Water Pie is one of those magical recipes that came out of the depression era where cooks with little to nothing figured out how to make delicious dishes for those they love. This recipe was shared with me by Kay West and I published it in my third cookbook, Sweetness: Recipes to Celebrate the Warmth, Love, and Blessings of a Full Life.
This recipe belonged to Kay’s grandmother, who had eight children and made her family of ten three meals from scratch every single day. During leaner times, she developed this recipe so that her family could still enjoy dessert from time to time, no matter how hard their days were. These recipes are such a special treasure to us and I think you’ll really enjoy the simplicity of this pie. It has a creamy buttery taste, similar to a warm vanilla cookie once it’s chilled and sliced. Half the thrill will be telling your family the name and that the main ingredient is water!
You know when a recipe was created to make something out of nothing, it’s going to be simple on the ingredients. You’ll need: A deep dish pie crust*, water, sugar, flour, butter, and some vanilla.
*See tips for success at the bottom of this post.
Begin by pouring water into your deep dish crust. It doesn’t have to be hot or anything, just straight from the tap is fine.
Stir together flour and sugar.
Sprinkle this over your water. The original recipe called for doing this with a spoon so I’m showing you that way but I usually just use my hand to sprinkle it because I feel like I can get it more even that way.
This is our water with flour/sugar sprinkled over. Don’t stir.
Drizzle vanilla over this. Don’t stir.
Place pats of butter on top.
Place this in the oven at 400 for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, reduce temp to 375 and cover the edges of the crust if need be to prevent burning. Cook for another 30 minutes once you have reduced the temp.
Pie will be very watery in the center when you remove from the oven. Allow to cool completely and then refrigerate several hours before cutting.
Enjoy this creamy buttery pie recipe that came about from good hearted cooks wanting to bake up something sweet for their loved ones during hard times!
Tips for success:
- I use a Pillsbury all vegetable frozen deep dish pie crust, unbaked, for this recipe. I suggest a store bought deep dish pie crust because homemade pie crusts in your own dish are going to vary in terms of depth and may result in the filling not getting fully done in the prescribed amount of time.
- Before you begin making this pie, tear off a piece of foil large enough to cover your pie dish. Cut an X in the center and peel back the X. This will make it quick and easy to cover your pie should the edges begin getting too dark and will keep you from losing valuable heat during the baking process.
- Pie will be bubbly and could be watery in some spots when you pull it out of the oven. It will gel fully as it cools. It is best if you allow this pie to cool completely and then cover and refrigerate until chilled before cutting.
YUM!
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Ingredients
- 1 9 inch deep dish pie crust, unbaked
- 1 1/2 cups water (that is one and a half cups)
- 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 5 tablespoons butter, cut into 5 pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 and set empty pie crust on a baking sheet.
- Pour 1 + 1/2 cups water into the pie crust.
- In a small bowl, stir together flour and sugar. Sprinkle evenly over water in crust. Don't stir.
- Drizzle vanilla over water in pie crust. Place pats of butter on top of this.
- Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and cover sides of crust if needed to prevent burning. Continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes.
- Pie will be watery when you pull it out of the oven but will gel as it cools. Allow to cool completely and then cover and place in the fridge until chilled before cutting.
Nutrition
Some other recipes you might enjoy:
- Chocolate Cobbler (doesn’t even need an egg and can accomodate many food allergies)
- Cubed Steak and Milk Gravy – and how my Granny made it
- Homemade Banana Pudding – A Southern Classic
- Waste Not, Want No French Toast – turn hamburger and hot dog buns into this delicious breakfast!
This recipe featured in Meal Plan Monday and Weekend Potluck!
I am a Depression-Baby of 92 years, enjoy cooking & creating new recipe’s. I’ve never heard of Water Pie, but am anxious to try it. I cook for my 65 yr. old son EVERY day — & will ask him to GUESS the KIND of Pie I’ve served him. Thanks for recipe!
I can’t even imagine the lives you’ve blessed with your cooking and your heart throughout the years. Thank you for making this world a better place by being in it!
Marilyn’s comment is amazing! I love it. God Bless you and your son, Marilyn!
Your son is sooo lucky, Marilyn! Your enthusiasm to try new things is infectious! Thank you for leaving your lovely comment!
Best wishes,
Laura
GOD BLESS YOU
My Mom used to mention a pie like this, but she never made it that I can remember. She and my Dad married during the height of the Great Depression. Boy, that took some guts to do, but they did and survived to raise 4 healthy children. I wasn’t born until after WW II, so I don’t recall the hard times, but my older brothers and sister sure remember. One thing my Mom taught me was how to take nothing and make something out of it. I mean there were times I can remember looking into the refrigerator and thinking to myself that tonight there would be nothing good to eat. But Mom always came through and managed to put a hot, filling and delicious meal out of absolutely (in my opinion) nothing. She taught me many things, to put God first, never forget to tell someone you love them when they were leaving because it could be the last time you may see them, never go to bed angry, be willing to apologize if you are wrong, I could go on and on, but one of the best thing she taught me was how to economize and make do with what was in the pantry or refrigerator. If not for that, my husband and I would have gone hungry when we were first married because he was in the Army and at that time the pay was a very small amount and only once a month.
Thank you Christy for letting me ramble and for sharing this recipe and as I have all your cookbooks, I remember reading about this recipe. Your stories are always an inspiration to me and I look forward to opening your email everyday. May God continue to bless you and your family.
Claudine in Fort Worth, TX
Claudine, your rambling is priceless wisdom and you are genius to share it. Thank you for blessing all of us. Please come back and share your heart and memories whenever you like. It is a true gift!
I loved your comment and the story you told. My grandmother always had a story for nearly every recipe!
Oh my goodness Ms, Claudine. What a wonderful post. My grandmother grew up in the Depression and I remember her saving every little left-over, no matter how tiny. I think I got that from her. At 53, I still will take the kids uneaten food off their plate for lunch before I throw it away. My granddaughters cleared their places the other night and threw their food in the trash and my heart stopped.
In the early 50’s, my dad was in the Air Force. My parents were 19 and 16. My dad’s pay was messed up so all they had for a few months was my mom’s allotment of $23 a month. The cheapest thing they could buy was tuna. They made tuna everything. And in all my years, I seldom saw them eat another tuna sandwich. lol
I love your story. It makes me remember where I came from. ♥️
My father was second oldest in a family with 7 children during the Depression. He would catch fish which my grandmother would clean and my father would sell to make money for the family. My grandmother cleaned so many fish she said she could never stand to smell or eat another one after the Depression.
I was born just after WWII, but my parents were married during the Depression. Having lived during both those hard times, the lesson I learned was that you never waste anything. You eat what you have, use and make do with what you have. I grew up with that and it left an impression on me that I create recipes with leftovers, make things with scraps, repair broken items, and re-paint and reuse everything. Thanks for this great recipe. I’m very interested in our history and I can’t wait to try it.
Hi Christy: OMG water pie! I thought she was kidding however my Mississippi maternal grandmother said ‘in the old days’ she made a H2O pie. occasionally when she had one, she would beat one egg in with the water. From the late 1920s to about 1945 they were tenant farmers; that was a hard life. She managed somehow to have a sewing machine, taught herself how to sew & traded making clothes for eggs, sugar & flour. Wow how times have changed! I have all her recipes along with my Mom’s. I do so cherish those.
Thanks for your stories, humor, wisdom & sharing your recipes.
From one southern gal to another. Kate
You need to get those lost recipes published with the history.
Since it’s made with water…no calories right ? 🙂
Sure, let’s go with that!
Calories? YES, how about that cup of sugar also flour and butter.
I make the oatmeal pie frequently, is an Amish pie and they serve it for breakfast
I am a 88 yr old depression baby of a family of 6 kids, so Mom made a feast out of nothing. She made vinegar pie which is very good, I have several cookbooks from that era and enjoy just reading them like a novel,one was printed in 1930 and is hand written.
What a wonderful treasure to have!! What are some of your favorites that you have found in the cookbooks?
Just now reading this. My grandmother and mother made vinegar pies too! So good and it’s one of my sons favorite also. When I mention it to others especially younger folks they will make a face and say eww! They don’t even know.
Vinegar pie is Also called Chess pie, I’ve always loved this pie. It’s really easy to make
YOU are my new favorite Carolyn!
I think she was joking… 🙂
Can’t wait to try this recipe!
I agree! Just looking for simple recipes and get batches bad mouthing people. Not good!
Wow! Im just looking for a water pie recipe. I came across these comments. Im probably not going to linger, or come back.
Janel I originally heard about this recipe on Paula Dean’s posts. I dont care for Paula Dean so I came looking for a “second opinion”!!
Though Im not a fan, Ms Dean said of this pie:
Consider adding lemon zest, lemon juice, almonds, almond extract, cinnamon and more suggestions.
I think as long as the chemistry is not disturbed you should get a good set on the filling. Paula Dean was worried about hers. I dont think she cheated but her first one was perfect.
The gluten in the flour absorbed the water and thats what gets the gel. You might get good results with an alternative flour, but low gluten flour usually has poor results in recipes needing those long gluten strands. Even artisan, low gluten wheat flour could be a problem.
This recipe should accommodate an alternate base nicely. I use almond flour to bake with vegetable matter added to the matrix. For example, almond flour makes kick-butt muffins with egg and mashed sweet potato. Even picky little boys eat it.
The subtle flavors of butter and vanilla wont tolerate much interference, though, so if it were me, i would add at least part of an envelope of unflavored gelatin to my almond flour recipe. It might not work!!! But then it might get spectacular results without changing the flavor.
Pay no attention to those women behind the curtain. They are jealous of your creativity.
Btw I think there are algae extracts at the health food store you can try, and make it nearly vegan. I wouldnt omit the butter!
Someone clearly doesn’t understand how jokes work.
In French Canada, we have also inherited a desert from the Great Depression. It is called Pouding chômeur (literally means Welfare Pudding). It is also made with water instead of cream. It contains brown sugar. It is really interesting to watch because the hot syrup is pourred over the batter and you can watch it start to cook as pieces of the batter start to float up from the bottom. The end result is a cake bathing in a caramel sauce. Delicious! Some recipies have now been modified to contain cream instead of water and maple syrup as well as brown sugar.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing!
I would love to also have the Canadian version. My ancestors were French Canadian. Please consider sharing.
Oh my how yummy that sounds as well! Would you be willing to share a recipe for the Canadian version?
What amazes me about this recipe, is the ingenuity of this generation. Hardships can be blessings with creativity. Thank you for another excellent recipe!
Reminded me of a cake my Granny used to make in her little kerosene oven. She never measured anything but the cake was always perfect and she used commodity peanut butter for icing. My absolute fave was her fruit salad she only made at Christmas, 2 yellow apples, 2 red apples, 2 bananas peeled and one orange. Dice very small. Sprinkle about a cup of sugar over the fruit then add FRESH* cream to cover and keep cool til time to serve. Somehow this bowl of fruit fed 16 with left overs for me!!! *fresh from the morning milk, I use a small carton from the grocery store.
It is amazing to think of how our Grandmothers could stretch a dish or meal and always have enough!!