Life
12 Easy Pies To Make This Thanksgiving When You Have Nothing To Prove
Pies are the best desserts in the universe, and if you disagree then you're probably a monster. No offense. Essentially, classic Thanksgiving pies are buttery, flaky sugar cookies filled with fruit, chocolate, or mushed up vegetables with so much sugar you can't even tell you're eating vegetables. Pies are magic. Pies are also very easy to make, especially if you're going the pre-made pie dough route. But even if you're not, even if you're a DIY queen and refuse to buy anything even remotely processed or touched in a factory, pies are still pretty simple to whip up.
Which is a relief, because if you're making Thanksgiving dinner, the last thing you really feel like doing is stressing over dessert. You've already got a million-pound raw turkey to deal with, so why complicate your life? Here are some super easy pie recipes that you absolutely must have in your life. These pies are yummy, and barely take more than an hour to make. You're welcome.
Traditional pecan pie
Pecan pie is basically just a fancy excuse to eat a lot of gooey sugar and buttery crust. Oh, and crunchy, wonderful pecans. Which, as it turns out, taste like heaven when they’re covered in Karo syrup and sugar. Luckily for all of us, pecan pie is incredibly easy to make. Follow this bake.love.give recipe, and you’ll have yourself a beautiful pie in a little over an hour. EASY PEASY.
Image: bake.love.give
Gluten-free Pumpkin Pie Streusel Bars
I generally end up making at least one gluten-free dessert option for any given holiday. If you’ve made gluten-free dessert, then you’ll know it can kind of be a pain. Not because it’s super hard, or anything. But because you need like three times as many ingredients as you would making a normal dessert. These pie bars from My Baking Addiction only call for two ingredients you might not have in your kitchen right now: gluten-free oats and gluten-free oat flour. No xanthan gum, or anything too out of the way. They’re easy, delicious, and taste like pumpkin pie oatmeal (see also: heaven).
Image: My Baking Addiction
Blueberry Pie Bars
Making pie bars instead of full on pies is strategic, especially when you know you’ll have a ton of leftovers (and when you know you can just pawn off said leftovers). Plus, they don’t call for pie crust, which is awesome. Make these sweet, berry-filled squares by following the recipe over at Averie Cooks.
Image: Averie Cooks
Pumpkin Pie
You know, it actually took me years to appreciate pumpkin pie. I thought it was gross, especially the way it was served chilled. But now? I’m thoroughly obsessed. I don’t even wait for Thanksgiving to come around — I’ll make pumpkin pie in the summer, spring, whenever. Who says our love for pumpkins needs to be confined by one season? NO ONE says this. This recipe for pumpkin pie from Brown Eyed Baker is the one I’ve been using since the beginning of time (OK, 2010).
Image: Brown Eyed Baker
Caramel Apple Crumble Pie
Costco used to have the most epic caramel apple pie in the universe, but they stopped making it like five years ago (there’s even a Facebook group to bring it back. Not that I’m part of that group or anything…). A year ago, I decided to make my own, because I really missed my beloved Costco caramel apple pie. So I did, using this recipe from Averie Cooks. And it was a success. Best of all, it only takes an hour to make. Perfection.
Image: Averie Cooks
Apple Crisp
Crisp is really just lazy pie. And whatever — I personally believe that if you can get away with taking shortcuts, then you take those shortcuts. This apple crisp recipe by Hummingbird High (which was published in Relish) is so perfectly sweet and crunchy, it really deserves all the love it can get. Pro-tip: when making apple crisps and pies, make sure to choose apples that are not too tart, and not too sweet. You want a balance between sour-sweetness, rather than overwhelming your palate.
Image: Hummingbird High
Pear Crisp
Pears are in their prime in the fall, which is why you should make pear crisp, pronto. This recipe by Pastry Affair shows you how to make your own delicious crumbly topping. It’s simple, and it’s infinitely wonderful.
Image: Pastry Affair
Frosty Toffee Pie
This toffee pie is essentially a candy bar that has been transformed into pie-form. And it’s glorious. Confessions of a Cookbook Queen has the recipe, and it’s pretty much as easy as just melting a candy bar in the microwave.
Image: Confessions of a Cookbook Queen
Blackberry Crumb Pie
Blackberries are tart and immensely juicy. Which is why they make for the most epic pie filling. This pie recipe from Something Swanky is ridiculously easy — the pie essentially makes itself. And while lattice pies are a little more elegant-looking, crumbly topping is generally more delicious and far more simple to pull off.
Image: Something Swanky
Easy Pie Pops
OK, YES I’m a sucker for miniature versions of things. Especially dessert. I love little desserts. These pie pops look complicated to make, but they’re actually easy as… pie. Sorry, I had to. Bakerella shows us how to make the dough, cut it out into perfect pie circles, and fill them in with our favorite fruit filling.
Image: Bakerella
Bannoffee Pie
Bannoffee pie is banana + toffee all wrapped into one, beautiful dessert. It’s one of my favorite, most underrated pies. All you really need is a graham cracker crust (which you can make or buy), bananas, and whipped cream (which you should totally make). This recipe from Brown Eyed Baker calls for dulce de leche, but you can actually just make your own toffee/caramel by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk.
Image: Brown Eyed Baker
Mini Cherry Cobblers
As far as I’m concerned, cobblers are part of pie family, too. Unlike crisps though, they have a thicker, bread-y crust on top. This adorable recipe from bake. love. give. shows you how to make a bunch of cobblers in jars, and it’s deceivingly simple. Impress everyone with your Pinterest-y dessert skillz.
Image: bake.love.give
