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For the crust:
Pre-het oven to 450 degrees.
Begin with chilled ingredients and utensils, if possible (you can stick the mixing bowl and measuring implements in the freezer for a few minutes). Sift flour and salt togteher. If you're using butter, quickly grate it. Then rapidly work butter or shortening into the flour woth your fingertips until you have a coarse. crumbly mixture.
Add 4 tablespoons of water and mix it in with a fork. Then try to shape the dough into a ball with your hands. If it won't hold togther, add more watewr, a spoonful at a time until it will. But work quickly so that ingredients saty cold. When you have a ball that will stay together, roll it out into two circels that will fit into the bottoms of the pie plates and crinkle up the sides. Carefully trasfer the pastry to the pie plates. Pierce crusts with a fork in several places to allow air to escape, but don't go all the way through. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until barely golden.
For the filling:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
In a heavy saucepan, bring just to a boil the milk, 1/3 cup of the sugar and the butter and cinnamon syicks. Remove from the heat.
Combine, in a seperate bowl, the flour, corn starch, salt and another 1/3 cup of sugar. Dip out about 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture and gradually stir it into the bowl, mixing well to prevent lumping. When you have a smooth paste, add the egg yolks and mix again. Slowly add this paste to the saucepan and return it to the heat. Cook a moderate temperature, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla and almond extract and remove from heat. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, beat together the egg whites and the last of the sugar until the mixture is stiff but not dry. Fold this gently into the filling. Pour into the pie shells and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Seve hot.
