Upcoming Events
  • On Friday, Andy Brown Park East hosts a Sunset Social: Movie in the Park, airing Moana at 6:30-9 p.m.
  • On Friday, Coppell High School Junior World Affairs Council holds Heritage Night from 7-11 p.m. at CHS Large and Small Commons.
  • On Saturday, Coppell Historical Society holds Hop Into Spring at Coppell Historical Museum from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
The official student news site of Coppell High School

Coppell Student Media

The official student news site of Coppell High School

Coppell Student Media

The official student news site of Coppell High School

Coppell Student Media

Business Spectacle: Lilys Hair Studio (video)
Business Spectacle: Lily's Hair Studio (video)
October 26, 2023

Nothing nutty about this Seidemann family recipe

By Jena Seidemann
Student Life Editor

 

If you are a Seidemann, peanut butter is a quintessential staple to your diet. My dad ate two to three peanut butter sandwiches a day whenever he was young, and he still eats one occasionally. He passed his love for it hereditarily to my brother, a college student, who basically lives off of it (he even has peanut butter sent to him as a care package), and I myself enjoy a daily sandwich in my lunch.

We love peanut butter and we are not ashamed; that is why we even have our own family recipe for a peanut butter pie that has been passed down through generations.

The ingenious idea came from my grandmother, Mary Ruth Seidemann. She made it possible for our peanut butter addictions to reach another level by having it in dessert form. Now our family was officially nutty because we could eat peanut butter in nearly all courses of a meal.

Created by Mary Ruth Seidemann, the pie recipe has been passed down through three generations and continues to be a favorite dish in the Seidemann family. Photo by Jena Seidemann.
Created by Mary Ruth Seidemann, the pie recipe has been passed down through three generations and continues to be a favorite dish in the Seidemann family. Photo by Jena Seidemann.

Initially, I had reservations about Matma’s (my grandmother’s) peanut butter pie when I first was going to try it. Who had ever heard of a pie with peanut butter? Surely it had to be gross. Wrong. When I asked for the recipe, Matma responded with her usual answer: “Oh a little bit of this and a little bit of that.” Finally, after much persistence, she gave me the recipe, and within the next month or so, I would crank out at least one pie a week.

While making the recipe, I was brought back to my even younger childhood memories of learning to bake peanut butter cookies with my brother or watching in awe as she cooked our meals with such ease and finesse in the kitchen. My grandmother is an incredible cook, and it is her famous dishes that I look forward to each Sunday I visit her.

A Texan born and raised, she has gone through some of the most difficult times in history including the Great Depression and World War II. From this, she has had to learn to cook with what she had and appreciate the food that was put on her plate, which at times consisted of a piece of cornbread along with beans.

Undoubtedly, in and out of the kitchen, she is one of our family’s role models. Her love, care and delicious cooking stitches our family together, and one day I strive to be half the woman she was.

Mary Ruth Seidemann’s Q&A

Q: What inspired you to create this recipe?
A: I wanted to find a recipe for your dad because he loved peanut butter sandwiches so much. It is an original recipe. I believe I made it when he was around 10 or 11 years old. We even have a picture of him eating a peanut butter sandwich with a glass of milk an hour after lunch. We made sure we got the clock in the picture so we would always remember the time.

Q: What was the original recipe?
A: There are so many versions, but I made a graham cracker crust with melted peanut butter on top, butterscotch pudding on top of that, another layer of peanut butter and then I added peanut butter mixed with cool whip on top. And that was that.

Q: How did you come up with the specific measurements?
A: I just mixed and took a taste of it till I thought it was just right.

Q: What was my dad’s reaction to eating his first peanut butter pie?
A: He loved it because he loved peanut butter.

Q: Was this a cheap dish?
A: Back then, peanut butter was 25 cents a jar and pudding was about a nickel or 10 cents, so it was really cheap. It is not expensive like it is today.

Q: Why has this recipe been passed down to future generations?
A: When you asked for the recipe, you started a tradition. I’m very flattered someone would ask me for a recipe. There are only two people in our family that cook, you and [your cousin Elizabeth].

Recipe
Do not be intimidated about the recipe because it is not hard. Very cheap and simple, Peanut Butter Pie is something you can make in an hour.

Crust
1 ¼ Cup Graham crackers (20 squares or 1 package)
½ Cup chopped beer nut (peanuts, no salt)
1/3 cup melted butter
3 Tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix beer nuts, sugar, crushed graham crackers and butter together and press into 9 inch pie dish. Bake for 10 minutes and let cool.

Filling
Instant butterscotch filling (you will need milk for this)
Peanut butter
Cool Whip 8 oz

First Layer: Make pudding according to directions. Mix 1/3 cup peanut butter until smooth and thick. Pour into cooled crust and put in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Second Layer: Mix cool whip and ½ cup peanut butter until smooth. Spread on top and put extra nuts on top, if you want.

Warning: milk, nut and gluten are present in this recipe.

 

1
View Comments (1)
More to Discover

Comments (1)

All Coppell Student Media Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *