Classic Homemade Rhubarb Pie Recipes

RHUBARB PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Add bottom crust to pie plate.
• In a large bowl combine the sugar, tapioca flour, and zest. Add rhubarb and toss to coat.
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon coarse sugar over the bottom of the pie crust, to help keep it from getting soggy. Pour rhubarb mixture into pie pan.
• Cut butter into small pieces and dot over the top of the rhubarb filling.
• Roll out second pie crust and place on top. Trim, seal and flute edges and cut a few slits (a small X) on top to allow air to escape.
• Bake at 400 degrees F for about 1 hour (tent the top of the pie loosely with aluminum foil part way through cooking to keep the crust from browning too much).
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 4 hours before cutting. After it cools, refrigerate for up to 4 days.

RHUBARB PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425°F. Place 1 pie crust in 9-inch glass pie plate.
• In large bowl, mix sugar, flour and orange peel. Stir in rhubarb. Spoon into pastry-lined plate. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over rhubarb.
• Cover with second crust; seal and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust. Cover crust edge with pie crust shield ring or strips of foil to prevent excessive browning.
• Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, removing foil during last 15 minutes. Cool on cooling rack at least 2 hours before serving.

FRESH RHUBARB PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Combine sugar and flour. Sprinkle 1/4 of it over pastry in pie plate. Heap rhubarb over this mixture. Sprinkle with remaining sugar and flour. Dot with small pieces of butter. Cover with top crust.
• Place pie on lowest rack in oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking for 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

EDNA LEWIS'S RHUBARB PIE

Steps:

• To make the crust, put 1 1/2 cups of the flour in a bowl with the salt and lard and combine quickly with fingertips. Add the water and stir to combine; the dough will be sticky. Add the remaining flour, form into a ball and put in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
• Divide the dough in two. Lightly flour a board; roll half the dough to cover the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan and put it in the pan. Flour the board again, and roll out the remaining dough. Using a pastry wheel or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 3/4-inch strips and put on wax paper.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. To make the filling, combine the sugar, nutmeg and cornstarch in a bowl. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of this mixture on the pastry in the pie pan. Combine the remaining sugar mixture with the rhubarb and fill the pie. Moisten the rim of the pastry with water and make a latticework top over the pie with the dough strips. Crimp the edges well. Bake pie for 40 minutes .

STRAIGHT-UP RHUBARB PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Make the crust: before measuring the flour, stir it to leaven with air and then measure out 2 cups. Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl and fluff with a fork. Cut the shortening into the flour with a fork or pastry blender. Stop as soon as the sheen of the butter disappears and the mixture is a bunch of coarse pieces. Sprinkle a tablespoon of water at a time over the dough, lifting and tossing it with the fork. When it begins to come together, gather the dough, press it into a ball and then pull it apart; if it crumbles in your hands, it needs more water. (It's better to err on the side of too wet than too dry.) Add a teaspoon or two more water, as needed.
• Gather the dough into two slightly unequal balls, the larger one for the bottom crust and the smaller one for the top. Flatten the larger ball, reforming any frayed edges with the sides of your hand. Dust with flour and roll the dough, starting from the center and moving toward the edges. Take a knife or thin spatula and quickly work its edge between the crust and the counter top. Lift the dough to the side; dust the dough and counter top with flour. Roll again until the diameter is an inch or 2 larger than that of the pie pan. Lay the rolling pin a third of the way from one of the edges. Roll the crust onto the pin and then unroll the crust into a 9-inch pie pan and press it into place. Place in the freezer.
• Make the filling: in a large bowl, blend the rhubarb, sugar, flour and cinnamon. Pour into the crust-lined pie pan. Dot with butter.
• Roll out the top crust. Dab the rim of the bottom crust with water to create a glue. Then place the top crust over the rhubarb; trim, seal and cut several vents. Bake for 15 minutes; reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake 25 to 30 minutes more, or until a bit of pink juice bubbles from the vents in the crust.

CLASSIC RHUBARB PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Cut rhubarb stalks into bit-size pieces.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, butter and eggs; mix well.
• Add rhubarb and stir well.
• Turn into a prepared pie crust and top with the second crust; seal and cut slits to vent steam.
• Optional: Brush the top crust with another beaten egg (may be thinned with water) and then sprinkle regular sugar generously over the top.
• Put in 450 degree oven for 10 minutes, then turn down to 350 degrees.
• Bake 30 minutes. I generally need to add another 15-20 minutes to the baking time; the crust will be a deep golden brown.

RHUBARB CRISP

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 350°F.
• Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, work in the butter until mixture is crumbly. Add pecans and egg, then toss with a fork. Set aside.
• Combine rhubarb, granulated sugar, ginger, and orange zest in a 3-quart baking dish.
• In a small bowl, stir the orange juice and cornstarch to combine; toss with the rhubarb mixture. Spread the crisp topping over the rhubarb and bake until golden and bubbly, 45-50 minutes. Serve with crème fraîche or whipped cream. Editor's note: This recipe was first printed in the March 2008 issue of 'Parade.' Head this way for more of our favorite fruit crisps and cobblers →