Things Mother Used to Make/Pies

by Lydia Maria Gurney

PIES

Rich Pie Crust

• 3 Cupfuls of Flour
• 1 Cupful of Lard
• 1 Dessertspoonful of Salt

Put salt and lard into the flour, working in the lard with the hand until thoroughly mixed. Add enough water to barely wet,—ice-cold water is best. This is sufficient for two pies.

Pork Apple Pie

• 4 Apples
• 4 Tablespoonfuls of Sugar
• 1 Teaspoonful of Ground Cinnamon
• 12 Pieces of Fat Salt Pork, size of a Pea

Line a pie-plate with rich crust; pare, core and slice apples thin, to fill the plate; sprinkle over these the sugar, cinnamon and pork; cover with crust and bake in moderate oven. To be eaten warm.

Chocolate Custard Pie

• 1 Pint of Milk
• 4 Tablespoonfuls of Sugar
• 3 Eggs
• Pinch of Salt
• 2 Tablespoonfuls of Cocoa
• or
• 1 Square of Chocolate
• 1 Teaspoonful of Vanilla

Beat yolks of eggs and add sugar and salt. Wet the cocoa with half a cup of warm milk and stir into the yolks. Flavor. Line a deep pie-plate with rich pie-crust, pinching a little edge around the plate. Pour in the mixture and bake until it rises. Beat the whites to a stiff froth, add two tablespoonfuls of sugar, spread over the pie and brown in a hot oven.

Cocoanut Pie

• 1 Pint of Milk
• 3 Eggs
• Pinch of Salt
• ½ Cupful of Grated Cocoanut
• Piece of Butter the size of a Marble

Beat the yolks of the eggs, add sugar and salt and beat again. Put in the butter which has been melted, milk and cocoanut. Line a deep pie-plate with pie-crust and pour in the mixture. Bake until it rises–this is not nice if baked too long. Beat the whites of the eggs stiff and put on top of pie when it is cool. Set in the oven to brown.

Cranberry Pie

• 1 Quart of Cranberries
• 2½ Cupfuls of Water
• 2 Cupfuls of Sugar

Line a deep pie-plate with crust. Put the cranberries on the stove, with the water, and cook until tender, then rub them through a colander. Put in two scant cupfuls of sugar, and boil for fifteen minutes. When cool, pour this into the plate, lay narrow strips of pie-crust from the center to the outer edge, and bake in a hot oven.

Cream Pie

• 1 Cupful of Sweet Cream
• White of One Egg
• ⅔ Cupful of Sugar
• 1 Teaspoonful of Vanilla

Bake with two crusts. Beat white of egg till stiff; add sugar, beat again; stir in the cream and flavor.

Old-Time Custard Pie

• 1 Pint of Milk
• 3 Eggs
• 4 Tablespoonfuls of Sugar
• ½ Teaspoonful of Salt

Line a deep plate with pie-crust, rolling it large enough to pinch up a little edge around the plate. Beat the eggs thoroughly, add sugar and salt, and beat again; then add the milk and stir well. Pour into the plate. Bake until it rises, being sure to remove from the oven before it wheys. Grate over the top a little nutmeg. The quality of the pie depends largely on the baking.

Frosted Lemon Pie

• 1 Lemon
• 1 Cupful of Sugar
• 1½ Cupfuls of Milk
• 3 Eggs
• 2 Tablespoonfuls of Flour

Beat the yolks of the eggs, add the flour, the juice and rind of the lemon. Beat all together, add a little of the milk, and sugar; beat, then add the rest of the milk. Line a plate with crust, the same as for custard; pour in this mixture and bake, being careful not to let it whey when it is done. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, add two tablespoonfuls of sugar, spread over the top, and set in the oven to brown.

Mock Mince Pie

• 1½ Crackers
• 1 Cupful of Raisins
• ½ Cupful of Molasses
• ½ Cupful of Sugar
• ⅓ Cupful of Vinegar
• 1 Cupful of Steeped Tea
• 1 Egg
• Spices of all kinds (½ Teaspoonful of each)

Pumpkin Pie, No. 1

• 3 Cupfuls of Pumpkin (the bright yellow kind preferred)
• 3 Eggs
• 1½ Cupfuls of Sugar
• 1 Heaping Tablespoonful of Flour
• 1 Teaspoonful of Cinnamon
• ½ Teaspoonful of Nutmeg
• 1 Quart of Milk, a little Salt

Boil the pumpkin till very tender and press through a colander. Mix all ingredients together. Line two deep pie-plates with a nice crust, and pour in the mixture, and bake until they rise.

Pumpkin Pie, No. 2

• 2 Cupfuls of Stewed and Sifted Pumpkin
• 2 Crackers Rolled Fine
  Boston Crackers or 3 Uneedas
• 1 Cupful of Sugar
• Pinch of Salt
• ½ Teaspoonful of Cinnamon
• 1 Pint of Milk

Pour the mixture into a deep pie-plate lined with crust, and bake in a slow oven one hour.

Rhubarb Pie

• 1 Pint of Rhubarb
• 1 Tablespoonful of Flour
• 1 Cupful of Sugar
• ¼ Teaspoonful of Soda

Remove the skin, and cut into small pieces enough rhubarb to fill a pint bowl. Add the soda, and pour over it boiling water to cover. Let stand fifteen minutes and pour off the water. Line a deep plate with a rich crust. Put in the rhubarb, sugar and flour, cover with crust. Bake twenty minutes or half an hour.

Rolley Polys

Roll pie crust very thin and cut into strips four inches long and three inches wide. Over these spread jelly and lap the crust over, pressing edges together. Brush over the top with milk and sprinkle over a little sugar. Bake fifteen minutes.

Squash Pie

• 2 Cupfuls of Squash
• 5 Tablespoonfuls of Sugar
• 1 Tablespoonful of Flour
• 2 Cupfuls of Milk
• 1 Teaspoonful of Ground Cinnamon
• ¼ Teaspoonful of Salt
• 1 Egg

Pare the squash, boil till tender, and sift through a colander. Beat the egg, add sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Stir these into the squash and add the milk, stirring in slowly. Bake in a deep plate, like a custard pie.

Cream Washington Pies

• 1 Egg
• ½ Cupful of Sugar
• 1 Cupful of Flour
• ½ Cupful of Milk (scant)
• 2 Tablespoonfuls of Melted Butter
• 1 Rounding Teaspoonful of Cream of Tartar
• ½ Teaspoonful of Soda

Cream butter and sugar together, add the well-beaten egg; then the milk into which has been stirred the soda and cream of tartar; last of all, the flour. Bake in three round shallow dishes.

Cream for Filling

• 1 Cupful of Milk
• 1 Egg
• A Little Salt
• 1 Heaping Tablespoonful of Flour
• 2 Tablespoonfuls of Sugar
• ½ Teaspoonful of Vanilla

Put the milk on the stove to heat. Put the sugar, flour and salt into the well-beaten egg and stir into the milk when boiling. When cool, add vanilla and spread between the layers of cake.