Graham Wafer Pie

The recipe for this pie used to be printed on the side of graham cracker boxes, long before the days of store-brand products. My sister-in-law, Shirley, made this often and it was always a hit. Today, while cleaning the shelves, I found a package of graham cracker crumbs left over from Christmas baking. I posted a recipe for this pie in 2008 on this blog but updated the amounts for my largest pie plate. It turned out so well that a repost of the recipe is warranted. 

 

Crust:  1-3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs, 5-6 tbsp melted butter, 3 tbsp sugar

Combine the ingredients thoroughly. Remove 1/4 cup of crumb mixture for topping. Press the remaining crumbs into a deep-dish pie plate. Bake for 12 minutes at 350 F.

Pudding:  2-1/2 cups milk, 1/3 c cornstarch, 4 egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tbsp butter

Whisk ingredients in a heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract. Pour pudding into baked pie crust.

Meringue:  Beat 4 egg whites, 2 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp of cream of tartar until still peaks form. Sprinkle reserved crumbs on top of egg whites.

Place meringue on top of the pie and bake at 325 F for 12-15 minutes until the top starts to brown.

The pie needs to chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.