When it comes to eating pie, the experience is greater than the sum of its parts.
Most of us can mark at least one life event by what we ate. For instance, the thing I remember most about my honeymoon flight is the basket of food that used to be gratis on British Airways. Sometimes food memories are more iconic, like the hot cocoa shared on morning walks with a now-departed friend. And ask people to describe their grandmothers, and almost to a one they will tie in some food-related memory—Sunday dinners, a secret recipe, chicken noodle soup when someone was sick. Food, it seems, is a universally-recognized conduit for a grandmother’s love.
It is especially true for me. My grandmother had owned a business since the 1940s, long before I was born, so memories of her cooking are scant. Were it not for Bessie, the woman who cooked for her, her kitchen would have remained uncharted territory. But once a year, for my birthday, I persuaded my grandmother to put on an apron and whip up her sole specialty—lemon meringue pie.
I think there were only six ingredients: flour and butter for the crust; egg whites and sugar for the meringue; and lemon juice and condensed milk for the filling. It couldn’t have been simpler, but with every bite, I felt the love.
Now, lemon meringue pie for me is like a page in a diary … it brings back a feeling, freshens my memory. When I see one in a bakery case or even just a picture of a slice on a menu, I remember my grandmother. I remember the love.
Basic Pie Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup cake flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter
5-6 tablespoons cold water
Combine dry ingredients with butter and pulse until crumbly. Add water gradually and pulse until dough comes together. Roll into a ball and flatten into a thick disk. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Makes 2 pie crusts
Graham Cracker Crust
1 ½ cups finely crushed graham crackers
2 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Combine all and press into a buttered pie pan.
Bake for 10 minutes and cool.
Makes 1 pie crust
Butterscotch Pie
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
3 cups milk
4 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
1 ½ teaspoons plus ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar
graham cracker crust
In a bowl, stir together ½ cup brown sugar and cornstarch. Add ¼ cup milk and egg yolks and set aside. In a saucepan, heat remaining milk and ¼ cup brown sugar and salt to a boil. Add a splash of this mixture to yolk mixture and mix well. Repeat 2-3 times. Return all to saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Strain into a clean bowl. Whisk in 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract and butter until smooth. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours. Once cooled, pour into crust.
To serve, whip heavy cream, sugar and ½ teaspoon vanilla and pipe onto pie. Garnish with butterscotch chips.
Makes 1 pie
Black and Blue Lattice Pie
5 cups blackberries and blueberries, mixed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¾ cup sugar (more if not sweet enough)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon heavy cream for glaze
1 tablespoon sugar for glaze
basic pie crust dough
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Divide dough into 2 unequal pieces. On a floured surface, roll out larger piece into a large circle 1/8-inch thick. Without stretching, fit into a deep, 10-inch pie pan. Trim the edge leaving a ¾-inch overhang. Roll remaining dough into a circle and transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet and chill.
Toss berries with lemon juice. Stir together cornstarch, cinnamon and ¾ cup sugar. Toss with berries. Pour into chilled crust. Dot with butter. Moisten crust edge with cold water. Cut the other dough circle into 1-inch strips using a fluted pastry cutter. Lay half strips over pie in even intervals. Lay remaining strips across top to make lattice. Press ends into bottom crust. Trim excess dough. Crimp or flute pastry border. Brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 12 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until golden, 30-40 minutes. Serve warm or cool on rack and serve at room temperature.
Makes 1 pie
Fallen Lemon Pie
6 large egg yolks
butter for greasing 10 inch-square of aluminum foil
¾ cup sugar
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 large egg whites
½ basic pie crust dough
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Line a 9-inch pie pan with dough, leaving a 1-inch overhang without stretching dough. Butter one side of foil and place, butter-side down, covering pie shell. Using dried beans, rice or pie weights, fill enough of shell to hold down foil. Bake until set, about 12 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and continue to bake until golden, 5-6 minutes. Cool on a rack.
In top of a double boiler over simmering water, whisk yolks until foamy. Whisk in sugar in a slow stream, followed by zest and juice, whisking constantly until thick, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Beat whites until nearly stiff. Gently fold into lemon mixture until just blended. Pour into shell and bake until filling is puffed and set, about 15 minutes. For a puffy pie, serve warm. It will fall when it cools.
Makes 1 pie
White Chocolate Banana Cream Pie
1 cup milk
½ vanilla bean, split
3 large egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 ½ ounces white chocolate
2 bananas, thinly sliced
juice of ½ lemon
1 cup heavy cream
cocoa powder for garnish
basic pie crust dough
On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Fit into a buttered 10-inch pie pan. Trim to a ¾-inch overhang and make a fluted border. Cover dough with a sheet of buttered aluminum foil and weigh down with beans, rice or pie weights. Bake until set, approximately 12 minutes. Carefully remove weights and foil. Using a fork, prick dough all over. Bake another 5-6 minutes until golden.
Bring milk and vanilla to a boil. Whisk yolks and sugar until pale yellow. Whisk in cornstarch. Whisk ¾ cup hot liquid into the yolks, ¼ cup at a time. Scrape all into saucepan with remaining liquid and return to a boil, whisking constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add butter and white chocolate and whisk until smooth. Strain into a clean bowl. Place plastic onto filling to prevent skim and chill. In a separate bowl, toss bananas with lemon juice.
Before serving, gently toss bananas with filling. Whip cream until stiff and gently fold into filling and banana mixture until just blended. Carefully turn into pie shell and chill for at least 30 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle with powdered cocoa.
Makes 1 pie
Green Tomato and Apple Mincemeat Pie
1 pound green tomatoes, cored, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons plus ¾ teaspoons salt
1 small orange
1 ¼ pounds Golden Delicious apples
¾ cup raisins
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon each ground cloves and nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon sugar
basic pie crust dough
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine tomatoes and boiling water in food processor and pulse until tomato is in fine pieces. Drain in a colander and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt. Let stand for 1 hour. Press firmly to expel remaining liquid. Transfer to a saucepan. Grate zest and chop flesh of orange. Peel, core, and chop apples. Add apples and oranges to mixture. Add raisins, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, gingers and vinegar. Partially cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes. Cool.
Divide dough in half. On a floured surface, roll out dough into two 1/8-inch thick disks. Line a 9-inch pie pan to 1-inch overhang without stretching dough. In other disk, use a cookie cutter to cut out designs. Pour filling into pie pan. Loosely drape remaining dough over filling. Crimp edges using a fork. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden, about 1 hour.
Makes 1 pie
Fun Fact: How the Whoopie Pie Got Its Name
Is it a pie or a cookie? A cake or a sweet sandwich? No matter how you classify the classic whoopie pie, the diminutive disks of rich cake encasing dollops of decadent cream filling have won fans from Maine to the Florida Keys and New York to L.A. but how did they get their whimsical name?
Food historians assert they originated in Pennsylvania. Baked by Amish women, they were often packed into farmers’ lunchboxes to provide a midday pick-me-up. discovering the sweet treats, farmers are thought to have shouted ‘Whoopie!’
And that is how, dear reader, the Whoopie Pie got its name!
Originally published in the June 2014 Issue.
