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Growing up, we had a Luby’s Cafeteria near our house and my family loved going. Lucky for me, my boyfriend and his family also loved going…so I got to go quite a bit. It was a sad day when all the Luby’s near us shut down, but my boyfriend’s mother (now my mother-in-law) bought their cookbook. YEAH!
To this day, I haven’t made anything from the book, but I beg my mother-in-law to make one of my very favorite pies… Butternut Brownie Pie. I have no idea where it got it’s name because there is no brownie in it. It’s more of a crunchy meringue (like meringue cookies) with lots of pecans and whipped cream. I begged her to make it for our new year’s celebration and she agreed. This time, she brought me the recipe. I think that was my hint to start making it myself.
Butternut Brownie Pie
Butternut brownie pie is a lightly and fluffy meringue dessert. This crustless pie, made famous at Luby's Cafeteria, is perfect for the holidays!
Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/8 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp cream of tarter
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 14 graham cracker squares, broken into 1/2 in pieces
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- addition chopped pecans for topping
Instructions
- Heat oven to 300F. Lightly spray a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites and baking powder until soft peaks form. Add cream of tartar, beating constantly. Add 1 cup of sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating constantly until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber scraper, fold in graham crackers and pecan pieces. Spoon into pie plate.
- Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- In a small, chilled bowl and using chilled beaters, beat cream just until it begins to thicken. Add remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and vanilla and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Do not over beat. Top pie with whipped cream. Sprinkle with additional pecans and refrigerate until served.
Does this need to be refrigerated before the whipped cream is put on?
Hi Cindy. I don’t chill it, but do make sure it’s completely cooled. You can chill if you’d like though. w-
Actually, I mean just for storage. I don’t have a good way to refrigerate it already topped with the whipped cream, so I top each piece as it’s served. I’m just not sure if the pie itself needs refrigeration.
I would. It’s always a good idea to help things last a little longer. w-
Aloha Wendy, In the recipe it calls for 14 SQUARES of Gram Crackers does it really mean 14 squares or does it mean 14 RECTANGLES. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I loved this pie at Luby’s and it broke my heart when it closed. I can’t wait to make it –
Hi. Squares. You know how you can buy them as squares (or break the long rectangles in half into a square). 😉
Enjoy. w-
I’ve looked for this recipe for years. The ones I found were close but not close enough. My grandmother took me to Lubys before I could walk. My go-to meal was baked cod, fries and chocolate silk pie. As an adult my tastes changed and I found their Butternut brownie pie. Oh my dear lord, this pie is wonderful. Thank you so much.
So glad you loved it Sandra. It was my favorite dessert from Luby’s. I wish we still had a location here. w-
I spent all morning trying to find this pie! I thought they called it Millionaire’s pie! No wonder it took me so long to find it! Ha! Do you recall a Millionaire’s pie? If so, what was it? Thanks for posting this!
Hmmm…I’ve never heard of Millionaire’s Pie, but now I’m intrigued. Glad this recipe is helpful, Sandra!
Millionaires pie had whipped cream and pineapple and pecans in it.
This looks so yummy! I would love to try this recipe. Your pictures are so lovely too! I’d love if you’d link up to my party going on!
http://daysofchalkandchocolate.blogspot.com/2012/01/latest-and-greatest-13.html
Looks yummy!
Forgot to put this in my first comment. I remember Luby’s growing up in San Antonio. I loved that place!
Oh my, I could really get into this. This is an awesome recipe that I’ll have to try. Right up my alley!
Yes, this pie is delicious. So glad that your MIL brought it on New Year’s for all to enjoy. I haven’t had it in a long time. This pie is extremely rich and sweet. I couldn’t even finish my piece. Because of the way the pie is made, it is difficult to cut. It does not cut into beautiful, even slices – even Luby’s had a hard time presenting beautiful pieces of pie. 🙂 But that didn’t keep it from flying off the shelf. I remember one time at Luby’s, there was no pie left on the counter and they sent the manager to the kitchen to “find” another piece of pie — just for you– and he did! Love this pie. It is great. Mom
My kids would love to make this! It sounds great!