My fondest memories that involve pie are of my mother-in-law, Marge Gerber. She was of that Midwest mentality that pie was “anytime.” She could make a pie with a wonderful flaky crust – any time and any where with a variety of fillings.
She loved to share her pie-making skills with her grandchildren when she came to visit. Our son, Nick, was a very dedicated sous chef and loved making pies with Grandma Gerber! She would fill our deep freezer with pie shells (often 30+) so that even in her absence everyone could have pie.
When it came time for our youngest, Anna, to graduate from high school, Grandma Gerber traveled from Ohio to celebrate. Being a pie-loving family (not cake lovers), she made over 20 pies of various types for Anna’s Graduation Party! These memories will always be very special to our family.
Here is her favorite pie recipe:
French Apple Pie
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg
- 6-7 cups sliced apples
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup flour
Mix sugar and cinnamon with apples and put in an unbaked 9” pie shell. Make a topping of butter, brown sugar and flour and sprinkle over apples in pie shell. Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees and 35+ minutes at 350 degrees.
(photos are from our family scrapbook!)
By Judy Gerber
