Secrets to the perfect pie for Thanksgiving? Favorites?

[TwoMisfits]

Secrets to a Thanksgiving pie - make it an ice cream pie.

10 minutes of effort, stays in the freezer, plates impressively after you pull it out to soften when cleaning dinner dishes.

And dairy-nut free is totally possible.

My current popular Thanksgiving pie is 1/2 container pumpkin pie filling (so 14 oz) mixed with a pint of coconut milk vanilla "ice cream" (which tends to be 14 oz) then swirled with a few TB coconut caramel and poured into a graham cracker crust and frozen. When serving, slice and drizzle caramel over the top of each slice and spritz with coconut whip cream.

All this is also easily done with dairy products...but if you need the lactose/dairy free option...

 

[fla4fun]

If you just like the filling of a pecan pie, look up a recipe for Canadian sugar pie. It's basically the same thing without the nuts.

Another one to look for is the Just Goo Pie - No Pecans. I agree with using frozen or refrigerated pie crust.

We usually have a pecan pie (not homemade) and a cherry pie (my BIL makes it), and have vanilla and chocolate ice cream on hand to top it. I don’t have my BIL’s recipe for his pie, but I know he puts a tiny dash of cinnamon in it to cut the sweet, and he makes the filling from scratch, not from a can. He even makes the pie crust from scratch. I have never told him I am not a crust fan, especially the edges, so I either choke it down or offer to do the serving and place my ice cream in a way to disguise that I have removed the edge of my slice.

For Christmas we usually have New York style cheesecake with assorted toppings.

 

[NannyBeBe]

I also make Key lime pie with my grandmother's traditional 3 ingredient recipe, although as actual Key limes are hard to get, I do use bottled juice.

Key Lime is one of my favorite pies, although it is often messed up with too many ingredients, green food coloring, or meringue. Your grandmother obviously did it right.

 

[fla4fun]

Key Lime is one of my favorite pies, although it is often messed up with too many ingredients, green food coloring, or meringue. Your grandmother obviously did it right.

Key lime pie should never be green! It should be a pale yellowish color from the juice. The color of the filling is a good way to know the pie isn’t authentic. I love key lime pie when it’s done right!

 

[NotUrsula]

I make pumpkin and apple and make my own crust which I think is pretty good.

I also make Key lime pie with my grandmother's traditional 3 ingredient recipe, although as actual Key limes are hard to get, I do use bottled juice.

Key lime season is well over by November, and the fruit is very perishable, so if you're having key lime pie for the holidays, bottled juice is pretty much your only option. (Key limes and stone crabs are the quintessential South Florida limited-season delicacies.)

I do like Key Lime Pie, but always think of it as a summer dessert; it honestly never occurred to me to have it at Thanksgiving or Xmas.

 

[tvguy]

My wife makes great pies. The secret ingredient, butter. Lots of butter.
If I walked in with a store bought pie, I'd be walking out with a store bought pie and divorce papers.
My wife makes pumpkin and dutch apple for holiday dinners.

 

[dcassetta]

Key Lime is one of my favorite pies, although it is often messed up with too many ingredients, green food coloring, or meringue. Your grandmother obviously did it right.

Juice, eggs, condensed milk (She grew up on Marathon and said the first time she tasted fresh milk she thought it was gross)

Key lime pie should never be green! It should be a pale yellowish color from the juice. The color of the filling is a good way to know the pie isn’t authentic. I love key lime pie when it’s done right!

Me too!

Key lime season is well over by November, and the fruit is very perishable, so if you're having key lime pie for the holidays, bottled juice is pretty much your only option. (Key limes and stone crabs are the quintessential South Florida limited-season delicacies.)

I do like Key Lime Pie, but always think of it as a summer dessert; it honestly never occurred to me to have it at Thanksgiving or Xmas.

This, and outside of south Florida you can't get real Key limes anyway. We have it for winter holidays as a reminder of home.

 

[LoveDaisy]

This year I’m thinking pecan pie, chocolate cream pie, and caramel apple cheesecake.

 

[Dan Murphy]

This year I’m thinking pecan pie, chocolate cream pie, and caramel apple cheesecake.

Nice!

 

[leebee]

We are a no-nut family as my son-in-law and the resident 7year old are both allergic. I would HAPPILY make a no-pecan pie, but it's too sweet for everyone but me, and all those calories are the last thing I need!

I make killer pie crust- everyone says so, it's not just me bragging! I'm not sure what we'll have for Thanksgiving dessert this year, but usually we do pumpkin (homemade but with canned pumpkin- NOT canned pumpkin pie filling), something with berries (I'm thinking maybe a wild blueberry galette), and apple crisp (or pie). Often we throw in a lemon meringue or lime meringue (green, NOT key lime pie which I think tastes like ), and there will be ice cream and whipped cream to go with everything. Yeah, it's a lot of dessert. I grew up in a family where we'd make whatever each person wanted. Now THAT was a lot of dessert!

 

[kanerf]

My favorite pie for Thanksgiving is Pecan. Since it is just me, I won't bake a pie. My buy a small pie at the grocery store or get a slice wherever I eat that day. I often go to Cracker Barrel for their Thanksgiving meal. The have a Chocolate Pecan pie that is pretty good.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

Costco pumpkin pie

YES!!
Costco Pumpkin pie!!!

So good, so easy! I will never make a pumpkin pie again.

 

[nighttowll]

My favorite for years until they discontinued it was the Pumpkin Pie with the pecan crumble topping from Cracker Barrel. It wasn't the same as their regular pumpkin pie available during the holiday season. They only served it on Thanksgiving day. It's been gone probably 10 years now, but it was amazing. I found a similar recipe for the topping online, so now we make homemade pumpkin pie and / or sweet potato pie and put the topping mix on them. The topping really makes the pie.

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

I’m making pumpkin pie and cheesecake.

 

[princesscinderella]

Juice, eggs, condensed milk (She grew up on Marathon and said the first time she tasted fresh milk she thought it was gross)

My three ingredient key lime pie is just 2/3 cup fresh key lime juice, 2 cans condensed milk and 1/2 cup of sour cream, it’s amazing no eggs needed and 10 minutes in the oven heated to 325 degrees. We used to have a tree in our back yard but ants ate it from the inside out . I need to plant another one. When my tree was fruiting I’d squeeze it all and freeze the juice in 2/3 cup batches so I could thaw it just to make a pie. They also made amazing mojitos.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Pecan pie is my favorite

 

[barkley]

pumpkin pie-follow the traditional recipie but double all spices EXCEPT sugar (be warned-all other pumpkin pies will taste bland after you have it this way).

apple pie-fresh good quality cinnamon helps allot (inexpensive way to do it is go to spice shop and just get the number of oz. you need for the recipie unless you are going to grate your own).

 

[disney4us2002]

We don't do pies. Adult kids and dh prefer any chocolate dessert. I will make pumpkin pie muffins but no pies. We have had sundaes for Thanksgiving dessert, brownies, individual lava cakes, and cookies. I love blueberry pie but I would have to eat the entire thing so I just forgo.

 

[CynBeth]

My other family members have food allergies and for the pumpkin pie we would try to find ingredients that worked for them which can be difficult sometimes to find in our stores so last year just ordered it from the bakery and we plan to do the same thing again.

 

[NannyBeBe]

This, and outside of south Florida you can't get real Key limes anyway. We have it for winter holidays as a reminder of home.

Actually, Key limes are always available at my grocery store and I live thousands of miles from Florida.