Mystery Pie by Shirley Virdon - from "A Treasure Chest of Pirate Recipes" (1971)

 

RECIPE

Mix together:

20 Ritz Crackers (rolled very fine)

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup chopped nuts

Then:

beat 3 egg whites very stiff

add 1/2 cup sugar and

3/4 tsp. vanilla

Fold in other ingredients.

Place in buttered 9" pie pan.  Bake in 350F oven for 35 minutes.  Cool.

Topping:

whip 1/2 pint whipping cream

add 3 tsp. powdered sugar

Spread on cooled pie shell.  Top with slivered chocolate (optional).  Chill for 2 hours before serving.

NOTE: Pie shell may be made 24 hours before serving.

It's a mystery! / C'est un mystère!

Crumbly on the outside, gooey on the inside.

This recipe was provided by Shirley Virdon, whose husband Bill was a longtime Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder and one of the coaches of the 1971 team. (The following season, he would succeed Danny Murtaugh as manager.)

This is one of those vintage recipes that probably appeared in magazines and community cookbooks for decades.  The ingredients are all items that would have been found in most households, and the preparation is simple.

Funny enough, the finished pie did not have any of that buttery Ritz flavour to it.  Like I said, it was very crumbly on the outside -- the photo above shows my desperate effort to get a clean slice onto a plate.  Inside however, it's all sweet and gooey with a bit of texture provided by the nuts.

Would I serve this to guests today?  Oh gosh no.  This is one of those desserts that should be trapped in time like an artifact, something to be appreciated but not really something for the present day.  There are better things to do with Ritz crackers anyway.