What kinds of pies are you making for Thanksgiving? Here are a couple of fun recipes. Enjoy and have fun with the pies.

image from julie-mom-blogspot.com 

      GOOD morning.  KWWL said today is a perfect fall day.  So, all of you enjoy.  The temperature at 8:00 AM is at 35 degrees with a high today of 63 low of 35 degrees tonight.  Clear, blue sky, light wind today.  More wind tomorrow.  Then Friday it will be cooler at 45 degrees.  Still can’t complain about 45 but we might.  ENJOY and STAY SAFE.

Thanksgiving in one week.  I found these recipes for pies at the Old Farmer’s Almanac.  How do they compare to your favorite recipe?  In 1973, and 1974, I was a baker for the LaCrosse County Club. I took the job, and then went to my sister, Mary Kay and said can you show me how to make a pie?  Never made one before.  I had to make 5 to 7 a day and made homemade bread.   I learned lots and did it.  I made the pie crust from scratch at the Country Club, but for our thanksgiving I probably will buy the ready-made crust.  What do you make for your dinner? 
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Here at the Almanac, we love to bake. Yes, there’s the turkey, but aren’t we all looking forward to the classic Thanksgiving pie? On the fruit side, we have a caramel apple pie, a maple cream pie, and a make-ahead cranberry cream pie. On the creamy side, we have a sweet potato pie, fluffy pumpkin cheesecake, and peanut butter pie.
1. Blue Ribbon Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin pie is the most popular pie eaten at Thanksgiving in the United States. (America’s top choice is Apple for the rest of the year.) An estimated 50 million pumpkin pies are devoured in November! Were pumpkins eaten at the first Thanksgiving?
This pumpkin pie recipe won the blue ribbon at the Goshen (Connecticut) Fair. The filling is nice and firm, not too custardy. It’s a basic pie recipe, but the crust turns out well. After all, appearance and taste count most at the fair!
Pie Filling for pumpkin pie
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3 large eggs
1-1/2 cups mashed pumpkin, or 1 can (not pre-mixed pie filling)
1 cup light cream or evaporated milk
9-inch pie shell, unbaked (recipe follows)
Instructions
Mix sugar, flour, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, and cloves together. Beat in eggs. Stir in pumpkin and cream.
Pour mixture into pie shell. Bake in a 400°F oven for 50 minutes, or until knife is clean after inserting in center of pie. Cool completely before serving.
Of all our apple pies, this Caramel Apple Crumb Pie is the winner! The cinnamon-spiced oat topping is wonderful. And the caramel sauce adds that special taste of fall! Developed by bakers for our own Almanac cookbook, this is the pie we make for a Thanksgiving or holiday dessert.
America’s pie master, Ken Haedrich developed and personally tested these recipes for The Old Farmer’s Almanac Everyday Baking. Haedrich is a winner of the Julia Child Cookbook Award and author of 11 cookbooks, including the book Pie.
Tips for Bakers:
If you’re a beginner, it’s fine to use a store-bought pie crust to get a head start.
To make a great apple pie that’s packed with apples and not mushy, use firm apples and two types of apples: a firm-sweet apple and a firm-tart apple.
 Topping:
Ingredients
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
Instructions
Use All-Purpose Pie Dough, refrigerated, or your favorite piecrust.
Roll the pie pastry into a 13-inch circle and line a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate with it. Pinch the overhanging pastry into an upstanding rim. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
For Topping: Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor. Pulse several times to mix. Scatter the butter pieces over the mixture. Pulse to a sand-like consistency. Transfer to a bowl and rub well with your fingers until the texture is uniform. Refrigerate the crumbs.
Filling:
Ingredients
8 cups peeled, cored, and sliced baking apples
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Combine the apples, 1⁄3 cup of sugar, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and salt with the remaining sugar and mix to blend. Add the mixture to the fruit and stir. Pour the filling into the chilled piecrust, shaping the apples into a smooth mound.
Bake on the center oven rack for 35 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven. Spread the crumbs on top. Tamp lightly, to compact. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes more, or until the juices bubble thickly around the edge.
Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 1 hour before serving.
Caramel Sauce:
Ingredients
1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, in pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
Combine the cream, brown sugar, and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla and pecans, and stir.
Transfer to a small bowl and cool completely. Refrigerate briefly for a thicker sauce. Serve the pie with sauce drizzled on each slice.
ENJOY…
Taken from https://www.almanac.com/best-thanksgiving-pie-recipes
Till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky’s Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net  641-794-3337  cell 641-903-9365