Follow
By Shyla Stokes
I grew up making pies every Thanksgiving with my grandmother. My cousins and I would stay over at my grandparents’ house the Wednesday before popping popcorn and watching movies. Then we’d get up bright and early on Thanksgiving morning, follow Nana to the kitchen and start on our pies. My favorite one to make was pecan, even though as a kid I didn’t like to eat it. Now as an adult, I love pecan pie as long as it has a mountain of whipped cream on top.
But really, the following pies are the perfect dessert to pair with your jumbo bird. Invite some little hands to help you out—you’ll not only have a pan of corn-syrupy goodness, but you’ll make forever-memories in the process.
The key to a good pecan pie is two things: chopped pecans instead of halves, and a toasted, but not burnt, crust. Using chopped pecans makes a delicious crust on the top of the pie. This is what changed my mind about pecan pies.
Ingredients:
1 unbaked piecrust
2/3 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup light corn syrup
¾ teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup melted butter (salted)
3 whole eggs, beaten
1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions:
Mix sugar, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, butter, eggs and vanilla together in a bowl.
Pour chopped pecans in the bottom of an unbaked piecrust.
Pour syrup mixture over the top, then gently cover top of pie with foil. This will keep your piecrust from burning, since this recipe calls for a longer baking time than some.
Bake pie at 350 degrees for thirty minutes, then remove foil and bake for another twenty minutes. Make sure you don’t burn the crust or pecans.
If the pie jiggles too much, bake for another twenty minutes until set. Baking varies on this recipe depending on your oven. It could take between 50–70 minutes total.
Allow pie to cool completely before serving.
Pumpkin Cream Pie
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get sick of pumpkin pie before Thanksgiving even begins. And since you’re likely to run into the same pumpkin pie recipes at every family dinner, I suggest changing it up a bit. This recipe is versatile and can easily be adjusted. Instead of a regular piecrust, try using a store-bought or homemade graham cracker crust.
Ingredients:
Filling
1 unbaked piecrust
1 (15 ounce) can of pumpkin puree, or 2 cups of homemade pumpkin
4 ounces of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
¼ teaspoon of ground cloves
¼ teaspoon of cinnamon
½ cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs
Whipped Cream Topping
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Dash of all spice
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl, combine pumpkin puree, cream cheese, cream, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and brown sugar. Add one egg at a time using an electric hand mixer after each addition.
Pour the filling into your pie shell. Bake until set, but slightly loose, and the crust is brown. Around 50-60 minutes.
Cool to room temperature.
For the whipped topping:
In a chilled bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the heavy whipping cream. Add your sugar and spices, continuing to beat until peaks form. Spread the topping over the pie and serve immediately, or chill for up to two hours before serving.
Easy Apple Pie Bites
If the above recipes are a bit too complicated, try these fun, personal pies that take only a few minutes to whip up.
Ingredients:
1 apple, sliced
3 Tablespoons of brown sugar
2 Tablespoons of cinnamon
1 Tablespoon of butter, melted
1 package of crescent rolls
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Roll out each crescent roll onto an ungreased baking sheet and brush each one with melted butter.
Sprinkle each piece of dough with brown sugar and cinnamon. (Don’t skimp!)
Roll up an apple slice in the crescent dough, brush with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Repeat until you’ve used all your slices and dough.
Bake for 12–15 minutes.
Let cool and then top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Follow
