Holiday Pies

Holiday baking is as American as, well, apple pie. Early Americans collected harvests of fruits, nuts, pumpkins, and even sweet potatoes to bake into pies. Those old standards stood the test of time, but innovative new recipes also are flourishing.

These recipes are simple to make. Perhaps they’ll become new traditions in your family. Put on an apron. Ask a child to help roll out dough, and warm your home with the wonderful aroma of baking pies.

Triple Chocolate Pie

• 2 cups chocolate wafer cookie crumbs cup toasted chopped pecans cup butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons dark rum
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 3 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
• 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 pinch of salt cup sugar
• 6 ounces white chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For the crust, mix cookie crumbs, pecans, and butter in a bowl. When mixed well, press mixture into a 10-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool before adding filling.

For filling, pour rum and vanilla over the gelatin in a small bowl. Set aside. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Keep it liquid by setting it aside with the lid in place. Separate the eggs. Using a wire whisk, stir the yolks, cream, and milk in a saucepan over low heat, until the mixture thickens and just begins to bubble. If the mixture makes a light layer on the back of a spatula, immediately remove it from the heat. Stir in the melted chocolate and softened gelatin. Set aside. In another bowl, whip the remaining egg whites until stiff peaks form. Sprinkle in the sugar and salt. Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate and cream mixture. Spoon this carefully into the crust. Chill overnight. To serve the pie, loosen the edges of the filling with a sharp knife, carefully gliding it along the sides of the pan. Melt the white chocolate and drizzle over each piece.

Pumpkin Cheese Pie

• 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 16-ounce can pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, vanilla, grated lemon peel, ground ginger, and ground nutmeg Graham cracker crust to fit 10-inch springform pan
• 1 cups sour cream
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or maple flavoring

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. For filling, beat cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups sugar, eggs, and flour until very creamy. Stir in pumpkin, cinnamon, vanilla, lemon peel, ginger, and nutmeg. Mix until smooth and pour into well-greased, crust-lined springform pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. For sour cream topping, mix sour cream, 4 tablespoons sugar, and flavoring and pour over cheese pie while pie is still hot. Chill for at least four hours before serving.

Dutch Apple Pie

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
• 4-5 tablespoons ice water
• 6 cups thinly sliced, peeled McIntosh or other baking apples
• 1 cup sugar cup flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon teaspoon nutmeg teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons flour teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. For pastry, make certain flour, salt, and shortening are at room temperature. Mix 2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt in bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender or food processor just until fat particles are the size of peas. Be careful not to over-mix or dough will be tough. Sprinkle ice water one tablespoon at a time into the dough. Mix gently until it holds together in a ball. Prepare a floured surface for rolling. Shape the ball into a flattened round disk and roll gently with a floured rolling pin outward on all sides. When disk is flat and smooth, fold it into fourths to transfer it into a 10-inch deep-dish pie pan. Trim the edges and save the extra dough for decorating. Crimp the sides in a pretty pattern around the rim of the pie pan. To save time, prepared pastry dough from a grocery’s refrigerator section can be used for this pie’s crust. For filling, toss apples, sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon salt together in a large bowl. Place into prepared, unbaked crust. Pour the cream over it. For crumb topping, mix butter, brown sugar, pecans, 2 tablespoons flour, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon together until evenly blended. Spread evenly over the apple filling. Bake for 40-45 minutes. If crumb topping becomes overly brown, cover the pie with foil for the last 15 minutes of baking. Decorate with dough cutouts in holiday shapes. Drizzle a bit of caramel sauce on top.

Cherry Almond Pie

• 2 cups well-chopped slivered almonds cup sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 2 cups favorite cherry pie filling
• 1 cups well-chilled whipping cream cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

For the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toast the almonds on a cookie sheet until just brown. Remove from oven immediately. Cool. Place almonds in a bowl and stir in egg whites and 1/3 cup sugar until evenly blended. Place “ball” of nut dough in the center of 9-inch, well-greased pie pan. Pat dough evenly from the center to the sides. Bake for about 20 minutes. If puffy spots rise, pat them gently after cooking with a dampened metal spoon. Pour the cherry pie filling into the pie and chill. For cream topping, whip cream until fluffy, but not too stiff. Stir in 1/4 cup sugar and flavorings. Mix until smooth. Place a large dollop on each piece of pie.

Southern Fried Pies

• Pastry dough (prepared dough in refrigerator section of grocery store works best)
• 2 cups fruit preserves (peach, blackberry, and raspberry are especially good)
• Cooking oil
• Powdered sugar

Cut pastry dough into different shapes with large cookie cutters. Cut two pieces of each shape for top and bottom pastries. Spoon several tablespoons of preserves on bottom cutout. Leave about an inch of pastry on the edges. Dab the edges with water and cover with a matching top piece of pastry. Secure the edges with the tines of a fork. Be sure all seams are secure or pies will be oily. Deep-fry each pocket in oil several inches deep until they are golden brown. Be certain that the oil is stable at 375 degrees. Turn a time or two with a slotted spoon to prevent burning. Drain them on paper towels. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and eat them while they’re hot.

Mary Carter is a freelance writer and food stylist living in Nashville, Tenn.

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