Corn Pie: A Pennsylvania Dutch Dish

I'm was always fascinated by the way my grandmother and my mom cooked. They new all their recipes by heart and they just threw a little bit of this and a little bit of that in a dish and it was delish!! Well, I making my mom take me through some of the traditional dishes that we grew up eating, so that I'll be able to make them too! =)

My mom uses a lot of recipes from the Schwenkfelder Cookbook (yellow cover; 128 pages; forward by Rev. Martha Kriebel). If you want some good Pennsylvania Dutch meals...you've got to get this cookbook! =) The above picture is what is on the cover of the Schwenkfelder Cookbook.

Starting off right...you want to buy fresh sweet corn. My mom and dad bought six dozen fresh sweet corn. You husk them and cut the corn off the cob. 

Yum, yum! Look at all the fresh corn!!! =) I'm licking my lips...now to get down to business. The crust is probably the hardest part. Mom says that the best crust is made with real lard...if that grosses you out, Crisco will work too. Making the crust is all about the feel of it. The recipe guides you, but ultimately if it's too wet; you add flour, if it's too dry; you add water....again all about the feel of it. This is the recipe (from the Schwenkfelder Cookbook) that my mom uses for her pie dough.

My mommy =) Look at her go!

In this particular recipe mom's using three- nine inch pie plate.

Rolling, rolling, rolling...keep that mama rolling....

Roll out the dough so that it fills the pan. 

Cut off the excess dough and save for later.

Fill your pie crusts with corn to the top. 

Cover top of each pie with approximately 1/8 cup of sugar. 

Sprinkle each pie with salt and pepper to liking. 

Add to the top of pies five 1/2 tablespoons of butter.

My oldest sister, Shirl, and Mom peeling the boiled eggs.

Top the pie with slices of hard boiled eggs (approximately three eggs per pie).

Pour milk into pie (about two cups), until milk comes right below edge of pan.

Top with remaining dough.

Mom is measuring to see if the size of her rolled out dough is big enough to cover the top of the pie.

Just needs to be a tad bigger...

Fold dough top in half and cut your 'air vents'.

Again, cut excess dough off and save.

Pinch top layer and bottom layer of dough together.

Ta-DAAA!! The perfect pie! =)

Bake at 400° for about an hour or until the crust gets golden brown.

Delish!!!! It's perfect and yummy!!!

My sister, Sherri Lin, chowing down...

My sister, Martha, and my niece, Jaimee.

My nephews....full and happy. =)

Pennsylvania Dutch Corn Pie Recipe (see pie dough recipe above)

(for a 9 inch pie plate)

Ingredients

Fresh Sweet Corn

1/8 cup of sugar

Salt, to your liking

Pepper, to your liking

2 1/2 Tablespoons of butter

3 eggs, boiled and sliced

2 cups milk

Directions

Fill pan with corn to top. Top pie with sugar. Sprinkle salt and pepper to your liking. Add five and a half tablespoons of butter to top. Cover entire pie with sliced boiled eggs. Pour milk into pie until milk is right below edge of pan. Top pie with remaining pastry. Bake at 400° for about an hour or until crust is golden brown.

I hope you enjoy this as much as our family enjoys it. We look forward to having this every year...it's kind of our tradition to bring in the fall season. =)