What kind of pie(s) are people making this week?

I was planning to make pumpkin cheesecake, like I have the last few Thanksgiving holidays.

It's only my hubby and me so I'm only doing the one. It was a tough choice between apple and pumpkin but he prefers pumpkin and I'm fairly neutral.

but the cheesecake has been so popular with my family, that it has become a habit.

Do you make your pie from scratch or canned? Are you a pie crust maker or do you cheat like me and buy the Pillsbury refrigerated one? :)

Pie from the can and a Pillsbury crust. I make my own crust for apple, though, and I do bake all my own bread from scratch (and no breadmaker). The crust seems to make more of a difference in the apple pie, for some reason.

It's a small bakery, owned by a friend, in the nearby town of Wimberley, Texas, and their pies are fantastic -- much better than anything I could make! Once I introduced their pies to family gatherings, I am always asked to bring them! :D

I'm not sure what I'll get this year. My daughter's boyfriend is getting a couple of pies, too, so I need to find out what he's bringing first. One way or another, there WILL be pumpkin pie -- I could eat it year-round!

Topsy Turvy Apple Pie

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipesearch/recipeImage.asp?recipeID=525&imageTypeID=1

Ingredients:

Glaze and Crust
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1/2 cup pecan halves
1 (15-oz.) pkg. Pillsbury® Refrigerated Pie Crusts, softened as directed on package

Filling
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups (4 medium) thinly sliced, peeled apples

Topping
Whipped cream, if desired


Preparation Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425°F. In 9-inch glass pie pan, combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup; mix well. Spread evenly in bottom of pan. Arrange pecans over mixture in pan. Make pie crust as directed on package for two-crust pie; place bottom crust over mixture in pan.
2. In small bowl, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon; mix well. Arrange half of apple slices in crust-lined pan. Sprinkle with half of sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining apple slices and sugar mixture. Top with second crust; seal edges and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust. Place pie pan on sheet of foil on oven rack.
3. Bake 8 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake 35 to 45 minutes longer or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Immediately run knife around edge of pie to loosen. Carefully turn pie upside down onto serving plate. Serve warm or cool with whipped cream.

And someone else is bringing pumpkin. We're keeping it simple this year. I usually make pecan, but I'm in braces this year, and the pecans are too hard for me to eat. I'm not going to slave over a pie that I can't even eat!

:)

I'll be making both pumpkin and cherry cheesepie. They are both family favorites.

An Emeril recipe with bourbon whipped cream...and based on reader reviews I was going to make it with a gingersnap crust. Sounded excellent.

But I was shopping in Trader Joes....and there's a frozen pumpkin cheesecake with ginersnap crust looking up at me. For 8.99.

I know this is the cooking and baking group, not the buying and eating group...but I bought the pre-made and it was very good. I did make a chocolate sauce to swirl around the plate.

All in all, quicker, cheaper, easier, but even though it was very good (probably better than I would have made) it's not the same as when you can say you made it from scratch.

but there are times when it does make sense to let someone else make the pie! And then you have more time to relax. If you want to post the Emeril recipe, that would be cool, since I have another pumpkin cheese cake to make for Thurs and I am open to trying another recipe. (unless it takes hours...)


I typically used the recipe from the back of a cream cheese package, but it has vanished somewhere. So I just let Yahoo pick a recipe for me. :)

I haven't tried this yet, but here it is as requested. I would be tempted to use gingersnap crust instead of vanilla wafers.

1 1/2 cups vanilla wafers, crushed into crumbs
1 cup ground pecan pieces
1 stick melted butter
2 pounds cream cheese, softened and cubed
1 cup light brown sugar
6 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups pumpkin puree
2 cups sweetened whipped cream
Dash bourbon
1 cup semisweet chocolate sauce, warm, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the crumbs, ground pecans and the butter together. Mix well and press into a 12-inch spring-form pan. In a food processor, with the metal blade, mix the cream cheese until smooth. Add the brown sugar and blend. Add the eggs 1 at a time to thoroughly incorporate into the cheese mixture. Add the heavy cream. Add the flour, salt, cinnamon and vanilla and blend until smooth. Add the mashed pumpkin and blend until smooth.

Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cake is set. Remove from the oven and with a knife loosen the sides from the pan. This will prevent the cake from splitting down the center. Completely cool the cake before cutting. Combine the whipped cream and bourbon together, blend well. Garnish each piece of cake with the Bourbon Whipped Cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

CHOCOLATE SAUCE:
3/4 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 pound semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine the half-and-half and butter in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Heat the mixture until a thin paper-like skin appears on the top. Do not boil. Add the chocolate and vanilla and stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool. Yield: 1 1/2 cups

I'll have to see how ambitious I feel Wed pm or Thurs am! Plus I don't own a springform pan ( quel horror), although I keep thinking I need to get one.

oh my god, it has chocolate sauce too! Maybe I should just make it for me! ;)

No word yet on how it is. He works nights and it's too early for them to have eaten it yet.

I did cheat on the pie crust, but the rest was scratch. I'm so proud! LOL!

:)

possibly will do pumpkin tomorrow. I just love making pies... so much fun.
edited to note: always do my pies from scratch, no cheatin'! I have tried the 'pie filling in a can' and premade crusts - but the results were hardly comparable to a good, made from scratch pie. Besides, it's not that hard to whip up a crust/filling anyway.

Although I have to make two - one made with milk and one made with soy milk for my son with dairy allergies.

Just like Mom used to make. There's no comparison between home-made and store bought. It should be solid pecans with just enough stuff to bind it together. :)