Peanut pie

Peanut pie is a sweet pie of the cuisine of the Southern United States, associated with the Tidewater region where peanuts are a common crop, and popular in Virginia and North Carolina. Peanuts arrived in North America in the 18th century with enslaved Africans, and the pie was originally considered a slave food, but by the 1940s peanuts were widely eaten and a corn syrup advertisement promoted peanut pies. The sweet, sticky filling is made from corn syrup, sugar and eggs, much as pecan pie filling is, although molasses, sorghum, cane syrup or maple syrup are sometimes used in place of the corn syrup. Some recipes add heavy cream or cream cheese, and others add chocolate, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg or bourbon. The finished pie is served warm, perhaps topped with whipped cream or a dessert sauce or served with ice cream, can be made as individual mini pies and frozen, and can be served as a kosher dessert. In North Carolina it was a standard dish at family reunions and church events, and Rosalynn Carter was known for her peanut meringue pie.