Ronald's Saturday Off: Ruth Berry Gordon's Famous Fruit Pies [Dried Apple Pie]

Fort Riley, Kansas, is home to the nation’s most oldest, and recognizable divisions of The United States Army, The First Infantry Division. Not only does this Fort serve its division, but back in the day, this Fort was once home to the famous General George Custer, and his wife Libby Custer. Dating back to the Calvary period.

Growing up, I never took the time to come out to Apple Days, until I started High School actually making pies with other volunteers. But as I was creating them, I realized that it serves a purpose with a rich history. According to sources, General George Custer and his wife, Libby lived in a set of quarters in which it’s identified as Quarters 21. However, when a fire had burned the quarters, a recipe box, along with many other historical items were used. With that said, Libby’s Apple Pie Recipe was born to the public.

In the 1970’s, Fort Riley has grown a series of Apple Trees in the fall, in front of the Commanding General’s Quarters. “What will we do with all of these apples?” , someone mentioned. Then, an idea was brought to the table of making Apple Pies for the public, in terms of raising money for scholarships. Since then, The event turned out to be The Fort Riley Apple Day Festival. The Ingredients are simple, but the recipe remains a secret. The only people who know the recipe, are the Apple Queens themselves, who are in charge of making over 2,000 pies. The recipe is very old, and instead of having a crust, it has a crumble.

When I was in High School, I picked up a recipe that was left out on the table. I picked it up, and now, I can’t find where it’s at. Then I came across an old PowerPoint with the exact same recipe. It was worded weird, and I tried to do the best I can to find it, relocate it, and also modernizing, edit it, and experiment. No matter what I did, there’s always adjustments to be made, so I decided to keep things as it is. While everyone knows Libby's Pie, Ruth Berry Gordon also made a staple in creating pies. People of Pawnee, knew that Ruth created a DRIED apple pie filling, that is great to share. 

Pawnee’s Famous Fruit Pies

Ruth Berry came to Kansas with her parents in a covered wagon when she was 16 years old. They arrived in Pawnee, which was the settlement that Andrew Reeder determined to be the capital city of the Kansas Territory just days before the first legislature was to convene there. Berry was recruited to help prepare 70 pies for the governor’s banquet in July 1855. While serving the “fruits of her labor” to the governor’s table, she met Grabet Gordon. Gordon and Berry wed a year later in the stone capitol building. The couple moved to Junction City after it was founded in 1858. There Gordon served as justice of the peace and was elected to the first Kansas State Legislature in 1861.

In the old days, you would have to prepare your apples accordingly.

·      First you will need to buy some fresh apples. Cut them into quarters and you will need to tie them on a string and let them hang to dry out for maybe at least a couple hours. It might be turning brown but sometimes its ok if they do.  This is an old method that they used. However, I would recommend to leave them out on a plate.

Ingredients for the dried-apple pie filling

•       2 cups of dried apples

•       4 cups of boiling water

•       ¼ teaspoon of salt

•       1 teaspoon of cinnamon

•       2 egg yolks

•       ½ cup of sugar

•       ½ cup of milk

•       You will also need a 9-inch unbaked pie shell.

First, wash your apples and place them in a pot of salted boiling water. Make sure that your apples are completely covered with water. Reduce the heat, and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Remove the apples from the heat, and place them in a colander to drain. Set aside.

In a bowl, beat the egg yolks while adding sugar and spices (Cinnamon, nutmeg, or Apple Pie Spice.). Next, you will add in the milk to blend. Last, mix thoroughly with the apples, and pour the mixture into the unbaked pie shell. Let it bake in the oven for 425 for 30 minutes.

One of the hardest things about a 150 year old recipe, is actually modernizing for the presentence. With that said, the crust was very hard to experiment.

Pie shell ingredients

• ·      2 ½ Cups of sifted flour
• ·      ½ teaspoon salt
• ·      1 cup of lard
• ·      1 beaten egg
• ·      1 tablespoon of vinegar
• ·      Cold water

First, cut your shortening into a bowl of flour and salt. Next, beat the egg lightly in a 1½  measuring cup, and add the vinegar. Last, fill the cup with cold water. Add just a barely enough liquid to dry ingredients in terms of holding the dough together.

With about 4 tablespoons reserving the remaining liquid, use that for your next batch of pastry dough. Handle as little as possible. Roll out the pastry dough, and use as desired. When your pastry is nicely rolled out, clutch the dough against the pan, and you may use this as your crust. If you want, you can also use this as your pie shell. This amount of dough will make two 9-inch pie shells.