Thanksgiving: Pies Your Guests will Talk About

A time-saving apple crumble pie with cider caramel // bourbon pumpkin custard pie with gingersnap crust

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The final lead up to Thanksgiving in 4 days…the pie. It’s a tradition dating back to the late 18th century, and it can be the best way to end the meal, or sometimes the most disappointing. Time-consuming and frustrating, pie dough can extremely satisfying when you finally nail the method that you’re happy with or extremely aggrevating and sometimes tantrum-inducing when you haven’t nailed it and save it for the last item on your prep list. I will not get into a long discourse about the best methods for pie dough in this post, there’s plenty of great content on that topic (keep the butter nearly frozen when you’re working with it, massage it into the flour with your fingers—a technique called “fraisage”, freeze the rolled out crust overnight before blind baking for maximum flakiness…). Instead, I’m presenting you with a really tasty, time-saving method for apple pie that foregoes the traditional pie dough crust completely in exchange for a “throw everything in a bowl, melt some butter and mix” crust that I wrote about a few weeks ago. And removes the need to peel the apples. The peel makes for a more colorful pie! The ease of this crust allows you time to focus on some other components that will keep your guests talking about a renewed love for apple pie long after dessert ends.

And out of personal preference, I’m also adding in a more-detailed, but gorgeous pumpkin pie recipe down below for paid subscribers. Pumpkin pie is often looked-over, but I think it can be the more luscious, sweet-savory balanced dessert on the table with it’s spiced custardy filling and the salty whipped creme fraiche filling and apple cider vinegar reduction sauce I’ve included in my version. The homemade gingersnap crust is definitely a little time-consuming, but start today (or tomorrow) and spread your prep out and it’ll be well-worth it.

an easier, extremely delicious apple pie

Apple Crumble Pie with Rye-Pecan Streusel & Apple Cider Caramel

What’s better than a crumble pie where there’s no need to stress about a perfectly rolled out and decorated crust? Also, crumble is delicious. The coconutty elements in the crust and streusel give nice depth and texture. The rye flour in the streusel provides some lovely nutty notes along with the pecans, but can be swapped out for AP flour. Serve this pie with the caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream and you will not be sorry.

Coconut Crust:

240g AP flour  

135g sugar

50g sweetened coconut flakes *or make your own sweetened flakes with the recipe note below

2 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

185g butter, melted

¼ teaspoon vanilla powder 

Sweetened Coconut Flakes:

60ml (1/4 cup) water

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sugar 

100g coconut meal/unsweetened coconut

Add the water and sugar in a small saucepan and lightly warm until sugar is dissolved. Stir in the coconut and mix until coated.

To prepare the crust, spray a metal tart pan with fat spray.  Whisk together dry ingredients, flour through sea salt.  Add vanilla into melted butter and mix until incorporated. The crust will be lightly crumbly. Press evenly and flat into tart pans (don’t go up the sides). Blind bake the crust uncovered 15 minutes at 350F / 175C until the surface is golden. 

While the crust is blind baking, make the apple filling and crumble streusel topping.

Apple Filling:

700g apples (about 6-7 medium apples), peel left on, sliced into thin half-moon slices

2g sea salt

50g sugar

40g muscovado light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon vanilla powder

Mix all ingredients together and allow to macerate for at least 20 minutes to meld flavors.

Rye-Pecan Crumble / Streusel Topping:

50g sweetened coconut, (the remaining amount after making the crust)

75g pecans, roughly chopped

150g sugar

50g muscovado light brown sugar

Pinch of sea salt

150g AP flour

50g rye flour (or substitute for AP flour)

225g unsalted butter, at room temperature

Mix all ingredients for the streusel together until the flour is fully incorporated in with the butter, coconut, pecans, and sugars.

Assembly:

Arrange the apple slices on the blind baked crust.  Any sugary juices remaining, pour over top the apples. Top the tart with the crumble streusel topping.

Bake the tart at 350F / 175C for 25-35 minutes until the streusel is golden brown , rotating the pie halfway through baking for even coloration. Serve with the cider caramel sauce, recipe below, and vanilla ice cream if desired.

Apple Cider Caramel:

850ml apple juice

25ml apple cider vinegar

175g sugar

50g muscovado light brown sugar

85g butter

75ml heavy cream

1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

In a small saucepan, reduce the apple juice and apple cider vinegar over low-medium heat for 40-50 minutes until it reaches a nice very syrupy consistency, about 75ml total—so it’s reduced quite a lot until just 4 tablespoons or so are remaining.  Add in sugars, butter, heavy cream and flaky sea salt and bring to a light boil for 4-5 minutes. Serve the sauce with the tart and save any remaining for other uses (its delicious with fresh apple slices for a quick sweet snack).

Chef’s note: this pie is lovely warm with ice cream and caramel oozing into puddles on the plate, but it is IMO even more delicious served cold from the fridge.

i’m a strong supporter of cold pie

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Bourbon Pumpkin Custard Pie with Gingersnap Crust

This is a recipe for all you bakers/Thanksgiving over-achievers. But it’s one to keep in your files for a long time to come. Bear with me, all the steps and components are worth it!

Gingersnap Cookie (which will turn into your crumb crust)

I’ve given you quantities for enough cookie / crumble for 2 pie crusts…1 pie crust and cookie snacks. If you’re going to all this trouble, you might as well make 2.

100g sugar

30g brown sugar

85g butter, room temperature

30g molasses

10g (about 2 teaspoons) grated fresh ginger or ground powdered ginger

3g (1 1/2 teaspoons) vanilla powder or paste

1 egg

225g AP flour *(or a nice mix of a wholegrainy flour like spelt, einkorn or ølands wheat and AP - try 110g wholegrain flour & 115g AP)

5g baking soda

20g (about 3 teaspoons) candied ginger, finely chopped

pinch of ground cloves

5g (about 1 teaspoon) cinnamon 

pinch of kosher / sea salt

pinch of ground black pepper 

Cream butter and sugars in stand mixer or by hand with a spatula if you want an arm workout. 

Add in molasses, vanilla, fresh ginger and egg and mix together. 

Whisk dries together - flours through black pepper. Add to wets in 3 iterations to ensure everything is well mixed. Form the mixture into a cohesive cookie dough. Shape it into a very thin and flattened square shapes, about 3-4 inches on each side, and very very thin so all the sides of cookies get crispy when baked. We’re not looking for perfect shapes here, we just want a very crisp cookie result so they can be blitzed into a dry crumble for the pie dough.

Bake the “cookies” at 350F / 175C for about 12-15 minutes, rotating halfway, until the cookies are nice and crisp, but not burned.

a f*ck ton of gingersnap crusts in formation

Gingersnap Crust

note: this is PER EACH PIE CRUST:

210g (1 ¾ cup) gingersnap crumbs from above recipe

45g dark (or light) brown sugar - whatever you’ve got on hand

10g (1 tablespoon) AP flour 

4g (½ teaspoon) kosher salt or sea salt

60g butter (4 tablespoons), melted

14g (1 tablespoon) cold water to make crumbs stick together *IF NEEDED 

In a large bowl, whisk together gingersnap crumbs, brown sugar, flour, and salt. Add butter and stir until mixture is well combined. Press some of the mixture against the side of the bowl with your fingers. If the crumbs do not hold together, add cold water, a little at a time, up to 1 tablespoon, and stir to combine.

Press the gingersnap crumb mixture into a 9-inch pie plate, evenly covering the bottom and sides. Transfer to freezer and chill for 10 minutes. Place the pie plate on a baking sheet and bake at 350F / 175C until crust is fragrant and set, about 10 minutes, rotate halfway while baking. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Bourbon Pumpkin Custard Filling