No Thanksgiving feast is complete without pie–we say the more the merrier. Here are nine best-in-show options for your holiday spread, from clever riffs on the usual staples to more unconventional offerings that just might become a new tradition.
Maple-Bourbon Pecan
Inspired by her childhood in pecan-obsessed central Texas, pastry chef Kaity Mitchell’s interpretation has a wallop of bourbon, nuanced sweetness thanks to a few glugs of maple syrup, and a fabulously flaky, butter-rich crust.
“Pumpkin Pie of Champions”
Taking a cue from Kamala Harris’s favorite breakfast, pastry chef Mary Mendoza crafts a festive, custardy pie featuring kabocha squash, raisin bran, and almond milk.
Ube
This stunner will stand out on your sideboard–and your Instagram feed–with its luxuriously creamy purple-yam filling festooned with lavender-hued icing rosettes.
Sweet Potato
Delicately crunchy graham-cracker crust holds velvety sweet-potato filling with Shenandoah Valley sorghum and a cornucopia of aromatic spices.
Peanut Butter, Rum, and Coke
Here’s a cheers-worthy collab: chef David Guas’s peanut-butter pie spiked with spiced rum from Tiki TNT’s Todd Thrasher and a slug of Coke. The result is a perfect balance of sweet, salty, and a spirited kick.
Caramel-Apple “Ice Cream”
This vegan and gluten-free twist on the classic apple pie features a sugar-cookie crust filled with apple-cider-and-quince sorbet. It’s crowned with cinnamon-oat streusel and a zigzag of apple-cider caramel.
Black-Cocoa Chocolate Silk
Featuring chocolate mousse and intense dark-chocolate ganache, this cocoa lover’s dream by pastry chef Rochelle Cooper can be paired with pints of house-churned vanilla-bean ice cream.
Mixed Berry
This ramble through the bramble and bog blends blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and cranberries, making it a summery counterpoint to an autumnal feast.
Kabocha Butterscotch
This pie brings together savory kabocha-squash custard, vanilla marshmallow, ginger butterscotch, and a toasted-rice/graham-cracker crust.
This article appears in the November 2024 issue of Washingtonian.
Nevin Martell is a parenting, food, and travel writer whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, Saveur, Men’s Journal, Fortune, Travel + Leisure, Runner’s World, and many other publications. He is author of eight books, including It’s So Good: 100 Real Food Recipes for Kids, Red Truck Bakery Cookbook: Gold-Standard Recipes from America’s Favorite Rural Bakery, and the small-press smash Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip. When he isn’t working, he loves spending time with his wife and their six-year-old son, who already runs faster than he does.
