Friday, December 18, 2009

Christmas Eve Pie Tradition with Grandma & the Best Pastry Dough


Christmas traditions! I love to keep the old while making new ones. Growing up as a child and into adulthood my family without fail gathered together in a beautiful farming community, at my grandparents home to celebrate Christmas Eve. Part of the celebration always included the most delectable pies made by my dear Grandma, Iola.

Pie makers aren’t born, it takes practice-- and practice is what Grandma got at Cafe 91 found along the old Highway 91 in Spanish Fork, Utah. During the mid 1940’s she was famous for having pies ready for lunch or dinner depending on when her shift fell. Retired men from surrounding towns would gather for a cup of coffee and a 35 cent piece of Iola’s flaky pie. She made apple, cherry, peach, lemon meringue, pumpkin and cream pies- oh, they were something else, banana and coconut.

Grandma has left us now, but her tradition lives on. She has daughters, granddaughters and great granddaughters and at least one great grandson that can make pies that would win blue ribbons at the state fair and put on more pounds than we care to think about right now. My extended family can count on a few pies being made this holiday season from the desendants of Grandma Iola.

If a pie is in your future, you might want to try this fabulous pastry crust. It has proven it’s value to me over the years. Sometimes it’s nice to have a variation in pies, so think about a crumbly top pie with a twist of cinnamon and nutmeg in the topping. It’s especially nice for beginners to pie making because you don’t have to worry about how the top is going to look.


Wishing you happy baking and many wonderful

Christmas traditions.

What are your Christmas Eve traditions?

21 comments:

  1. I need more practice...but I'm glad I can think of Grandma when I make pies from now on!

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  2. That's a touching post... helpful too! Hope your Christmas is happy and blessed. Love to you and your family.

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  3. I love a crumb topping on pies! I'll have to give your crust a try. I haven't made a crust with sour cream. Your pie looks delicious! What's your favorite kind?

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  4. We love pie in our family. My mom keeps my freezer full all year long with pies. We do eat them at every holiday...peach is my favourite but apple is the rest of the families...I am sure my mom will have one sometime during the holidays when we visit her.

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  5. I have only made crust once and it didn't turn out so great. I will be trying your pie dough next time. Your grandma sounds legendary!

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  6. What a beautiful food memory to have. Your grandma must have been a wonderful lady from the sound of things. Great pie!

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  7. Thank you all for your sweet comments. It is a wonderful food memory and Grandma was a wonderful Lady! I so appreciate you stopping by during this busy season. Happy Holidays!

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  8. I'm so grateful we learned how to make pies. It's something I can take with me anywhere, from Jordan to Provo and it reminds me of home and family!

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  9. Sarah! No one will forget this summer when you made an apple pie with Ghee to replace the butter and shortening in your crust! You are a true pie maker. It's in your blood.

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  10. I definitely have not been super successful at pie making yet but I really want to learn! There is nothing like a piece of warm apple pie to make your day better. These look fantastic...a great tribute to your grandmother!

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  11. How wonderful to have a grandmother who started such a wonderful pie making tradition for all of you. I can just imagine how wonderful they were. A very Happy Holidays to you and your family.

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  12. Adding sour cream to the pie dough sounds wonderful and such a great idea!

    I have been thinking about a Dutch Apple Pie forever now and I think I will use your Crumble Topping!

    Family traditions are the best, especially around Christmas!

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  13. You know what was the best about Grandma's cream pies? It was the real whipping cream she would put on top. She would skim the cream off of the top of the fresh milk when they had the dairy farm. She would use an old hand beater, no electricity for her, and be patient in mixing it as it would take alot of time and then add just the right amount of sugar and vanilla to make it oh so sweet and fluffy. I do miss those days of her pies and Christmas eve at her house with the homemade Christmas presents. I still have quite a few of those things in my cedar chest. Remember the cookie jar, that is in my kitchen.

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  14. What a sweet post about your Grandma! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment on my blog. I haven't tried the new Healthy Bread book but I have heard about it and am interested!

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  15. Collette- What sweet thoughts about the cream and the hand beater! And who could forget the handmade gifts. We were the luckest grand daughters weren't we? Thanks for stopping my my blog dear cousin.

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  16. Great post! Its so nice to have special holiday traditions. I hope you and your family have a great holiday.
    *kisses* HH

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  17. Your pie photo looks so good! I, too, will have to try your pastry recipe...it sounds a bit unique, but tasty! I love challah bread and yours looks fabulous! That's so great that you and your family are continuing to bake pies just like your grandma! I love traditions, especially involving food:)

    BTW, regarding the candy cane cookies...Yes, I do find that they are a bit tricky to twist together and make into a candy cane...it didn't seem like my mom had a problem, but maybe my mom's were a bit more moist and held together.

    Sue

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  18. We made your delicious apple pie this weekend....it was amazing! I have failed many times in the past trying pie crust, your recipe came out great! My sister and I had a great day making pies together and I think I converted her from using her pillsbury pie crust! Thank you for sharing your family traditions. It helped Nate, Addison and I start ours:) Thank you!!! Jolena Hagen

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  19. first I like the name Iola not over done and yet a great classic name and those must have been great pies and yours looks great.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog

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  20. Thanks for a great post! I'm grateful on a very frequent basis for Grandma and Mom for giving me this tradition. My girls are beginning to carry it on and I'm so glad we aren't dependent on other folks to take care of our crust. Another thing I learned from Mom was to can my own fruit so I could have as much pie filling on hand as I want. It's been a huge blessing to our family.

    Cyndi

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