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Osgood Pie

Happy Thanksgiving, here is my family’s recipe for Osgood Pie. I only recently learned that it’s a take off of traditional Vinegar Pie. It’s one of those foods I grew up eating during the holidays and thought everybody had it. Turns out, not so much. I’ve been enjoying introducing it to people, especially because not everybody likes it (which is ok).

Some versions of this recipe call for beating the butter and sugar together, but we’ve always just tossed everything in there and it’s just fine, and it cuts down on the number of dirty bowls. This pie separates as it cooks leaving a sweet crumbly layer on top, and a gooey layer on bottom. Let it cook to room temperature before eating, it tastes even better the next day.

Osgood Pie
makes two pies

Preheat oven to 475.

Mix together:

4 egg yolks
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. alspice
1/4 cup butter (melted and cooled but still liquid)
1 cup raisins
1 cup pecans, chopped or broken
3 Tbsp. white vinegar

Fold in:

4 egg whites, beaten stiff

Pour mixture into two pie shells (just the bottoms).

Put into oven and turn temperature down to 375 degrees. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until the top is an even, dark brown. Allow to cool to room temperature before eating.

· comments [20] · 11-22-2007 · categories:food · recipes ·

20 responses so far ↓

  • 1 reddirtroad // Nov 22, 2007 at 12:25 pm

    THAT looks totally amazing and so yummy!

  • 2 The Queen // Nov 22, 2007 at 1:04 pm

    It’s weird, where i come from we call this pecan sugar pie and everyone eats it everywhere, cuz it’s available everywhere. Kind of like butter tarts. Did I mention I’m from Canada? :)
    p.s-totally in love with you site, but not in a i’m-stalking-you-way.

  • 3 Haven // Nov 22, 2007 at 4:44 pm

    Any chance you’ve saved a piece so we can get a side-on slided view? Just want to see what the inside looks like, the outside looks beautiful!

  • 4 ico // Nov 22, 2007 at 6:11 pm

    Here’s an older entry about osgood pie in which she posted a side-on view. I’ve made it and it’s very good.

    http://www.notmartha.org/archives/2002/12/23/86450611/

  • 5 Storme // Nov 22, 2007 at 11:39 pm

    can the recipe be cut in half and just make 1 pie?

  • 6 Krista // Nov 23, 2007 at 5:41 am

    i was going to say that this reminds me of my mom’s butter tart pie… and i’m also from Canada originally. just reading the ingredient list is making me hungry, i’ll have to do some baking later today.

  • 7 megan // Nov 23, 2007 at 8:59 am

    Storme – Yes, you won’t throw off any balances by cutting the recipe in half.

    Krista and The Queen – Oh, thanks, I’d never heard of sugar tarts before. I think I’ll have to research the family tree of all these pies.

  • 8 Cakespy // Nov 24, 2007 at 5:20 pm

    I have never heard of this pie…do you know anything else about the backstory? I love all of that stuff.

    But MOST importantly, it looks really tasty! I’m so bookmarking this baby.

  • 9 dogfaceboy // Nov 25, 2007 at 5:58 am

    I suppose if I had to admit it, I’d say I like pie OK, but I’m a cake girl. I’m even writing a book about it (for Simon & Schuster, even!), but I may look to you for your thoughts on pie v. cake, if that’s OK.

    Meantime, I tagged you. It’s totally optional, of course, but I do like your blog and will put you in my bookmarks so that I can keep up. I’m not martha, either. Who is? Except Martha.

  • 10 jackie // Nov 25, 2007 at 7:29 am

    I was watching the Food Network and they stated the two most popular pies, for Thanksgiving, are pumpkin and apple!! Not so much down here. In Texas its pumpkin and pecan pie, which is very tasty and looks alot like this pie with out the top crust. looks yummy. well give it a try. Prehaps closer to Christmas…were all pied out over here.

  • 11 Brook // Nov 26, 2007 at 8:16 am

    My Mimi (Grandma) makes something similar in a mini form called taffy tarts. I’ve been told this recipe is from our french canadian ancestry.

  • 12 Anne P. // Nov 26, 2007 at 8:37 am

    Did you, by chance, use the “Vodka Pie Crust” recipe from CI that you mentioned in an earlier post? I used it this Thanksgiving for all of my 12 pies (yeah, I know!) and it was the BEST crust I’ve ever worked with or tasted… Easy (even for the “pastry challenged”)to prepare, more simple to work with than the store-bought refrigerated type, and tastier than “old fashioned” crust. It just doesn’t get any better!

    Happy Holidays!

  • 13 mjoe // Nov 26, 2007 at 12:32 pm

    Interesting, I’ve never heard of this. What does the vinegar do?

  • 14 nadarine // Nov 26, 2007 at 7:14 pm

    a resounding thanks for the recipe- I made it for Thanksgiving (last year) and it was delicious. mmmmm.

    and Storme: yes, you could make one pie, but WHO WANTS JUST ONE PIE? :)

  • 15 Storme // Nov 29, 2007 at 5:21 pm

    I usually would want more of anything that’s good, but I’m staying with my Dad who will gobble this up and I was thinking the less around at one time the better for his arteries!

  • 16 Let there be pie » Poor Taste Magazine // Sep 10, 2010 at 12:15 pm

    […] unlikely to get excited about it unless your own family observed this tradition. Lucky for us, Not Martha’s family did. If raisins give you the icks, the folks at Serious Eats adjusted Not Martha’s recipe to […]

  • 17 Brenda Lucero // Dec 23, 2012 at 7:21 pm

    My aunt used to make this for Thanksgiving. It is delicious. She gave me the recipe and it is fairly easy to follow.

  • 18 Jenny // Nov 21, 2013 at 10:18 am

    Thanks for posting this, when my Great-grandmother baked, this is the pie she would make. Looking forward to bringing back the tradition…

  • 19 Cozette Day // Jul 22, 2015 at 7:19 am

    My mother made this sometimes. I had never heard it mentioned by anyone else though, and assumed it was too obscure to get a recipe for. She learned how to make in east Texas, before WWII. Hers tasted like a pecan pie with less custard and more nuts and raisins. Thank you for sharing this.

  • 20 megan // Jul 22, 2015 at 6:03 pm

    Cozette – Yes, pecan pie with less custard is a good description for this pie. My family’s roots are in Oklahoma and it would have been a recipe passed down over many generations. I hope this recipe is similar to the pie you remember!

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