12 Family Favorite Pie Recipes

We’re heading into the holiday season and pies are not only a favorite on the menu, they’re expected. Store bought pies are ok (some even pretty good), but there’s nothing really like homemade pie! Here are my top 12 picks of pie recipes found around the net, each is a traditional favorite–some with a tasty twist–that perfectly completes every meal (holiday or not!):

12 Family Favorite Pie Recipes
*Note: Descriptions below are quotes from the recipe sites

1. Spiced Apple and Pear Pie: Busy Bakers’ Tips: The filling can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. The pie can be fully formed, except for brushing with egg and dusting with sugar, and frozen. Place the pie in the freezer for 30 minutes, to harden it slightly, and then double wrap it with plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 2 months. Recipe found at Food Network.
2. Lemon Meringue Pie: But I must say I was very pleasantly surprised by this version of Lemon Meringue Pie!! This pie was good! No scratch that it wasn’t just good…It was in fact beyond good…It was delicious! Recipe found at Dianne’s Dishes.
3. Grandma’s Chocolate Pie: There are pies and then there is my grandma’s chocolate pie. It’s a luscious chocolate custard resting on a flaky, almost salty crust, topped with a springy meringue. For me, it’s la pièce de résistance and whether times are good or times are bad, it’s always welcome and appropriate. Recipe found at Homesick Texan.
4. Cranberry and Apple Pie: The taste…It was incredible with the fruity taste of Apples and Cranberries. We don’t have a sweet tooth , so I reduced the sugar content of the pie in this case, but for those who have…Its Just for you . Recipe found at Culinary Bazaar.
5. How To Make Apple Pie (Mama’s Recipe): The most difficult and time consuming part is simply peeling and “chipping” the apples. In no time at all you will be wowing folks with your apple pie. That is all that I ask, don’t say you got this recipe off of a blog or website or make any other excuses when someone compliments it (although feel free to send them to my site!). When (not if, but when) someone tells you how divine your pie is, I want you to smile graciously and say “thank you”. This is now your apple pie recipe. Recipe found at Southern Plate.
6. Caramel Banana Pie: A recipe for pie crust found in Bon Appétit (July issue) + remembering a pie filling I used to make as a teenager for fruit pies + memories of the caramel banana topping. Recipe found at Technicolor Kitchen.
7. Hot Chocolate Pie: This is a recipe from James McNair’s Pie Cookbook that I received as a wedding gift and have been making for the last 15 years. I’ve even made up the filling and served it as a pudding or parfait, it’s that good. Recipe found at Scribbit.
8. LIBBY’S Famous Pumpkin Pie: This is the traditional holiday pumpkin pie. This classic recipe has been on LIBBY’S® Pumpkin labels since 1950. This pie is easy to prepare and even easier to enjoy. Just mix, pour, bake for a delicious homemade tradition. Recipe found at Very Best Baking.
9. Rum Raisin Apple Pie: Raisins steeped in dark rum mingle with tart and sweet apples in this updated version of an American favorite. It’s a showstopper when paired with lightly sweetened whipped cream. Recipe found at Epicurious.
10. Pecan Pie in the Sky: Pecan pie is a fairly sweet pie and rightly so. But I don’t like pecan pie when it’s overly sweet. I know that “overly sweet” is subjective, but I wanted to craft this recipe to my family’s tastes. Instead of using one cup (8 fluid ounces) of corn syrup (which is the amount that most recipes for a 9-inch pie seem to require), I cut back on the corn syrup and I even replaced some volume with maple syrup. When combined with the corn syrup, the maple syrup adds a very subtle yet different dimension of sweetness to the pie. Recipe found at Alpineberry.
11. Recipe of the Day: Coconut Cream Pie (crust and all): I have used numerous basic pie crust recipes but this one is perfect. No-fail. Works every time. As far as a basic unsweetened crust good for general pie making…you won’t do better than this one! It can be prebaked for cream pies or used unbaked for filled pies. I even use it for chicken pot pie. Recipe found at Not Quite June Cleaver.
12. Walnut Mincemeat Pie: As a cold and tasty finishing touch, my husband and I usually put a dip of ice cream on top of this pie. The recipe’s from my mother – each year, I make it for Christmas, and then for my sister-in-law’s New Year’s party besides. Recipe found at Taste Of Home.

Also check out today’s earlier How To: Trims For One-Crust Pies.

Note to my fellow Canadians: Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

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