What a delightful summer. I hope you had a wonderful one!
Now we’re back and it’s time for pumpkin carving, apple picking, fires and chilly strolls. Not to mention more writing and research and a bit more time in the kitchen!
To kick off the fall, I want to drop a delightful little recipe from the vintage cookbook Shaker Tested Recipes. This little recipe book is undated, but it comes from the the Canterbury Shakers in New Hampshire. If I had to guess I’d say it’s from the 1950s.
Tucked inside the pages is a sweet little collection of recipes, one of which is a simple Shaker Hand Pie. I suppose you could fill it with anything, but we decided to fill it up with their recommendation: apple sauce. After having a quick Sunday morning trip to Mack’s Apples, in Londonderry, we set to work.
The recipe was super simple.
- Roll out pie crust (I made ours the night before. I used this recipe)
- Cut into rounds
- Place a dollop of apple sauce on round
- Add raisins (optional)
- Top with another round
- Crimp edges
- Bake at 400 for 30 minutes
And voila! Adorable Shaker Hand Pies.
As you can see, I tried folding a few into half-moons, but the whole rounds stayed sealed a lot better than the halves.
They were delightful little treats and as the recipe book suggested “perfect for a picnic.” I bet they’d be yummy with puff pastry as well, don’t you think?
Five Canterbury Shaker Facts
Since this recipe comes more with an institution than an individual’s name, I’ll leave you with 5 facts about the Canterbury Shakers!
- The Canterbury Shaker Village was founded in 1792.
- The formal name of the Shakers was The United Society of Believers, but they were also informally known as the Shaking Quakers due to their vigorous dance moves during religious worship.
- The Shakers were primarily self sufficient, creating their own clothing, making their own food and furniture etc. They were known to be exceptionally industrious and adaptive. It surprised me that the hand pies suggested that we could use a canned apple sauce.
- Unlike most other Christian religions, their founder was female, Mother Ann Lee.
- The last Shaker at Canterbury, Ethel Hudson, passed away in 1992, and the Canterbury Shaker Village was transformed, officially, into a museum.
It would be a nice place to bring a picnic! And what better treat to tote along than a few Shaker Hand Pies?
If you make them, I’d love to see the results. Tag me on Instagram @erinemoulton #soulspunkitchen