Elgin Courier (Elgin, Tex.), Vol. 127, No. 51, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 20, 2017 Page: 2 of 16
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ELGIN COURIER - ELGIN, TEXAS
PAGE 2
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2017
A holiday pie baking experience
by Debbie Wahrmund
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apple pie from Lucy’s Kitchen.
Courtesy photo
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“My grandmother cooked
all day in the 1960s before
a holiday,” Pam said, “she
picked up pecans at the
park in Sequin, cracking
them and having perma-
nently stained fingers.”
I
It was my lucky day! I
was not lucky enough to
have a mother who baked,
but one thing I learned as
a child was not to make a
mess. I put plastic on the
counter top to keep from
being messy.
When Pam saw that, she
said that would not do at
all, we were going to get
messy. It is better to bake
with someone rather than
trying to bake from read-
ing a recipe, and more fun!
With the first step to cut in
the Crisco (with a pastry
cutter) Pam could eyeball
it and tell me not to stop,
because she could still
see balls of Crisco in the
flour. No food processor
needed. Tip: add milk a
few tablespoons at a time
mixing it in with your
hands! (messy alert!) Then
when it balls up, knead it
with your hands.
1. Cream butter or mar-
garine with extract. Add
sugar gradually, creaming
well. Add beaten eggs in
thirds, beating well after
each addition. Thoroughly
blend in chopped pecans
along with syrup and salt.
Turn into the unbaked
9-inch pie shell which you
have already prepared.
2. Bake at 450 degrees
F for 10 minutes; reduce
heat to 350 F. Tip: Top
with pecans after filling
begins to firm. To arrange
pecan halves over top of
filling, begin by laying
them in half, quarter then
fill in the quarters. Con-
tinue baking 30-35 min-
utes or until set. Tip: if the
crust starts to brown too
fast, use aluminum foil
around the edge.
3. Cool on a wire rack.
If baking a pie means
coming of age in a southern
way, I am a late bloomer.
I missed the pie baking
lesson and did not even
realize it until this holi-
day season. I had enough
of buying ready-made pie
crust.
Invented in the 50s, I
think it could survive in a
bunker for many years.
Luckily, my friend, Pam,
had a family pecan pie
recipe and agreed to hold
my hand (literally) so I
could learn how to make
a crust. It became an early
Christmas present and a
life changing event I will
never forget and forever be
grateful.
In preparation for pie
day, Pam sent a list of in-
gredients. Her mom, whose
given name was Gertrude
Dorothy Szymanski, went
by Trudy Lynn after she
married Pam’s dad.
“She used my grand-
mother’s filling recipe,
which is essentially the
same as the one on the Karo
syrup bottle. Mom got the
crust recipe from a military
wife friend,” Pam said.
The recipe specifies a
9-inch pie pan, which I
thought I had but was not
certain, so I invested in an
inexpensive, red, new deep
glass pan. That turned out
to be unnecessary, the
plain old glass pie pan was
the right one that matched
the recipe.
“I bake only two things
well, pineapple upside
down cake and pecan pie,”
Pam said.
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. u
3 tablespoons butter
or margarine
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cup brown sugar
3 eggs, well beaten
% cup chopped pecans
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
% cup pecan halves
resulting pie, and so was
my husband. It was not as
difficult as I envisioned,
but if you lack the time,
or like other friends, have
been baking all your lives
and want a break, Elgin
is fortunate to have some
master bakers to draw
upon.
A local restaurant offer-
ing great pies and cakes is
Lucy’s Kitchen, located at
106 Depot Street in Elgin.
According to a reviewer
on Facebook, “Lucy makes
the best pies around! Made
all from scratch with pas-
sion,” and that mile-high
meringue is magical.
Call (512)-285-9975 2-3
days in advance to order
pies.
Lucy Jimenez formerly
baked pies at the City
Cafe in Elgin (now closed)
for about 18 years before
Cut very cold Crisco into
flour and salt until well
blended.
Add milk to mix and
shape into ball.
Roll out ball onto flat sur-
face covered with flour.
Gently lift dough into pie
pan. Tip: roll the crust out
using the pie pan to mea-
sure that it will cover the
sides.
Use the roller to pick up
the crust and put in the
pan.
Children 4 and older will
worship with their parents.
Childcare available for
3 years and under.
4
To apply, call us at 512.285.2457 or go to
www.regencyhealthcare.com/careers
I
III
• Course is four weeks
long
• Hands on learning
and education
from our outstanding
clinical team
• Evaluation and
additional training
before state exam
• Full-time employment
after graduation
• Contact us for
questions and how
to apply
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Worship With Us
Cusfssas Eve
$t
LOST PINES
Cowboy Church
ELGIN, TEXAS
‘Morning Service Onfy
10:30 a.m.
Mom’s Pie Crust
(Trudy Lynn)
1 cup flour
% cup Crisco
1 cup milk
Pinch of salt
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Holiday pie crust can be decorative, such as this
Hemd
If your pie is not perfect, or even if it is, consider
shopping locally for the holiday. Pictured is Jasmine
with a pie topped with mile-high meringue from Lu-
cy’s Kitchen baked by her mother, Lucy Jimenez.
Courtesy photo
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7
ANS
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Pecan Pie Filling
(for 9-inch pie)
This recipe came from
Pam mother’s recipe
scrapbook and was cut
out from a magazine, but
she discovered later it is
on the back of the Karo
syrup bottle.
1
opening her own restau-
rant about four years ago
with her daughter, Jas-
mine.
Another source for
baked goods and espe-
cially for farm fresh pe-
cans, is Yegua Creek
Farms. Owned by Gene
and Eileen Niswander,
find their products at Elgin
Local Goods or call (512)
856-0192 and check out
https://yegua-creek-farms.
myshopify.com/blogs/
news.
There is always frozen
pie crust: if you try to
make a home-made crust
and it tastes like play-
dough, there is no shame
in dumping the filling in
a store-bought crust...I
think anyone who at-
tempts this chemical mir-
acle deserves a medal, not
a pie in the face.
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There will not be a service
Christmas Eve night or Christmas day.
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334 (Koerner (Koacf- iEfgin, TX
512-281-6644
www.[ostjimescow6oycfiurcfi.com
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Debbie Wahrmund, pictured with her first pecan pie in a homemade crust, credits
a day of pie baking with a friend to a successful holiday outcome.
Photo by Pam Lynn
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Wright, Kevin & Jette, Lauren. Elgin Courier (Elgin, Tex.), Vol. 127, No. 51, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 20, 2017, newspaper, December 20, 2017; Elgin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1555419/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Elgin Public Library.