Old-Fashioned Butterscotch Pie

3 eggs separated 2 cups milk 1 cup brown sugar 3/8 cup (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) flour 1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 tablespoons brown sugar Baked pie shell 3 tablespoons white sugar

Directions:
Place the 3 egg yolks in a bowl and beat them. Stir in the milk. In a heavy saucepan, stir 1 cup brown sugar, flour, and salt together until combined, then stir in the milk mixture a little at a time. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly (!) until mixture thickens to a pudding. Remove from heat and stir in butter, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Pour pudding into baked pie shell.

Make a meringue by beating the 3 egg whites with 3 tablespoons white sugar until the egg whites are stiff and frothy. Place pie in a 350° oven and bake until meringue is browned.

Notes:
Cream pies of this sort are very popular in Kentucky. This recipe was adapted from a recipe by Ronda Hayes Knorr of Hueysville, Kentucky.

Ida Vargason's Sour Cream Raisin Pie

1 unbaked piecrust 2 eggs, beaten 1 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon vinegar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon almond extract 1 cup chopped raisins Chopped nuts

Directions:
In a medium mixing bowl, mix cinnamon with sugar; add beaten eggs and mix thoroughly. Add vinegar to sour cream and stir. Add sour cream, vanilla, and almond extract to egg mixture and mix thoroughly again. Stir in chopped raisins. Pour into piecrust. Sprinkle top with chopped nuts. Bake same as pumpkin pie. (Bake at 400° for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350° and bake for approximately 35 minutes longer or until pie is set, and a thin knife blade inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean.)

Notes:
Ida Vargason contributed this recipe to the Jolly Neighbors Extension Club of Rose, Nebraska, for a hand-written cookbook that they made during the early 1960's. I have expanded the directions a little because all the recipes were greatly condensed to fit on one side of a 3x5" recipe card. I believe the Vargasons lived northwest of us for a while, possibly on the Tuie Johnson place. They had a son named Gary and a daughter named Barbara, both of whom were a little older than me.

Rich Coconut Cream Pie

1 refrigerated piecrust
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups half and half
4 egg yolks
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
2-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
2 cups whipping cream
1/3 cup sugar
Toasted coconut for garnish

Directions:
1.Place piecrust in a 9-inch pie plate and crimp the edges. Prick bottom of crust with a fork in 7 or 8 places. Bake according to directions.
2. In a heavy saucepan, stir sugar and cornstarch together. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together half and half and egg yolks. Gradually stir egg yolk mixture into sugar mixture, while heating over medium heat to boiling. Boil for 1 minute, while stirring, and remove from heat. Stir in butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and coconut. Cover the pan with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap down onto the top of the filling and let stand for 30 minutes. Then spoon the filling into the prepared pie crust and chill for 30 minutes or until set.
3.With electric mixer, beat whipping cream at high speed until cream is foamy. Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and beat until cream forms and holds soft peaks. Spread over pie filling, garnish with toasted coconut, and chill until ready to serve.

Notes:
Toast the coconut for the garnish while you are baking the piecrust. Place 2 tablespoons coconut in an oven-proof dish; stir occasionally until lightly browned.