American Pie

Coast to coast, we are a pie loving people and never more ardently than on Thanksgiving. This year, we took a tour through community cookbooks and explored local ingredients to find inspiration for new takes on regional specialties. Hop in for our holiday road trip in pie form.

- By Emily Teel

Kick of spice

The whipped cream on top adds another layer of unmistakably warming flavor from cold steeping the cream with fresh ginger.

There's no way to pick a pie that will perfectly represent an entire region, but we love the idea of celebrating Thanksgiving with desserts inspired by time-honored methods and local flavors. Knowing that people have strong opinions on iconic pies we combed through church cookbooks and dug into historical references on regional favorites. Then we baked and baked a weeks-long pie-eating contest that would rival any state fair to bring you this buffet of blue-ribbon pies we hope will become national treasures.

Southwest
Mexican Chocolate Mousse Pie with Pumpkin-Sesame Brittle

We dreamed up a pie that's both sweet and spicy to honor the Southwest's deep cultural connections to Mexico. The richly flavored chocolate mousse filling is spiked with warming spices like cinnamon and cayenne, and both the crust and the brittle topping feature crunchy pumpkin seeds.

Hawaii
Colossal Coconut Custard Pie

The tropical flavor and heady aroma of coconut inspired this three-layer pie. Originally brought to Hawaii by Polynesian travelers, coconuts thrive in the islands' volcanic soil. In an effort to build the ultimate coconut pie, we lined a toasted coconut crust with chewy coconut caramel. Tender and creamy coconut milk custard fills the base, and meringue topped with curls of coconut chips crowns this showstopper.