Taste and texture-wise, the pecan pie heritage of this tart is very clear. All the tweaks add to what is still very much a pecan pie flavor foundation, and I loved it. You pick up the flavor of almond and hazelnut with deeper, dark sweet notes of chocolate and maple which I found was a great foil to the touch of cinnamon you get from the graham cracker crust. You still get that gooey custard filling with a nice, crunchy

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There are three major elements to this pie: the crust, the peach filling, and the pecan topping. I fell in love with each and the trio was a great mix. The crust was a pâte sablée (sweet pie dough) made with ground almonds for an assertive, sweet, but nutty flavor and a crisp, crumbly bite. The filling has the sweetness of peaches, accentuated by the tartness and added creaminess of quark (if you’ve never heard of it, it is a kind of cheese. I would compare it to a mix of cream cheese and sour cream as far as texture/flavor), the total combination of which is almost custardy

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I loved the taste when I’d first had it, but there was one thing I didn’t care for (and if you look into mango pie, you’ll find so many of them do the same): they’re gelatinous. Not just a little bit, but to the point where its distracting–as if the pie crust is simply a jello mold and not actually housing a

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Not wanting to be too boring, I had a few ideas to dress things up a bit. For instance, I’d recently read of an odd flavor combo that I was eager to try: strawberries and thyme. So I decided to incorporate both thyme and almonds into the pie crust and I’m very glad I did. The flavor was fantastic–buttery, rich, almondy, and the thyme was very distinct. I was honestly surprised by how nicely the almond and thyme enhanced one another and made the crust a force to be reckoned with. And

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There are many ways you could approach a pot pie, but the core of it is the same: a rich, broth full of chicken and vegetables packaged in a flaky pie crust. Some would make individual serving sized pot pies (e.g. in ramekins), others would fill a casserole dish with the broth and lay pastry on top, while I have done pie crust on the top and bottom (like any other pie). What can I say, I like pastry!

While my resulting pot pie was not a looker (in retrospect, individual servings in something like ramekins would have looked better), the flavor was just awesome, if not the best chicken pot pie i’ve ever had. This

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Given the aforementioned similarity to pumpkin pie, the approach to this pie is in keeping with my recent experimenting with pumpkin pie. I made a fresh graham cracker crust, a seductively spiced, delicious, creme fraiche & cream mashed sweet potato mixture, and a maple syrup pecan topping. Unfortunately, I forgot

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I knew I’d enjoy this and it was also a way for me to scratch my apple pie itch while making something new. You have the familiar comfort food flavor of apple pie, but also the tart of cranberries, the tang of sour cream, the crunch of a walnut topping, and the spice of the graham cracker crust–a great twist on a fall favorite. So if you’ve also got an apple pie itch to scratch, give this a try!

• Graham cracker crust
• 4 apples (I used 2 honey crisp and 2 gala)
• 1.5 cups cranberries
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• dash cardamom
• splash orange juice
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• Streusel
  • 1 cup of walnuts
  • 1/2 a stick of softened butter
  • 4 Tbsp flour
  • 4 Tbsp of dark brown sugar

Begin by preparing the graham cracker crust. Later, just

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I chose to go with a graham cracker crust for this pie rather than the more traditional pate brisee. Given the spices inherent in pumpkin pie, a totally unspiced crust just seems like an almost bland supporting character in the pie, right? Plus, making a fresh graham cracker crust is more fun.

With that established, my wife

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I’ll admit, I’d had my fingers crossed with each step of this one, hoping that it would all come together, and boy did it ever deliver. The flavor was just like a comfort food orgasm. Its kind of like apple pie meets ice cream meets cheesecake. The cream filling began with a fantastically flavored cinnamon creme anglaise which was then worked into a whipped cream cheese/whipped cream filling. The top layer: quartered apples, cooked in caramel until tender. All together, you have the sweet, spiced, rosemary flavor of the graham cracker crust, the

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