Pie

Evelyn Herring of Laguna Woods, California, writes: "My mother was raised in Scotland and learned to cook at a time when quality ingredients were hard to come by. She had to be imaginative, often substituting ingredients and improvising recipes. My own cooking has become Americanized over the years, but I still rely on her recipes. They're easy and always taste as good as the first time I tried them." Crushed gingersnap cookies, marmalade, and raisins set this pie apart from the American version.

This pie, an easy take on toffee with bananas (hence the name), made its debut at The Hungry Monk, a pub in England, in 1972. Traditional recipes involve boiling unopened cans of condensed milk, but since that sometimes results in explosions, we thought you might prefer our method.

Toasting the pecans before adding them to the filling deepens the flavors in the pie.

Holiday alert! Here's a filling that comes together in no time. If there is some dough on hand or a crust in the freezer, you're all set to go.

Discovered on Long Island in 1759, Pippin apples are one of the oldest U.S. varieties. Their bright tanginess and crisp texture make them excellent for baking.

The name banoffee plays on the combination of a banana filling and a topping of coffee-flavored whipped cream. This inspired dessert comes from pastry chef Abigail Langlas at Alan Wong’s award-winning restaurant in Honolulu.

If you don't have apple brandy, simply substitute apple cider. In addition to the crystallized ginger, the cinnamon sugar sprinkled on the crust adds a lovely essence. To serve this very special pie, I suggest topping each slice with a bit of cheddar cheese.

Silver Palate Sour Cream Apple Pie was the most popular apple pie at The Silver Palate, the gourmet take-out shop that Julee Rosso and I opened in New York City in 1977. This pie will win raves in your home too! When chopping the walnuts, make sure they're not too fine.

To bake these tartlet shells all at once, you will need 50 tartlet pans, each 2 inches in diameter (across the top) and 1/2 inch deep. However, you could also make these tartlets in batches, using fewer pans.

This recipe was created to prepare Quebec Maple Sugar Pie and Spiced Pecan Pie. The amount of water necessary to make pastry dough is likely to change slightly from time to time, depending on variables such as humidity and the moisture content of butter and even, believe it or not, flour. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less, but requires additional unattended time.

Using canned yams in this old-fashioned pie makes it especially easy to prepare.

The filling of coconut, bananas and cream is sweet, chewy and absolutely delicious. Coconut also makes an appearance in the cookie-like crust.