Dessert/5 recipes

Single-crust pastry pie shell with margarine, blind-baked at high heat until golden in 10 minutes. A basic flaky pastry that works as a base for cream pies, custards, and fruit fillings.

Single-crust pie pastry made with lard and a touch of shortening for a flaky, old-fashioned 9-inch shell. The traditional fat blend bakeries used before all-butter pastry took over.

Raspberry-lemon pie with a tangy condensed-milk lemon filling layered under a glossy raspberry topping in a graham crust. The summer berry-and-citrus combination served chilled.

Old-school lard pie crust with egg, vinegar, and a touch of brown sugar. One batch yields four disks for double-crust pies. The flakiest crust comes from cold lard worked into the size of tiny peas.

Mom's homemade apple pie pairs a flaky shortening crust with canned apple filling for a from-scratch taste in half the time. Brushed with milk and dusted with sugar, the top crust bakes up golden and crackly.

Ritz crackers transform into tender, spiced filling that mimics apple pie with lemon zest, cinnamon, and buttery crust. A Depression-era classic dessert.

Buttery Ritz crackers soak up lemon-spiked syrup to create a convincing apple pie filling without a single apple. Nostalgic Depression-era baking.

Master magic lemon pie sets sweetened condensed milk with fresh lemon juice and zest, no cooking required for the filling. Crowned with a billowy meringue over a cinnamon-graham crust.

Macadamia rum mousse pie folds dark rum, gelatin-set zabaglione, and toasted macadamia nuts into airy whipped cream over a buttery cinnamon-macadamia crumb crust. A dinner-party showpiece.

Macadamia chiffon pie folds rum-spiked custard, beaten egg whites, and chopped macadamias into a feather-light filling, set with gelatin and topped with rum whipped cream. A retro showpiece pie.

Low-cal pumpkin pie skips eggs, butter, and traditional crust. Sugar-free pudding mix and skim milk thicken the spiced pumpkin filling over a thin water-bound graham crumb base. Diabetic-friendly.

Lisa's Best key lime pie folds whipped egg whites into the classic condensed milk and lime filling for a lighter, almost soufflé-like texture. Tart lime, fluffy clouds, in a graham crust.

Favourite lime meringue pie features a tangy stovetop lime curd and a stabilized cooked-cornstarch meringue that resists weeping and shrinking. The reliable upgrade over classic lemon meringue.

Awesome lime meringue pie thickens sweetened condensed milk with fresh lime juice for a no-cook tart filling, then crowns it with golden meringue over a graham cracker crust.

Easy lemonade pie folds frozen lemonade concentrate and lemon zest into whipped topping for a 3-ingredient no-bake summer dessert. Set in a graham crust or sliced from a baking dish.

Lemon sponge bakes in individual custard cups in a hot-water bath. The filling separates magically into a tangy curd layer below and a feather-light cake-like sponge on top.