Overheard my aunt say her pie crust recipe came from a pizza box

I was at a family barbecue last weekend and my aunt casually mentioned her famous apple pie crust was based on instructions she found printed on a frozen pizza box back in 1993. She said she tweaked the fat ratio a bit and now everyone asks for it every Thanksgiving. I had to laugh because my grandma spent years perfecting her lard based recipe and wrote it on index cards. It got me thinking about how many of our family recipes actually started from random packaging or back of a bag directions. Has anyone else traced a heirloom recipe back to something weird like a cereal box or a coupon mailer?

2 comments

2 Comments

susansingh1mo ago

Honestly the best pie crust I ever made came from a Crisco can, not a grandma. Your aunt probably stumbled onto something real because frozen pizza dough and pie dough are just flour and fat with a little water. I'd hold onto that pizza box method if it works.

milesrobinson1mo ago

That "tweaked the fat ratio a bit" line got me. That's exactly how I describe burning toast and calling it a new recipe. I'm pretty sure half the stuff my family calls "grandma's secret" came from a box of Jell-O or a vegetable can label.