As the air turns crisp and the sweet scents begin to drift from kitchens, there’s one thing on everyone’s holiday menu: pie. Whether you are team pumpkin, pecan or apple, November is prime time to roll out your best crust. This season, we’re serving up a round of the most inspiring pie-focused cookbooks that will help you butter up your guests and claim your rightful place as the dessert table champion.
“Sister Pie” by Lisa Ludwinski
At Sister Pie, Lisa Ludwinski and her band of sister bakers are helping make Detroit sweeter one slice at a time from a little corner pie shop in a former beauty salon on the city’s east side. With 75 of her most-loved recipes for sweet and savory pies, such as Toasted Marshmallow-Butterscotch Pie and Sour Cherry-Bourbon Pie, as well as other bakeshop favorites, the “Sister Pie” cookbook pays homage to Motor City ingenuity and all-American spirit.
“The Book on Pie” by Erin Jeanne McDowell
Erin Jeanne McDowell, New York Times contributing baker extraordinaire and top food stylist, starts with the basics, including ways to mix pie dough for extra flaky crusts, storage and freezing, recipe size conversions, and expert tips for decorating and styling, before diving into the recipes for all different kinds of pies: fruit, custard, cream, chiffon, cold set, savory and mini. Find everything from classics like apple and pumpkin to more inspired recipes like Birthday-Cake Pie and Caramel Pork Pie with Chile and Scallions.
“The Pie and Pastry Bible” by Rose Levy Beranbaum
“The Pie and Pastry Bible” is your magic wand for baking the pies, tarts and pastries of your dreams. You’ll find more than 300 recipes, from classic fruit pies to tarts and tartlets, turnovers, biscuits, scones, strudel and more. There’s even a separate chapter featuring foolproof flaky, tender and original crusts of every kind of imaginable, including Flaky Cream Cheese Pie Crust, Bittersweet Chocolate Crust and Graham Cracker Crumb Crusts.
“The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book” by Emily Elsen and Melissa Elsen
Melissa and Emily Elsen, the 20-something sisters who are proprietors of the wildly popular Brooklyn pie shop and cafe Four & Twenty Blackbirds, have put together a pie-baking book that’s anything but humble. This stunning collection features more than 60 delectable pie recipes organized by season, with unique and mouthwatering creations such as Salted Caramel Apple, Green Chili Chocolate, Black Currant Lemon Chiffon and Salty Honey.
“Art of the Pie” by Kate McDermott
Kate McDermott, who learned to make pie from her Iowa grandmother, has taught the time-honored craft of pie-making to thousands of people. In “Art of the Pie,” she shares her secrets to great crusts (including gluten-free options), as well as detailed descriptions for ingredients, methods and tricks for making fillings. Organized by type of fruit, style of pie and sweet versus savory, recipes range from apple to banana rum caramel coconut, raspberry rhubarb to chicken potpie.
“Hoosier Mama Book of Pie” by Paula Haney
Specializing in hand-made, artisanal pies that only use locally sourced and in-season ingredients, “Hoosier Mama Book of Pie” delivers all the sumptuous secrets of buttery crusts, fruity fillings, creams and custards, chess pies, over-the-top pies and even the stout and hearty savory pie. The practically oriented, easy-going and accessible style of this book will help bakers, both new and old, make the perfect pie for every occasion.
Ashlee Conour is the marketing specialist at Naperville Public Library.
