IN MOST COUNTRIES, SKILL IN MAKING TENDER, tasty pies, tarts, strudel, or any other kind of pastry was the crowning testament to a good cook. For many, no meal was complete without a sweet ending of this kind.
Wisconsin’s astonishing winters, even in the days before electric freezers, enabled many a housewife to make pies in large numbers. Mrs. Verne Cluppert of Mar kesan recalled that her great-grandmother, for instance, “made stacks of pies at one time and kept them frozen all winter long in a shed or attic. Then when she wanted a pie for dessert, she’d take a frozen pie and put it in the oven to thaw and bake.”
Lard, that important ingredient in the pastries of days gone by, is less used today but still available to lend authentic flavor and texture to old-time recipes. (Pork producers who sell cuts at farmers’ markets are a good source for the “real thing.”)
Other ingredients for pies and pastries are as limitless as a cook’s imagination and traditions. What follows is a mere sampling of those enjoyed in Wisconsin over the years.
A good pie or pastry starts, of course, with a good crust.
3½ pounds (14 cups) flour
2 tablespoons salt
4 cups vegetable shortening
Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Add 2 cups of the shortening and cut in until mixture is as fine as meal. Add remaining shortening and continue cutting, using as few strokes as possible, until particles are the size of large peas. Store in a covered container.
Makes enough for six 2-crust pies.
To use for a 2-crust pie, mix 3 cups of the pastry mix with 5 tablespoons cold water. For a 1-crust pie, use 1¾ cups mix and 3 tablespoons water.
For a rich dough, blend 1¾ cups mix with 1 well-beaten egg.
Submitted by Mrs. Verne Cluppert, Markesan.
Dorothy Magarich of Hales Corners and her Wisconsin State Fair blue ribbon pie, 1957.
WHi Image ID 58390
1 egg
Cold water
5 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups lard
Put egg into a measuring cup; beat slightly with a fork and add enough cold water to measure 1 cup. Combine flour, salt, and sugar and mix in lard and egg-water mixture, using hands. Chill in the refrigerator; dough will be soft. May use plenty of flour when rolling out.
Variation: Use juice of a lemon and grated rind as part of the liquid.
Submitted by Mrs. Isabel Mertens, Withee.
2½ cups sifted flour, divided
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup lard
¾ cup water
Remove ⅓ cup flour and reserve. Combine remaining flour and salt; work in lard until it is all absorbed. Make a paste with reserved flour and water. Mix into dough. Roll out into 2 crusts.
Submitted by Mrs. Joe Kucera, Cudahy.
1 cup water
½ cup butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs, at room temperature
Bring water and butter to a boil. Add flour all at once, stirring quickly with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and does not cling to sides of pan.
Remove from heat and after 2 minutes beat in eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Drop by tablespoon on a greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 25 minutes more.
When cool, cut and fill with freshly whipped cream or any filling desired.
Submitted by Marlyne Schantz (Mrs. William) Seymour, Elkhorn.
1 tablespoon vinegar
Warm water
4 cups sifted flour
Melted butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
Flour for rolling
Place vinegar in measuring cup and add enough warm water to make 1 cup. In a large bowl, make a well in center of flour. Add 1 tablespoon melted butter and egg. Add liquid mixture gradually, mixing until flour is moistened. Turn out onto a lightly floured pastry board and knead. Hold dough high above board and hit it hard against the board about 100 or 125 times or until dough is smooth and elastic and small bubbles appear on the surface. Knead dough occasionally during the hitting process. Shape the dough into a smooth ball and place on lightly floured board. Brush top with melted butter and cover with an inverted bowl. Allow to rest 30 minutes.
Cover a large table with a clean white cloth and sprinkle entire surface lightly with flour. Place dough on center of cloth and sprinkle very lightly with flour. Working with half the dough at a time, roll dough into a rectangle ⅛- to ¼-inch thick. Butter fingers and stretch dough until it is paper thin. Allow to dry 5 minutes or until no longer sticky before filling and baking. Makes enough for two strudels. See below for filling recipes and filling and baking procedures.
Submitted by Jeanne Cragin (Mrs. Lawrence) Atkinson, Superior.
Strudel dough (see recipe, above)
½ cup melted butter, cooled somewhat
¼ cup dry bread crumbs
4 or 5 medium cooking apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ⅛-inch slices
½ cup raisins
½ to ¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg white, beaten
Brush strudel dough with melted butter and sprinkle evenly with bread crumbs. Cover with apple slices and raisins. Combine sugar (amount depends on tartness of the apples) and cinnamon and sprinkle over fruit. Fold outside edge of dough over about 3 inches wide and keep rolling, brushing off flour. Brush top slightly with egg white. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes or until brown.
Submitted by Jeanne Cragin (Mrs. Lawrence) Atkinson, Superior.
2 egg yolks
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups firmly packed dry cottage cheese
¼ cup raisins
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon lemon peel
Strudel dough (see recipe, previous page)
½ cup melted butter
¼ cup dry bread crumbs
In a large bowl, beat egg yolks, sugar, and salt until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually add cottage cheese, blending after each addition. Mix in raisins, vanilla, and lemon peel.
Brush strudel dough with melted butter and sprinkle evenly with bread crumbs. Fold outside edge of dough over about 3 inches wide and keep rolling, brushing off flour. Brush top slightly with egg white. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes or until brown.
Submitted by Jeanne Cragin (Mrs. Lawrence) Atkinson, Superior.
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup shortening or butter
2 large or 3 small eggs
About ½ cup milk
Brown sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
Butter or margarine
Confectioners’ sugar or frosting, as desired
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly. Make a well in the middle of this mixture. Break eggs into a measuring cup and add milk to make 1 cup. Beat with a fork. Slowly pour into well, then mix as for pie dough.
Toss dough onto a floured bread board and roll out as large as possible. Sprinkle generously with brown sugar and cinnamon and dot with butter. Roll up like a jelly roll and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar while hot or frost when cool if desired.
Variations: Fill with dried or fresh fruit or jam instead of brown sugar.
Submitted by Mrs. Norma Gedamske, Milwaukee, who wished she had a penny for each strudel she had made in her seventy-plus years: “I think I would be almost a rich lady.”
2¼-inch slices very fat salt pork, diced
Pastry for 2-crust, 9-inch pie, rolled out
About 2 pounds cooking apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Fry salt pork slowly until golden brown.
Line a 9-inch pie pan with pastry and cover with apple slices. Mix sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and sprinkle over apples. Drip lemon juice over, then pour salt pork with fat over the apples. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and make several slits in top. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking 30 minutes.
Submitted by Mrs. Clarence Schwebke, Beloit. She found it in an old, almost illegible cookbook that came from New England before the Civil War.
2½ cups plus 6 or 7 tablespoons flour, divided
⅔ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
½ teaspoon salt
½ pound (2 sticks) butter
1 ounce (½ cake) compressed yeast
½ cup lukewarm milk
2 egg yolks, beaten
8 to 10 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
Butter
Confectioners’ sugar
Combine 2½ cups flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, and salt. Cut in butter. Dissolve yeast in milk and add egg yolks. Mix into flour mixture and blend. Roll out two-thirds of the dough to fit the bottom and sides of a 9- by 13-inch pan. Cover with apple slices. Combine remaining sugar and flour and vanilla, and sprinkle over apples. Dot with butter. Cover with remaining dough, overlapping bottom dough with the top; cut slits in top. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Frost with a thin frosting made of confectioners’ sugar and water. Cut into squares when cold.
Submitted by Mr. and Mrs. Bay Sprengel, New Berlin, who ran the Sprengel Apple Orchard.
1 quart fresh tart cherries
Dough for an 8- or 9-inch lattice pie
Melted shortening
1 cup sugar
2 or 3 tablespoons flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon almond flavoring
Wash and pit cherries. Line pie pan with bottom crust and brush lightly with melted shortening.
Combine sugar, flour, and salt, and mix with cherries. Pour into pie shell and sprinkle on almond flavoring. Top with a lattice crust. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking about 30 minutes or until done.
Submitted by Mrs. Ann Strathman, Waterloo.
1½ cups cooked, mashed carrots
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1½ cups evaporated milk
Uncooked 9-inch pastry shell
Combine carrots, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt, eggs, and evaporated milk. Mix well. Pour into pie shell and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.
Submitted by Roscella Berdal, Montello.
4-H member Olive Charboneau of Vesper (Wood County) mixes pastry dough for the state cherry pie baking contest, 1932. She is working in the Madison Gas & Electric demonstration kitchen.
WHi Image ID 18118
3 eggs, separated
2 cups sliced rhubarb
1½ cups plus 2 tablespoons flour, divided
1½ cups plus 2 teaspoons sugar, divided
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Beat 3 egg yolks and add rhubarb, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon butter or margarine. Mix well and set aside.
Sift together remaining flour, 2 teaspoons sugar, salt, and baking powder. Cut in remaining ½ cup butter or margarine. Mix egg yolk and milk together and add to dry ingredients. Press into greased 8- or 9-inch pie pan. Pour in rhubarb mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.
Make a meringue: Beat egg whites until foamy, add cream of tartar, and continue beating while slowly adding remaining ½ cup sugar. Beat until firm peaks form. Top partially baked pie with meringue. Return to oven until top is brown.
Submitted by Mrs. Ruth V. Calvin, Elkhorn, who remembered that her mother served this pie every Sunday during rhubarb season.
1½ cups butter, softened
3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled, cooked, and mashed
1½ cups sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3 eggs
1 cup milk
2 unbaked 8-inch pie shells
Add softened butter to mashed sweet potato. Blend in sugar, salt, and nutmeg and mash until consistency of mush. Beat in eggs and milk. Pour into prepared pie shells. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 350 and continue baking 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
This recipe of Mrs. John Blathers, Milwaukee, was sent in by Mrs. L. Tornowske, Patch Grove.
Dough for a 2-crust 8- or 9-inch pie
Raw pumpkin, peeled and sliced paper thin
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Fill prepared pie pan with pumpkin mixed with sugar and cinnamon. Cover with top crust, seal, and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until done.
Submitted by Pastor Lloyd C. Denzer, Wild Rose.
Watch the Spice
IN 1839 A DOCTOR IN SPRING PRAIRIE, Walworth County, got more than he bargained for when he decided to enliven the social scene with a “Pumpkin Pie Ball.” The guests gathered in the doctor’s two-story log tavern, ate the pies, and were enjoying the dancing when, as a later chronicler recounted, “one after another were taken sick ... among the throng, recently so happy and joyous. The strange sensations of the guests led to the suspicions that poison had, in some way, been administered, and the doctor began to search for the cause. He ascertained that the pies were seasoned with allspice; a specimen of which was brought for his inspection. He saw at once that his family had used a quantity of Lee’s pills [a laxative], which he had brought with him from Indiana, and which were carefully laid away in his pantry. Being small and hard, they had been mistaken for allspice, and used, by the pastry cook, in preparing the pies, this producing the disasters of the evening.” •
2 cups water
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup dark molasses
2 cups plus 3 tablespoons flour, divided
1 egg, beaten
2 unbaked 8- or 9-inch pie shells
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup butter
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat and add baking soda, molasses, and 3 tablespoons flour and stir well. Add egg slowly, stirring constantly. Pour evenly into pie shells.
Combine brown sugar, remaining flour, butter, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, mixing well with hands. Gently sprinkle over top of filling in pie shells. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake 20 minutes more, or until crust is done.
Submitted by Mrs. Martie Steele, Fond du Lac.
Rich pastry for a 2-crust 8- or 9-inch pie (see page 289)
Green tomatoes
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Butter
Line pie pan with bottom crust. Peel and slice enough green tomatoes to fill the pie pan very full (filling shrinks in cooking). Mix sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Alternate layers of tomatoes with a sprinkling of sugar mixture and dots of butter. Top with upper crust, seal, and bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking 30 or 35 minutes.
Contributed by Mrs. C. W. Loomer, Madison. This tastes, she reported, like apple pie.
2 cups milk
¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
Baked pie crust
Brown sugar
Combine milk, flour, and salt and cook over a low heat until medium thick. Pour into crust and sprinkle generously with brown sugar. Serve hot.
Submitted by Mrs. Henry R. Bowers, Marion. Bouillé, she wrote, means “boiled” in French. This simple pie was frequently served by her grandmother, who raised ten children on a very limited budget.
Pastry for a 2-crust 8- or 9-inch pie
1 cup maple syrup
½ cup boiling water
3 tablespoons cold water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon butter
Chopped hickory or other nuts
Line pie pan with bottom crust. Boil maple syrup and water together for 5 minutes. Mix cold water with cornstarch. Pour slowly into boiling syrup to thicken. Add butter and pour into pie pan. Sprinkle chopped nuts evenly over top. Cover with top crust, seal, and vent. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
Submitted by Mrs. Florence M. Vint, Springfield, Virginia, who noted that her family always used hickory nuts because they were plentiful in northern Wisconsin. “If you like the taste of maple,” she added, “you will love this pie.”
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
Grated rinds of 3 lemons
½ cup lemon juice
Baked tartlet shells or baked pie crust
Whipped cream or meringue (optional)
Combine eggs, sugar, lemon rind, and lemon juice. Cook over low heat until thickened. Put in a jar and store in refrigerator until needed.
To use, spoon into tartlet shells or pie crust and cover with whipped cream or meringue if desired.
Submitted by Mrs. L. P. Baerwolf, Madison.
½ cup cottage cheese or 3 ounces cream cheese
½ cup butter or margarine
1 cup flour
Jelly or preserves
Combine cheese, butter, and flour into a smooth paste. Chill for 30 minutes.
Cut into small pieces and roll out into squares. Place a spoonful of jelly or preserves in the center of each square, pick up corners, and pinch together. Bake at 450 degrees until delicately brown.
Submitted by Viola (Mrs. Felix) Schuster, Menomonee Falls.
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 whole egg
1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup chopped walnuts
2 cups brown sugar
Cream butter. Gradually add sugar and beat well. Add 3 egg yolks and 1 whole egg and beat well. Sift flour with baking powder and stir in to butter mixture. Add vanilla. Spread mixture, which will be quite heavy, in a 10- by 15-inch jelly roll pan. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
Beat egg whites until very stiff. Gradually add brown sugar. Beat until very heavy. Spread over dough and walnuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.
Submitted by Patricia (Mrs. Ronald R.) Kolwitz, Menomonee Falls.
The pastry dough called for here is probably pie pastry, but the recipe can also be made successfully with puff pastry. (Thaw twelve packaged puff pastry shells and work the pastry up the sides of large muffin tins.)
Pastry dough to line 12 large muffin cups
¼ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup milk
1 cup currants
¾ cup rice flour (or farina)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch allspice
Pinch cloves
Line bottom and sides of 12 large muffin tins with pastry dough.
Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs and milk. Mix in currants, rice flour, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Fill pastry shells about ⅔ full. Bake at 350 degrees until filling is firm.
Submitted by Mrs. R. W. Peterman, Wauwatosa.
These traditional Polish Easter pastries can be made with the raisin topping, below, or other toppings.
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup cold butter
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons cream
Raisin Topping (see below)
Sift together flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Mix egg and cream and add to flour mixture. Mix lightly by hand and spread evenly on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Immediately cover evenly with raisin topping, using a heated knife dipped in hot water. Return to oven and bake for 15 minutes more. When cool, slice into squares or bars.
½ pound golden seedless raisins
1⅛ cups sugar
1½ or 2 cups chopped nuts or sliced almonds
Grated peel of 1 lemon
1 egg plus 1 yolk
Combine all ingredients.
Submitted by Mrs. Waclaw Soroka, Stevens Point.
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
½ cup cold butter
1 egg yolk
Small pinch salt
2 egg whites
½ cup sugar
Grated rind of 1 lemon
Chopped nuts
Mix flour and sugar. Cut in butter; add egg yolk and salt. Mix and place in a 7½- by 11-inch pan, patting crust evenly over bottom and along sides.
Pit prunes and arrange over crust. Beat egg whites until very stiff; add sugar and grated lemon rind. Spread over prunes. Sprinkle evenly with chopped nuts. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until crust is well baked.
Submitted by Mrs. Ruth L. Jaeger, Brown Deer.
Although pie-making is something of a dying art in the twenty-first century, aficionados can still turn to Wisconsin’s many small-town cafes for a slice of homemade heaven. And this being the Dairy State, cream pies show up often on the ever-changing dessert menu of any self-respecting diner.
¾ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon flour
Pinch salt
3 large egg yolks
2¼ cups whole milk, divided
2 tablespoons butter
9-inch baked pie crust
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
pinch of cream of tartar
⅓ cup sugar
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix brown sugar, cornstarch, flour, and salt in saucepan. Add egg yolks and ¼ cup of the milk; whisk until well blended. Stir in remaining milk. Heat over medium flame, stirring very often. When mixture begins to get hot, stir it constantly until bubbles or “cat’s eyes” form and pop on the surface. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter.
To make meringue, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric beaters at medium speed in a clean, dry bowl until foamy throughout. Raise speed to high and continue beating while gradually adding the sugar, until mixture is stiff.
Pour hot pie filling into baked pie shell. Spread meringue over filling, creating a seal where the meringue meets the crust. If you’d like, use a knife to create attractive peaks in the meringue. Bake until meringue is light brown, about 15 minutes. Cool pie completely. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
This recipe, by Connie Farrell of the Clinton Kitchen in Clinton, was first published in Cafe Wisconsin Cookbook, by Joanne Raetz Stuttgen and Terese Allen. Farrell inherited the recipe from her grandmother, wrote the authors, “who used the phrase ‘cat’s eyes’ to describe how the bubbles look when they burst open wide on the surface of the pudding as it’s cooked. When the cat was wide awake, she knew it was done.”
These pies are made with a yeast crust filled with a variety of mixtures and crowned with a cottage-cheese topping.
6 eggs, separated
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 packages (¼ ounce each) active dry yeast
½ cup lukewarm water
3½ cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
Filling (see below)
Topping (see below)
Beat egg whites until stiff; add yolks and beat. Add sugar and butter. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water and mix in. Sift flour and salt together; mix and work into egg mixture, a little at a time, until dough is no longer sticky. Let rise 1 hour.
Knead down and roll into three circles to fit into 8- or 9-inch pie pans. Place in pans and prick pastry. Add filling and cover with topping. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.
Submitted by Virginia Nelson, Middleton.
2 cups cooked prunes, pitted and mashed
½ cup light brown sugar
½ teaspoon nutmeg
Juice of ½ lemon
Mix well and spread over dough.
Submitted by Virginia Nelson, Middleton.
¾ cup cooked rice
6 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon cream
1 small egg yolk
2½ tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla
Put rice in a heavy pot; add milk and cream. Bring to a boil. Beat egg yolk well with sugar; stir into boiling rice. Cook until slightly thick. Add vanilla. Spread on crust.
Submitted by Mrs. Emma Heesakker, Appleton.
¾ cup seedless raisins
2 tablespoons cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon flour
Cook raisins in water until soft; drain. Add cream, sugar, and flour. Mix and cook until mixture begins to thicken. Spread on crust.
Submitted by Mrs. Emma Heesakker, Appleton.
1 pound small-curd cottage cheese
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup heavy cream
Juice of ½ lemon
Combine all ingredients in order given. Spread over filling.
Submitted by Virginia Nelson, Middleton.
Belgian Bounty
ONE OF THE TRADITIONS the Belgian settlers of Door County transplanted to their new home was the Kermiss celebration. Kermiss, or Kirk-Messe (Church-Mass), is an observance of thanksgiving starting the last Sunday in August and continuing for seven consecutive Sundays. Following a mass of thanksgiving for the bounty of the land, the churchgoers adjourn to the church yard to partake of the food piled high on tables set up in the open air. Games and dancing come after the feast, which usually concludes with Belgian pie. •