Below is an article from May 1983. It is part 2 of a series on pies and pie crusts. The first part can be found here.
May 1983
After giving three basic recipes for the old- fashioned type of pie crust last month, crusts made with shortening, flour and water, I began to think of some of the new types of crusts that are widely used. Included in these would be oil, meringue, graham cracker or vanilla wafer, and a shortbread type of crust.
Each of these crusts has advantages – either in ease of preparation or in having just the right characteristic for a particular type of pie. For some, a recipe using oil is preferred since the crust is pressed into the pan instead of being rolled out. The mess of flouring a board and rolling pin is avoided.
No-Roll Sweet Pie Shell
1/3 cup margarine
½ cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 cup unsifted flour
Cream margarine and sugar with electric mixer. Add egg yolk and beat. Stir in flour. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of 9-inch pie pan. Prick surface with fork. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes or until light brown. Cool. Makes 1 pie shell.
No- Roll Oil Pie Shell
1 ½ cup sifted flour
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup oil
2 tablespoons milk
Combine dry ingredients. Add milk and oil all at once. Stir with a fork until a ball of dough forms. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Flute edges. Prick with fork. Chill for 30 minutes. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 1 pie shell.
Tart Shell
1 cup butter or margarine
½ cup sugar
2 cups sifted flour
Cream butter and sugar. Add flour. Stir into a ball. Roll out and cut with round cookie cutter to line muffin pans. Bake at 325° for 15 minutes – just to a faint tinge of brown. Cool. Remove from pans. Fill.
Makes 24 shells. This recipe will also make 2 regular pie shells or provide the base for a desert made in a 9×13- inch pan.
Meringue Pie Shell
3 egg whites
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
¾ cup sugar
Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until foamy/ Add sugar slowly, beating all the time. Beat until peaks form. Spread meringue over the bottom and up the side of a well buttered 9-inch pan. Bake at 275° for 1 hour. Cool on rack. This can be used many ways. I like it filled with whipped cream and strawberries.
The Farmer's Wife 
Sarah Jean said,
June 27, 2013 @ 12:44 pm
I want to try the no-roll oil shell, but I’m not sure what to fill it with or how long to bake it for afterwords… Have you tried this recipe? Any recommendations?
thefarmerswife2013 said,
July 6, 2013 @ 9:04 pm
You could fill it with vanilla pudding (with either 3/4 cup of coconut stirred in or 3 sliced bananas). Then put whipped cream on top, no further baking would be needed.
If you want a meringue topping, beat 3 egg whites stiff with 3 tablespoons sugar and add 1 tsp vanilla. Then put the topping on the pie and bake it in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the meringue is browned.
Or you could make a filling with 3 cups blueberries, 1/4 cup cornstarch, and 1/2 cup sugar. Cook on stovetop for about 10 minutes until thick. Let cool and put in pie crust. Top with ice cream or whipped cream.
Hope this helps!
Pie Crusts Part 3 | The Farmer's Wife said,
July 11, 2013 @ 4:20 pm
[…] Here is the final part of the 3 part series on pie crust. The first part can be found here, and the second here. […]