Pie Crust 1 1/3 cups flour ½ tsp. salt ½ cup lard (or solid vegetable shortening) 3 Tbsp. ice cold water Combine flour and salt. Cut in lard to form pea sized crumbs. Add ice cold water one tablespoon at a time, until a ball of dough forms. Roll out and fit to pie pan. Grandma’s Shoo Fly Pie ¾ cup baking molasses ¾ cup cold water ½ tsp. baking soda 1 ¼ cup flour ½ cup sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/3 cup butter 1 9-inch unbaked pie shell Combine molasses, water and soda. Pour into pastry shell. Make crumbs out of the remaining ingredients, sprinkle over liquid. Bake for 15 minutes at 450°F. Reduce heat to 375°F and bake 40 minutes. Amish Custard Pie (From Food Network) 1/3 cup sugar 2 Tbsp. flour ½ tsp. salt 3 eggs 3 cups milk ¼ tsp. nutmeg 9” unbaked pie shell Combine sugar, flour, salt and eggs and mix until smooth. Heat milk to boiling point. Add 1 cup hot milk to egg mixture. Pour that into the remaining hot milk. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle nutmeg over top. Bake at 375°F for 45-60 minutes. Lemon Chiffon Pie (From Food Network) 4 eggs, separated 2/3 c. sugar ¼ c. fresh lemon juice 1 ½ tsp. finely grated lemon zest 1 ½ tsp. powdered gelatin 1/3 c. water Sweetened whipped cream, for garnish 9 inch unbaked pie crust Preheat oven to 425°F. Bake empty pie shell for 10 minutes or until golden brown. In a mixing bowl whisk together the yolks and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy, then add the lemon juice and zest. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, whisking, until thickened, about 7 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatin over cold water and dissolve. Remove the yolk mixture from the heat and whisk in the gelatin until dissolved. Place the mixture over an ice bath and stir with a whisk to cool it. Once it is room temperature remove it from the ice bath and let it sit while you whip the meringue. Place the egg whites in a clean dry bowl and whip on medium speed until foamy, then turn up to high and continue whipping until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and whip until glossy and sugar has dissolved. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the lemon mixture, and then fold in the remaining whites in 3 batches. Pour the mixture into the cooled pie shell and smooth the top. Chill the pie at least 2 hours before serving. Serve with dollops of whipped cream. Passion Fruit Chiffon Pie (From Food Network) 4 eggs, separated 1 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup passion fruit juice 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin 1/4 cup cold water 1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated 1 baked pie shell 1/2 cup whipped cream Preheat oven to 425°F. Bake empty pie shell for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Beat egg yolks until thick. Add 1/2 cup sugar, salt, and passion fruit juice. Cook over low heat until thick, stirring constantly. Add gelatin which has been dissolved in cold water. Add lemon rind and cool until slightly congealed. Beat egg whites with remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Fold slightly beaten egg whites into cooled yolk mixture. Pour into cool pie shell. Chill until nice and stiff. Serve with whipped cream and enjoy. Strawberry Chiffon Pie Pie Shell 1 ½ cups flour ½ cup shortening ½ tsp. salt 4-6 Tbsp. cold water Combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut-in the shortening. Add the water one tablespoon at a time and mix with a fork. Roll out pie dough using the wax paper method. Place in pie pan. Put a finish on the edge of the pie. Bake pie shell at 350°F for 10 minutes. Strawberry Pie Filling ¼ cup sugar 1 envelope unflavored gelatin ½ bag of frozen strawberries, thawed 3 egg whites ¼ tsp. cream of tartar ½ cup whipping cream In a saucepan stir together the sugar and the gelatin. Stir in the strawberries. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly just until the mixture boils. Pour into a metal mixing bowl and place in the freezer until the mixture is thickens slightly and mounds slightly when dripped from a spoon. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Beat in 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until stiff and glossy, do not under beat. (Test for doneness: when the mixer is turned off slowly lift the mixer straight up and the meringue should stand up. Have me check this.) Fold strawberry mixture into the meringue. In chilled bowl, beat the cream until stiff. Fold-in the strawberry meringue. Pile into baked pie shell. Chill for at least 3 hours. Coconut Cream Pie 1 cup sugar ½ cup flour (or ¼ cup cornstarch) ¼ tsp. salt 3 cups milk 4 eggs 3 Tbsp. butter 1 ½ tsp. vanilla 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut ½ tsp. cream of tartar ½ cup sugar ½ tsp. vanilla Pastry for a single-crust pie Crust: Prepare and roll out pastry. Line a 9-inch pie plate. Trim pastry to ½ inch beyond the edge. Flute edge; prick pastry. Bake in 450°F oven for 10 – 12 minutes or until golden. Cool thoroughly. Filling: In a saucepan combine sugar, flour (or cornstarch) and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir the mixture until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat, cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove saucepan from heat. Separate egg yolks from whites; set whites aside for meringue. Beat egg yolks slightly. Gradually stir 1 cup of the hot mixture into yolks. Return egg mixture to saucepan, cook and stir 2 more minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Stir in 1 cup of the coconut. Put hot mixture into baked pastry shell. Meringue: Beat together the 4 reserved egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Beat in ½ cup of sugar, one tablespoon at a time and continue beating until stiff and glossy. Stir in vanilla. Spread the meringue over hot filling; seal to edge. Sprinkle meringue with remaining coconut. Bake in 350°F oven for 12-15 minutes or until meringue is golden. Cool and then chill. Lemon Meringue Pie Pie Shell 1 ½ cups flour ½ cup shortening ½ tsp. salt 4-6 Tbsp. cold water Combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender cut-in the shortening. Add the water one tablespoon at a time and mix with a fork. Roll out pie dough using the wax paper method. Place in pie pan. Put a finish on the edge of the pie. Bake pie shell at 350°F for 10 minutes. Lemon Filling 2 cup sugar 1/2 cup cornstarch 2 cup water 4 egg yolks, slightly beaten (save the egg whites for the meringue) 4 Tbsp. butter 2/3 cup lemon juice 4 drops yellow food coloring Heat Oven to 400°F. Mix sugar and cornstarch in medium saucepan. Gradually stir in water. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir one minute. Place the egg yolks into a bowl, and gradually stir in half the hot mixture. Blend all of this into the rest of the hot mixture in the pan. Boil and stir one minute. Remove from heat and stir in butter, lemon juice, and food coloring. Pour into baked pie shell. Meringue: 4 egg whites 1/2 tsp cream of tartar 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla Beat together the reserved egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Beat in sugar, one tablespoon at a time and continue beating until stiff and glossy. Stir in vanilla. Spread the meringue over hot filling; seal to edge. Bake in 350°F oven for 1215 minutes or until meringue is golden. Cool and then chill. Pecan Pie Pastry for a 1-crust pie 3 eggs ¼ tsp. salt ¾ cup sugar ½ cup melted butter 1 cup dark corn syrup 1 ½ cups chopped pecan 1 ½ cups pecan halves Prepare pastry, line a 9-inch pie pan, and bake in a preheated 450°F oven for 5 minutes. Cool. Beat eggs and salt until very light and lemon colored. Beat in sugar a little at a time. With a wire whisk, fold in melted butter, syrup and chopped pecan halves. Pour into partially baked shell. Arrange 1 ½ cups pecan halves on top, broken side down. Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated 425°F oven, reduce heat to 325°F, and bake for 30 minutes. Serves 6 to 8. This pie can be baked in small fluted foil pans to make 8 to 10 individual pies. Reduce baking time slightly (bake until crust is golden.) Easy Chicken Pot Pie 2 unbaked pie crusts 1 – 10 oz. canned chicken 16 oz. frozen mixed vegetables 1 cup water 1 -2 chicken bouillon cubes (or 1-2 tsp. chicken bouillon powder) Cornstarch (or flour) to thicken Salt and Pepper to taste Fit one pie crust to a pie dish. Sprinkle bottom with a little flour and set aside. Mix vegetables and bouillon with water and cook until tender. Add enough cornstarch to thicken. Add salt and pepper. Cook until a gravy consistency. Drain chicken and add to mixture. Pour mixture into prepared pie crust. Top with second crust. Seal edges and flute. Cut one to steam vents in top crust. Bake 375°F for 30-35 minutes. Apple Turnovers 3 cups flour 1 tsp. salt 1 cup shortening 6-8 Tbsp. ice cold water 6 Tbsp. butter, softened 1 ½ lbs cooking apples 1 Tbsp. lemon juice 2/3 cup sugar ½ tsp. ground cinnamon ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg 1/8 tsp. salt Milk, sugar and ground cinnamon Mix flour and the 1 teaspoon salt. Cut in shortening until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water over part of the mixture, gently toss with fork. Push to side of bowl, repeat until all is moistened. From dough into a ball. Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface, roll each half to an 11-inch square. Spread each square with 3 tablespoons butter. Fold each square into thirds; chill 30 minutes. Roll each chilled pastry portion to an 18x12-inch rectangle. Cut each rectangle into six 6-inch squares. Meanwhile, peel, core apples, and chop apples. Sprinkle apples with lemon juice. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Toss with apples. Put about ½ cup of the apple mixture just off-center on a pastry square. Moisten edges of pastry with a little water. Fold in half diagonally, seal by pressing with tines of fork. Place turnover on ungreased baking sheet. Prick top. Brush with milk; sprinkle with additional sugar and cinnamon. Repeat with the remaining pastry squares. Bake in 375°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until crust is golden. Fruit Pinwheels Frozen puff pastry Fruit pie filling (any flavor) Confectioners’ sugar Layer puff pastry sheets until 1/8 inch thick. Cut the dough into 5-inch squares. Wash the centers with water. Cut diagonally from the corners to about 1 inch from the centers. Fold every other corner into the center and press in place. Bake at 400°F until lightly brown. Let cool. Spoon fruit filling onto the centers. Dust lightly with confectioner’s sugar. (Pinwheels may also be filled before baking if the filling is thick and not likely to burn.) My Favorite Pumpkin Pie 1 can condensed milk (not evaporated) ½ c. regular milk 3 eggs ½ tsp. salt 2 Tbsp. flour mixed with sugar 3 ½ c. pumpkin 1 tsp. ginger 2 c. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla Mix ginger, cinnamon, flour, sugar and salt. Beat eggs until light; add dry ingredients, then pumpkin. Mix well. Add vanilla, regular milk and condensed milk. Mix well. Pour into 2 -10 inch pie shells or 3 smaller pies. Bake 10 minutes at 450 °F. Lower oven temperature to 350°F for 30-35 minutes. Chocolate Pudding Pie (from theteachercooks.com) Adapted from The Smitten Kitchen or Epicurious 1/4 cup cornstarch 1/3 cup sugar 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 cups of whole milk (or 1 1/2 cups of skim milk + 1/2 cup half and half) 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not more than 60% cacao), melted 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Pudding: Whisk together cornstarch, sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a 2 qt. saucepan. Whisk in the milk and melted chocolate; bring to boil over medium heat. Bring the pudding to a boil and boil for two minutes. (If using a double boiler it will not come to a boil just thicken beautifully.) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour immediately into a cooled pie shell. Remember not to over stir because it will cause the pudding to thin out!!! Cover with wax paper to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Just before serving, prepare whipped cream. 1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream 2 tablespoons powdered sugar Beat 1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream until thick then gradually add about 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar. Whip until nice and thick. The cream will hold a peak when the beaters are lifted. I like to top the pie after I cut it. It is easier to make a pretty slice. The leftover whipped cream can be left in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and you can bring it back to life by beating very hard with a wire whisk.