When it comes to Southern pies, Florida has its famous Key Lime pie.
Georgia has a classic Buttermilk Custard pie.
And, North Carolina has its Chocolate Chess pie.
But when it comes to the fall, seasonal favorites are apple, pecan, pumpkin and sweet potato — in alphabetical order.
That’s because the ingredients needed for the seasonal pies are at their peak.
And, it turns out that these pies often add the exclamation to a traditional Thanksgiving feast.
Many recipes are passed from one generation to the next, to carry on the family traditions.
Last year, the editors of Delish conducted a national Favorite Turkey Day Pie survey, which revealed that pumpkin remains the No. 1 favorite, with 36 percent of those polled choosing it. Pecan pie came in second, with 15 percent of the vote. Apple came in third, at 14 percent, sweet potato pie garnered 10 percent of the top votes and chocolate pie scored 8 percent. The remaining pies — cherry, blueberry, lemon meringue and others — received 5 percent of the votes or fewer.
The survey data was broken down even more. Evidently, pumpkin is more popular in the western part of that nation, where 46 percent ranked it first, compared to 39 percent of Midwestern voters and 33 percent of northeastern. Surprisingly, pumpkin pies scored only 30 percent of the top vote in the South.
Among age groups, pecan pie scored the second highest votes and apple pie ranked third, among Gen Xers, between the ages of 38 and 53. Pumpkin pie was most popular with the baby boomers, ages 54 to 72; and traditionalists, ages 54 to 72 , but slightly less than a third of millennials, ages 18 to 37, ranked pumpkin pie first.
Here are some cooking tips to help you, as you create new pie traditions to enjoy, as you gather to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Cooking Tips:
- Use a prepared pie crust. That saves time, trouble and cleanup. If crusts are refrigerated, rest on counter for approximately 15 minutes to reach room temperature, or microwave on defrost for 10 seconds to 20 seconds, before unrolling.
- To make your own cinnamon sugar: Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons (or more) of ground cinnamon. Mix well and store in a small, air-tight jar.
- To make your own pumpkin pie spice: Use 4 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg, 1 tablespoon ground ginger, and 1 ½ teaspoons cloves. Mix well and store in a small, air-tight jar.
- The best apples for baking include Braeburn, Cortland, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, McIntosh and Rome.
By Betsy Crisp
Betsy Crisp, MS, LD/N, Professor Emeritus, UF/IFAS Extension – Family & Consumer Sciences
Recipes
Pumpkin-Pecan Pie with Cinnamon-Pecan Crust and Streusel Topping
Ingredients
Crust:
½ (14.1-ounce package) ready-prepared/refrigerated piecrusts
Spray cooking oil
½ teaspoon cinnamon sugar
1½ tablespoons finely chopped pecans, toasted
Filling:
1 can (15 ounce) pumpkin (not pie mix filling)
1 cup fat-free evaporated milk
½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping:
¾ cup pecan halves, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Open package and remove one roll/pie crust. Bring to room temperature and then unroll into a 9-inch pie plate, lightly-greased (with spray cooking oil).
- Evenly sprinkle dough lightly with cinnamon sugar and pecans. Lightly press into dough with back of spoon. Fold under edges and crimp into points with fingers, or with tines of fork, and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together pumpkin, milk, sugar, eggs, spice and salt. Pour into pie plate.
- In another bowl, add together all topping ingredients, mix well, and set aside.
- Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove pie from oven. Carefully cover edges with a 3-inch wide strip of aluminum foil to prevent burning and return to oven for 40 more minutes.
- Remove pie from oven. Remove aluminum and add streusel topping. Return to oven for 15 minutes to 20 minutes. You may have to cover top of pie with aluminum foil after 10 minutes to prevent topping from burning.
- Cool completely on a wire rack. Makes 8 servings. Leftovers must be refrigerated.
Apple-Cranberry Pie with Cinnamon Crust
Ingredients
Crust:
1 package (14.1 ounce) / two ready-prepared/refrigerated piecrusts
Spray cooking oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar, divided
Filling:
½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground allspice
1½ pounds (approximately 5 cups slices/5 medium) baking apples, washed, cored and thinly sliced
½ cup dried cranberries
1½ tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
Topping:
water
½ teaspoon cinnamon sugar
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Open package and remove one roll/pie crust. Bring to room temperature and then unroll onto flat surface covered with waxed paper or parchment. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon cinnamon sugar on each side of crust before pressing into a 9-inch pie plate, lightly-greased (with spray cooking oil). Set other roll aside.
- In a bowl, combine sugar, lemon juice, flour, salt and spices. Stir in apples and cranberries.
- Turn fruit mixture into pastry-lined pie plate. Dot with butter pieces.
- Cover with top crust. Fold under and crimp edges to seal. Cut several slits in top.
- Brush crust lightly with water and sprinkle cinnamon sugar.
- Bake 15 minutes. Cover edge with 3-inch wide aluminum strip and continue baking.
- Bake approximately 25 minutes to 35 minutes more, until crust is brown and juices begins to bubble thru the slits in the top crust. Let cool 2 hours before cutting.
Published November 15, 2017
