Vanilla Pudding

Preheat oven to 350. I first started off with making the pie crust. The ingredients I used to make was 1 cup of flour, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, 1/3 cup chilled lard, and 2-3 tablespoon cold water. Mix together flour and salt. Cut in lard. Sprinkle with water to moisten. Form a ball. Refrigerate if needed. Then lay flour down and make it a flat circle. Put flour on the pastry cloth and then lay the dough on it and start using the rolling pin with the rolling pin cover from the middle and forward and middle and back and side to side. Then you take the pastry cloth and hold your hand on the dough and fold it to corner to corner. Final set the dough in the pan with the point in the middle and start unfolding. Also for the final step use your thumb and index finger and your other thumb to crimp the edges for the final outcome and put holes in the dough and put it in oven for 10 to 12 minutes until light brown. To make the vanilla pudding use 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 3 cups milk, 4 eggs, 3 tablespoons butter/margarine, and 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Separate egg yolks from whites. Beat the yolks slightly. Whites may be discarded or saved for another use. Combine sugar,salt and cornstarch in saucepan and stir. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir two minutes more. Gradually stir 1 cup of the hot mixture into the yolks to temper. Tempering is the technique used to blend uncooked eggs into hot liquid or sauce. Return the egg mixture to the pan and stir. Bring to gentle boil and cook and stir two more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. pour into pre- baked pie crust and top with meringue. For the meringue you use 3 or 4 egg whites, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter, and 6 tablespoon of sugar. First I mixed the egg whites until frothy, then added vanilla and cream of tarter. Beat until soft peaks. Then added sugar slowly and beat on high until stiff peaks form. Spread on hot pie filling and bake for 8 to 12 minutes until golden brown. Final let it stand for several hours to cool.

I thought the vanilla pudding was soupy after putting it in the oven. I loved the meringue right when it came out of the oven because it was crunchy but after it sat it got soft. I don't think I would make it again.