Justice of the Pies: Q&A with baker Maya-Camille Broussard

Need a pie recipe? From a badass baker? Look no further. 

Check out our Thanksgiving-themed Q&A with genius baker Maya-Camille Broussard and her brilliant recipe for Salted Caramel Peach Pie. Don’t worry that it’s not peach season; the recipe uses canned peaches. It’s a perfect-for-the-holidays, luscious and cozy caramel pie with peach flavor that evokes memories from seasons past and hints of bright and sunny days ahead.    

If you’re on the hunt for a great pie recipe for the holidays, we can’t think of a better person to turn to than Maya-Camille Broussard, owner & founder of Justice of the Pies, a Chicago-based bakery specializing in sweet and savory pies, quiches, and tarts.

Maya-Camille began Justice of the Pies in honor of her late father, the self-proclaimed Pie Master Stephen J. Broussard. He worked as a criminal defense attorney and was passionate about baking and eating anything made with a crust. 

“Justice of the Pies was created to celebrate his love of pies and to honor his belief that everyone deserves an opportunity to reform their lives,” says Maya-Camille. 

The bakery makes unique, delicious treats and hosts workshops to provide elementary-aged children from lower-income families instruction on nutritional development and basic cooking skills. It also aims to help develop creativity and confidence through the kitchen. In addition to workshops, Justice of the Pies is also dedicated to a community project called The Love Fridge. It’s a “take what you need, leave what you can” community refrigerator that supplies food for those in need while minimizing food waste.

In her fresh-of-the-press cookbook, Maya-Camille shares more than 85 mouthwatering recipes and tells the stories of heroes outside of the kitchen - luminaries who strive for social justice and equity - and includes recipes they’ve inspired.

UF: What's your favorite part of Thanksgiving? 

MCB: My favorite part of Thanksgiving is getting the corner piece of the macaroni and cheese dish. I love the slightly crispy edges. I also look forward to indulging in the perfect trifecta of sides on my plate, enjoying a bite of each all at once: macaroni and cheese, candied yams, and collard greens. 

UF: What inspired this pie recipe? 

MCB: The Salted Caramel Peach Pie recipe was inspired by my mom's peach cobbler. I wanted to encapsulate all of the flavors of the cobbler but present it as a clean, beautiful slice of pie. 

UF: Who is a woman you are grateful for in your life, and why? 

MCB: I am grateful for my mom because she has demonstrated the grace of knowing it's never too late to go after what you truly want. She was a P. E. teacher for many years, then went to dental school for a year. She dropped out after making the Dean's List because looking inside people's mouths did afford her the opportunity to talk with her patients and develop a camaraderie with them. A year later, she enrolled in med school while raising me, a first grader, and caring for her mother at the same time. I consider myself a late bloomer, but I never felt any kind of way about it because she is the greatest example of perseverance for me. 

UF: What will you be raising a glass to this holiday season? 

MCB: This holiday season I'll be raising a glass to balance. I have tried to inject more balance into my personal life, and I am manifesting even more balance for myself. While I am not allergic to hard work, I am allowing more moments for myself.

My mom (and my namesake), Dr. Camille Billingslea, specializes in family medicine. As I was growing up, she worked long shifts at the hospital, which meant that takeout was usually our best friend. When my mom did cook, she’d make leftover-friendly meals that we could easily reheat if she wasn’t home, like spaghetti, tacos, or beans and rice.

Though she wasn’t much of a baker and rarely made desserts from scratch, there was one dessert that she mastered, one that she learned from her own mother: peach cobbler.

If I found cans of peaches on the kitchen countertop, I knew a peach cobbler was in my near future. Mom would crank open the large cans, drain them, and tip the peaches into a huge pot. Butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar all went into the pot, which she always did “by eye,” which we also call “cooking by vibration,” adding ingredients to the dish until the ancestors whispered in your ear to ease up.

A dessert traditionally attributed to the Deep South, cobblers are not meant to be pretty. The ingredients are literally cobbled together into a deep dish and often served warm and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

In creating the Salted Caramel Peach Pie, I wanted to retain all the buttery, aromatic spices found in my mom’s peach cobbler while adding oatmeal and flour to the filling to create a spongy, cake-like texture and give it a prepossessing appearance—no top crust required (making this a great starter pie to make). When my mom made a peach cobbler, there were never any leftovers—the dessert disappeared as quickly as it was pulled from the oven. The same always happens with this peach pie, too.

SALTED CARAMEL PEACH PIE

Makes one 9-inch pie

Ingredients

• Flour, for rolling out
• All-Butter Pie Dough, or any prepared flaky pie dough 
• 4 tablespoons (½ stick/57g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
• ¼ cup (55g) packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ cup (68g) unbleached all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (43g) rolled oats
• 2 cups drained canned sliced peaches
• ¼ cup (72g) Salted Caramel Sauce

Instructions

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F (175 °C ).
2. Lightly dust the counter with flour and roll out the pie dough to about 12 inches in diameter. Carefully transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie pan. Roll the overhanging dough to the edge of the pan and crimp. Place the pie shell in the refrigerator to chill for 10 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg until smooth, about 1 minute. Using a silicone spatula or large spoon, stir in the flour and oats.
4. Fold the peaches into the flour-oat mixture until well incorporated. Remove the pie shell from the refrigerator. Set the pie shell on a baking sheet and pour in the filling.
5. Transfer to the oven and bake until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center of the pie comes out dry, about 1 hour 10 minutes. (This is a perfect time to prepare the Salted Caramel Sauce if you haven’t already.)
6. Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool for 15 minutes—this is a pie best served slightly warm. Slice and then drizzle with salted caramel sauce.

To store the pie, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 7 days or freeze for up to 2 months. To thaw, remove the pie from the freezer and allow it to come to room temperature. It’s best to warm a slice of pie before enjoying. Wait to drizzle with sauce until just before serving.

If you want more delicious pie recipes from Maya-Camille, you can purchase her cookbook here. And of course, it makes the perfect gift for any party host, as well.