Holiday Pies of the World
Britain brought mince pies and treacle tart, Quebec made sugar pie, and Canada its butter tarts. In America the holiday table grew its own family of custard and syrup pies: pecan from the South, chess and buttermilk from farm pantries, sugar cream from Indiana and shoofly from Pennsylvania Dutch country. Every one is here step by step, with the stories behind the names.
Classic Southern Pecan Pie
The corn syrup pecan pie: eggs, light and dark corn syrup, butter and toasted pecans in a flaky par-baked crust, baked until puffed and just set and crowned with pecan halves.
Old-Fashioned Pecan Pie Without Corn Syrup
Pecan pie the way it was made before corn syrup took over: a smooth custard of brown sugar, milk, eggs, butter and a splash of vinegar, with toasted diced pecans inside and halves roasting on top.
Southern Lemon Chess Pie
The South's pantry pie: eggs, sugar, butter, lemon and a spoonful of cornmeal baked in a par-baked crust until the top turns into a thin, crackly sugar crust over a soft, tart custard.
Southern Buttermilk Pie
A tangy Southern custard pie: plenty of buttermilk, eggs and yolks, a little cream, butter and vinegar, baked low to 180°F in a fully baked crust, then flashed in a hot oven for a golden top.
Kentucky Chocolate Walnut Pie with Bourbon
Kentucky's chocolate and walnut pie: a layer of melted bittersweet chocolate in a blind-baked crust under a brown butter, bourbon and brown sugar filling packed with toasted walnuts.
Apple Cranberry Lattice Pie
A Thanksgiving fruit pie in two layers: cinnamon apples on a bed of pecans, topped with cranberries cooked down with sugar, orange juice and zest, under a golden lattice.
Indiana Sugar Cream Pie (Hoosier Pie)
Indiana's eggless pie: sugar, heavy cream, butter and vanilla cooked into a thick custard on the stove, poured into a fully baked crust, chilled until sliceable and dusted with nutmeg.
Pennsylvania Dutch Shoofly Pie
The Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast pie: a wet-bottom molasses filling lightened with baking soda and boiling water, under a spiced brown sugar crumb top, in a flaky sour cream crust.
Easy Pecan Pie Bars
Pecan pie for a crowd with no rolling pin: a press-in brown sugar shortbread crust topped with chopped pecans in a quick honey, butter and brown sugar caramel, baked in one 9 by 13-inch pan.
Gooey Butter Pie with Oat Cookie Crust
A dense, gooey butter and brown sugar filling thickened with egg yolks and milk powder, in a crust of crumbled homemade oat cookie, baked briefly and frozen until it slices like soft caramel. Inspired by Milk Bar's Milk Bar Pie; not official.
British Mince Pies
Britain's Christmas pies: small sweet shortcrust tarts filled with a week-old mincemeat of beef suet, raisins, currants, peel, grated apple, citrus, spice, brandy, rum, port and sherry, with sugared star or round lids.
Canadian Butter Tarts
Canada's own tart: flaky little pastry cups in a muffin pan, filled with a runny, just-set mix of brown sugar, maple syrup, butter, eggs and a dash of vinegar, with raisins or without.
Quebec Tarte au Sucre (Brown Sugar Pie)
The French Canadian sugar pie: a thick, custardy filling of brown sugar, cream, butter, flour, egg and vanilla in a deep-dish crust, topped with braided or woven pastry strips and baked until the center barely jiggles.
English Treacle Tart
Britain's golden syrup tart: soft white breadcrumbs soaked in golden syrup, brightened with orange, stem ginger and a spoonful of black treacle, baked in a blind-baked wholemeal pastry case.