Sour Cream Raisin Pie

My poor dad has been hankering after sour cream raisin pie for years.  The recipe is in my mom’s “write-in cook book” in his hand writing, but I think she said she’d never made it!  Well, last February, I decided to give it a go as a surprise for his birthday.  He was very happy. :-)

Sour Cream Raisin Pie

1 C. raisins, finely chopped
1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 Tbl. flour
1/8 tsp. salt
2 eggs, separated
1 C. sour cream
1 tsp. cinnamon or lemon juice

1 9” pie crust, baked

Combine sugar, salt, flour and cinnamon (if using).  Beat egg yokes and add dry mixture.  Pour into a large sauce pan.  Stir in chopped raisins and sour cream (and lemon juice, if using). Cook over medium heat till it thickens, stirring often at first and constantly at the end.

Pour filling into the baked pie crust.  Preheat oven to 325F.

In a mixing bowl beat egg whites till stiff peaks form.  Add 4 Tbl. of sugar and mix in well.  Spread egg whites on pie.  Brown meringue in oven for 10-12 minutes, or till lightly browned on top.  Remove from oven and cool.  Serve at room temperature or refrigerated.

Note: You could probably get good results from this recipe with dried cherries, cranberries, currents or blueberries in place of the raisins.

It’s a rhinoceros.  Well, anyway….I just want to say I don’t actually remember if I followed the recipe exactly or if I looked up a more ample meringue recipe.  It looks to me like it may be more than two eggs’ worth of meringue, but I can’t remember.  February is too long ago and I failed to take notes if I did change it.  So, do whatever you think you’d like. :-)

If yours doesn’t look quite like mine, I think I used our own free range eggs.  This would partly account for the dark golden color.  If you use store bought eggs it will probably be lighter in most cases.