Dazzling Thanksgiving Pie Recipes

By Southern Living Editors
September 16, 2013
Hector Sanchez
The bird may take center stage for the main meal, but these beautiful pies are some of the best Thanksgiving desserts around and are sure to give a showstopping sweet ending to your feast. Thanksgiving is a time for families to gather together. That may mean relishing sweet potato pies baked from famous family recipes. But for a new take on traditional classics, or for new ways to enhance the traditional holiday staples, here are some delicious new approaches to Thanksgiving pies. While the ingredients are familiar—pumpkins, pecans, sweet potatoes, and apples, for starters—these pies are slices of flavor and taste that will have you coming back for seconds... or thirds. You will want a piece of Apple Slab Pie as large as its same suggests. The Pecan Cheesecake Pie, Tennessee Whiskey-Pecan Pie, or Chocolate-Pecan Chess Pie may make you nuts for dessert—and may even have you making several Thanksgiving pies. Go right ahead. Then give thanks with your family, or friends, share the recipes, and savor these incredible Thanksgiving pies. 
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You Can't go Wrong on Thanksgiving With These Delicious Pies

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Spiced Coconut-Pumpkin Pie

Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Marian Cooper Cairns

Recipe: Spiced Coconut-Pumpkin Pie

This delicious pie just so happens to also be dairy free.

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Granny Smith Apple Pie

Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Marian Cooper Cairns

Recipe: Granny Smith Apple Pie

The secret ingredient that upgrades this Thanksgiving pie is roasted Granny Smith apples. The apples can be prepared a day or two in advance to help the pie come together faster.

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Dulce de Leche-Cheesecake Pecan Pie

Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Marian Cooper Cairns

Recipe: Dulce de Leche-Cheesecake Pecan Pie

If you can't decide between baking a cheesecake or a pie, this showstopping dish allows you to have both.

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Pear-Cranberry Pie with Ginger-Almond Streusel

Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Marian Cooper Cairns

Recipe: Pear-Cranberry Pie with Ginger-Almond Streusel

Three delicious layers create one flavor-packed pie. It starts with a buttery vanilla bean crust, the second layer is a pear-cranberry filling, and finally it is topped off with a ginger-almond streusel.

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Sour Cream-Raisin Pie

Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Old-Fashioned Sour Cream-Raisin Pie

We're pulling this old-fashioned pie out of the archives because it deserves a comeback.

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Texas Pecan Pie

Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Texas Pecan Pie

The pecans are the star of this no-fuss pie.

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Chess Pie

Jessica Colyer

Recipe: Classic Chess Pie

Vintage recipes will always be worthy of a place on your holiday menu, and you probably have most of the ingredients on hand to make this classic pie.

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Chocolate Silk Pie

Micah A. Leal

Recipe: Chocolate Silk Pie

This airy pie is just the right amount of sweet.

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Our Easiest Pumpkin Pie Ever

Photo: Greg Dupree

Recipe: Our Easiest Pumpkin Pie Ever

Of all of our Thanksgiving dessert recipes, this might just be the easiest one yet. For a crisp crust (no more soggy bottom!), use a metal pie pan and prebake your crust with pie weights.

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Pumpkin-Lemon Cream Cheese Chess Pie

Alison Miksch

Recipe: Pumpkin-Lemon Cream Cheese Chess Pie

Use a store-bought pie crust to help this impressive pie come together faster.

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Crustless Pumpkin Pie

Micah A. Leal

Recipe: Crustless Pumpkin Pie

A crustless pie will come together with just 10 minutes of hands-on time and will allow you to enjoy the rich flavor of pumpkin without any other distractions.

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Sliced Sweet Potato Pie

Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Sliced Sweet Potato Pie with Molasses Whipped Cream

The more sweet potatoes you have on your Thanksgiving menu, the better in our opinion.

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Fig Pie

Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Recipe: Fig Pie

Make the most of fresh figs by baking them into a sweet pie.

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Old-Fashioned Apple Pie

Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Old-Fashioned Apple Pie

You can't go wrong with this classic recipe that tastes just like the one Grandma whipped up in her kitchen.

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German Chocolate-Pecan Pie

Alison Miksch

Recipe: German Chocolate-Pecan Pie

Instead of making a chocolate pie and a pecan pie, combine the two for one rich dessert.

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Black Bottom Pumpkin Pie

Photo: Iain Bagwell

Recipe: Black Bottom Pumpkin Pie

With a moist, crumbly crust and a decadent, creamy filling, it's hard to say no to seconds of this pie.

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Kentucky Bourbon Pie

Antonis Achilleos

Recipe: Kentucky Bourbon Pie

Bring this pie to Thanksgiving dinner and everyone will be asking for the decadent recipe.

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Mini Pumpkin Pies

Micah A. Leal

Recipe: Mini Pumpkin Pies

After a big Thanksgiving meal, mini pumpkin pies will allow you to still enjoy a bite of this classic holiday dessert.

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Pear Pie

Micah A. Leal

Recipe: Pear Pie

Our Pear Pie is just as delicious whether served warm or chilled.

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Mini Apple Pies

Micah A. Leal

Recipe: Mini Apple Pies

Crust-lovers will rejoice when they see these bite-sized apple pies that have no shortage of flaky crust.

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Caramel Apple Blondie Pie

Photo: Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Caramel Apple Blondie Pie

Buttery rich layers of tender cake and caramelized apples add up to one sweet combo. The secret to the crisp, flaky crust? Baking in a cast-iron skillet on a lower oven rack.

Cooking Video: Caramel Apple Blondie Pie

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Pumpkin-Pecan Streusel Pie

Photo: Helen Norman

Recipe: Pumpkin-Pecan Streusel Pie

Create the chunky texture by leaving those extra-big blueberry-size pieces in the Pecan Streusel Topping mix.

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Cranberry-Apple Pie with Pecan Shortbread Crust

Photo: Iain Bagwell

Recipe: Cranberry-Apple Pie with Pecan Shortbread Crust

Savor the flavors of cranberries and apples as they come together with a holiday favorite—pecan shortbread—in this stunning presentation.

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Sliced Sweet Potato Pie

Photo: Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Sliced Sweet Potato Pie

We love the layered look of this ever-so-sweet streusel-topped treat.

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Pecan Chewy Pie

Iain Bagwell

Recipe: Pecan Chewy Pie

This quick-and-easy take on pecan pie will keep you in the kitchen for less time allowing you to spend more time with your family.

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Easy Skillet Apple Pie

Photo: Luca Trovato

Recipe: Easy Skillet Apple Pie

Making an apple pie has never been so easy. Simply toss apples, cinnamon, and brown sugar, and spoon over a refrigerated pie crust in the cast-iron skillet. Top with the other crust and bake.

Watch: Easy Skillet Apple Pie

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Coconut-Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Photo: Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Coconut-Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Make and refrigerate without the topping a day ahead. Whip and add the topping before serving.

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Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie

Photo: Jennifer Davick

Recipe: Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie

Once you’ve made a pecan pie in a cast-iron skillet, you may never go back to a pie plate. Simply press a refrigerated pie crust into the skillet, sprinkle with sugar, top with the pecan mixture, and bake. Serving it in the skillet is also easy and makes the dish even more Southern.

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Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie

Hector Manuel Sanchez

Recipe: Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie

If you have extra sweet potatoes on hand, this pie will put them to good use.

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Salted Caramel-Chocolate Pecan Pie

Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Salted Caramel-Chocolate Pecan Pie

Let these Thanksgiving pies dazzle on your dessert table this year. From to-die-for pumpkin cheesecake to tried-and-true apple—guests won't be able to resist these Thanksgiving sweets.

A cross between a fudge pie and pecan pie, this is all the more stunning if you arrange the pecans from the center in a spiral pattern.

Cooking Video: Salted Caramel-Chocolate Pecan Pie

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