3/4 cup sugar

2 tbs butter, at room temperature

3 eggs, separated

3 1/2 tbs flour

1/2 tsp salt

juice and grated rind of 2 lemons (enough to yield 1/2 cup juice)

3/4 cup hot milk

9″ unbaked pie shell

cream sugar and butter together using an electric mixer.

add egg yolks and beat well.

add flour, salt, lemon juice and rind. blend thoroughly.

blend in hot milk.

fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. don’t stir them in. you want the whipped whites to kind of float on top of the mixture.

pour into an unbaked pie shell. bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. continue to bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until top is nicely browned.

8 servings

1 (16 oz) pkg pecan shortbread cookies, coarsely crushed

1 (12.25 oz) jar caramel sauce

1/2 gallon chocolate ice cream*

1 1/2 cups pecan halves, toasted

in a large bowl, combine the crushed cookies and the caramel sauce; mix well. place half of the mixture into the bottom of a 9″ deep dish pie plate. use half the ice cream and place individual scoops over the cookie mixture.

into each scoop of ice cream, place 2 pecan halves in the front and 2 pecan halves in back, making “legs”, and 1 pecan half on top, making the “head” of a turtle. sprinkle with 1/4 of the cookie mixture, then top with additional scoops of ice cream and pecans, continuing in a pyramid shape until all the ingredients are used.

cover and freeze for at least 3 hours before serving.

12 servings

YOU CAN SUBSTITUTE YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR ICE CREAM FOR THE CHOCOLATE IF YOU PREFER.

1 1/2 cups finely crushed pretzels

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup fresh sliced strawberries

1/3 cup frozen margarita mix concentrate, thawed (from a 6 oz can)

2 cups whipped cream

in a medium bowl, combine the pretzels and butter; mix well. press the pretzel mixture over the bottom and sides of a 9″ pie plate for form a crust; chill.

in another medium bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk, strawberries, and margarita mix until well blended. fold in the whipped cream until well combined.

pour into the prepared pie crust, cover, and freeze for at least 4 hours, or until firm.

serves 8

CRUST:

2 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup shortening
4-6 tbs cold water

FILLING:

6 eggs
1 (29 oz) can solid-pack pumpkin
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 cups evaporated milk

in a bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly. sprinkle with water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. divide dough in half. on a floured surface, roll out each portion to fit a 9″ pie plate. place pastry in plates; trim pastry (set scraps aside if leaf cutouts are desired) and flute edges. set shells aside.

for filling: beat eggs in a mixing bowl. add pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, salt, cloves, nutmeg and ginger; beat just until smooth. gradually stir in milk. pour into pastry shells.

bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. reduce heat to 350 degrees; bake 40-45 minutes longer, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. cool on wire racks. if desired, cut the pastry scraps with a 1″ leaf-shaped cookie cutter; place on an ungreased baking sheet. bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. place on baked pies.

makes 2 pies (6-8 servings each)

2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup flour
6 tbs butter OR margarine
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup coconut

in a blender, combine milk, sugar,eggs,flour, butter,vanilla & salt. cover and blend for 10 seconds; scrape the sides. blend for another 10 seconds.add coconut; blend for 2 seconds. pour into a greased 10″ pie plate. bake at 350 degrees fro 50-55 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. serve warm.

6 servings

2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 (6 oz) pkg (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 (9″) unbaked pie shell

preheat oven to 325 degrees. in a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy. beat in flour, sugar and brown sugar until well blended. blend in melted butter. stir in chocoate chips and walnuts. pour into pie shell. bake for 1 hour. serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

1 (9″) unbaked deep-dish pastry shell

LEMON FILLING:

1 1/2 cups sugar
6 tbs cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups water
2 tbs butter
2 tsp grated lemon peel
4-5 drops yellow food coloring, optional
2/3 cup lemon juice (preferably fresh)

CREAM CHEESE FILLING:

2 pkgs ( one 8 oz & one 3 oz) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup 10x sugar
1 1/2 cups whipped topping
1 tbs lemon juice

line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer. cool on a wire rack.

in a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch & salt. stir in water; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes, or until thickened and bubbly. remove from heat; stir in butter, lemon peel and food coloring, if desired. gently stir in lemon juice. (do not overmix). cool to room temperature about 1 hour.

in a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. fold in whipped topping and lemon juice. refrigerate 1/2 cup for garnish.spread remaining cream cheese mixutre into shell; top with lemon filling. chill overnight. place reserved cream cheese mixture in a pastry bag with a #21 star tip; pipe stars onto pie. store in refrigerator.

6-8 servings

1 (9″) crumb crust made with graham crackers, chilled until firm

KEY LIME FILLING:

4 egg yolks
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tbs grated lime zest
1/2 cup key lime juice, preferably fresh

preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

prepare the filling: in a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with the condensed milk until smooth. mix in the zest and the juice. the mixture will be thick. pour the filling into the pie crust.

bake in the center of the oven for 10 minutes, or until the filling is set and a cake tester or knife inserted into the center comes out clean. cool on a rack.

referigerate and keep cold.

makes 1 (9″) pie

sour cherries, 1 (16 oz) can OR 2 cups pitted, fresh or frozen sour cherries
1 unbaked pie shell
2 cups milk
3 eggs
2 tbs flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

drain the cherries thoroughly and place them in the bottom of the unbaked pie shell. scald the milk. beat the eggs lightly. add the beaten eggs to the scalded milk. mix the flour and sugar together. combine the flour/sugar mixture with egg/milk mixture and beat well. stir in the vanilla. pour the mixture into the unbaked pie shell over the cherries. bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until the custard is set in center (when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.)