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old fashioned rhubarb pie with one slice missing on a vintage pink tablecloth

Old Fashioned Rhubarb Pie Recipe

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Old fashioned rhubarb pie appears in American recipe collections as far back as the 1820s, when rhubarb shifted from a medicinal plant used in pharmacies to a prized filling for home bakers across the Northeast and Midwest. This version uses a spiced sugar mixture layered directly into the bottom crust before the rhubarb filling is piled on top, a technique found in early 19th-century farmhouse recipes that ensures even sweetness and a thickened, jammy filling rather than a watery one. The result is a deeply tart, warmly spiced pie with a shattering flaky crust, best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

  • Total Time: 85 Minutes
  • Yield: 8 Slices 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • Top and bottom pie crust (store-bought or homemade)
  • 5 cups sliced rhubarb (about 1 1/3 pounds)
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for an egg wash
  • 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
 

Instructions

  1.  Step 1: Set up your station before the oven even warms up
    Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F and move the rack to the lowest position. Set a rimmed baking sheet on the rack while the oven preheats. It’ll catch any bubbling juices and give your bottom crust an extra blast of direct heat.
  2. Step 2: Make the spiced sugar mixture
    In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Whisk until the mixture looks uniform, with no visible streaks of flour. This spiced sugar blend does double duty: the sugar draws out the rhubarb’s natural juices and the flour absorbs them as they cook, turning what could be a soupy filling into a glossy, thick rhubarb mixture that holds a clean slice. Set the bowl aside.
  3. Step 3: Roll and chill your bottom crust
    On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of your pie dough into a circle roughly 12 inches across. Transfer it to a 9-inch pie plate, press it gently into the corners, and let the edges hang over the rim for now. Slide the whole pie plate into the refrigerator while you roll out your top crust.
  4. Step 4: Fill the pie
    Pull the bottom crust out of the refrigerator. Sprinkle a couple tablespoons of the spiced sugar mixture evenly over the bottom crust, reaching all the way to the edges. This bottom layer of sugar acts as a light barrier between the raw dough and the wet fruit. Add the fresh rhubarb to the bowl with the remaining spiced sugar mixture and toss until the stalks are evenly coated. Pile the rhubarb filling into the bottom crust, mounding it slightly in the center since the filling will settle during baking.
  5. Step 5: Choose your top crust and seal the pie
    + Option 1, Classic Full Top Crust: Lay the rolled top crust over the rhubarb filling. Trim both layers of dough to about one inch of overhang, then fold the edge under itself and crimp or flute to seal. Cut four or five steam vents in the top of your pie with a sharp knife; vents prevent the top crust from puffing up and cracking in a way you didn’t plan for.
    + Option 2, Lattice Top: Cut your rolled top crust into strips roughly one inch wide. Weave them over the rhubarb filling in a classic lattice pattern, then press the strip ends onto the bottom crust edge and crimp to seal. A lattice top lets you see those gorgeous, bubbling rhubarb juices and makes your pie look like it belongs on the cover of a 1952 farm journal. Either way, you’re getting a beautiful pie.
  6. Step 6: Egg wash and turbinado sugar
    Brush the entire top crust, including the crimped edges, with the egg wash. Then sprinkle the tablespoon of turbinado sugar generously over the surface. Coarse sugar bakes into a crackly, sparkly crust that you can hear when you tap it with a spoon.
  7. Step 7: Bake low, then lower
    Set the pie on your preheated baking sheet and slide it onto the lowest rack. Bake at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F without opening the door. Bake for an additional 40 to 45 minutes, until the top crust is deep golden brown and the juices are actively bubbling through the vents or lattice. If the edges start browning too quickly before the center is done, tent just the outer crust with strips of foil. Pull the pie when the filling is truly bubbling, not just steaming; bubbling means the flour has reached the temperature it needs to fully thicken the rhubarb filling.
  8. Step 8: The hardest step in the whole recipe
    Let the pie cool on a wire rack for at least two hours before slicing. The filling continues to set as it cools, and if you cut into it warm, you’ll get a runny, beautiful mess. It’ll still taste incredible, but it won’t hold a slice. Two hours. You can do it.

Find it online: https://recipe-rewind.com/old-fashioned-rhubarb-pie/

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