Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, hands down. It’s the only time of year when my entire dad’s side of the family gathers in one place, and I love the food! My family always has both an apple pie and a pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, and we all eat a slice of each. These are my recipes for both. Happy baking!

Pie Crust

Ingredients:

• 1¼ cups flour
• 1½ teaspoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 tablespoons cold water

Steps:

1. In a food processor, blend the flour, sugar and butter until you have pea-sized balls.
2. Add the water and blend until the mixture comes together into one big clump.
3. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least half an hour before using. The dough keeps in the fridge for up to a week. If refrigerating overnight, take the dough out of the fridge an hour before you plan to use it to let it soften up.

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit magazine

Apple Pie

Ingredients:

• 2 recipes of pie crust (see recipe above)
• 2½ pounds of Golden Delicious and/or Granny Smith apples
• ⅔ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons flour
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into very small cubes

Steps:

1. Flour a working surface and roll out one of the pie dough balls to a 13-inch round. Put it into a 9-inch diameter pie dish. Place the dish in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Peel, quarter and core the apples. Cut each quarter into 4 slices.
4. Put the apples in a large bowl and add the ⅔ cup sugar, cinnamon, flour and lemon zest. Toss the mixture so that the dry ingredients coat the apples.
5. Take the pie dish out of the refrigerator and pour the apple mixture into the dish.
6. Roll out the second pie dough ball to form a 10-inch round and lay it on top of the pie. Trim any extra dough off the edges of the pie, crimp the edges and set aside. Sprinkle the top of the pie with the remaining tablespoon sugar and cut two slits (vents) crosswise in the middle of the top crust.
7. Put the pie on a baking sheet to catch any drips and place it in the oven. Lower the temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Bake the pie for 35 minutes, or until the top crust is golden brown and the apples feel soft — you can gently poke through the vents with a fork to test them.

If you have extra dough, you can make a mini apple pie! Roll out the extra dough and put it in a miniature ramekin. Peel, core and dice an apple and place it in the ramekin. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and a pat of butter. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the apples feel soft.

Recipe adapted from How to Bake by Nick Malgieri

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• One 15-ounce can pumpkin
• 1¼ cups light cream
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 recipe pie crust

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Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the pumpkin and cream and mix.
2. Whisk in the sugars, flour and spices.
3. Flour a working surface, then roll out the pie dough to a 13-inch round and transfer it to a 9-inch diameter pie dish. Crimp the edges of the dough.
4. Pour the filling into the pie.
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the filling is set 2 inches in from the edge but still wobbly in the center.

Recipe adapted from kingarthurflour.com

Tip (for both pies): If the edges of the crust start to get dark, cover with a pie shield or aluminum foil. This will keep the crust from burning.