Aunt Faye, Granny Gazzie, and Granny
Aunt Faye was Granny’s oldest sister. She was the second born child of Gazzie and Charlie Jenkins-and she was their first child to live. Faye married Woodrow Rogers.
Faye and Woodrow were fixtures at Granny Gazzie’s house. They lived nearby, but as Granny Gazzie got older they stayed with her more and more. Pretty much anytime we ever visited Granny Gazzie they were there.
Granny’s father (Granny Gazzie’s husband) died when she was pregnant with me, so in my lifetime there was never a grandfather on the Jenkins side of my family. Well I should say there was never a grandfather in the strictest sense of the word, but there was a grandfather-it was Woodrow.
Since he and Aunt Faye stayed with Granny Gazzie I always thought of them as grandparents too. Woodrow was like the Papaw and Aunt Faye was like a slightly younger Granny Gazzie in my mind.
Aunt Faye always met us at the door with a hug, a smile, a kiss on the cheek, and a “How are you doll?”
I remember being shocked when she died suddenly.
The week before she died, Granny and I went out to visit-a thing I did less and less once I became a teenager.
I don’t remember how, but Granny convinced me to go with her out to Granny Gazzie’s on a weekday. I’m positive I drug my feet and went on about all the important teenage things I needed to do, but like always I enjoyed the trip once I got there.
As I sat in a chair and listened to them visit, Aunt Faye brought me a poem she’d cut out of the back of a local tv circular that used to come in the mail. She told me she really liked the poem and thought I would too. I still have the poem tucked away.
I’ve heard Pap say on more than one occasion “Faye Rogers was one of the finest women I ever knew.” Pap’s statement sums up all you need to know about Aunt Faye-other than she was a fantastic cook too.
Many of Granny’s hand written recipes say “Faye’s” at the top of the card. One of my favorite Aunt Faye recipes to make is her chocolate cream pie.
Cream pies are tasty for sure, but there’s something else about them. When I think of cream pies I think of comfort. I remember how excited I’d get when I came home from school and Granny had made cream pies. She almost always made 2 flavors when she was making them-one chocolate and one butterscotch.
Aunt Faye’s Chocolate Cream Pie
- 1 cup of sugar
- 3 tablespoons sifted flour (plain)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/3 cup cocoa
- pinch of salt
- 3 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 egg yolks beaten (reserve egg whites for meringue)
- 1 prebaked pie crust
Mix sugar, flour, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt in a large pot. Gradually add milk while stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken. Stir mixture often to prevent scorching.
Once mixture has thickened, add a spoonful or two of it to the eggs to temper them. Add tempered eggs back to pot and stir until mixture is very thick. Stir in vanilla.
Remove mixture from heat and beat well. Aunt Faye said beating the mixture made the pie filling light and fluffy. Pour mixture into a prebaked 9 inch pie shell.
Use the 2 reserved egg whites to make meringue for the topping and brown it in the oven.
Place pie in refrigerator to chill…if you can resist eating it! As you can see from the photo we can’t resist cutting into the pie before it’s cooled. This recipe is one that firms up very nicely if you give it time to chill.
Tipper
Thanks, thanks, thanks for answering the request. I have never had a butterscotch pie, but I will now thanks to you and Aunt Faye. Jan
B.Ruth-no I don’t use cream of tarter but I’ve read a lot of recipes that calls for it : ) Thank you for the great comments!
Tipper and all, this Chocolate Cream Pie story reminded me of a bet that my daddy never was able to pay off. I bet my second (and last sibling) would be a girl, and Daddy bet “boy.” The bet was for a piece of chocolate cream pie from my favorite restaurant. I “won,” but the restaurant closed before I could claim my piece of pie. I’ll have to try making this pie. Daddy up in Heaven will smile down and know I finally (50+ years later) got my winnings.
What lovely ladies, all in pink!!!
The chocolate cream pie sounds luscious. I have one sister that I know will just love it.
God bless.
RB
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Boy howdy, does that pie look tasty!
Tipper, my wife would like to know if you can share the butterscotch pie recipe?
Thank you for your blog, it always makes me feel good!
Tipper,
Today, the Last Man to walk on the moon, Gene Cernan died. He was 82…Ken
I, too, had an Aunt Faye — such a wonderful person. I had great parents, brothers, aunts, uncles and cousins who all made me who I am today. We didn’t have much back then, but I now know how very blessed we were. In my prayers, I always give thanks for old blessings, current blessings and those in the future. Daddy supported us paycheck to paycheck, but Mother always managed to cook the best food in the world, especially her desserts. My very favorite was Coconut Cream Pie, and I make it just like she did but it’s just not the same.
Tipper,
Seems to me that mother made usually made Lemon creame pies, Lemon bars, Lemon cake, etc. when we had a warm day a’headin’ toward a spring warm-up. After a walk-thru in the yard checking out her crocus blooming and the shoots of the many daffodils, narcissus and tulips that were showing green shoots. I dreaded those days, as by Saturday my day off from school, she had me cleaning out drawers, cabinets, etc. Spring cleaning was in the sterilization process, when my Momma decided it was time! Dad wasn’t too keen on it either, for to sterilize was to bring out the paint colors and recoat the kitchen and maybe the living room.
Mom made good pies. When I started baking, I made Coconut cream pies. Nothing prettier than a mountain high toasted meringue with coconut sprinkled on it when it is sliced! I love chocolate pies but was over chocolate and butterscotch. I loved to try and get the meringue so high that when it toasted sometimes only the very peaks would brown. Yes, I have scorched many a meringue! ha
Back then we never or hardly ever used cream of tarter in our meringues to get the ultimate volume of meringue. I think I started using cream of tarter in the late fifties and sixties. “I don’t think those older store bought egg whites whip up like warm fresh ones”, that’s what mom always said!
Do you use cream of tarter in your egg whites?
Thanks Tipper,
PS I make a sugar-free chocolate pudding type pie, with Neufchatel Cheese (0 fat) and put in a graham cracker crust, either topped and toasted meringue or fat/sugar free cool whip. I made up the recipe and it works for my diabetic husband!
I used to make chocolate pudding using a similar recipe but I didn’t eat it in a pie or as pudding. I chilled it, whipped it in milk and froze it into chocolate ice cream. It was way better than anything you could buy from a store.
My grandmother made chocolate pie and coconut cream pie but my favorite was her butterscotch. AND she cooked on a wood stove until her death in 1957. “sweet” memories (pun intended)
Tipper,
Those cream pies look so good, especially the Chocolate, cause I’m a Choc-a-halic. I buy those little Hershey Bars all the time.
Most of my aunts and uncles were never close (on my mama’s side). That side of my family either lived at Canton or somewhere in Asheville. But Mama had a sister named Faye. When we got a car, I remember visiting them in Canton. But when Archie (her husband) died, no one even told us. Like Paula Rhodarmer mentioned, it’s a sad thing. …Ken
Yum, yum on the chocolate cream pie. My mom made that too. I never had a butterscotch pie. Maybe, someday, when you want us to have more comfort, add that recipe too. Thanks so much for everything you do. Jan
Oh, my goodness, makes me think of my mother’s old timey chocolate cream pies. Now, I’ve got to get up and go make one.
I would like to have a copy of the butterscotch pie.
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‘this choc. looks just like my Grandmaws
This brings back many memories of after church dinners at my grandparents house, my mom’s parents. That would have been in the 50’s 60’s and 70’s The guest always got to eat first table and the only women who ate first table were guest and children often had to wait for second table. Only if there was an empty chair did a child get to eat at the first setting. This wasn’t fair, but that’s the way it use to be.
Mamaw often made chocolate and butterscotch pies but I don’t remember lemon pies there. Mom did make the lemon at home..
This brings back many memories of after church dinners at my grandparents house, my mom’s parents. That would have been in the 50’s 60’s and 70’s The guest always got to eat first table and the only women who ate first table were guest and children often had to wait for second table. Only if there was an empty chair did a child get to eat at the first setting. This wasn’t fair, but that’s the way it use to be.
Mamaw often made chocolate and butterscotch pies but I don’t remember lemon pies there. Mom did make the lemon at home..
Would you post the recipe for the butterscotch pie too? Thank you.
Victor-here is the recipe: https://blindpigandtheacorn.com/tipper-and-aunt-fayes-butterscotch-pie/ Hope you enjoy!
This brings back many memories of after church dinners at my grandparents house, my mom’s parents. That would have been in the 50’s 60’s and 70’s The guest always got to eat first table and the only women who ate first table were guest and children often had to wait for second table. Only if there was an empty chair did a child get to eat at the first setting. This wasn’t fair, but that’s the way it use to be.
Mamaw often made chocolate and butterscotch pies but I don’t remember lemon pies there. Mom did make the lemon at home..
This brings back many memories of after church dinners at my grandparents house, my mom’s parents. That would have been in the 50’s 60’s and 70’s The guest always got to eat first table and the only women who ate first table were guest and children often had to wait for second table. Only if there was an empty chair did a child get to eat at the first setting. This wasn’t fair, but that’s the way it use to be.
Mamaw often made chocolate and butterscotch pies but I don’t remember lemon pies there. Mom did make the lemon at home..
Tipper, I love the photograph of your mother, aunt and grandmother. The older I get, the more pleasure I have remembering the wonderful aunts I had. They are all gone now, but they are firmly etched in my memory. Not only did I have two “grannies” to visit, but I had aunts, uncles and cousins that I loved to see. The extended family made life so interesting and fun. My sister moved to Raleigh years ago and I remember her saying “I don’t think there is anyone really from Raleigh.” She was commenting on the fact that most of the people there had moved away from their families. That is so sad to me. I believe there is something wonderful missed when families all live far apart. I know sometimes it can’t be helped, but I am so blessed to have experienced living among my kin.
When you posted this recipe a few years ago, I had a meeting that evening and had promised to bring desserts. The girls acted like they had never had a chocolate pie in their life. They said they knew it was an old-timey recipe and begged for the recipe. I hand copied it and wrote Aunt Faye’s Chocolate Pie at the top of the paper. They got to hear all about The Blind Pig And The Acorn and the whole family that evening.
My mouth in watering!
My mom and my grandmother (Dad’s mother) almost always made one chocolate and one butterscotch when making pies too. Sometimes it would be one chocolate and one coconut.
Lemon pies were also made often since we lived in a citrus orchard. We had Ponderosa lemons – one would make two very tasty pies – they didn’t have as sharp a twang as the smaller lemons but had a delightfully intense lemon flavor.
That looks so good. My husband doesn’t like cream pies, so I don’t make them. If I did I would have to eat it all. I resign myself to have it only for family gatherings. This makes it even more special. Making this for the next one.
That pie looks just like my grandma’s chocolate pie and it was soooo good….but then everything she cooked was delicious! I tried to make cream pie from scratch once and it was a mess. Maybe I’ll try again.
You’re doing me in this month…
You certainly do take me down memory lane often. Cream pies were a fixture at ‘dinner on the grounds’. Mom made chocolate, butterscotch and sometimes lemon. I have not had one, or even seen one, in years and years and years. But like you, I have memories attached with them.
They go back to the days of the little cans of Carnation condensed milk with their red and white paper label.
And that memory triggers another. Mom used to melt the solder that held the top on cans and turn them into cabbage choppers when making chow-chow or kraut. That was back before ‘repurposing’ and ‘recycling’ became chic.
Have a blessed day y’all.
Oh, I love the old timey cream pies. I’ve tried to make chocolate cream pie on several occasions but mine never seem to come out like the old people made. I do suspect that the cocoa is not as good quality as it used to be.
Yes, comfort food of the highest order!
Oh my, Tipper, that does look delicious! I haven’t made a pie in ages, but I’m kind of stuck on making really simple apple crisp. Homemade soup and apple crisp have been keeping me going lately. But when I go to the grocery store for more apples, I think I’ll pick up a frozen pie crust, too 😉