Marguerites Cookbook

A cooking blog all about making vintage recipes from a cookbook we inherited from our grandmother

Ice Cream Sundae Pie

ice cream sundae pie

Welp, this is our last pie of pie month! It’s been an interesting month and we’ve learned a lot. Hopefully next year, we’ll be a little more organized and a little more prepared. This pie is a great way to end it. If you love ice cream, then you’ll love this ice cream sundae pie.

Here is what Marguerite had to say:

fudge sundae pie recipe

This one looked pretty complicated at first glance, however the parts where we had issues were somewhat unexpected. Aaron made sure to take the ice cream out of the freezer before we prepared the rest of the recipe, but it was still too firm when we began trying to spread it into a layer on top or the vanilla wafers. Those wafers also wouldn’t stay put when they came into contact with the ice cream. It was also time consuming and boring to wait for the fudge to cool, so it ended up being a little too warm when we started layering. Oh well.

ice cream sundae pie

But oh my goodness this pie was to die for! I loved the vanilla wafer crust and the fluffiness of the fudge mixed in with the ice cream. One change we would have made: either keep the layers of fudge and ice cream neater or try to marble them more. This was mostly a side effect of the issues we mentioned having above. This wouldn’t have changed the taste, mostly just made it look a little prettier.

ice cream sundae pie

I’m not personally crazy about nuts and would have liked to top this one with either whipped cream or sprinkles, but I’m glad we tried Marguerite’s ice cream sundae pie like the recipe said first. Aaron, of course, loved it. He was sort of expecting these ingredients that are typically found in a fudge sundae to magically transform into something different, but not too surprisingly, it just tasted like a delicious sundae!

ice cream sundae pie

We hope you enjoyed pie month! We’ve got some great holiday themed treats planned for December!

Ice Cream Sundae Pie
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 40 minutes
Passive Time
4 hours
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 40 minutes
Passive Time
4 hours
Ice Cream Sundae Pie
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 40 minutes
Passive Time
4 hours
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 40 minutes
Passive Time
4 hours
Ingredients
Servings: pie
Instructions
  1. Put milk, chocolate, marshmallows, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Stir over medium heat until chocolate and marshmallows melt completely and mixture thickens.
  2. Take off heat and cool to room temperature.
  3. Line a 9" pie pan with vanilla wafers.
  4. Layer a pint of vanilla ice cream over the wafers.
  5. Cover ice cream with half of chocolate mixture.
  6. Repeat with another pint of vanilla ice cream and the rest of the chocolate mixture.
  7. Place pecan halves on top.
  8. Freeze until firm, 3-5 hours.
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Lemon Parfait Pie

Lemon Parfait Pie header

Okay pie fans, we’re in the home stretch! If you were a fan of our summer pie, the cherry parfait pie, then this lemon parfait pie will be a nice variation of that. In this crazy month of pies, a simple pie that we have basically done before was a nice breather. The lemon parfait pie did not turn out just like the cherry parfait pie, but it was still tasty!

 

Here’s what Marguerite said about it:

lemon-parfait-pie

This recipe is also from Marguerite’s aunts Stella and Florence. It wasn’t quite the same directions as before, and it turned out looking a bit differently. Looking back at the cherry parfait pie recipe, some of the differences are in the times written for thickening the mixture before it gets poured into the shell. It could have been that, or the fact that there was less total liquid, or just the fact that lemons are different from cherries. Whatever the reason, you can see that the lemon parfait pie did not turn out as smooth as the cherry one.

Lemon Parfait Pie

Another difference between these two pies became obvious when we cut into it. The lemon parfait pie did not hold together as nicely when we cut slices out. I am pretty sure its because we let it set longer before pouring it into the shell and we allowed it to get too set. Even though it didn’t hold together, it still tasted amazing! I liked this pie, which is different for me, but this pie was mostly jello and ice cream. Aaron (and his co-workers!) also enjoyed this pie.

Lemon Parfait Pie

As we come closer to the end of pie month, I am surprised and excited that all these pies have been so different from each other. It’s been a fun adventure.

Lemon Parfait Pie
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 15 minutes
Passive Time
1 hour
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 15 minutes
Passive Time
1 hour
Lemon Parfait Pie
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 15 minutes
Passive Time
1 hour
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 15 minutes
Passive Time
1 hour
Ingredients
Servings: pie
Instructions
  1. Dissolve jello in hot water.
  2. Add peel and juice, then add ice cream by the spoon full, stirring until melted.
  3. Chill 25 to 30 minutes.
  4. Turn into shell.
  5. Chill 20 to 25 minutes.
  6. Garnish with whipped cream and additional lemon peel, if desired.
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Peanut Butter Meringue Pie

peanutbuttermeringuepie

We are very excited to bring you another unique pie as we continue pie month! Aaron and I were looking forward to this peanut butter meringue pie until we looked at the length of both the ingredient list and directions. This is probably the most difficult and most involved recipe we have attempted in our first year of Marguerite’s Cookbook. However difficult, this pie cannot be considered anything less than a delicious success!

Here’s what Marguerite had to say:

peanutbutterpierecipe

When reading over the recipe, Aaron realized we had to ask a more experienced baker quite a few questions to even be able to attempt this pie. So we called Mercedes and got some direction on everything from scalded milk to meringue. Recently, Aaron has been doing most of the cooking while I observe due to our tiny kitchen, but not this time. It took both of us, most of our mixing bowls and saucepans, and a long time to put this peanut butter meringue pie together.

peanut butter meringue pie

This definitely wasn’t the most stress-free recipe, and it didn’t turn out perfectly, but we’ll consider it a success. The custard was difficult and important, since it was the majority of the pie. The meringue was also very challenging. On top of all that, it is not the most attractive pie. But you know what they say, “don’t judge a peanut butter meringue pie by its cover.”

peanut butter pie

I was expecting this pie to basically look like a pumpkin pie, but like with just peanut butter. Well, I was surprised. The flavor was to die for though. Aaron really liked this pie, and not just because he would live on peanut butter if I let him. He made sure to try every bit of the pie individually, so he could really decipher the flavors that made up our peanut butter meringue pie. The custard and meringue taste as they should, and can be considered successful first attempts at both of those components. Of course the peanut butter/powdered sugar component was the highlight of the pie, and made it incredibly sweet. Overall, another success!

Peanut Butter Meringue Pie
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 45 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 45 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Peanut Butter Meringue Pie
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 45 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 45 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: pie
Instructions
  1. Combine the powdered sugar and peanut butter together.
  2. Sprinkle 3/4 of this mixture on the bottom of a baked pie crust. Keep the other 1/4 for topping.
  3. Scald 2 cups of whole milk and set aside to cool.
  4. Combine the cornstarch, sugar, and salt together. Add the slightly cooled milk and mix well.
  5. Beat egg yolks well, add a small amount of the milk mixture over yolks and mix well.
  6. Add eggs to rest of milk mixture. Cook in double boiler until mixture thickens. Remove from heat.
  7. Add the butter and vanilla.
  8. Pour into shell.
  9. Beat the 3 egg whites, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt until stiff and dry. Slowly add the sugar. Continue beating until stiff. Spread over pie and seal edges.
  10. Place in 325 degree oven on second rack and bake 15-20 minutes (until meringue is browned.)
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Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie Header

What pie would be better to make as we approach Thanksgiving, than a classic homemade pumpkin pie?! Nothing quite beats a well executed pumpkin pie, and we were able to do just that. Of course, we used Marguerite’s perfect pie crust to go with this timeless pie.

Here’s what Marguerite had to say:

mother's pumpkin pie recipe

As you can see, this recipe is titled Mother’s pumpkin pie. That would be Marguerite’s mother, or Aaron’s great grandmother,  Allen. One of the best stories from Aaron’s mom regarding this pumpkin pie recipe is that she remembers Marguerite pouring the milk for this recipe straight out of a glass bottle (that was delivered by an honest to goodness Milkman!) As usual, Marguerite didn’t give us too much direction.

Pie Recipe

For as short as the ingredient list is, we should have had an easier time. The pie you see in these pictures may or may not be the third one we made (don’t ask.) But in our first failed attempts, we learned things to improve our process. On our first try, we just added all the ingredients together without any real order, rhyme, or reason. The successful change we made was to mix the dry ingredients into the pumpkin thoroughly first.  Then we beat the eggs well and add them, followed by the milk. The baking step was also a bit tricky for us, but in the end the pie came out of the oven looking just fine.

Pumpkin Recipe

Now, on to taste. Mercedes gave us the insight that those who tried Marguerite’s pumpkin pie liked it for its more mild pumpkin flavor, which Aaron also noted. Marguerite attributed this milder flavor to the higher concentration of eggs and milk versus pumpkin. Aaron liked this pumpkin pie well enough, although pumpkin is a little farther down his list of favorite pie flavors than others. I care not for pumpkin, and the small bite I sampled was not appealing to me. The crust, I could eat all day though.

Pumpkin Pie Piece

So where could we take this pumpkin pie to find willing taste testers? That’s right, Aaron’s co-workers. They all enjoyed it, and Aaron’s pretty sure they weren’t just being polite! One of them, who claimed to like pumpkin pie even more than any cake, ate a quarter of it in one sitting! We hope if you try Marguerite’s pumpkin pie this fall that you like it as much as Aaron’s work pals.

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
60-70 minutes 30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
60-70 minutes 30 minutes
Pumpkin Pie
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
60-70 minutes 30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
60-70 minutes 30 minutes
Ingredients
Filling
Crust
Servings: pie
Instructions
Crust
  1. Blend flour and salt in large bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture using pasty blender or fork. Stir in just enough water with fork until dough holds together.
  2. TIP Test dough for proper moistness by squeezing a marble-sized ball of dough in your hand. If it holds together firmly, do not any additional water. If the dough crumbles, add more water by the tablespoonful, until dough is moist enough to form a smooth ball when pressed together.
  3. Shape dough into a ball. Flatten ball into a 1/2 inch round disk.
  4. Chill for 30 minutes or up to two days.
  5. Roll dough from center outward into a circle 2 inches wider than pie plate on lightly floured surface. Transfer dough to pie plate.
Filling
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Mix pumpkin, salt, nutmeg, and sugar well.
  3. Beat eggs well, and add to pumpkin. Mix together well.
  4. Slowly add milk, mixing ingredients together well.
  5. Pour into shell.
  6. Cook in oven at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower temperature to 350 and cook until a knife inserted in the pumpkin comes out dry, around 40-50 minutes.
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Creme de Menthe Pie

 

cremedementheheader

Now that we’ve shown you Marguerite’s pie crust, we’re NOT going to use it today. Let’s change gears! Our first pie is a Creme de Menthe Pie that is anything but traditional. It has some exciting and different ingredients and turned out quite unlike anything we expected.

Here’s what Marguerite had to say:

creme-de-menthe-recipe

In researching ingredients for this recipe, both Aaron and I did not realize that Creme de Menthe was a liqueur. In the 25 plus years Aaron knew Marguerite, he never knew her to have a drink, or talk about alcoholic beverages. There isn’t much of this mint liqueur in the pie, but it made a great additional flavor. Aaron had to go to three different stores to find Creme de Menthe, which was the hardest part of the recipe!

Grasshopper Pie

Aaron’s favorite part of this creme de menthe pie recipe was making the crust. It called for 24 Oreo cookies, but without the cream in the middle. Aaron of course didn’t want that filling to go to waste . . .

Mixing a whole 32 ounces of Cool Whip in our average sized stand mixer, in our 24 square foot kitchen was a test in patience, but other than that, making this recipe was pretty simply. Once we poured the liquid into the spring form pan, all that was left was to wait for it to set.

Creme-de-Menth

As you can see, it had a slight tint of green that really just hinted at the mint flavor. I think next time, I’ll add a little green food coloring to make it more fun. The thing that surprised us the most about the creme de menthe pie was the consistency and texture. While it retained some of the stickiness and elasticity of the little bit of marshmallow fluff, it could only be described as ice cream cake like. It was firm right out of the freezer, but did melt like ice cream but slower. We both loved this creme de menthe pie! My favorite things about it were the fact that it tasted like ice cream cake, as well as the hint of mint flavor. Aaron is not necessarily lining up for super-minty anything, but even he enjoyed the mint flavor of this recipe. He also appreciated the way the mint flavor paired with the Oreo crust.

Creme-de-Menth Pie

With the holidays coming up, this creme de menthe pie recipe could be a great treat. Or you could save it for a warm summer night (when those finally come back around!)

Creme de Menthe Pie
Print Recipe
Prep Time
45 minutes
Passive Time
2 hours
Prep Time
45 minutes
Passive Time
2 hours
Creme de Menthe Pie
Print Recipe
Prep Time
45 minutes
Passive Time
2 hours
Prep Time
45 minutes
Passive Time
2 hours
Ingredients
Crust
Filling
Servings:
Instructions
Crust
  1. Remove cream from Oreos and roll into crumbs.
  2. Toss Oreo crumbs with melted butter.
  3. Put into a 9" spring form pan, reserving 1/2 cup for garnish.
Filling
  1. Gradually add Creme de Menthe to marshmallow cream until well blended.
  2. Fold Cool Whip into mixture.
  3. Pour into pan.
  4. Freeze for several hours until firm. Sprinkle remaining crumbs on as a garnish.
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Perfect Pie Crust

pie crust header

Happy Pie Month! To kick off this month of delicious desserts, we’re going to start with the basics. According to many people in our family, the best part of Marguerite’s pies were the crust. While there was not a handwritten recipe anywhere in the cookbook, Aaron’s mom was able to give us the low-down.

Perfect Pie Crust

Marguerite used a basic Crisco pie crust recipe. Aaron’s mom, Mercedes, is a bit of an expert on this crust. She tried to make pies with Marguerite and similar to Marguerite’s many times. A difficult task, because Marguerite said the best crust was one that you didn’t handle too much. Mercedes confessed it was something she was never great at. We think we aren’t quite there yet either, but with the amount of pie’s we’ll be making on this blog, we are hopeful we can get there someday! We already covered it a while ago with our Cranberry Cherry Pie, but we think it’s worth giving it it’s own post.

Cranberry Cherry pie and slice

Aforementioned Cranberry Cherry Pie, made with this crust

Some of the pies in this month will not be made with Marguerite’s perfect pie crust. We’re trying to balance out some of the more “traditional pies” with some unique ones; many of which don’t involve a traditional crust. Just for ease, we’ll also be using a few pre-made pie crusts in place of this crust as well.

That being said, Marguerite’s perfect pie crust is something we enjoy making, because it is one of the things she made best that everyone remembers. So keep an eye out during Pie Month for this crust!

Check out the recipe below and enjoy Marguerite’s Cookbook’s Pie Month!

Perfect Pie Crust
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 pie crust 10 minutes
Passive Time
30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 pie crust 10 minutes
Passive Time
30 minutes
Perfect Pie Crust
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 pie crust 10 minutes
Passive Time
30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 pie crust 10 minutes
Passive Time
30 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: pie crust
Instructions
  1. Blend flour and salt in large bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture using pasty blender or fork. Stir in just enough water with fork until dough holds together.
  2. TIP Test dough for proper moistness by squeezing a marble-sized ball of dough in your hand. If it holds together firmly, do not any additional water. If the dough crumbles, add more water by the tablespoonful, until dough is moist enough to form a smooth ball when pressed together.
  3. Shape dough into a ball. Flatten ball into a 1/2 inch round disk.
  4. Chill for 30 minutes or up to two days.
  5. Roll dough from center outward into a circle 2 inches wider than pie plate on lightly floured surface. Transfer dough to pie plate.
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Cherry Parfait Pie

Cherry Parfait Pie Header

One fun fact about me is that I don’t really care for pie, which is not a good trait to have with the amount of pies in Marguerite’s cookbook. However, I LOVED this cherry parfait pie. It was insanely rich, very sweet, and the perfect summer dessert.

Here is what Marguerite had to say:

 

This easily legible and detailed recipe is a nice change from the current norm, due to the fact that it was written out by Marguerite’s aunts Stella and Florence. We love finding recipes in the book from Marguerite’s family and friends! Their pie recipe was pretty accurate and easy to execute, except we felt the pie needed a bit more time than just 20-25 minutes to set. Also, we chose to use a pre-made pie shell instead of making our own from scratch.

Cherry Parfait Pie

This cherry parfait pie recipe has similar ingredients as our Sunburst Gelatin Dessert (jello and ice cream), but it doesn’t parade around pretending to be a “salad.” This pie presents itself as a sweet and delicious dessert and it does not disappoint.

Cherry Parfait Pie While I still feel this was a less than ideal use of all that ice cream ( I just really love ice cream,) it makes the cherry parfait pie a delicious mouss-ey consistency. This pie was so rich, I couldn’t even finish a whole piece! Aaron, however, couldn’t wait to get at this it. He ate a nice big piece and enjoyed every bit of it.

Cherry Parfait Pie

This type of pie was just the kind of dessert Marguerite would make for her “club” friends. It’s also a great summer pie since it’s light and airy. We hope you try out this cherry parfait pie when you need a dessert to beat that summer heat!

Cherry Parfait Pie

Cherry Parfait Pie
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 20 minutes
Passive Time
2 hours
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 20 minutes
Passive Time
2 hours
Cherry Parfait Pie
Print Recipe
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 20 minutes
Passive Time
2 hours
Servings Prep Time
1 pie 20 minutes
Passive Time
2 hours
Ingredients
Servings: pie
Instructions
  1. Dissolve jello in hot liquid in a 2 quart saucepan. Use fruit juice drained from cherry can and add water to complete the 1/14 cups needed.
  2. Add ice cream by spoonfuls, stirring until melted.
  3. Chill until thickened, but not set (10-15 minutes.)
  4. Fold in cherries. Turn into pie shell.
  5. Chill until firm (60-90 minutes.)
  6. Garnish with whipped cream and fruit. You may have enough cherries from the one can to have a few left over to top your pie with.
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Cranberry Cherry Pie

Cranberry Cherry Pie

This Cranberry Cherry Pie is the perfect pairing to any Thanksgiving dinner. We made this recipe twice: the first time for Aaron’s family on Thanksgiving and the second time just for the two of us to enjoy.

Cranberry Cherry Pie

This will also be the first of many dessert recipes here on Marguerite’s Cookbook.  Dessert recipes were the most popular in Marguerite’s collection and the cookbook is about 50% desserts. Her pies were one of the best desserts to have, because she was so good at hand making pie crust.  For as long as Aaron can remember, his mother and other members of their family always talked about how no one could make pie crust like Marguerite.  When Marguerite tried to teach Aaron’s mom how to perfect the pie crust, the main advice she gave was “touch the dough as little as possible.”

Here is what the original recipe said:

Cranberry Cherry Pie Original

First to tackle was the crust itself, the previously mentioned hardest part.  Marguerite used a standard Crisco pie crust recipe, which we have included below.  When we made it the first time for Thankgiving, the family commented that the cranberry and cherry filling, along with the topping, tasted delicious.  Aaron’s mom, who was the best one to judge the crust, said that while it was good, it was not as soft and flakey as Marguerite’s.

Darn.

We attributed this to over handling the crust, as well as not putting enough water in it.  We also over baked the pie because there were no baking instructions on Marguerite’s recipe.  We were determined to get it right, so we tried it again.

Cranberry Cherry Pie

Despite being advised to, we didn’t chill the Crisco the second time. This seemed to make it much easier to play with the crust less. More water was also added.

In both attempts we omitted the Tapioca pudding from her recipe because neither of us care for it and we decided that it wouldn’t negatively affect the recipe to skip it.

Slice of Cranberry Cherry Pie

The other challenge with this recipe: Marguerite left no instructions on how long to bake the pie and at what temperature! For the first attempt we baked it for too long.  The second time turned out much better!

Cranberry Cherry pie and slice

I’m not a huge fan of pie, so I only sampled a small amount. Not the worst pie I’ve ever tried though.

Aaron loved it, despite not being a huge fan of cranberries.

Slice of PieWe hope you attempt this recipe for your next holiday to share with your family!

 

Cranberry Cherry Pie
Cranberry Cherry pie and slice
Cranberry Cherry Pie
Print Recipe
A berry pie recipe with a crumble topping
Servings Prep Time
1 Pie 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
30 minutes 30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 Pie 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
30 minutes 30 minutes
Cranberry Cherry pie and slice
Cranberry Cherry Pie
Print Recipe
A berry pie recipe with a crumble topping
Servings Prep Time
1 Pie 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
30 minutes 30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 Pie 30 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
30 minutes 30 minutes
Ingredients
Crust
Pie Filling
Topping
Servings: Pie
Instructions
Crust
  1. Blend flour and salt in large bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture using pastry blender or fork. Stir in just enough water with fork until dough holds together.
  2. TIP Test dough for proper moistness by squeezing a marble-sized ball of dough in your hand. If it holds together firmly, do not add any additional water. If the dough crumbles, add more water by the tablespoonful, until dough is moist enough to form a smooth ball when pressed together.
  3. Shape dough into a ball. Flatten ball into a 1/2 inch round disk.
  4. Chill for 30 minutes or up to two days.
  5. Roll dough from center outward into a circle 2-inches wider than pie plate on lightly floured surface. Transfer dough to pie plate.
Filling and Topping
  1. Mix the cherry pie filling, cranberry sauce, sugar, and lemon juice.
  2. Pour the filling mixture into the crust.
  3. Dot with margarine
  4. Mix the flour, sugar, brown sugar, and margarine for the topping with a blender.
  5. Sprinkle the topping on top of the pie.
  6. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes
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