FB3X Drabble Cascade #141 - 'arachnid'

FB3X Drabble Cascades

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Find more drabbles at FB3X Drabble Cascade #141-'arachnid'

Title: Of Small Felines (G, paranormal, human/familiar)
Author: charisstoma
Word count: 100


“Daaaaaaad! Daaaaaaaaad! Daaaaaaa-aaaaaad! Spider. I finded the spider! The BIG spider!”

John cringed, at the small yet piercing voice of Percy and his excited news. There’d been many vocal messages about there being a spider in the house.

“He’s my friend!”

‘Oh please, no,’ John’s interior monolog said before reaching up to where Percy had climbed beside his ear to pet. “Oh, your friend? Did your 8 legged friend like being found?”

“Yes, my friend! I finded him!”

“Oooookay. I hope you left him alone?” John implored fatalistically.

“Percy wanted me to meet you,” a long suffering voice sighed.

Sugar Cream Pie/ Finger Pie/ Hoosier Pie

You can liberally sprinkle nutmeg on top!

“One distinctive trait of our sugar cream pie that my great-grandmother’s pie did not have was a separation of the cream filling,” Wickersham says. “After cutting one, there seems to be two layers of filling in our pie—a solid and a creamy [layer]. When baking a pie or two, my great-grandmother was able to stir her pies with her fingers at mid-baking point; this eliminated the separation. When baking sugar cream pie [at our factory] we bake approximately 1400 pies per hour and are unable to stir the filling at mid baking point.

“Sugar cream pie has been and continues to be a Hoosier favorite because it is made with the ingredients found on the Hoosier farm—flour, lard, cream, sugar,” Wickersham says.

In 2009, Wickersham and the Indiana Foodways Alliance successfully inspired an Indiana Senate resolution to acknowledge the sugar cream pie as the official state pie of Indiana and to rename it “Hoosier Pie.” The non-binding resolution was passed on January 23, 2009, making the sugar cream our official state pie. Now, let’s make one!

Sugar Cream Pie
The recipe:

1 ½ cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
½ tsp salt
2 ½ cup heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 pie crust, unbaked (see below)

(adapted from The Hoosier Cookbook, published 1976. Their recipe is adapted from a recipe provided by Mrs. Kenneth D. Hahn of Miami County.)

The instructions

This is one of the most simple pies I’ve ever made. Mix the dry ingredients – you can use your hand mixer or Kitchenaid (modern convenience!) but I mixed by hand with a wooden spoon – then add the rest and stir. After a minute or so of mixing, pour the filling into the crust, and then pop into your oven, pre-heated to 375 degrees, for around 35 minutes.


Historical recipe variation:

According to many traditional recipes, the ingredients are traditionally mixed inside of the pie shell with one finger. According to a recipe traced to Richmond, Ind. and provided by Sister Susan Karina Dickey, the Director of Archives for the Diocese of Springfield, Ill., this is to prevent whipping the heavy cream. To be honest, I think light mixing with a spoon prevents this without the risk of tearing the unbaked crust, but finger-stirring is the instruction provided by the oldest known recipes. It is for this reason, sugar cream pie is sometimes called Finger Pie.

As mentioned by Mike Wickersham, some traditional recipes additionally call for a mid-baking stir with one finger. I chose not to stir with my finger (ouch!), but instead stirred with the same wooden spoon. I also ended up stirring an additional time, since the 35 minute provided time was not enough for my pie. It’s a bit difficult to tell when your sugar cream pie is ready. It honestly depends on your oven, but there is nothing wrong with sticking the pie back into the oven at 375 degrees if it’s not setting up correctly. Store extra slices, if there are any, in the fridge.

A note on pie crust

There’s not much information I could find on a traditional crust for the sugar cream, so I used an old standby. I’m partial to Cook’s Illustrated Foolproof Pie Dough, which uses a liberal amount of butter and vodka. Now, hear me out. I’m not using vodka just for kicks – a liberal sprinkle (¼ cup to be exact) of the strong stuff creates a beautifully flaky crust, which is perfect for a heavy pie like a sugar cream. If you prefer to leave the crust making up to the professionals, any store-bought deep dish pie crust should work perfectly.

The results

The Hoosier Cookbook recipe recommends baking at 450 degrees, which I did and found far too hot. My crust browned a bit too much for my liking. I would recommend baking at 375 degrees, peeking in regularly to make sure the filling is bubbling but the crust isn’t browning too much. Frequently, if I feel my crust is baking too far ahead of my filling, I’ll place a large saucepan lid on top, covering the edges. A sheet of foil works as well.