Hand-Me Down Pie Pans

My  Betty Crocker Cookbook, with its spine covered in duct tape has  seen my through  holidays and regular days so I don't have the heart to replace it.

Here is my favorite pumpkin pie recipe;
 you can't see them but there are spots on the pages from busy baking days gone by. 

 When I got ready to bake my Thanksgiving pies I brought out all my tools for perfect pies. Not the latest tools but pans passed down through generations in my family. Some are not quite that old but showing signs of wear. My rolling pin was a wedding shower gift to me over 40 years ago! 

This pie pan was my grandmother's. I love its unique shape and wonder how many different pies she baked in this pan. Maybe my mother helped her bake pies with this pan when she was a girl.

This Wearever deep dish pan belonged to my husband's grandmother.
 Looking inside, I wonder how many pieces of pie have been sliced in this aluminum pan.

This Pyrex pan is from my Grandmother. I struggled with the handles at first. Learning to make crust easily became one of my earliest baking frustrations as a bride. My sister baked a beautiful pie every week for her husband and for the longest time I couldn't follow in her footsteps for my husband. I tried old fashioned lard and then shortening to no avail. Next I thought how easy it would be to make the oil pastry. Wrong again. My neighbor helped me with this problem over tea during nap time for our girls.  Following her advice  using ice cubes in the water the recipe called for made it easier.  

Another Pyrex from Grandma, this one a simple 9" size, just right for the two of us.
 I didn't realize Pyrex held a place of honor  in a homemaker's kitchen for so many years until I discovered
the company incorporated in 1915. She likely replaces a pan here or there as the years went by. Knowing both women used these pans and kept them free from nicks and chips for many years I treasure them.