Sink your teeth into the caramelized streusel topping and treat your taste buds to the perfect combination of tangy and sweet. The light, flaky crust is nothing short of genius for how easily it comes together. This recipe, friends, is the only rhubarb pie recipe you will ever need. Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side, and you'll understand why my family begs for this pie as soon as the rhubarb pops up in the spring.

My maternal grandmother, Germaine Murphy, created this recipe. Her father, my great-grandfather Theodore Calmes, had cultivated a rhubarb plant that produced beautiful stalks of rhubarb, so she had plenty of rhubarb with which to experiment. Most rhubarb pie recipes were just too tart for my grandma's family, which consisted of her, my grandpa, and their five children. She worked with and tweaked this recipe until her family declared that the rhubarb pie was simply perfect. If there was every any pie left over from the night before, her children loved to eat it for breakfast the following morning. I do the same because, you know, I'm all about family tradition. ?

{Germaine's Easy Pie Crust}

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons milk

Procedure:

1. Put the flour, sugar, and salt in an ungreased pie dish (9").
2. In a measuring cup, mix together the oil and milk.
3. Pour the oil-milk mixture over the dry ingredients and blend well with a fork.
4. With your hands and fingers, press the dough so that it is spread evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pie dish.

That's it! Your pie crust is done. No rolling, and no mess.

{Rhubarb Pie Filling}

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 6 Tablespoons flour
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 4 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1" pieces
• 2 eggs, beaten

Procedure:

1. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon.
2. Place the chopped rhubarb in a large bowl. Add the eggs and stir to evenly coat the rhubarb.
3. Add the cinnamon, sugar, and flour mixture. Stir well to combine.
4. Pour the mixture into the unbaked pie crust. (See above for Germaine's Easy Pie Crust.)

{Streusel Topping for Rhubarb Pie}

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Crisco
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 Tablespoons butter

Procedure:

1. Combine brown sugar, Crisco, flour, and butter in a bowl. Mix well with a stand mixer or a hand mixer until crumbly.
2. Sprinkle the topping over the rhubarb pie, making sure to cover the edges. (*Note: I only use enough topping to cover the rhubarb all the way to the edges and to fill in any divots in my pie, so the top has an even-looking appearance. I discard any leftover topping.)

Baking Instructions

1. Bake at 400° degrees F for 15 minutes.
2. Without removing the pie from the oven, lower the temperature to 350° F and bake for an additional 45 minutes.

Although this pie is delicious at any temperature, I love to serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

Be sure to pin this recipe, so you'll be ready the next time you have some rhubarb on hand! You'll be so glad you did.