A silky, sweet pie rich with the flavor of cinnamon, and held by a buttery, flaky crust. It's a delicious Cinnamon Pie inspired by one of our favorite shows, Psych!
Anyone else out there fans of the show Psych? My family and I are HUGE "Psychos," and it feels like we've been watching the adventures of Shawn and Gus our whole lives.
The show, which ran on the USA Network from 2006-2014, is all about Shawn Spencer, a "fan of delicious flavor" who pretends to be psychic so he can solve murders for the Santa Barbara police department. He does this with his best friend Gus, a "sympathetic crier" who has a delightful scream when he sees dead bodies, and a car called The Blueberry.
I can't possibly fully detail here how funny and brilliant this show is—you just have to watch it! (It's available on the Peacock app.) Psych has an amazing cast that includes Maggie Lawson, Timothy Omundson, Corbin Bernsen, and Kurt Fuller, plus loads of pop culture and '80s references.
Because of this show, I became obsessed with recreating a pie: a fictional pie from in the Season 5 episode "Dual Spires". The episode pokes fun at the cult favorite "Twin Peaks" show, with an isolated town full of very odd people—and murder. Throughout the episode, Shawn and Gus lose their minds over slices of the ridiculously delicious Cinnamon Pie. The "Dual Spires" episode is one of my all-time favorites and that pie has a lot to do with it!
Why you'll love this pie
Cinnamon Pie is one you'll want to add to your collection of pie recipes, whether you're a Psych fan or not. The flavor is simple, yet addictive. It's great for holiday time like the Thanksgiving dessert table or for Christmas, to bake up during the cool days of fall, or if you just feel like holding your very own cinnamon festival! (That's a Psych reference, there!)
At first glance, this looks just like pumpkin pie, with a brown, custardy filling in a single pie shell. It contains no pumpkin, though! The silky filling is made with sour cream, milk, eggs, brown sugar, and toasted cinnamon. There are no other spices vying for attention: just that sweet and warming cinnamon. The filling sits in my All-Butter Pie Crust, which is just as delicious and has a hint of cinnamon as well.
Serve Cinnamon Pie the Psych way: with a dollop of whipped cream and a cup of "damn fine" hot apple cider. To complete the "Dual Spires" feel, surround yourself with a bunch of oddball locals—or just whoever is in your house!
🔪 How to make a Cinnamon Pie
Ingredients
- Pie Crust: Use my recipe for a Flaky Pie Crust that's as delicious as the pie.
- Cinnamon: My preference is Vietnamese cinnamon which has a robust flavor.
- Sugars: Both brown sugar and white sugar sweeten this pie.
- Flour: Just enough to thicken the filling.
- Sour Cream: It gives the pie a subtle tang and creamy texture.
- Milk: Part of the custard filling of this pie.
- Vanilla Extract: A lovely flavor to accent the cinnamon.
- Eggs: Also part of the custard filling.
Step 1: Prepare the bottom crust
Roll out pie crust dough out to a ¼-inch thickness. Cut out a 13-inch circle and fit it into a pie plate. Fold and crimp the edge. Hold this in the fridge.
Step 2: Make the filling
Toast the cinnamon in a pan until it's fragrant. Add the rest of the filling ingredients and cook them into a thick filling.
Step 3: Pour the filling in the shell
Pour the cinnamon filling into the pie crust and smooth the top.
Step 4: Bake, chill, and serve
Bake the pie until the filling is set. Allow the pie to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate it for at least two hours. Serve slices of pie with a dollop of whipped cream.
Tips:
- Move the oven rack down a notch and place a baking sheet in the oven to heat up as the oven preheats. These steps will help ensure the bottom crust cooks through.
- Finishing the pie only takes about an hour, however, it needs to cool to room temperature and then chill for at least two hours—so figure this extra time into your planning.
The recipe for Cinnamon Pie is below! Here are a few more pies and cinnamon-scented treats to tempt you, too.
💬 How do you like this pie? Leave a comment and rating below!
📖 Recipe
Cinnamon Pie
Ingredients
- ½ recipe Best-Loved Flaky Pie Crust Recipe, chilled (or enough pie crust dough for a single-shell pie)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (the strong flavor of Vietnamese cinnamon is my favorite)
- ⅔ cup packed brown sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, unbleached
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream
- ½ cup whole milk
- 3 large eggs, whisked
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Prepare the pie crust:
- Preheat the oven to 450° F. Move the oven rack down one notch. Have a 9-inch pie plate ready - a metal pie plate is ideal to ensure the crust cooks through, and a baking sheet.
- Roll out the chilled pie crust dough to a ¼-inch thickness. Cut a 13-inch circle from the dough.
- Fit the dough into the pie plate, pressing it along the bottom and sides. Fold the crust under all around the edge, and then crimp the edge all around. Cover the pie shell loosely with plastic wrap and hold it in the fridge.
Toast the cinnamon:
- Pour the cinnamon into a large saucepan and set it over medium heat. Toast the cinnamon for 3 minutes, stirring it often, until it's very fragrant. Slide the pan off the heat.
Cook the filling:
- Stir the brown sugar, white sugar, flour, salt into the toasted cinnamon. Then, whisk in the sour cream and milk.
- Heat the mixture over medium heat, whisking often. As soon as the first bubbles appear, reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for another minute, whisking frequently. Slice the pan off the heat.
- Take ¼ cup of the hot mixture. While whisking the eggs constantly, pour the hot mixture as a slow stream into the eggs. (This process gently tempers the eggs so they won't go scrambled during the next step.)
- Pour the tempered eggs into the rest of the hot mixture, whisking constantly as you do, until the eggs are incorporated. Move the pan back over medium-low heat, whisking for 1 minute or so until it starts to thicken.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Add the filling to the pie shell:
- Take the shell from the fridge. Pour the cinnamon mixture into the pie shell, and smooth the top.
Bake:
- Place the pie on the baking sheet, then place the sheet in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes. THEN lower the temperature to 350° and bake the pie for another 30 minutes. The pie filling should be set and a knife inserted in the middle should come out clean.
Cool and chill:
- Let the pie cool on a rack to room temperature, then wrap and place it in the fridge for at least two hours. This helps the flavor and the texture.
- Serve slices of Cinnamon Pie with whipped cream. (And a "damn fine" cup of hot apple cider is very nice alongside!)
Notes
- Move the oven rack down a notch and place a baking sheet in the oven to heat up as the oven preheats. These steps will help ensure the bottom crust cooks through.
- Finishing the pie only takes about an hour, however, it needs to cool to room temperature and then chill for at least two hours—so figure this extra time into your planning.
Jennifer
I just rewatched the Dual Spires episode and specifically searched for cinnamon pie recipes! So, of course, this is the one I'm going to try!
Nancy Mock
Ah, best news ever!! That's definitely one of the most rewatchable episodes of Psych, it's never not funny. "You know I’m a sympathetic cryer, Shawn. Just leave me be." I hope you like my Cinnamon Pie - please let me know what you think! If only I had a cinnamon festival nearby to bring it to!
Heidi
This looks so delicious, Nancy! Your pie crust looks just perfect too.
Nancy Mock
Thanks Heidi! It was fun working on this recipe... we've eaten a lot of cinnamon pie in the last week!