Nine of the Best Thanksgiving Pie Recipes

Nine of the Best Thanksgiving Pies: the Ultimate Pie Roundup Post! This roundup post lists some of the best thanksgiving pie recipes - there is literally something for everyone. Make just one or mix and match for the ultimate thanksgiving pie spread

Nine of the Best Thanksgiving Pies

A couple of weeks ago I packed an overnight bag and headed to Jersey for the night for something I’ve never done before, but will hopefully be doing again - a pie sleepover! I went to stay with my good friend Erin, and we put together a one-stop Thanksgiving Pie (or any time pie) post for you! We chose nine of our favourite recipes for this roundup of the best Thanksgiving Pies - some traditional, and some less traditional (I think? I know nothing about Thanksgiving lol), and I think that we managed to come up with something for everyone. Erin is the queen of the pie (She just did an incredible feature in the NEW YORK TIMES!), and we had the best time spending two days together to have a proper catch up rather than just a quick dinner or drink every now and then like we usually manage. I learnt LOADS, ate loads, and if I may say so myself, we put together a fairly epic pie roundup for you - in our opinions, nine of the best pies to make for Thanksgiving!

We have used existing recipes here - either from Erin’s book (which you should get right now if you don’t already own), one of the many recipes she has developed, or recipes from here on my blog, so underneath each photo you will find a link to the recipe, along with any notes we have or changes that we have made. The pies are perfect as singles, but we also wanted to give you recipes that compliment each other, so if you’re hoping to make a pie spread for Thanksgiving, we got you.

Here’s what we ended up with (in the order listed):

• Pumpkin Sugar Pie
• Nutella French Silk Pie
• Chocolate Pecan Pie
• Bourbon Apple Galette
• Chocolate Cream pie with Peanut Butter Cream
• Blood Orange Meringue Pie
• Miso Caramel Apple Pie
• Concord Grape Pie
• Apple Butterscotch Pie

A few wee notes on pie making:

• Erin taught me an amazing way to make your pie dough smooth and easy to work with, while still being flaky AF: Make the dough as usual (you can keep the butter chunks quite big), wrap it up, rest in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour, then roll it out into a rectangle, fold it like a letter, then repeat the process. You then fold all four corners inward to form the rectangle into a disc, then re-wrap and rest in the fridge until you are ready to roll out! This process is similar to how rough puff is made, and really helps develop layers in the dough, while keeping it smooth and pretty! This technique was an absolute game changer for me, and I’m going to be using it every time I make dough now!
• An overnight rest is best if possible for the dough, but if not, a couple of hours will work if you are in a pinch.
• If you have a fave dough recipe, go ahead and use that! Otherwise ours are in the recipes!
• Take things slow, and keep things cold. The best pies are the ones made where you aren’t in a rush! If you find your dough is warming up, pop it back into the fridge for a bit so that it firms up again slightly. Give your pie a good amount of time to rest in the fridge before you bake it to allow the crust to chill properly.
• Some of the pies require a par-bake. We did this the night before, then filled and baked off the day of. This is an easy way to get some of the prep work done ahead of time.
• Fruit pies can be made ahead of time - I like to make the filled pie, then freeze it unbaked until it is pie time! I usually freeze it until the crust is solid, then wrap tightly in foil to store in the freezer. It may need a little longer in the oven to account for the freezing.
• Some of these pies need time to set - like the Nutella French Silk and Chocolate Cream Pie, so make sure you account for this!
• If you want a clean cut on your pie, make sure that it is totally cool before cutting into it.
• Erin has about 12 zillion more amazing pie tips in her book, including different ways to crimp your crust! (I also saved all the videos to my highlights on IG if you want a little relaxing video watching session)
• The recipe for the apple butterscotch pie is in an ebook alllll about pie which Erin is releasing very soon! As soon as it is online, I will add the link!
• If you have any questions, please leave them down below, and I will do my very best to answer everything!

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Pumpkin Sugar Pie: The Pumpkin Pie for people who don’t like Pumpkin Pie

Both Erin and I aren’t giant fans of Pumpkin Pie - for me, I would just rather eat something else. I grew up eating savoury pumpkin dishes (we don’t have pumpkin pie / thanksgiving in New Zealand), so I’ve never been super into it. I also find it a little stressful to make, as I worry about it overcooking and cracking, which is caused by the protein in the eggs tightening up too much, causing cracks. This Pumpkin Sugar Pie, however is a bit of a game changer. It is set with flour as opposed to eggs, so you don’t have to worry about it cracking, and has a beautiful silky texture. It’s the best, and I will definitely be making it this year! Plus, drowning things in icing sugar is far too much fun. If you are looking for other sugar pie recipes, Erin just posted two in her NYT feature, and there’s the OG in her book!

• Get the recipe: Homemade Pumpkin Pie

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Nutella French Silk Pie: A twist on the classic French Silk Pie

I developed this one not too long ago, and it might possibly be a top contender for best pie ever in my books. I know Chocolate pie isn’t a traditional thanksgiving staple, but can we make it one? Haha. I think having a chocolate pie to balance out all the fruit pies is essential. This one, unlike most french silk pies, doesn’t use any raw eggs, and it is silky smooth with a good Nutella hit. It’s finished with swirls of whipped cream and chopped hazelnuts. You can’t really go wrong.

• Get the recipe: https://cloudykitchen.com/blog/nutella-french-silk-pie

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Chocolate Pecan Pie: A classic Thanksgiving Staple

I don’t know a whole lot about pecan pie, but I do know that 1. It is a Thanksgiving classic, and 2. Erin’s version is epic. She doubled the filling for the recipe linked below, then baked it in a par baked crust, the same way you would do a sugar pie. Erin doubled the recipe for this chocolate pecan galette, and baked it in a par-baked crust (with a fork crimp! So cute!), until the pecans were toasty and the filling was set. Update: I now have a recipe for this on Cloudy Kitchen, the link is below!

• Get the recipe: Brown Butter, Black Bottom Pecan Pie

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Bourbon apple galette: The apple pie that doesn’t require a lattice

Galettes are the perfect option for those who still want pie, but find making a double crust or crimping dough intimidating. You basically roll out the dough, dump the filling in, and then fold up the sides however you like. This Bourbon Apple Galette is super easy and crazy delicious - you make a lightly spiced bourbon sugar mixture, which is drizzled over the apples before baking, and turns the filling into this amazing caramelised apple situation. We used this recipe, but made it round rather than square.

• Get the recipe: https://food52.com/recipes/65346-bourbon-apple-galette

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Chocolate cream pie with peanut butter cream: For the peanut butter lover

This pie was the very first thing I made from Erin’s book, and I quickly got hooked on the peanut butter whipped cream on top, and proceeded to put it on everything I made. To make this pie, you fully blind bake a crust, then pour pudding into it and allow it to set, before finishing with peanut butter whipped cream. The cream really finishes it off, so don’t skip it!

• Get the recipe: https://cloudykitchen.com/blog/2017/11/10/chocolate-cream-pie-with-whipped-peanut-butter-cream

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Blood Orange Meringue Pie: The Perfect citrus meringue pie

I love a good lemon meringue pie (I mainly just love burning things with my blow torch), so was super excited when Erin suggested a rework of the grapefruit meringue pie from her book! I love how this one turned out so much - the best part about meringue pies is not having to worry about what the surface of the pie looks like, because you know you’re just going to load it up with meringue anyway. The curd was a beautiful pink colour, and it was an epic twist on the traditional. The recipe for this is the grapefruit meringue pie in Erin’s book - we just subbed blood orange juice for the grapefruit.

• Get the recipe: You can buy Erin’s book here

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Miso Caramel Apple pie: a variation on the traditional caramel apple pie

This pie has been a very firm favourite in our house for a while now - I love caramel apple pie, but there is something about the umami, savoury flavour that the miso caramel gives to this pie that I just can’t go past. The miso caramel recipe makes a little more than you need, which means some very epic ice cream sundaes are going to be in your future. It’s perfect if you are looking for a wee twist on apple pie!

• Get the recipe: https://cloudykitchen.com/blog/2017/9/29/miso-caramel-apple-pie

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Concord grape pie: for a wee taste of summer

I had Concord Grape pie for the first time a couple of weeks ago at Gramercy Tavern, and was instantly obsessed. Concord grapes are a variety of grape grown here in the USA - if you’re from New Zealand, I would describe them as the same kind of grapes people grow on vines in their garden - the dark purple ones with the kind of waxy finish and the skins that pull away super easily. You know the ones? Good. Erin’s filling is perfect - she had some frozen grapes she used for the filling. I’ve seen them still in season here in NYC, so if you see some, grab them and stash them and make this pie! This recipe is also from Erin’s book, and she did a simple ‘fattice’ on the top (using fat strips), which is a great lattice to use if you’re unsure about weaving pie dough, because it’s super simple, but still so, so pretty! Even though this was my first time trying it, this guy absolutely makes the list of best Thanksgiving Pies.

• Get the recipe: You can buy Erin’s book here

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Apple butterscotch pie: for when you can’t decide between a cream pie and a fruit pie

This pie was my very very favourite of them all. It’s a cooked apple filling, which is baked in a par baked crust, and then covered with a butterscotch pudding, then set in the fridge and topped with a layer of whipped cream. There’s so many flavours going on - the spiced fruit, the sweet pudding and the whipped cream. It’s like all the best parts about different types of pies had a baby, and this is it. The recipe for this one is in an ebook that Erin is releasing super super soon, so as soon as the link is live I will pop it here for you and update the post! Update: Erin wrote a whole BOOK about pie and it is so magical. I made this pie for my site, the link is below!

• Get the recipe: Butterscotch Apple Pie

Happy Happy Thanksgiving, or if you don’t celebrate, happy pie making! I would love to know if you make any of the pies from our list of Best Thanksgiving Pies!

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