cream Raisin Pie – A creamier, custard-style variation of raisin pie, often flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Ground Cherry Pie – A fruit pie made with ground cherries, a small yellow berry inside of a leafy crust.
- Cottage Cheese Pie – a classic Amish custard pie made with a cottage cheese base.
How to Store Bob Andy Pie
Because of all the dairy in the filling for Bob Andy Pie, it needs to be stored in the refrigerator. Some peoples’ reminiscing of eating Bob Andy Pie include digging into the pie straight out of the oven. Other people eat it after it’s chilled in the refrigerator. Bob Andy pie keeps in the refrigerator for 3-5 days, after which the crust begins to absorb moisture from the filling and soften.
Have you ever had a Bob Andy pie before? We’d love to hear about your stories and recipes! Contact us or tag @doggone_baking on social media.
Bob Andy Pie
Ingredients
- 1 Dark, Blind-Baked Pie Shell
- ⅔ cup Granulated Sugar (135g)
- ⅔ cup Brown Sugar (135g)
- 1 cup Whole Milk (237mL)
- ⅜ cup Heavy Whipping Cream (90mL)
- 2 Eggs, separated
- 4 tsp All-Purpose Flour (10g)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract (5mL)
- ½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Ground Cloves
- ¼ tsp Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325° F (165° C).
- Whisk together sugars, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and flour.
- Whisk together the egg yolks, milk, cream, and vanilla extract together. Slowly add this mixture to the sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and flour while whisking continuously.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold or whisk the whipped egg whites into the rest of the custard filling mixture until no clumps of egg whites remain. However, be sure not to whisk out all of the air bubbles.
- Pour the Bob Andy pie filling into your prepared, blind-baked pie crust.
- Bake the pie for 35-45 minutes until the custard is set at the edges but still slightly jiggly in the center.
- Remove the pie from the oven, and allow it to cool to room temperature on the counter.
- Refrigerate the pie until set.
- Slice and serve!
About Me
In 2016, I left my office job and became a professional baker. These days I spend my days testing recipes and baking pies while my two dogs snooze happily nearby.
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