The Best Depression Era Water Pie

Water pie is a fantastic great depression-era recipe that uses a few simple ingredients and makes a pie that tastes like a warm vanilla cookie or a glazed donut.

Serves: 1 pie Time: 1hr 15 min plus chill time Cookbook: Sweetness

Water pie has gotten quite a bit of attention recently as times change, money gets tight, and we look back to the wisdom of our grandparents in getting through tough times. This pie is an example of classic depression-era recipes that used easy-to-find ingredients that were readily on hand. Expensive ingredients were unheard of during the depression and using simple ingredients became an important part of everyday life.

During the great depression, women had to become incredibly inventive in the ways they stretched resources and created food that was enjoyable to eat. Many traditional desserts weren’t feasible, so desperation pies became popular. This great depression water pie is one of those magical recipes. It requires very few ingredients and yet turns out a delicious dessert that is perfect for any get-together.

So what does depression pie taste like? The texture is similar to a custard pie or chess pie, and the flavor profile reminds us of something between a glazed donut and a sugar cookie. Simply put, it’s delicious. If you’re at our house for Christmas, don’t be surprised if you find this century-old dessert gracing our holiday dessert table.

Jump Ahead:

• ❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• 🥧 Ingredients Needed to Make Water Pie
• 🍴 Equipment You’ll Need in the Kitchen
• 🥄 How to Make Water Pie
• ♾️ Variations on Water Pie
• ❓ Water Pie Tips, Tricks, and FAQs

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Easy: The pie only takes a few ingredients, and only one step requires any mixing at all. Other than that, it’s a “dump” recipe where you dump the ingredients together and it magically comes out perfect when it’s finished.

Unique: This is such a unique dessert! Born out of necessity, baking this depression-era pie reminds us of days gone by and provides us with an inside look at how to be resourceful.

Cost-Effective: This hard times pie is an original recipe from the great depression that uses a few basic pantry ingredients. You probably have most of these ingredients on hand already, making it quite a budget-friendly dessert to make for your family and friends.

Fun: This is a fun pie to make! It’s like baking and a science experiment all wrapped into one. Get your kids in on the action and they’re sure to love helping you turn water into a pie.

Ingredients Needed to Make Water Pie

• Deep Dish Pie Crust: A store bought deep-dish pie crust is perfect for size, convenience, and texture. However, back in the day, homemade pie crust would have been what graced the bottom of this pie. You can choose a traditional pie crust recipe or pick up your favorite pre-made brand. Either way, you’ll need one unbaked pie shell.
• Water: Water is the main ingredient and you don’t need anything fancy. According to depression era guidance, simply get a cup and a half of the liquid straight from your tap. It doesn’t have to be cold or hot water – lukewarm or room temperature is fine.
• All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour is perfect for this recipe and will set up nicely.
• Sugar: Sugar would have been a precious commodity during the depression and this recipe showcases it perfectly. White sugar or cane sugar both work well.
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract enhances the flavors in this pie and make it taste very cookie-like. If you don’t have vanilla, almond extract also works well!
• Butter: Unsalted butter is perfect for this recipe.

Equipment Needed In the Kitchen

Pie Dish

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Pie Crust Shield

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Mixing Bowls

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• Deep Dish Pie Pan: Deep dish pie pans are 1 to 2 inches deep and 9-inches in diameter. You want a pie plate around that size to make sure the crust can hold all the ingredients. We have the one featured here and love it.
• Pie Crust Shield: We use these silicon pie crust shields to keep our crusts from getting overly browned or burnt. They are adjustable and can be used with regular-sized, 9-inch, and 11-inch pies.
• Small Mixing Bowl: You’ll need a small bowl to combine the dry Ingredients.

How to Make Water Pie

This might be one of the easiest pies you’ll ever make! It just takes a few steps and a little patience, and you’ll be enjoying your very own water pie in no time.

Prep

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Then, pull out all of your supplies. This recipe goes fast, so it’s simplest if you have everything at hand.

Make the pie

Making the pie is as simple as:

1. Place the empty, unbaked pie crust into a pie tin or dish. Set the pie tin on a baking sheet for extra stability when loading it into and out of the oven.
2. Pour 1.5 cups water into the pie crust.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine the little bit of flour and one cup sugar. Sprinkle the mixture of flour and sugar with a spoon evenly into the water in the pie crust. It may be tempting, but don’t stir.
4. Drizzle vanilla extract over the pie and place pats of butter evenly on top.

Bake the pie

Bake the pie in your preheated oven for 30 minutes.

At this point, place aluminum foil or a pie crust shield on the edge of your pie to keep the crust from burning. Then, reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and continue cooking for 30 minutes until the crust turns brown.

Let the pie set, then serve

Remove the cooked pie from the oven and let the pie cool at room temperature for an hour. Then refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (several hours) before serving.

The pie will be watery when it first comes out of the oven, but it will firm up as it cools.

Cut and serve!

Variations on Water Pie

Water was all the depression era folks had to use. Today, however, you can substitute quite a number of liquids in place of water. The most common? Soda! Soda works as a perfect substitute for water, and the flavors you can achieve are as adventurous as you want to be. Here are a few of our favorite pie fillings.

Sprite Pie: Use the same amount of sprite instead of water. You’ll get a creamsicle-type flavor.

Dr. Pepper Pie: We love Dr. Pepper and this is a must-try. It turns out a beautiful Dr. Pepper flavored pie you’re sure to love.

Chocolate Soda Pie: If you’re craving chocolate and you have a can of chocolate soda lying around, make it into a chocolate soda pie! Use soda instead of water and you’re good to go.

Coke Pie: Know someone who adores coke? Turn it into a coke pie by using the popular soda instead of water.

Strawberry Soda Pie: Hankering for a fruit pie? Pick a fruit-flavored soda, like strawberry, and use it in place of the water. Voila! Strawberry soda pie.

Water Pie Tips, Tricks, and FAQs

More Holiday Desserts

Looking for more desserts fit to grace your holiday table? Try these!

• Alton Brown’s Sugar Cookies: Classic sugar cookies that are perfect for icing and decorating.
• Pioneer Woman’s Pecan Pie: The best pecan pie you’ll ever make or eat, and it only takes 8 ingredients!
• Dorie Greenspan’s Lemon Custard: A delicious custard that is perfect for serving to friends and family.

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