The Pie Maker

Grill Sergeant's Apple Pie

2012-01-08T07:27:00.000-08:00

A US Department of Defense recipe, from "The Official Website of the Pentagon Channel"

6 cups thinly sliced apples
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
pie crust (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare pastry for pie crust. Combine sugar and cinnamon (adjust sugar amount according to tartness of apples). Arrange apples in layers in pastry-lined pie plate. Dot top layer with small pieces of butter. Cover with top crust; cut slits in crust to vent. Place pie in lowest rack of oven and bake for about an hour.

Pie Crust:
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
6 tbsp cold water
1 large egg, lightly beaten

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter and shortening into flour mixture until coarse crumbs form. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork until a dough forms. Divide dough in half; shape each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap; chill for 1 hour.

Frugal Houswife Apple Pie

2012-01-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

Excerpted from "The American Frugal Housewife", 1832.

When you make apple pies, stew your apples very little indeed; just strike them through, to make them tender. Some people do not stew them at all, but cut them up in very thin slices, and lay them in the crust. Pies made in this way may retain more of the spirit of the apple; but I do not think the seasoning mixes in as well. Put in sugar to your taste; it is impossible to make a precise rule, because apples vary so much in acidity. A very little salt, and a small piece of butter in each pie, makes them richer. Cloves and cinnamon are both suitable spice. Lemon-brandy and rose-water are both excellent. A wine-glass full of each is sufficient for three or four pies. If your apples lack spirit, grate in a whole lemon.

More Vintage Pumpkin Pies

2011-06-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple more vintage pumpkin pie recipes from "The Woman's Institute Library of Cookery".

PUMPKIN PIE NO. 1.--There are very few persons with whom pumpkin pie is not a favorite. While it is especially popular in the autumn, it may be made at any time of the year. Sometimes pumpkin is dried or canned in the household or commercially for this purpose. Then, too, pumpkins may be kept all winter if they are stored in a cool, dry place and are not bruised when put away.

PUMPKIN PIE NO. 1

1-1/2 c. pumpkin
1 c. milk
1 egg
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 Tb. corn starch

The preparation of the pumpkin is the first step in the making of pumpkin pie. First chop the pumpkin into 3- or 4-inch pieces, remove the seeds, and peel off the skin. Cut the peeled pulp into cubes about 1 inch square and cook with just enough water to start the cooking or steam until the pumpkin is soft. When it has become soft, mash thoroughly or force through a sieve, and then cook again, stirring frequently to prevent the pumpkin from burning. Cook until as much water as possible has been evaporated and the mass of pumpkin seems quite dry. With the pumpkin prepared, mix the milk with it and add the beaten egg. Stir in the sugar, salt, spices, and corn starch. Fill partly baked pie crust with this mixture and bake in a moderate oven until the filling is cooked thoroughly and the crust is baked.

PUMPKIN PIE NO. 2.--Pumpkin pie is in reality a form of custard to which spice is added, but much of the original flavor of the pumpkin is lost if too much spice is used. The finished product should not be dark in color, but a golden brown. This dessert becomes much more delicious by adding a layer of whipped cream to it just before serving.

PUMPKIN PIE NO. 2

2 c. pumpkin
1-1/2 c. milk
3 eggs
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Prepare the pumpkin as directed above and add the milk to it. Beat the eggs and add to them the sugar, salt, and spices. Stir this into the mixture. Fill partly baked pie crust and bake in a moderate oven until the mixture is set and the crust is baked. Serve plain or spread a layer of whipped cream over the pie when it has cooled.

The Nature of Pies and Pastries

2010-02-15T19:43:00.001-08:00

From "Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 4"

Pastry is a shortened dough that is made of flour, water, salt, and fat and used in the preparation of desserts. Chief among these deserts are pies. These are made by baking foods between two crusts of pastry or with a single crust, which may be an upper or a lower one. Originally pies were not intended for desserts. Rather, they were used as the main dish of the meal, as they contained a filling of meat or fish and vegetables. Such pies are still made, but they are not usually the ones intended when pastry for pies is mentioned. It should therefore be understood that the pastry considered in this Section is that which is used with sweet fillings and employed particularly in the making of pies and similar foods that are used for desserts.

Some cooks, especially the French ones, regard as pastry such foods as certain small cakes, the paste used for cream puffs and éclairs, and the sweetened breads made with yeast, such as brioche. In reality, such desserts resemble cakes in use more than they do pastry, and for this reason are discussed in connection with them.

Pastry desserts may be made in various fancy shapes for individual servings or in pies that will serve five or six persons. Pies having one crust usually contain a filling that consists of a custard mixture, a mixture thickened with corn starch or flour, or occasionally a fruit mixture. Some pies also have a top crust covering the filling, and when this is the case a fruit filling, either fresh or cooked, is the kind that is generally used.

Because of the nature of the materials used in the preparation of pastry desserts, the finished product is necessarily high in food value. For instance, starchy material is provided by the flour, fat by the shortening, and sugar in comparatively large amounts by the filling, whether it be fruit of some kind or a material resembling custard. This fact, rather than the taste or the appetite, should aid in determining whether or not pastry desserts should be included in a meal. While the popularity of such desserts causes them to be used somewhat indiscriminately, their use should always be governed by the nature of the rest of the meal. Thus, if the other dishes served provide enough food value, then a dessert lighter than pie should be chosen; but if the rest of the meal is not sufficiently high in this respect, a wholesome pastry dessert will generally prove to be a wise selection.

It is true, of course, that every person must determine for himself whether or not pastry desserts are wholesome enough to be eaten by him. Indigestion is almost sure to result from heavy, soggy, imperfectly baked pastry, because the quantities of fat it contains may be slow to digest and much of the starchy material may be imperfectly cooked. Consequently, it is often not the pie itself but the way in which it is made that is responsible for the bad reputation that this very attractive dessert has acquired. If the correct method of making pastry and pies is followed and the ingredients are handled properly in the making, the digestibility of the finished product need give the housewife very little concern. As a rule, a little experience is needed in order that good results in the making of pastry dishes may be attained, but one who becomes efficient in the other phases of cookery should have no difficulty with foods of this kind.

Miss Parola's Chocolate Cream Pie

2010-02-13T11:20:00.000-08:00

From "Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes, by Miss Parola"

Beat to a cream half a cupful of butter and a cupful and a quarter of powdered sugar. Add two well-beaten eggs, two tablespoonfuls of wine, half a cupful of milk, and a cupful and a half of sifted flour, with which has been mixed a teaspoonful and a half of baking powder. Bake this in four well-buttered, deep, tin plates for about fifteen minutes in a moderate oven.

Put half a pint of milk in the double-boiler, and on the fire. Beat together the yolks of two eggs, three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, and a level tablespoonful of flour. Stir this mixture into the boiling milk, beating well. Add one-sixth of a teaspoonful of salt, and cook for fifteen minutes, stirring often. When cooked, flavor with half a teaspoonful of vanilla extract. Put two of the cakes on two large plates, spread the cream over them, and lay the other two cakes on top. Beat the whites of the two eggs to a stiff froth, and then beat into them one cupful of powdered sugar and one teaspoonful of vanilla. Shave one ounce of Walter Baker & Co.'s Premium No. 1 Chocolate, and put it in a small pan with two tablespoonfuls of sugar and one tablespoonful of boiling water. Stir over a hot fire until smooth and glossy. Now add three tablespoonfuls of cream or milk, and stir into the beaten egg and sugar. Spread on the pies and set away for a few hours.

Plain Lemon Pie

2010-02-12T17:36:00.001-08:00

From "Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 4"

A plain lemon pie that is comparatively inexpensive may be made by following the directions given here. More eggs, of course, will make a better pie and they may be added if desired. Grating the rind of the lemon adds flavor to the filling, but too much will give a bitter taste. Lemon juice should never be cooked with the corn starch, as the filling will gradually become thinner and the starch will lose its value as a thickening agent.

* 2 c. water
* 1 c. sugar
* 1/4 tsp. salt
* 1/3 c. corn starch
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 c. lemon juice
* Grated rind of 1 lemon

Bring the water to the boiling point. Mix the sugar, salt, and corn starch and add to the water. Cook directly over the flame until the mixture is thickened and then place in a double boiler. Separate the eggs, beat the yolks, and to them add the lemon juice and the grated rind of the lemon. Beat all well and add to the corn-starch mixture. Remove from the fire and pour into the baked crust of a pie. Make meringue of the egg whites and place on top of the filling. Brown in the oven, cool, and serve.

Mock Cherry Pie

2010-02-11T08:14:00.000-08:00

From "Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 4"

A pie that closely resembles cherry pie in both flavor and appearance may be had by combining cranberries and raisins. This is an excellent substitute for cherry pie and may be made at times when fresh cherries cannot be obtained and canned cherries are not in supply.

* 2 c. cranberries
* 3/4 c. sultana raisins
* 3/4 c. water
* 1 c. sugar
* 2 Tb. flour
* 1 Tb. butter

Wash the cranberries and cut them in half. Wash the raisins and mix them with the cranberries. Add the water and cook until the fruit is soft. Mix the sugar, flour, and butter and add to the mixture. Cook until the flour thickens, place the mixture in the lower crust, cover with a top crust, and bake in a hot oven until nicely browned.

Authentic Mince Meat Pie

2010-02-10T18:45:00.000-08:00

Here's an authentic vintage mince-meat pie recipe, including the use of suet! From "Woman's Institute Library of Cookery"

Mince meat, which is much used for pies during the fall and winter season, is a concoction that finds favor with most people. It may be comparatively simple or it may contain a large variety of ingredients, and in accordance with this variation it may be cheap or expensive. However, the ingredients generally used in this mixture are apples, dried fruits, sugar, molasses, cider, and chopped beef and suet. Other fruits, such as quinces, oranges, and citron, and various spices are also often used for flavoring. The cheaper cuts of meat, such as the neck, shoulder, brisket, etc., are suitable for this purpose, because the meat is ground so fine in making the mince meat that the fact that it was at all tough can be very readily concealed. Such expensive material as citron can be omitted altogether if desired and greater quantities of apples, which are the cheapest ingredient, used. A slight variation in the ingredients does not make any material difference in this mixture and the recipes given are submitted merely as a basis from which to work. If used just as they are given, they will be found to be excellent; but if it is necessary to practice greater economy or if it is not possible to secure all the ingredients called for, they may be varied to suit conditions. The juice from pickled fruits, jelly, or the juice from preserves or canned cherries may be used in any desired proportion in the making of mince meat to replace some of the cider.

Mince pie is most palatable when served warm, but it is entirely permissible to make several pies at a time and then warm them in the oven before serving. In this way they may be kept over for several days. Pie of this kind made with the usual ingredients is a heavy dessert, for it contains a certain amount of protein material and is high in fat and carbohydrate. This fact should be taken into consideration in meal planning, so that the dessert may balance properly with the other food.

MINCE PIE
* 4 lb. beef
* 15 medium-size apples
* 4 quinces, chopped
* 1/2 lb. citron
* 3 lb. raisins, seeded
* 6 oranges
* 2 c. suet
* 1 lb. sugar
* 1 c. vinegar
* 3 c. cider
* 1-1/2 c. molasses
* 2 Tb. cinnamon
* 2 tsp. cloves
* 2 tsp. nutmeg

Let the beef simmer in sufficient water to cover it well until it is tender, and then allow it to cool in the water in which it was cooked. This broth may be used as part of the liquid in the mince meat if desired. Chop the meat very fine with a chopping knife and bowl or put it through a food chopper. Chop the apples and quinces, cut the citron, and wash the raisins. Squeeze the juice from the oranges and grate the rinds. Force the suet through a food chopper or chop it with a chopping knife. Mix all these ingredients, add the sugar, liquids, and spices, and place in a large vessel. Simmer slowly for 1 hour. Stir frequently to prevent scorching. If the mince meat is cooked in the oven, it is less likely to scorch. Seal in fruit jars the same as for canned fruit and store for future use.

To bake mince pie, fill the lower crust with the mince-meat mixture, place the upper crust in position, and put the pie into a hot oven. Gradually reduce the heat, baking the pie for about 45 minutes.

Peach Pie

2010-02-09T18:28:00.000-08:00

From "Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 4"

Fresh peaches make a very delicious pie. Canned peaches may be used as well, but they do not make so good a pie. Less sugar will be needed if canned peaches are used instead of fresh ones because they are usually canned with sugar. Clingstone peaches may be used rather advantageously for making pie because the fact that they cannot be cut from the stones in uniform pieces makes less difference for pie than for serving in almost any other way.

PEACH PIE

1 qt. sliced peaches
3/4 c. sugar
Pinch of salt
3 Tb. flour

Fill the lower crust with the sliced peaches and sprinkle with the sugar, salt, and flour, which have been previously mixed. Moisten the edge of the lower crust, cover with the top crust, and bake in a moderately hot oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Peach pie served hot with whipped cream makes a very delicious dessert.

THICKENING JUICY FRUITS FOR PIES.--When particularly juicy fruit, such as berries, cherries, peaches, etc., is used for pie, flour or other starchy material must necessarily be used to thicken the juice and thus prevent it from running out when the pie is served. If the fruit is very sour, a proportionately larger quantity of flour will be necessary. This is due to the fact that the acid of the fruit reduces the starch in the flour to dextrine, and this form of carbohydrate does not have so much thickening power as the starch in its original form had.

The same thing takes place when browned flour is used in making sauce or gravy. As experience will prove, browned flour must be used in greater quantity than white flour or a thinner sauce will be the result. The browned flour and the flour cooked with the acid of fruits are similar so far as their thickening power is concerned, for the one is reduced to dextrine by the application of dry heat or hot fat and the other by moist heat and the presence of acid.

Pennsylvania Dutch Shoo-Fly Pie

2009-07-25T13:12:00.001-07:00

For the crumb part:

* ¼ cup shortening
* 1½ cups flour
* 1 cup brown sugar

Work the above ingredients together.

For the liquid part:

* ¾ teaspoon baking soda
* ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
* a little ginger, cinnamon and cloves
* ¼ teaspoon salt
* ¾ cup molasses
* ¾ cup hot water

Mix well together and add hot water. Into an unbaked pie shell, combine the crumbs and liquid in alternate layers with crumbs on bottom and top. Bake 15 minutes at 450 degrees, then 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

The Philosophy of Pie Crust

2009-07-01T08:36:00.000-07:00

Pie-crust perfection depends on several things—good flour, good fat, good handling, most especially good baking. A hot oven, quick but not scorching, expands the air betwixt layers of paste, and pops open the flour-grains, making them absorb the fat as it melts, thereby growing crisp and relishful instead of hard and tough. The lighter and drier the flour the better—in very damp weather it is best oven-dried, then cooled before mixing. Shortening, whether lard, butter, or clarified drippings, should be very cold—unless your recipe demands that it be softened or melted. Milk or water used in mixing ought to be likewise well chilled, unless the shortening is soft—in that case match its temperature. The regular rule is half-pint ice water to the pound of flour, using chilled shortening. If the fat is semi-fluid the paste must be mixed softer, using say, three parts of a pint to the pound.

Baking powder or soda and cream tartar, or soda alone with sour cream or buttermilk for wetting, makes crust light and short with less butter, therefore is an economy. Genuine puff paste is requisite for the finest tarts, pies, etc., etc., but light short crust answers admirably for most things. Sift flour twice or even thrice for any sort of paste. Sift soda or baking powder well through it, but not salt. Make the salt fine, drop in the bottom of the mixing bowl, before the last sifting, and mix lightly through the flour before adding the shortening. Rub in shortening very lightly, using only the finger-tips—the palms melt or soften it. Add milk or water, a little at a time, mixing it in with a broad-bladed knife rather than the hands. Mix lightly—so the paste barely sticks together. Put in first one-third of the shortening—this, of course, for puff paste. Half a pound of butter or lard to the pound of flour makes a very good paste, but to have it in full richness, use three-quarters of a pound. Wash butter well to remove the salt, and squeeze out water by wringing it in a well-floured cloth. If there is a strong taste, or any trace of rancidity, wash well, kneading through and through, in sweet milk, then rinse out the milk with cold water to which a little borax has been added. Rinse again in clear cold water—this should remove ill-flavor without injury to anybody's stomach. But be very sure the last rinsing is thorough—borax, though wholly harmless, adds nothing to digestibility.

The end of the repeated rollings out and foldings demanded by real puff paste is to enclose between the layers of paste as much air as possible. Hence the chillings between rollings. Hence also the need of pinching edges well together after foldings, and rolling always from you, never back and forth. Roll out paste into a long narrow strip after the first mixing, divide the remaining shortening into three equal portions, keep very cold, and as needed cut into small bits, which spread evenly on top of the rolled paste, which must be lightly dredged with flour. Fold in three evenly, one thickness on another, turn so the folded edges may be to right and left while rolling, pinch the other edges well together and roll again into a long strip, moving the rolling-pin always from you. Repeat until all the butter is used, then set on ice for an hour to harden. In baking beware opening the oven door until the paste has risen fully and becomes slightly crusted over.

Baking powder crust must not stand—the gas which aerates it begins forming and escaping the minute it is wet up. It also requires a hot oven and delicate handling. Half a pound of shortening and a teaspoon of baking powder, to the pound of flour, mixed stiff or soft, according to the consistency of the fat, properly handled and baked, make crust good enough for anybody.

From "Dishes and Beverages of the Old South", by Martha McCulloch Williams, 1913.

Green Apple Pie

2009-06-11T17:34:00.001-07:00

Take apples a little bigger than the thumb's end, cut off stalks and nibs, and slice crosswise in three, dropping them in water as sliced to save discoloration. Make a rich syrup—three cups sugar, one cup water, to four cups sliced fruit. Boil and skim, throw in the apples, with a blade or so of mace, and cook quickly until preserved through. Either bake between crust in the common way, or bake crust crisp after pricking well, and spread with the preserved fruit.

Else make into small turnovers, but bake instead of frying them—and be sure the oven is hot enough to brown, but not to burn. Or you may make the green apples into shortcake, putting fruit only between[99] the layers of crust, and serving with rich sauce or sweetened cream.

Pie Recipes: Southern-Style Cobblers

2009-05-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

Make from any sort of fruit in season—peaches, apples, cherries, plums or berries. Green gooseberries are inadvisable, through being too tart and too tedious. Stone cherries, pare peaches or apples and slice thin, halve plums if big enough, and remove stones—if not, wash, drain well, and use whole. Line a skillet or deep pie pan—it must be three inches deep at least, liberally with short crust, rolled rather more than a quarter-inch thick. Fit well, then prick all over with a blunt fork. Fill with the prepared fruit, put on an upper crust a quarter-inch thick and plenty big enough, barely press the crust edges together, prick well with a fork all over the top, and cook in a hot oven half to three-quarters of an hour, according to size.

Take up, remove top crust, lay it inverted upon another plate, sweeten the hot fruit liberally, adding if you like, a spoonful of brandy, adding also a good lump of the best butter. Mix well through the fruit, then dip out enough of it to make a thick layer over the top crust. Grate nutmeg over apple pies, or strew on a little powdered cinnamon. A few blades of mace baked with the fruit accent the apple flavor beautifully. Cherries take kindly to brandy, but require less butter than either peaches or apples. Give plums plenty of sugar with something over for the stones. Cook a few stones with them for flavor, even if you take away the bulk. Do the same with cherries, using, say, a dozen pits to the pie.

Rich Lemon Pie

2009-03-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

The pie crust should be made and baked first. The filling consists of juice and rind of 2 lemons, 6 eggs, 1/2 pound of sugar, 1/4 pound butter, small glass of brandy, nutmeg. Cream, butter and sugar together; add brandy, nutmeg, lemon, and then eggs.

Take the whites of 2 more eggs, beat very light and put on top. This will make one large pie.

This vintage recipe is from " The Cookery Blue Book", by Society for Christian Work of the First Unitarian Church, San Francisco, California

Cherry Pie

2009-02-20T15:26:00.001-08:00

Both sweet and sour cherries may be used for making pie, but sour cherries are by far the more desirable. Their only disadvantage is that they require a rather large amount of sugar. Cherries used for pies should always be seeded. Canned cherries may be used for this purpose as well as fresh ones, but they are not so delicious. The proportion of sugar used for making cherry pie will, of course, need to be varied according to the sourness of the cherries used.

* 4 c. seeded cherries
* 1 1/4 c. sugar
* 4 Tb. flour
* Pinch of salt

Fill the lower crust of the pie with the cherries. Mix the sugar, flour, and salt and sprinkle over the top. Moisten the edge of the lower crust, place the top crust in position, and bake in a moderately hot oven for about 30 or 35 minutes.

Pie Recipes: Rhubarb Pie

2009-02-09T19:25:00.001-08:00

* 3 cups diced rhubarb
* 1½ cups sugar
* 3 tblsp. flour
* ¼ tsp. salt
* 1 tblsp. lemon juice
* 2 eggs, separated
* 1 9-inch pie shell

Cut rhubarb into small pieces and arrange in an unbaked pie shell. Combine the sugar and flour, add egg yolks and lemon juice. Stir into a smooth paste. Pour this mixture over rhubarb. Cover with meringue made from the egg white. Bake in a hot oven (425-f) for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to (325-f) and bake for 30 minutes.

Green Apple Pie

2009-02-03T18:09:00.001-08:00

Peel, core and slice tart apples enough for a pie; sprinkle over about three tablespoonfuls of sugar, a teaspoonful of cinnamon, a small level tablespoonful of sifted flour, two tablespoonfuls of water, a few bits of butter, stir all together with a spoon; put it into a pie-tin lined with pie paste; cover with a top crust and bake about forty minutes.

The result will be a delicious, juicy pie.

From "The White House Cookbook"

To Make Pie Crust Flaky

2009-02-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

In making a pie, after you have rolled out your top crust, cut it about the right size, spread it over with butter, then shake sifted flour over the butter, enough to cover it well. Cut a slit in the middle place it over the top of your pie, and fasten the edges as any pie. Now take the pie on your left hand and a dipper of cold water in your right hand; tip the pie slanting a little, pour over the water sufficiently to rinse off the flour. Enough flour will stick to the butter to fry into the crust, to give it a fine, blistered, flaky look, which many cooks think is much better than rolling the butter into the crust.

From "The White House Cookbook"

Plain Pie Crust

2009-02-02T19:33:00.001-08:00

Two and a half cupfuls of sifted flour, one cupful of shortening, half butter and half lard cold, a pinch of salt, a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder sifted through the flour. Rub thoroughly the shortening into the flour. Mix together with half a teacupful of cold water, or enough to form a rather stiff dough; mix as little as possible, just enough to get it into shape to roll out; it must be handled very lightly. This rule is for two pies.

When you have a little pie crust left do not throw it away; roll it thin, cut in small squares and bake. Just before tea put a spoonful of raspberry jelly on each square.

Pie Recipes: Lemon Pie

2009-01-31T18:30:00.000-08:00

Take a deep dish, grate into it the outside of the rind of two lemons; add to that a cup and a half of white sugar, two heaping tablespoonfuls of unsifted flour, or one of cornstarch; stir it well together, then add the yolks of three well-beaten eggs, beat this thoroughly, then add the juice of the lemons, two cups of water and a piece of butter the size of a walnut. Set this on the fire in another dish containing boiling water and cook it until it thickens, and will dip up on the spoon like cold honey.

Remove from the fire, and when cooled, pour it into a deep pie-tin, lined with pastry; bake, and when done, have ready the whites, beaten stiff, with three small tablespoonfuls of sugar. Spread this over the top and return to the oven, to set and brown slightly.

This makes a deep, large sized pie, and very superior.

From "The White House Cookbook"

Fig-and-Cranberry Pie

2008-11-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

Chop one-half a pound of figs and cook until tender in a pint of water. Add a pint of cranberries, and cook until they pop. Mix one cup of sugar with four tablespoonfuls of flour and stir into the fig-and-cranberry mixture; let boil, remove from fire, and stir in two tablespoonfuls of butter and the juice of one-half a lemon. Put into a pastry shell, arrange strips of paste in a basket pattern over the top, and bake until these are browned.

Montgomery Pie

2008-11-11T08:15:00.000-08:00

For the syrup part:

* ½ cup molasses
* ½ cup sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 cup water
* 2 tblsp. flour
* ½ lemon, juice and rind

Combine above ingredients and pour into a 9 inch, unbaked pie shell.

For the topping:

* ⅔ cup sugar
* ¼ cup butter
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1 tsp. baking powder
* 1 cup milk
* 1½ cups flour

Blend butter and sugar, add egg and beat well. Add milk and the sifted dry ingredients a little at a time. Spread topping over mixture in the pie shell. Bake in moderate oven (350-f) for 40 minutes.

Cream Raspberry Pie

2008-11-11T08:14:00.003-08:00

After lining a pie plate with pie crust, fill it with red raspberries. Cover it with granulated sugar and with an upper crust, but rub the edges of both upper and lower crusts with butter, so they will not stick together. Then when pie is baked make a cream filling with:

* 1 cup milk
* 1 teaspoon cornstarch
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* vanilla

Cook this and when cool, add the whites of three eggs stiffly beaten. Lift the upper crust of the pie and pour in this cream filling. Replace the crust and sift with powdered sugar.

Sour Cream Raisin Pie

2008-11-11T08:14:00.001-08:00

* 1 cup sugar
* ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
* ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
* ⅛ teaspoon salt
* 1 cup thick sour cream
* 3 eggs, slightly beaten
* 2 cups raisins, ground
* 1 unbaked pie shell

Combine all ingredients and turn into uncooked pie shell. Bake in hot, 450 degree oven 15 minutes, and then reduce to 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Pennsylvania Dutch Sour Cherry Pie

2008-11-11T08:13:00.003-08:00

* 1 qt. fresh sour cherries
* 1½ cups sugar
* ½ cup flour
* pie crust

Mix flour and sugar and pitted cherries in a bowl. Fill unbaked pie crust with the cherries. Put on a top pie crust, vented and bake in a hot oven for 10 minutes. Reduce to moderate and bake for 20 minutes more.

Lemon Custard Pie

2008-11-11T08:13:00.001-08:00

* 2 tablespoons flour
* ½ cup sugar
* 2 eggs, separated
* pinch of salt
* 1 lemon
* 1½ cups milk
* 1 pie shell

Mix 2 tablespoons of flour with ½ cup sugar and a pinch of salt. Beat 2 egg yolks. Add the juice and grated rind of 1 lemon. Then add flour and sugar continuing to beat. Stir in 1½ cups milk and lastly fold in 2 egg whites beaten stiff, but not dry. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake in hot oven, 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to moderate 350 degrees and bake 15 minutes more.

Pumpkin Pie

2008-11-11T08:12:00.002-08:00

* 1½ cups mashed cooked pumpkin
* 1½ cups rich milk
* ¾ cup brown sugar
* 2 eggs
* pastry for 9" shell
* 1 tsp. cinnamon
* ½ tsp. ginger
* ¼ tsp. cloves, powdered
* ¾ tsp. salt
* 2 tblsp. butter, melted

Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat well with a rotary egg beater. Chill and pour into an unbaked pie shell. Bake in hot oven (450-f) for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to moderately slow oven (325-f). When surface of pie filling turns light brown, test by inserting a silver knife. If it comes out clean the pie is finished baking.

Grandma's Crumb or Sugar Pie

2008-11-11T08:12:00.001-08:00

* 2 cups flour
* 1 heaping cup brown sugar
* 1½ tblsp. shortening
* 1 tsp. soda
* ½ cup buttermilk or sour cream
* salt
* 1 9-inch, unbaked pastry shell

Combine sugar, flour and soda. Cut in the shortening and blend well. Add the liquid and rub into coarse crumbs. Put crumbs loosely into the unbaked pie shell. Bake in moderate oven (375-f) for 40 minutes. This is a breakfast treat especially good for dunking in coffee.

Homemade Pie Crust

2008-11-11T07:57:00.002-08:00

To a peck of flour, add the yolks of three eggs. Boil some water, put in half a pound of fried suet and a pound and a half of butter. Skim off the butter and suet and as much of the liquor as will make a light crust. Mix well and roll out.

Lemon Cream Pie

2008-11-11T07:57:00.001-08:00

Stir into one cup of boiling water one tablespoonful of cornstarch dissolved in a little cold water. Cook until thickened and clear, then add one cup of sugar, a teaspoonful of butter, and the juice and grated rind of two lemons. Add the beaten yolks of three eggs and take from the fire. Have ready the bottom crust of a pie that has been baked, first pricking with a fork to prevent blisters. Place the custard in the crust and bake half an hour. When done take from the oven and spread over the top a meringue made from the stiffly whipped whites of the eggs, and three tablespoonfuls of sugar. Shut off the oven so it will be as cool as possible giving the meringue plenty of time to rise, stiffen and color to a delicate gold.

Apple Pie

2008-11-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

Make up a puff paste crust and lay some around the sides of a dish. Pare and quarter apples. Put a layer of apples in the dish, sprinkle with sugar, and add a little lemon peel, cut up fine, a little lemon juice, a few cloves; then the rest of the apples, sugar and so on. Sweeten to taste. Boil the peels and cores of the apples in a little water, strain and boil the syrup with a little sugar. Pour over the apples. Put on the upper crust and bake. A little quince or marmalade may be used, if desired.

Pears may be used instead of apples, omitting the quince or marmalade.

Pies may be buttered when taken from oven. If a sauce is desired, beat up the yolks of two eggs, add half pint of cream, little nutmeg and sugar. Put over a slow fire, stirring well until it just boils up. Take off the upper crust and pour the sauce over the pie, replacing the crust.