Years ago, when I was a stay-at-home mom, I took orders and made pies for Thanksgiving. We needed the extra money for holiday shopping. On one Thanksgiving Eve, dusted in flour, sugar flying, I slaved in the kitchen making more than 30 pies. The price I charged varied on the cost of ingredients, but I made everything from scratch.

My favorite pie crust recipe is the one here on All Recipes. I double the ingredients to make about three to four crusts, depending on if its a deep dish or shallow pie. I also use all butter instead of some butter and some shortening. It really makes the flakiest crust and is so easy.

The two traditional pies I made a whole lot of, was Pecan and Pumpkin. My apple pie is one people have raved over too, but I will share that on another post, on another day. Also, my cream pies are uh-mazing, and I will share those closer to Christmas.

Here are the recipes for my traditional pies.

Pecan Pie:

This pie has sent people into an auction battle with the pie selling for $50! It is a huge fave among folks that have tried it, however I can’t take all the credit. I got this recipe from Emeril Lagasse many years ago.

Ingredients:

1 prepared 9 inch pie crust

2 cups pecan pieces (I prefer the pecan halves intact)

4 eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup Steen’s 100% Pure Cane Syrup

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

1/2 stick (4 tbs) softened butter

1 Tbs. flour

Preheat oven to 375 F. Spread the pecans evenly in the bottom of a crust lined pie pan. In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs, both sugars, both syrups, vanilla, salt, butter and flour. Mix well. Pour the mixture over the pecans and cook in the oven for about an hour until set. The pie may still be a little jiggly, but as long as it isn’t sloshy, it should be fine. Let it cool on the counter.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

I prepared 9 inch deep dish pie crust

2 cups pureed pumpkin (I use butternut squash rather than canned)

7ozs sweetened condensed milk

2 tbs melted butter

7ozs heavy whipping cream

1 Tbs Steen’s 100% Pure Cane Syrup

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix all ingredients together and pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes until slightly jiggly, but again, not sloshy. Let it cool on the counter and then refrigerate.

Enjoy and let me know how you like them!