Moxie Pie

 Have you ever made Moxie Syrup? I have. And I gotta tell ya, it ain't nothin' like the stuff you get from your uncle's sugar shack in Vermont! First, you have to search for the Moxie Trees (bright orange, kinda hard to miss). Then, there's this unique way of tapping them, involving a metal tab that you pull towards you in order to push a metal disc into the interior of the tree, to enable the sap to flow. 

Then, you pour that bubbly stuff into a hot pan and let it thicken over a medium high heat for an hour or so. Result? If you did it right, you've got Moxie Syrup. If you did it wrong, it's time for a do-over.

While that bubbly stuff is turning into syrup, make a flour and cornmeal and butter crust. Tuck it in the fridge while you wait on your sap-to-syrup miracle, then pull it out and roll into a 12 inch circle and lay into a buttered pie pan.

The rest is classified: Moxie Top Secret. Unless, of course, you buy the same cookbook I did and discover the top secret ingredients and make your own pie.

I was not positive this would taste good, I gotta admit. So I made my son-in-law try it first (jk, he offered to try it first...I think).  Anyway, he either liked it or he wants to come back for a visit so he said he liked it. Be that as it may, I went ahead and tried it, and it's not at all like Moxie. Which, for me, is a good thing, since I am not a Moxie fan. It's more like a spice pie. Not mincemeat. Not gingerbread. Maybe somewhere betwixt and between. And quite tasty.

If you are a Moxie fan, hard tellin' if you'd like it, since I don't think it really has Moxie overtones (or undertones, for that matter). But it's a quintessential Maine pie, due to the Moxie syrup. So I recommend it as an unforgettable experience, that you don't want to miss, if you are trying to experience all-things-Maine. And while we are on the subject of Moxie, if you find yourself in the vicinity of Union, Maine, check out the Moxie display at the Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage, found at the Union Fairgrounds. What can I say? It's "wicked" cool!


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