This easy cinnamon pie, thickened with cornstarch instead of eggs, is perfect for Thanksgiving! In a buttery crust and topped with cinnamon sugar, this rich and creamy pie is perfect for cinnamon lovers.
With fall around the corner, it's officially pie season! While I love apple oat crumble pie, I can't get enough of custard pies! Like my pumpkin custard pie, this cinnamon butterscotch pie has a custard base.
Also known as a sugar cream pie or a Hoosier pie, this cinnamon pie is thickened with cornstarch or flour instead of eggs. This means you get a smooth pie filling with no cracks!
With a cinnamon filling and a dash of nutmeg, this pie gives you all the fall flavors. But don't just make it for fall, I think it's perfect for Christmas too!
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Why you'll love this cinnamon pie!
- It's made with cornstarch instead of eggs, so you get a smooth pie filling with zero cracks.
- The pie is full of warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Just before baking it is sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.
- You can make this the day before since it needs some time to set in the fridge.
- This is the perfect pie for cinnamon lovers!
Ingredients Needed
- Cinnamon: can't make a cinnamon pie without some ground cinnamon!
- Heavy Cream & Milk: we'll be using a combination of heavy cream and milk here.
- Vanilla Extract: try to use a high-quality vanilla extract here!
- Light Brown Sugar: adding brown sugar is going to give us some delicious butterscotch flavors.
- Cornstarch: this is what will help thicken the pie! If you're based in the UK you can use cornflour.
- Pie Crust: not picture, but you'll need a parbaked pie crust here! It needs to be partially baked since this pie doesn't need that much baking time. You can use a store-bought pie crust or make my all butter pie crust recipe.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 375ºFahrenheit and have your cooled parbaked pie ready. In a large saucepan, whisk together the white sugar, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cornstarch, and salt.
Step 2: Pour in the heavy cream and milk and whisk everything together.
Step 3: Place the saucepan over medium-low heat and whisk constantly until it begins to boil. This can take 5-10 minutes so please be patient! Once it boils, whisk for exactly 1 minute. It should become very thick, like pudding.
Step 4: Take off the heat after the 1 minute of whisking while boiling and add the butter and vanilla extract. Whisk until the butter has melted.
Step 5: Pour the cinnamon custard filling into your parbaked pie crust.
Step 6: Whisk together the cinnamon sugar and sprinkle on top. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-22 minutes. It will still be a bit jiggly which is totally fine!
Let cool completely, then place in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream!
- Bump up the cinnamon flavor by adding 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon to the pie dough.
- Make sure you give the baked pie at least 4 hours in the fridge to chill. It's better to make this recipe the day before you want to serve it!
- Only boil the sugar pie filling for 1 minute. If you do it for any longer the cornstarch will begin to break down and the filling won't be as thick.
Frequently Asked Questions
The sides will be slightly set but the middle will still be jiggly when you move the pie dish. It won't be completely set because it needs time to cool down!
Yes you can, just make sure you partially bake it before pouring in the cinnamon filling.
Storage
Keep the pie in the fridge for up to 4 days.
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Have you made this recipe? Please rate the recipe below! Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @alpineella and Pinterest!
Recipe
Cinnamon Pie
Equipment
- 9" pie plate
Ingredients
Cinnamon Pie Filling
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 5 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Pie Dough
- At least 3 hours ahead, make your pie dough. Make my pie crust recipe and follow the parkbake instructions. The recipe makes enough for 2 crusts, so either make ½ of the recipe or save the other crust to make another pie.1 parbaked pie crust or all butter pie crust
Make Filling
- Preheat the oven to 375℉/190℃.
- In a large saucepan, whisk the white sugar, light brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together.½ cup white sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar, 5 tablespoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Pour in the milk and heavy cream. Whisk everything together until the sugar begins to dissolve.1 ½ cups whole milk, 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- Place over medium-low heat and whisk until it begins to boil. Once boiling, whisk for exactly 1 minute. It should become thick like pudding. Note, it can take 5-10 minutes to start boiling so be patient!
- Take off the heat and add the vanilla extract and butter, whisking until the butter melts.1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Pour into your parbaked pie crust.
- Whisk together the cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle over the pie.½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon white sugar
- Bake in the preheated oven in the middle shelf for 18-22 minutes. It will still look jiggly but will set as it cools!
- Let cool completely, then chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
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