I made this 1930s Mock Apple Pie for the first time with my sister-in-law, Jasmine.
“That’s better than actual apple pie,” Jasmine said. “We’ll have to make this again.”
Mock Apple Pie
Ingredients:
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups water
3 tsp cream of tartar
juice of 1 lemon
about 40 Ritz crackers
1 double-crust pie pastry (homemade or store bought)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp butter, cold and cut into thin pats
For Egg Wash:
1 large egg
2 tbsp water
To Make:
Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and cream of tartar. Place over high heat, and stir occasionally. Once it boils, reduce heat to medium and boil for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Then stir in lemon juice, and allow the syrup mixture to cool. In a separate bowl, break up the Ritz crackers, leaving some larger pieces. Next, fit your prepared bottom crust in a standard 9-inch pan, and evenly place the broken crackers inside. Then, pour the cooled syrup mixture over the crackers before evenly sprinkling the ground cinnamon over the pie. Dot the filling with the pats of butter. Place the top crust over the pie and trim any excess on the edges. Seal and crimp the edges with a fork. Then, cut small slits in the top crust (be sure to wiggle the knife a little in these cuts, so that they will not close up when baking). Beat the egg and water together to create an egg wash. Then brush this over the top and edges of the pie (if you do not have a brush, you can use a paper towel by dipping it into the egg wash and dabbing it gently onto the pie). Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees F, before reducing the temperature to 350°F for another 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Let the pie cool to room temperature and solidify on a wire rack for two hours before serving. The pie may be refrigerated after this point before serving again.
