Diagnosis: Pie Madness

Between an exam on cardio that almost scrambled my brain and Thanksgiving weekend, I lost my mind.

Luckily, my delirium usually manifests itself in something to eat, and this time that something was pie.

Or, pies rather.

It all started when I got an issue of Better Homes & Gardens that featured a pie cart in a Thanksgiving article. That pie cart had pies on it, of course, but it had pies of varying sizes. Which is to say it had MINIATURE pies.

Commence the madness.

All the pre-made pie dough you can buy usually has trans fat galore, so pie madness got started by making pie crust. I use trans fat free shortening from Whole Foods and follow any pie crust recipe for my crust, but even though my method is the same and the recipes are generally identical, my pie crust is all over the map. There's some recommendation that people have that involves ice and not overworking the dough, and I try every time to follow that recommendation. The pie crust turns out fine... not perfect or award winning, but just fine. And then I get to fill it!

This year I made Paula Deen's Pumpkin Pie, Pioneer Woman's Pecan Pie That'll Make You Cry, an improvised Cherry Berry Pie inspired by blending this recipe with this one (mine used cherries, strawberries, blueberries AND raspberries), and Judy's Run for the Roses pie. I kept ending up with extra filling, so I kept making extra pies, and by the time the 2-day fit was finished, I had 20 pies of various sizes.

The verdict? Fruit pies usually do it for me, especially cherry, but this time, I think the pumpkin may have been the best surprise. Ginger, half and half and cream cheese will do that to a pumpkin pie.

I'm giving a close second place to that Pecan Pie. I usually don't LOVE nut pies, but that nut pie literally left me licking the bowl and on the verge of tears from a blend of happiness and shame. I hate to say this, but the cup of corn syrup I almost got a seizure pouring into the mix may deserve some credit for how delicious that pie was.

The Cherry Berry earned third place, a very delicious third place. There was an issue with soggy crust at the bottom (cook's error, I'm sure), but the flavors were still delicious and tart and everything you want from a fruit pie.

Last place goes to the Run for the Roses pie. It was soooo good and chocolatey and nutty, but the way it settled out when it was baking made it more like a cookie bar than a gooey, irresistible chocolate pie. I was wanting a not-Derby pie like that one Mack and I devoured at Ramsey's with a side of vanilla ice cream one cold night last fall, but this recipe was not it. Maybe if I had heated it up before wolfing it down I would feel differently.

I have no restraint.

The little baby pies were great for the kids. Thank goodness I had two little Run for the Roses pies because Ben and Renee each called dibs on those. Renee was a little sick and had crashed in Leiah's bed after dinner, and when Charles went to wake her up and tell her it was time to go home, the first words out of her mouth were, "But I didn't get to have any pie." So she got to curl up on the couch with her personal pie and finish her Thanksgiving the right way.

The mid-sized pies were great to have to send home with people. Betsy took a cherry berry with her for a road trip that night, and we were able to send Matty G. home with a pumpkin one. I ended up regretting giving away that pumpkin one...