The holiday baking season is upon us. The supermarkets have displays of the ingredients to prepare cakes, cookies and pies. Home bakers are dusting off their baking gear that has been tucked away since last year. Who doesn’t have cravings for the perfect pie, with its tender golden buttery crust filled with fillings of infinite variety? Pie is nostalgic, a dessert that takes us back to childhood, perhaps helping mom or grandma roll out the flaky dough, plus the mouthwatering smell that filled the kitchen when the oven door opened. A comforting classic, pie, has become a favorite of home bakers. Everyone loves traditional holiday pies, or that best kept secret recipe that keeps friends and family coming back for more. This holiday season, if you’re looking for unique twists on traditional family pie recipes or looking for something entirely new to introduce to your holiday menu, you’re not alone. Although the saying American as apple pie is popular, the world of pies goes beyond this quintessential flavor. You might be surprised the apple pie originated in England with influences from other European countries, namely France and the Netherlands. In an article in Southern Living, John Lehndorff of the American Pie Council explained to Food 52, “When you say something is as American as apple pie, what you’re really saying is the item came to this country from elsewhere and was transformed into a distinctly American experience.” The story interesting story about America’s iconic dessert can be found at  https://bit.ly/3Axcv1r. The history of pie in general can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians, when they were commonly made with meat. It is also believed that the Greeks originated pie pastry, made with flour and water that formed a paste that was then wrapped around the meat. “Coffins” or “coffyns” (basket or box) were what the first pies were called. Did you know?: In a 2023 YouGov.com poll of the Most Popular American dishes, apple pie came in 11th right after corn on the cob, but right before Southern Style fried chicken. The American Pie Council shares pie fun facts • In 2022 Datassential’s food and beverage insights found 78% of consumers said they love or like pie. • Apple pies were 27% of all pie sales in 2023. The clear winner. • In the 19th century, fruit pies were a common breakfast food eaten before the start of a long day. • 7% of American’s have passed off a store-bought pie as homemade • For more pie fun facts visit https://bit.ly/3UKiyGN. Although apple pie is a favorite this time of year, food magazines’ glossy, picture-perfect, mouth-watering front covers tease us with out-of-the-ordinary pies, tempting us to go beyond baking just apple pies. I didn’t have to go far for pie inspiration. I perused my ever-growing cookbook collection and reached for “The Perfect Pie: Your Ultimate Guide to Classic and Modern Pies, Tarts, Galettes, and More,” by the editors of America’s Test Kitchen (2019, $35). Knowing that baking pies can be intimidating, particularly making the perfect crust, chapters are devoted to different types of pies or technique: double-crust fruit pie; cream, custard and meringue pies; tarts, galettes, chiffon and ice cream pies. The extensive discussion of filing, covering, baking, cooling and storing as well as equipment and tools should relieve some of the reluctance to pie making many have. Baking is a science, but the editors do an exemplary job to take away or at least reduce the intimidating process. They write: “Once you understand the workings of the five common ingredients or pie building blocks (flour, fats, sweeteners, eggs, thickeners), these basic ingredients can be mixed and measured in countless ways to yield an incredible array of pies.” The pie troubleshooting pages are helpful. For example: “Problem: the whipped cream weeps, Solution: top just before serving; Problem: the first slice always falls apart, Solution: make 3 cuts before slicing. The extra cut allows for movement in the pie, making it easier to tidily wiggle out the first piece.” The dough recipes will take the fear out of making pie crust. For those who would like to learn more advanced techniques, there are instructions to make decorative crusts using braids, ropes, lattice and cutouts. The all-encompassing book provides recipes for vegan, gluten-free, slab pie and tart doughs as well as various crusts: coconut cookie and nutter-butter cookie, and of course, graham cracker. The hallmark of Pennsylvania Dutch Apple Pie, aside from its crumbly topping, is its creamy apple filling. (Joe Keller – America’s Test Kitchen) Now, it’s time to get out those pans and bake these pies from the book. For the recipe for Pennsylvania Dutch Apple Pie, visit bit.ly/4dUsaa3. Holiday Eggnog Custard Pie (America’s Test Kitchen – Daniel J. vanAckere) Holiday Eggnog Custard Pie Serves 8 This headnote excerpt says: “Why this Recipe Works: For a delicious eggnog, three elements need to be in perfect balance: sweetness, richness and the amount of alcohol. We wanted to strike that balance in a custard pie for a new take on this classic holiday drink. Adding cinnamon and nutmeg to our custard base gave it a subtle hint of spice, but in our opinion, it wasn’t truly eggnog without a little booze — just 2 tablespoons of dark rum added plenty of depth to our pie without overpowering it…..” Ingredients: 1 recipe single-crust pie dough (see below) ⅔ cup sugar 3 large eggs 3 tablespoons cornstarch ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg ⅛ teaspoon table salt 2 cups whole milk 1 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons dark rum 1 recipe Brown Sugar and Bourbon Whipped Cream (see below) Directions: Roll dough into 12‑inch circle on floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9‑inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand. Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate. Wrap dough-lined plate loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line chilled pie shell with double layer of aluminum foil, covering edges to prevent burning, and fill with pie weights. Bake on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet until edges are set and just beginning to turn golden, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Remove foil and weights, rotate sheet, and continue to bake crust until golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer sheet to wire rack. (Crust must still be warm when filling is added.) While crust bakes, whisk sugar, eggs, cornstarch, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in bowl. Bring milk and cream to simmer in large saucepan over medium heat. Slowly whisk 1 cup of hot milk mixture into egg mixture to temper, then slowly whisk tempered egg mixture into remaining milk in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened, bubbling, and registers 180 degrees, 30 to 90 seconds (custard should have consistency of thick pudding). Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer into clean bowl, then stir in rum. With pie still on sheet, pour custard into warm crust, smoothing top with clean spatula into even layer. Bake until center of pie registers 160 degrees, 14 to 18 minutes. Let pie cool completely on wire rack, about 4 hours. Spread whipped cream attractively over pie and dust with remaining 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon. Serve. Classic Single-Crust Pie Dough Makes one 9-inch single crust Ingredients: 1¼ cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon sugar ½ teaspoon table salt 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces and chilled 3 tablespoons ice water, plus extra as needed Directions: Process flour, sugar and salt in food processor until combined, about 5 seconds. Scatter shortening over top and process until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter over top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses. Transfer mixture to bowl. Sprinkle ice water over mixture. Stir and press dough with spatula until dough sticks together. If dough does not come together, stir in up to 1 tablespoon ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it does. Transfer dough to sheet of plastic wrap and form into 4-inch disk. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. (Wrapped dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.) ​​Whipped Cream Makes about 2 cups Ingredients: 1 cup heavy cream, chilled 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch table salt Directions: Using stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip cream, sugar, vanilla and salt on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form, 1 to 3 minutes. (Whipped cream can be refrigerated in fine-mesh strainer set over small bowl and covered with plastic wrap for up to 8 hours.) Brown Sugar and Bourbon Whipped Cream: Omit vanilla. Substitute ½ cup packed light brown sugar for granulated sugar. Increase salt to 1/8 teaspoon. Add ½ cup sour cream and 2 teaspoons bourbon. Whisk all ingredients together in bowl of stand mixer, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Whisk to combine before whipping. Maple Syrup Pie: with maple flavor comes maple sweetness, so just a touch of cider vinegar is added to balance the sweetness and introduce a subtle tang. (America’s Test Kitchen – Joe Keller) Maple Syrup Pie Serves 8 This excerpt from the headnote says: “Why this recipe works:  …..For a pie that truly tasted of maple we found that a hefty dose of syrup was in order — a full 1 ¾ cups of dark amber syrup, in fact. But with maple flavor comes maple sweetness, so we added just a touch of cider vinegar to balance all the sweetness and introduce a subtle tang. Some cornstarch, in addition to the custard’s eggs, helped the pie slice neatly. Make sure to use pure maple syrup in this recipe. We like to serve this rich pie with crème fraîche for sophistication and tang or unsweetened whipped cream.” Ingredients: 1 recipe single-crust pie dough (see recipe) 1¾ cups maple syrup ⅔ cup heavy cream ¼ teaspoon salt 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces 2 tablespoons cornstarch 3 large eggs plus 2 large yolks 2 teaspoons cider vinegar Directions: Roll dough into 12-inch circle on floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand. Trim overhang to ½ inch beyond lip of plate. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate. Wrap dough-lined plate loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line chilled pie shell with double layer of aluminum foil, covering edges to prevent burning, and fill with pie weights. Bake on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet until edges are set and just beginning to turn golden, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Remove foil and weights, rotate sheet, and continue to bake until center begins to look opaque and slightly drier, 3 to 6 minutes. Transfer sheet to wire rack and let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Bring maple syrup, cream and salt to boil in medium saucepan. Add butter and whisk until melted. Reduce heat to medium-low and whisk in cornstarch. Bring to simmer and cook for 1 minute, whisking frequently. Transfer to large bowl and let cool for at least 30 minutes. Whisk in eggs and yolks and vinegar until smooth. (Cooled filling can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Whisk to recombine and proceed with step 5, increasing baking time to 55 minutes to 1 hour 5 minutes.) With pie still on sheet, pour filling into cooled crust. Bake until just set, 35 to 45 minutes. Let pie cool completely on wire rack, about 2 hours. Refrigerate pie until fully set, at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Serve cold or at room temperature. Stephen Fries is professor emeritus and former coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College in New Haven, Conn. He has been a food and culinary travel columnist for the past 17 years and is co-founder of and host of “Worth Tasting,” a culinary walking tour of downtown New Haven, and three-day culinary adventures around the U.S. He is a board member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Email him at [email protected]. For more, go to stephenfries.com.