Woah Nellie! 100-year-old Carrot Pie recipe almost makes the cut

by Mary Jo David

November always evokes memories of my mom, maybe because she was born in November and Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday. Now that she’s gone, this special holiday is at the top of my Preferred Holidays list as well.

Our extended family usually gets together for a traditional Thanksgiving feast, but we always count on someone to mix it up a little. Like a few years ago, when, in an attempt to satisfy a niece’s new penchant for a vegan diet, one of the aunts brought walnut stuffing—forgetting that the vegan niece is allergic to nuts! (Don’t worry; no one was harmed in the serving of that holiday meal!)

In perusing old November 1922 issues of the Stockbridge Brief-Sun, I had my eye out for something unusual to take to Thanksgiving dinner this year. Carrot Pie jumped right off the page. A curious alternative to pumpkin pie, I decided it was similar enough to the Thanksgiving favorite to be acceptable to my family’s discerning palates. It also had the added bonus of not requiring a slow cooker, which, after the Slow Cooker Fiasco of 2019 (another story for another day), the extended family tends to shy away from!

I was heartened to see that, unlike last month’s experiment, Nellie provided amounts for the main ingredients in the Carrot Pie recipe. Since I was using a deep-dish pie pan, I doubled the ingredients. Even after considerable time spent mashing, the carrots never got as smooth as the pumpkin you buy in the can nowadays. But in the true spirit of making a 100-year-old recipe, I skipped using a blender to puree them, and I think the pie consistency still turned out fine. I also stopped short of doubling the molasses, as a total of five tablespoons seemed just right without becoming overpowering. I found it curious the recipe didn’t call for sugar, but decided molasses must have been the more popular sweetener in the early 20th century.

I do find that, every month, Nellie likes to throw a curve ball. This month, I was left to guess at amounts of the various spices the recipe called for—a little scary when you consider the spices make the pie. But with the help of some 2022 pumpkin pie recipes, I decided to go with 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon nutmeg for my doubled amounts.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any mace (the spice, not the spray!) at local grocery stores. Upon Googling, it looked like the best substitute for mace would be nutmeg, but the recipe already called for nutmeg, so I went with another suggestion and used about 3/4 teaspoon of allspice. I refrained from adding cloves, which many pumpkin pie recipes call for; however, I do think the pie would have benefited from this addition.

Nellie’s instruction to “fill the crust” assumes you already know how to make a pie crust. I certainly doubt people in 1922 could walk into a store and find a ready-made pie crust in the freezer section! Making pie crust is another time when I think of my mom, who was a “comfortable” cook. While that might not sound like a compliment, it really is. Seven days a week she put dinner on the table for all of us (did I mention I grew up with six siblings), and 99% of the time dinner was very good, just not fancy. One thing that always intimidated her was making pie crust. I don’t know why. My mom’s crust always turned out nice enough, but she never thought so. Not a woman to compliment her children too frequently, I’ve always held onto the special memory of my mom telling people, “Mary Jo makes good pie crust.”

So, I whipped up a crust for a single pie, which I learned to make from one of my dear friends who died way too young. I placed the crust in a buttered glass pan, crimped the edges, added the carrot mixture, then baked the pie. No thanks to Nellie, who left out the bake times, I decided on 15 minutes at 425 degrees and then 50 minutes at 350. I turned the pie a couple times to keep the crust browning evenly in my oven.

Now for the moment of truth! My husband, who after my third month of experimenting with these recipes is still brave enough to be my guinea pig, was ready and willing to try Carrot Pie. No wisecracks this month. Let’s just say he was at a loss for words. He took two bites of it, agreed with me that it needed sugar, and then handed the rest back. Oh, but did I mention he complimented the crust? Yes—I’ve still got it, Mom!