Trying Ina Garten Pie Recipes to Find Best One: Pumpkin, Apple, Pecan

I’ve adopted a couple of Garten pie recipes earlier than, and I keep in mind liking her easy-to-make crust. That reminiscence held true.

I wanted to make 4 crusts: a backside and high for the apple pie, and one crust every for the pumpkin and pecan pies. It solely took me between 10 and quarter-hour.

Garten makes use of a food processor for her “excellent pie crust,” which makes it straightforward to prep. I divided the dough into two batches, and I may already inform from the appear and feel that the crusts could be buttery and scrumptious.

With all the dough resting within the fridge, I used to be prepared to begin tackling the person pies.

Garten’s maple pecan pie has simply 10 components, excluding the crust.

I used to be excited to style the mix of maple syrup and bourbon with the pecans. And I preferred that she included some contemporary orange zest to chop by the richer components, like corn syrup and honey.

To make the pie, all I needed to do was whisk the filling components — minus the pecans — collectively.

Then I merely added the nuts and gave it a closing stir earlier than pouring the filling into the ready pie crust.

To make sure I acquired an evenly cooked crust, I turned the pie midway by the bake.

The method was straightforward, and I beloved the attractive smells coming from the oven whereas it was baking.

The flavors of the pecan pie jogged my memory of an old-fashioned cocktail, due to the bourbon and orange.

However the pecans ended up somewhat chewier than I might’ve preferred. If I make this pie once more, I might in all probability toast the nuts first for a greater texture.

Regardless of letting the pecan pie absolutely cool earlier than slicing into it, the items fell aside on me.

Subsequent time, I believe I might let it chill within the fridge earlier than serving so the filling can agency up extra.

I moved on to creating Garten’s pumpkin pie.

I used to be intrigued by a few of the components within the filling, like orange zest and rum, however I used to be very excited to make the accompanying rum whipped cream.

It gave the impression of a scrumptious and indulgent addition to the do-it-yourself pie, with components like cream, crème fraîche, and rum.

I rolled out my crust and stuffed a pie tin.

In contrast to the opposite two recipes, this one required me to blind-bake the crust earlier than including the filling. I discovered some dried lentils and rice to make use of as pie weights to make sure it did not puff up an excessive amount of.

The primary bake helped prep the crust for the liquid-y filling, nevertheless it additionally meant it acquired somewhat darker by the top than I might hoped.

The pumpkin filling was straightforward to make simply by whisking all of the components collectively in a big bowl.

However I had far more than I wanted for the pie crust, so I put it apart to search out one other use for it. My associate had a enjoyable concept to make pumpkin-pie custards in ramekins.

Regardless of the marginally overdone crust, the pumpkin pie turned out nice by way of each style and texture.

The filling was candy however not too candy, and the little trace of orange helped steadiness the richness of the custard filling.

The crust was buttery however nonetheless robust sufficient to help the burden of the pumpkin filling. Every slice got here out of the tin with out crumbling.

The rum whipped cream was a novel companion to the pumpkin pie. I preferred it a lot better than common whipped cream.

I saved essentially the most intimidating pie for final.

I’ve made apple pies many instances earlier than, however I used to be nonetheless frightened about whether or not the highest crust would end up proper and if the filling would soften sufficient by the point the crust was finished baking.

Garten’s recipe known as for Granny Smith apples, which are typically extra bitter and tart than candy. The filling additionally known as for each lemon and orange juices and zest, plus loads of spices.

I used to be frightened the pie may not be candy sufficient.

The crust was really easy to roll out and switch to the tin, due to the butter and vegetable shortening within the dough. It made straightforward work of assembling the pie.

The filling was additionally straightforward to make after I completed peeling and chopping what felt like 100 apples.

I let the pie bake for about an hour. Afterward, the highest crust was a golden coloration, and it seemed and smelled unbelievable.

Garten’s apple pie was fairly good, however the crust was by far the perfect half.

The additional sugar sprinkling on high gave it a candy taste and crunchy texture. It was so good I may eat it by itself.

The filling had just a bit bit an excessive amount of citrus for me.

I used to be glad the apples softened nicely with out changing into mushy, however I believe I might precook them somewhat bit extra subsequent time. That may hopefully assist focus the apple taste and hold the filling from shrinking so far-off from the highest crust.

I additionally would possibly sub a few of the tart apples for a sweeter selection, as the mix of the Granny Smiths and citrus made for a reasonably tart pie.

Garten’s pies all turned out fairly good, and so they had been straightforward sufficient to make in sooner or later with out breaking a sweat.

I like that she provides contemporary flavors to every one in all these pies. The rum whipped cream that went with the pumpkin pie was additionally scrumptious, and I believe it might style nice with the pecan pie, too.

Nonetheless, my favourite a part of all three recipes, by far, was the pie crust.

It was tremendous fast and simple to make, and it labored nicely with all of the completely different fillings. I will be utilizing this crust for all my pies shifting ahead.

This story was initially revealed on November 19, 2023, and most just lately up to date on September 16, 2025.