Since the opening of the film The Testament of Ann Lee, there has been renewed curiosity about the utopian religion called the Shakers. Once established in the United States, the group was very successful during the 19th century. They planted and they reaped. They ate what foods they produced through communal labor. Shakers loved good food, and many of their recipes have been handed down to us. This one came via Saveur.com.

One 8-9” pie, Serves 6-8
1.75 cups flour—1 tsp. Salt—10 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into pieces—2 Tbsp. vegetable shortening	Sift together into a bowl. Use 2 knives to work butter and shortening into flour until it resembles coarse meal.
up to 5 Tbsp. ice water	Sprinkle in, stirring dough with a fork until it just begins to hold together. Press into a rough ball.
	Divide dough into 2 balls, wrap both in plastic wrap, refrigerate 1 hour.
1 lb. rhubarb stalks, cut into 1″ pieces—1.25 cups sugar—4 Tbsp. Flour — 1⁄4 tsp. salt	Put these into a medium mixing bowl, then use your hands to toss together, and set aside – but not longer than 30 minutes.
	Preheat oven to 450°F.
	Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into two 12″ rounds.
	Fit one round into a 9″ pie plate, trim off excess. Add rhubarb mixture.
	Cover pie with other round. Fold edges of dough under, crimp edges. Make 3–4 slits in top crust.
	Bake 15 mins.
	Lower heat to 350°F, bake until crust is golden, 25–30 mins.
	Set aside to let cool 30+ mins before serving.

This is the blog of the Bennington Rhubarb Festival, started in 2013 to benefit the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund.

If you would like to help the Building Fund, please contribute any amount to the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund, Bennington, NH 03442.

The next blog installment will be posted in September, 2026. If you click the Follow button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.