Page 77 - United States of Pie

Chipmunk Pie

I’ll admit it: the first thing that charmed me about this pie was its
name. I came across it in The Delaware Heritage Cookbook, a 1987
cookbook compiled to commemorate the 200th anniversary of
Delaware’s state ratification. In essence, the book reads like a spiral-
bound community cookbook, except that the community in question

is the entire state of Delaware. The origins of the recipes that fill
these types of cookbooks can be hard to pin down. Some are family
recipes, others—usually highly era-specific—came from the back of
food boxes, while others still were the innovations of creative home
cooks. Mrs. Celia Miller of Farmington donated the recipe for
chipmunk pie. Her introductory note reads, “This unique dessert is
served often at our covered dish dinners at Bethany Church of the

Brethren.” That is a covered dish dinner to which I would like to be
invited.

½ recipe Standard Pie Dough

2 large eggs
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher salt
1 medium baking apple, such as Granny Smith or Pippin,
peeled, cored, and diced into ½-inch cubes (1½ cups)
½ cup roughly chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts,
etc.), one variety or mixed