The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

My first thought was to look up the mock apple pie made from zucchini. When I picked up a few zucchinis from an acquaintance, she asked me if I had ever tried it. I told her I had not, and she said you couldn't tell the difference.

So I googled it thinking that would be the recipe for the week, but found this one instead. I found the history interesting and thought it would bring up conversation and memories of those who used to make it. I mentioned it to a friend at church who said it's very good. Did I make it? No. I'm not much on pies, either creating them or eating themJ

Here are a few tidbits I found on the internet: The mock apple pie, made from crackers, was probably invented for use aboard ships, as it was known to the British Royal Navy as early as 1812. The earliest known published recipes for mock apple pie date from the antebellum period of the 1850s.

The recipe is found on the back of Ritz cracker boxes. We are told that Nabisco invented this recipe around the time of the great depression so that people could have apple pie in a time when apples were scarce.

I think the cinnamon and sugar combination plus the texture tricks the mind into believing there must be apples in it. My thought is Ritz crackers were a lot cheaper in those days than they are nowJ

INGREDIENTS:

Filling

2 c water 1 ready to use refrigerated pie crust

¾ c. granulated sugar 1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp cream of tartar 1 tsp ground cinnamon

30 Ritz crackers

Topping

25 Ritz Crackers, crushed (about 1 cup)

1/3 c. packed brown sugar.

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1/3 c. non-hydrogenated margarine, melted

2 c. Cool Whip Whipped topping.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat oven to 400 degrees

Filling: Mix water, granulated sugar and cream of tartar in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Add crackers, simmer on medium-low heat for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Line 9-inch pie plate with crust as directed on package, fill with cracker mixture. Sprinkle with lemon juice and cinnamon.

Topping: combine all remaining ingredients except Cool Whip, sprinkle over Filling

Bake 15 minutes, Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees, bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool. Serve topped with Cool Whip.

MY NOTES:

If you are going to ask about the non-hydrogenated margarine, I had to look it up. This is what I found, so it's basically margarine in a tub: "Margarines made from hydrogenated oil usually appear in a solid stick form, similar to how butter is sold. Other kinds of margarines on the market today are made from non-hydrogenated oil, making them softer in texture and lower in calories, saturated fat, trans fat, and total fat."

If I were to make it, I'd use melted butter, mostly because I don't use margarine.

This is just one of the recipes I chose that said Ritz Mock-Apple Pie. There are several, but similar. One used a top and bottom pie crust.

If you are tempted to try it or used to make it, let me know. It sounds odd but then I thought the zucchini mock apple pie sounded odd also.

ENJOY!