As Sweet as Mom: Recipes from a Pueblo Kitchen

IPCC's Virtual Culture Guide

Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and just about every mother would appreciate a good dessert. Nicole “Yo” Chino (Santa Ana Pueblo), Sous Chef of our Pueblo Harvest restaurant, shares two of her personal recipes so that you can make things a little sweeter for the mothers in your life. She knows not everyone is a master in the kitchen, and made sure one of the recipes would be easy enough for just about anyone.

Her recipes are below, complete with her notes and introduction.

Yuck Pie

Finished Yuck Pie

First up is an easy, no-bake dessert affectionately known in my household as Yuck Pie. The name comes from a family joke, but I promise you it’s delicious. This pie holds a special place in the Chino home. I only make the pie for my family after our feast day, as a special breakfast treat after all the hard work of putting on a traditional Pueblo feast day.

8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
8 oz. whipped topping
1 ripe banana (maybe 1 ½ bananas depending on size)
21 oz. can pie filling (choose your favorite)
9 oz. ready-made graham cracker crust

You will need a large mixing bowl, beater (whatever you have—hand mixer, standup mixer, or good ol’ elbow grease), spoon or spatula, knife, and a cutting board.


Step one

Mix together cream cheese and whipped topping in a large mixing bowl.

Step two

Peel and slice banana, then layer the graham cracker crust with the sliced banana.

Step three

Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the graham crust.

Step four

Open can of pie filling and pour on top of cream cheese mixture.

Step five

Cover pie with a plastic lid and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to set.

Step six

Take that Yuck Pie out, slice, serve, and enjoy!

Apple Cheesecake Pie—Pueblo Style

Finished Apple Cheesecake Pie-Pueblo Style

Second up, for the more ambitious bakers we have Apple Cheesecake Pie—Pueblo style. As most of you know, we Pueblo Natives have so many different celebrations and pay tribute to so many events that involve us eating ALL THE TIME!

This pie was inspired for the simple fact that we also eat on the go, or need food that is going to last and not melt or spoil. It’s always a “hurry up and wait” situation with us, so anything you can eat while walking and carrying items in another hand is a bonus. So, give this pie a try, and always remember to bake with patience and love.

This pie is a pretty simple recipe and can be made two ways. One is in a round 9-inch pie pan with store-bought pie dough, or in a sheet pan with a homemade pie dough.

So here we go…

Ingredients:
2 cans apple pie filling
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese (softened)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
Pie dough*

*1 cup lard or shortening, ½ cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix together. Add 6 cups all purpose flour. Mix and add cold water so your dough is nice and soft but not sticky. Divide in half, wrap in plastic.

Step one

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray your pan with non-stick spray, roll out first dough, place in pan making sure there are no bubbles, and lining crust in the edges of the pan.

Beat in eggs, and again scrape the bowl to make sure ingredients are mixed well.

Step two

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until nice and smooth. The more your cream cheese is softened the easier it will be to work with. Scrape the bowl to ensure that ingredients are well mixed.

Step Three

Pour mixture into your dough-lined pan and spread evenly. Open your apple filling and spoon onto the top of cheesecake mix.
You want to spoon filling on top, and not just dump it on top. You want to keep two layers to this pie.

Step four

Roll out the second part of the dough and cover the pie. Pinch with your fingers or a fork. Using scissors, snip holes in the top of the pie so that it will breathe.
Beat one egg, wet the top of your pie.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar

Step five

Cover the crust with foil, and place in the oven for 20 minutes. When 20 minutes is up, pull pie out and uncover, and place back into oven for an additional 25 minutes. Allow pie to completely cool, then place in refrigerator to chill and set.

*This pie should be made at least a day in advance of its usage and served cold, ENJOY!

9 responses to “As Sweet as Mom: Recipes from a Pueblo Kitchen”

  1. Sara Aguirre (whitefeather) says:

    Sounds easy enough! Scrumptious, a well do this moms day. Thank you

  2. Marie m streppa says:

    More recipes please!!

  3. Judy Vredenburg says:

    Many thanks for these fun, easy to prepare recipes.

  4. Linda Woodward says:

    Sounds so inviting. Thank you for sharing

  5. Katy says:

    Thanks for posting these recipes! We will enjoy making and eating I’m sure.

  6. Jim Haight says:

    This Native New Mexican has never enjoyed Yuck Pie or Pueblo Style Apple Cheesecake Pie, but now I must try these rich desserts! Thank you for posting the recipes!

  7. Elvis " Tsee -Pin" Torres says:

    Thanks for recipes! Being native from San Ildefonso pueblo baking is so common. With our traditional dances n feasts on hold this gives us something to do. Kuu dah! (Tewa) thank you!

  8. Diane says:

    Thank you very much for the love of your treasured recipes … can’t wait to try it.