Great Depression Water Pie (also known as Depression Era Pie) is a wonderful pie recipe that calls for a few pantry ingredients to make a sweet little pie. All you need is, you guessed it—hot water, plus vanilla, sugar, butter, flour and a deep-dish pie crust. The hot water pie crust literally couldn’t be easier to make and it turns out super buttery and delicious.
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What Is a Water Pie?
Water Pie or Depression Era Pie is basically pure magic. This Depression Era Water Pie recipe only calls for six ingredients that create a delicious pie so easily.
There’s a general assumption that Water Pie is a pie baked in a water bath, but that’s not the case. It gets its name because water is the main ingredient. That’s right, you should about a cup of water directly into the pie shell.
Water Pie was created during the Great Depression, a difficult time when folks were wanting to make a dessert, but unable to afford the typical supplies. The Water Pie recipe was created to make something out of nothing, with really simple ingredients. And lately, this pie that costs pennies to make has made a major comeback because of its deliciously frugal simplicity.
Ingredients for Water Pie:
You’ll need a deep-dish pie crust, water, sugar, flour, butter and vanilla. That’s it!
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How To Make Water Pie:
- Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit and set empty pie crust on a baking sheet.
- Pour 1 ½ cups water into the pie crust.
- In a small bowl, stir together flour and sugar. Sprinkle evenly over water in crust. Don’t stir.
- Drizzle vanilla over water in pie crust. Place pats of butter on top of this.
- Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and cover sides of crust if needed to prevent burning. Continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes.
- The pie will be watery when you pull it out of the oven but will gel as it cools. Allow to cool completely and then cover and place in the fridge until chilled before cutting.
Does the Pie Crust Cook Fully With All of the Water?
Yes, the pie crust does cook fully and it’s delicious and perfectly baked for a flakey and delicious crust.
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Depression Water Pie
Ingredients
- 1 (9-inch) deep-dish pie crust, unbaked
- 1½ cups water
- 4 Tbsp flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 tbsp butter
- Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit and set empty pie crust on a baking sheet.
- Pour 1 + ½ cups water into the pie crust.
- In a small bowl, stir together flour and sugar. Sprinkle evenly over water in crust. Don’t stir.
- Drizzle vanilla over water in pie crust. Place pats of butter on top of this.
- Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and cover sides of crust if needed to prevent burning. Continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes.
- Pie will be watery when you pull it out of the oven but will gel as it cools. Allow to cool completely and then cover and place in the fridge until chilled before cutting.
