Three Exceptional Pies

Yesterday I made my DH a wonderful lemon meringue pie. It was a lip-smacking hit. Kellie said she was inspired by mine enough to try her hand at making one for her family. This morning Suprina told me she is in search of a chocolate pie recipe. I’ve got a wonderful recipe that will be right up her alley. For good measures I’m sharing the world’s best coconut cream pie recipe. If someone has one that beats it, I’d love to have the recipe. The chocolate and coconut pies are both very old…handed down to the homemakers and pie bakers in two families from my childhood church.  They  were gracious enough to publish them in a fund raiser cookbook.  If you try them let us know what you think.  I’m sharing my pie crust recipe.  If you have a tried and true one…feel free to use it.  I don’t mind a bit.  I always use mine. 

Pastry for Baked Pie Crust:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2  teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1/3 cup unsalted butter

2 to 3 tablespoons cold water (If using a food processor decrease water to 2 tablespoons or crust will be too gooey to roll.)

Mix all dry ingredients together.  Cut butter into dry mixture until particles are about the size of small peas.  Sprinkle water over mixture one tablespoons at a time.  Toss with a fork until mixture is moistened and leaves the side of the bowl…forming a ball.  Roll pastry from the center of the ball toward the outside forming a circle.  Apply less pressure on the outside of the circle to prevent the edges becoming too thin.  Crust should be a couple inches larger than pie plate to allow for crimping the edge of the crust.  Place crust in pie plate.  Either weigh the crust down by covering it with a piece of tin foil and filling it with dried beans or poke a few holes in it with a fork before baking.  (I use the bean technique and reuse the beans over and over.)  Bake at 475 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool on wire rack.

Lemon Meringue Pie

1 baked pie crust

filling:
3 large egg yolks (reserve whites for meringue)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 cups 2ater
3 tablespoons butter or margarine (I use butter.)
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel (optional…I omit it.)
1/2 cup lemon juice

Directions:

Bake pastry for baked pie crust.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

filling microwave method

In a large microwave safe bowl combine sugar and cornstarch and mix well.  Add water and stir until mixture is smooth and without lumps.  Beat egg yolks and add to sugar mixture.  Stir well making sure the egg yolks are well integrated into the mixture.

Place bowl in the microwave uncovered and cook on high for 2 minutes.  Stir well.  Continue microwaving for two minute increments until the mixture is very thick and shiny.  Stir after each 2 minutes of cooking making sure the mixture is very smooth.  (It takes me approximately 8 to 10 minutes of cooking with my microwave.)

When mixture is very thick remove it from the microwave and stir in butter and lemon juice.  Stir well.

Pour mixture into pre-baked pie crust.  Set aside while you make meringue.

Meringue:

3 egg whites reserved from filling

1 pinch of cream of tartar

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

With mixer beat the 3 reserved egg whites and cream of tartar on medium high until the whites hold a stiff peak.  Combine vanilla and sugar.  Continue beating and slowly add sugar to the egg whites.  Beat until peaks are glossy.  Be careful not to over-beat.

Spread meringue over lemon filling.  Be sure to seal the meringue to the edge of the crust to prevent shrinkage of the the meringue.  Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes or until the merigue is a beautiful light brown.  Cool for a couple hours before serving.  Store covered leftovers in the refrigerator.

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I scanned the other two pie recipes.  I follow the recipe for the coconut pie but not the chocolate.  After mixing all the ingredients in the chocolate pie I cook it until thickened using the double boiler method.  Then I pour it into a baked pie crust and top it with meringue.

*I proofed the recipe I typed, but if something is not clear and you want to give it a try, please feel free to question me.  I’ll do my best to explain…I may have missed something that needs to be corrected.

Until next time…

Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.  ~ William O. Douglas ~

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