Why “Keokuk” Pie?

I was researching family history in the Special Collections Department at the University of Iowa’s Main Library when I came across a recipe for something called “Keokuk Pie.” It was in a cookbook published in 1934 by the Freedom Township Women’s Club. Freedom Township is a rural area east of Emmetsburg, Iowa and my grandmother belonged to the club when my grandparents farmed there at that time.

I’d never heard of Keokuk Pie. I looked online at the menus of restaurants located in Keokuk, Iowa and nobody carried anything called Keokuk Pie. A broader internet search turned up nothing. Why would this pie be called Keokuk Pie?

It’s basically a vanilla cream pie. Mark Twain, who lived in Keokuk, Iowa in 1855 and wrote for the local newspaper, is said to have written more words about pie than any other American author. None of them were about vanilla cream pies.

Keokuk, Iowa served as a departure point for 2,500 Mormons setting out for the long journey to Salt Lake City in 1853. According to a magazine article published in 1976 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the favorite dessert of Joseph F. Smith was a custard pie. However, the recipe for the Mormon leader’s favorite pie clearly states that it contains “no vanilla.”

So why Keokuk? Did Mrs C.J. Miller, of Emmetsburg, Iowa, have a particularly good slice of vanilla cream pie while visiting Keokuk, Iowa and forever call all vanilla cream pies “Keokuk” pies thereafter? That’s as good a theory as any I guess.

Well, whatever the reason, it’s a pretty dang good pie. It can be made on short notice from items found in a typical kitchen. Someone can score major points by making Keokuk Pie and saying, “Oh, this? Why, it’s just something I threw together. It’s called Keokuk Pie. Oh, you’ve never heard of it?”

I’d probably make up a story about Mark Twain or the Mormons at this point.

Directions:

Pie Crust

• 12 flats (6.3 oz.) Graham Crackers, crushed into crumbs
• 2 tbsp. Sugar
• 4 tbsp. Butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter and form a crust in a nine-inch pie pan, reserving a tablespoon of crumbs for topping. Use a spatula to tamp down the crumbs firmly in the pan. Bake the empty crust for seven minutes.

Filling

• 1½ cups Whole Milk
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 2 tbsp. Corn Starch
• 6 tbsp. Sugar
• ½ tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract

Combine sugar and corn starch, then mix in egg yolks. Add milk and whisk thoroughly. Slowly heat the mixture while stirring constantly in order to avoid scrambling the egg yolks. Heat to bubbling and continue stirring for about two minutes until it thickens to a pudding-like consistency.

Meringue

• 2 Egg Whites
• 2 tbsp. Sugar

Beat the egg whites until foamy, then gradually add the sugar and continue until you have stiff peaks.

Pour the filling onto the pie crust and spread on the meringue. Sprinkle the top with reserved graham crumbs. Bake for 15 minutes until the top begins to brown. Let cool on a wire rack.

*** Thank you to The Storm Lake Times for running an article from this post. ***