Fruit Basket Pie

FuitBasketPieStraightI regularly visit some vintage image websites and blogs. Some, to marvel at the exuberance of mid-century style and design; others, to marvel at what the heck people ate (or were supposed to have eaten) back in the olden days (think the green jello with olives and cabbage). Every once in awhile, I come across a vintage recipe that looks really tempting – and this is one of those…

The undated ad is for ‘Crisco’s Sure-Fire Pastry Method’ from, I am assuming the late 40’s/early 50’s. A search on da Google gave me several newspaper hits for articles lauding this method from 1941, so it could be as early as that. In any event; I have the Crisco, the cherries, and the pineapple, so why not have a pie on hand for the weekend?

INGREDIENTS
Crust:
•3/4 cup Crisco
•2-1/4 cups sifted flour
•1 tsp salt
•1/4 cup water

Filling:
•4 cups drained sour cherries (I just happen to have a jar from Door County)
•1 cup drained cubed pineapple
•1 cup sugar
•2 tbsp cornstarch
•2 tbsp flour
•1/4 tsp salt

To make the pie crust, sift flour and salt into a bowl, then take out 1/3 cup. Cut Crisco into remaining flour with knives, forks, or, as I am going to do, your trusty food processor fitted with the metal blade, until the pieces are the size of small peas.

Mix the remaining 1/3 cup flour with the water to make a paste and add to the flour/Crisco mixture. Mix well and form into a ball.

Lightly roll half of dough into a 12” circle about 1/8” thick. Place in a pie pan and fill with fruit filling.

For the filling; combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt in a bowl.

Stir into drained fruits and add to the dough-lined pie pan.

FruitBasketPieDonebfLORoll out the other half of dough into another 12” circle and cut into 1” strips. Weave strips closely together on top of a 10 inch circle drawn on wax paper (if any of you think I am going to do this, you don’t know me very well – a simple top crust will be just fine for this household). Place paper and pastry on top of fruit and remove paper. Fold bottom pastry up over rough edges and crimp.

Bake in a preheated 425º oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 400º and bake another 30 minutes until crust is brown.

This is my afternoon project; along with some strawberry bread. I’ll add an image of my finished pie here once it’s completed.

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