For The Most Flavorful Kentucky Sawdust Pie, Always Do This To The Nuts

If you've never heard of Kentucky sawdust pie, you're not alone. While it's not necessarily considered the state's most legendary dessert, it's familiar in the Bluegrass State, but otherwise one of several old-school pies that almost everyone has forgotten about. It could be described as a combination of pecan pie and German chocolate cake frosting, with plenty of graham cracker crumbs in the mix (the "sawdust," so to speak). It's rich, sweet, and nutty, with a pleasant chew from the coconut and crunch from the pecans in it. But if you want to create a really memorable version, always remember to toast the pecans first.

Toasting nuts for any recipe brings out the flavor of the nut like no other method can. When they are exposed to heat for a brief period of time, the nut oils release and the outside browns and caramelizes, creating extra crunch and superior flavor. While raw pecans can taste sort of soft and bland, toasted pecans taste rich, sweet, and almost buttery. When this is introduced to a pie like Kentucky sawdust pie, it makes for a sensational dessert. You can toast nuts in a dry pan on the stove, in the oven, and even in an air fryer, for the easiest version. Just keep a close eye on them; they can go from perfectly browned to burnt quickly, and there's no fixing the flavor of charred nuts. Once they've toasted, let them cool before using them in your pie recipe.

This curiously named pie is believed to have been developed in 1977 by Patti Tullar in Grand Rivers, Kentucky. She and her husband, Bill, were running a small motel and ice cream parlor business at the time, an establishment that has since morphed into a Kentucky destination of sorts. Patti's 1880's Settlement contains a restaurant, gift shops, an event facility, a hotel, a bed and breakfast, and a campground. Patti's sawdust pie was so named because children told her it looked like baked sawdust. The pie gained a good amount of notoriety, even being published in an issue of Bon Appétit magazine in 1983.

The filling of Kentucky sawdust pie is egg-based. After beating eggs with vanilla and sugar, you mix in toasted chopped pecans, shredded coconut, and crushed graham cracker crumbs. You can also use walnuts, but they, too, should be toasted. The stiff filling goes into an unbaked pie crust shell and is baked until the middle is set and the top is browned with a crusty shell. After it cools, the pie is traditionally topped with whipped cream and banana slices and served. It's sticky, sweet, and gooey, kind of like a chess pie, but with the extra texture that comes from the nuts and coconut. Compared to many other pies, sawdust pie is fairly simple to put together and may be a surprise hit at your next bake sale, holiday gathering, or family dinner.