12 decadent Pies to delight your Thanksgiving guests

I promised you a pie round-up this weekend and I realize it's Monday morning and I'm just getting around to it, but I have a good excuse.   I finally figured out (with the help of my amazing husband!) how to make a hover "Pin it" button on all of our images!  Just hover you mouse on any picture and a little "pin it" button will pop up so you can pin any picture you desire...simple and awesome!!

I've gone through all my pie archives and although I love ALL of our pie recipes on here, I've narrowed it down to my top 12 decadent pies.  Any of these would be welcome in my belly at pretty much any moment in time.  It doesn't have to be Thanksgiving to enjoy a slice of pie in my book.

And with that here's our top "12 decadent Pies to delight your Thanksgiving guests".  Just click the title of each pie to take you to the recipe!

(Tomorrow we will post our favorite must-have dinner items for Thanksgiving so stay tuned for that!)

My favorite Apple Pie, I finally mastered one for my apple pie lover husband!  Not your boring old apple pie, it is divine!!
Candy Apple Pie

This pie combines the best brownie topped with cherries...impressive & delicious!

Black Forest Pie

A delightful slice of tropical heaven in your mouth!  The pineapple and macadamia nuts are perfect in this creamy delicious pie!

Pineapple Cream Pie with Macadamia Nuts

The easiest throw together pie that everyone will love!  Takes 10 minutes & tastes like a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie...a pleaser for sure!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pie

I love all pie, but if I had to choose one to eat for the rest of my life, I think it would be this one!  I'm a sucker for caramel & pecans.  Be still my heart!!!

Turtle Pie

The blackberries paired with the lemon zest is divine in this pie, and the lattice top makes it look so pretty!  So good served warm with some vanilla ice cream!

Blackberry Pie

This lemon strata pie has a layer of lemon cheesecake on the bottom, lemon curd layer and then a whole lot of fresh whipped cream.  Pie heaven right here!

Lemon Strata Pie

The combination seems a little weird, but let me tell you, IT WORKS!!  The banana chiffon layer is to die for and the tartness of the blueberries add just the right touch.  You'll love it!

Blueberry Banana Chiffon Pie

So rich & wonderful.  Top it with some vanilla ice cream and drizzle with chocolate fudge and a few more pecans.  Wow!

Pecan Brownie Pie

Not the best picture, but a wonderful pie!  It's like a coconut cream pie on steroids!  Amazing doesn't even come close to how good this is.

Almond Joy Pie

This is the one pie that my kids make sure we have on the "We're Thankful for Pie Night" table, and it's usually the first pie gone. A classic!

Banana Custard Pie

I'm not a big fan of the classic pumpkin pie, but put this pumpkin chiffon pie with a cream cheese layer in front of my and I could eat it until I was sick! 

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with lots of pie to fill your bellies!:)

Candy Apple Pie

It has been such a fun week of pies!  Look for a re-cap of some of my favorite pies this weekend, PLUS next week we'll bring you our Thanksgiving must-haves!  I love this time of year!!

Everyone needs a fabulous Apple Pie for Thanksgiving.  It's my husbands favorite kind of pie, so I've been trying to perfect an apple pie for him and have never really gotten it down...until now!  I'm so excited for him to try it! I texted him this morning after I took a bite (yes, I've eaten pie for breakfast every morning this week!:)) to let him know I've finally made the perfect apple pie!  Yay!

I love the candy topping of the apple pie.  It is the perfect combination to go with the tartness of the apples!  It is beautiful!  It's radiant!  It's Glorious!!!  I can't enough about this pie...delicious!!!

Candy Apple Pie

PRINT RECIPE

2 9" pie crusts (bottom & top)

6 cups peeled, thinly cut apples (Granny smith or any other tart apple)

2 tablespoons lime juice

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

Topping:

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Toss apples with lime juice in a large bowl.  Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt together in a separate bowl.  Combine the apples with the sugar mixture until apples are coated.

Place one pie crust in the bottom of a 9" pie plate.  Pour apples into crust.  Cover apples with 2nd pie crust and flute the edges high.  Cut a few steam vents into the top of the crust.  Bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until crust is browned.

For the topping, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium high heat.  Add brown sugar and whipping cream and stir constantly until mixture boils.  Remove from the heat and stir in the pecans.  Pour over the top crust of the apple pie and return to the oven for 4 minutes or until candy topping bubbles.

Best served warm with ice cream or whipped cream!  YUMMY!!!

Turtle Pie

I know I keep saying how much I love every pie we've sharing this week,(Pineapple Cream Pie with Macadamia Nuts, Black Forest Pie, and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pie) and it's true, but I really, really, REALLY LOVE this pie! 

 My all-time favorite candy is Turtles, I love caramel & pecans together, and then you throw in some chocolate...my goodness, you've got me!!  So when I saw this pie I knew I needed to make it for pie week!  It is so good I have to confess I had 2 bites for breakfast this morning....oops!:)  But I call it a victory because I didn't eat the entire pie!

Turtle Pie

PRINT RECIPE

1 pie crust, baked according to package directions

1 bag (11 oz.) caramels

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 bag (16 oz.) pecan halves

1/2 cup chocolate chips

2 tablespoons butter

In a medium sized sauce pan combine caramels and whipping cream.  Melt caramels over medium heat, stirring constantly so cream doesn't scorch.  Remove from heat and stir in pecan halves.  Pour into baked pie crust.

Melt chocolate and butter in microwave safe bowl at 30 second intervals, stirring in between until smooth.  Drizzle over pecans and place in fridge until set, about 1 hour.  Serve!

Recipe idea from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Black Forest Pie

And now we're on to pie #2 in our festivities!:)  If you missed pie #1 check it out...Pineapple Cream Pie with Macadamia Nuts!!  Glorious!  

I'm just getting more and more excited for Thanksgiving with every pie!  By the end of this week I'm not going to be able to control my excitement.  I just love Thanksgiving.  Creamy Mashed Potatoes, time spent with family, "We're Thankful for Pie Night", shopping, leftover turkey sandwiches, decorating for Christmas, football, board/card games, and of course an afternoon nap.  

This pie is amazing!  The chocolate/almond filling is to die for and the toppings are just the right amount of tangy and sweet to make this one of my favorite pies!    

Black Forest Pie

PRINT RECIPE

1- 9 inch pie shell, unbaked

Filling:

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

6 tablespoons cocoa

2/3 cup ground slivered almonds

2 tablespoons flour

3 eggs, separated

2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup sugar

Topping:

1/3 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1-1 1/2 cups canned cherry pie filling

Drizzle:

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 teaspoons shortening

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan.  Once butter is melted add the sugar and cocoa and stir until well combined.  Remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile grind almonds in blender or food processor.  I use slivered because they don't have any skins on them, that's what you want...no skins.  Add the ground almonds and flour to the chocolate mixture and mix well.  Add egg yolks one at a time, stirring well in between each addition.  Stir in water. Set aside.

Beat egg whites until foamy, then slowly add sugar while beaters are still going and beat until soft peaks form.  Fold egg whites into chocolate mixture until just mixed.  Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes.

Make the topping by combining the sour cream, sugar and vanilla in a small bowl.  After pie has cooled for 5 minutes pour over warm pie and spread evenly.  Then put cherries over and spread around.  Return to the oven for 5 more minutes.

Melt the chocolate chips and shortening in the microwave until smooth.  Drizzle over the pie and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

My sweet little Rhett is home sick today, thus I'm home with him.  He's so content just laying on the couch watching some cartoons.  Every once in a while he'll ask me to bring him a drink or to change the channel for him...so sweet!  So...while he's watching TV I've been able to get some much needed spring cleaning done!  Windows washed, floors mopped, decluttering the top of the piano, and getting this blog post to you all!

This is one of my absolute all-time favorite desserts EVER!  The ooey gooey fudgey sauce and the moist chocolate cake is perfect paired with some moose tracks ice cream (or vanilla or whatever you like).  Just make sure to serve the cake warm...yummy!

(Side note...my little one just came and asked me if he could unload the dishwasher for me...then he adds "for a buck".  Apparently he saw something on TV that is calling his name!:)  So now I've got my 6 year old doing dishes while he's home sick...he must be feeling better!)

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

PRINT RECIPE

1 cup sugar,divided

1/2 cup cocoa powder, divided

1 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk (I used skim, but any will work)

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8" square baking pan with cooking spray.  Set aside.

Mix 1/2 cup of the sugar with 1/4 cup of the cocoa in a small bowl and set aside.  Mix the flour with the remaining sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Set aside.  Now whisk together milk, butter, egg yolk and vanilla in yet another bowl (I know there's a lot of bowls involved in this one...but the clean up is easy and it's so worth it!!!) until smooth.  Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined.  Don't over mix, just get all the ingredients combines and you're good.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour batter into greased pan and spread out evenly using the back of a spatula.  Sprinkle the sugar/cocoa mixture evenly over the batter.  Heat your water to boiling and then slowly pour over the sugar/cocoa mixture.  Do not stir the water!

Bake for 22-24 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Serve warm with your choice of ice cream.

Recipe source: Cook's Country

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

This was the easiest birthday cake I think I've ever made.  Really...only 5 ingredients!  Couldn't get much easier than that!  And everyone in my Oreo lovin' family raved about it!

AND, if you or your family or friends have a place in your heart for Oreos like we do, you can check out some of our other great Oreo recipes.  Our most popular Oreo recipe is our Death by Oreo Cupcakes.  OH BOY!  The name says it all!  But not to be outdone is the very wonderful Oreo Cake.  This is a perfect traditional birthday cake (that incidentally the same kid #3 requested for a past birthday...I think he's our biggest Oreo fan!)  Or...you can try your hand at our Homemade Oreos!  They're delicious!!

Okay...my mouth is now watering!

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

PRINT RECIPE

1 package oreos

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 package (1.75 quarts) cookies & cream ice cream, softened

1 jar (small) hot fudge ice cream topping

1 container (8 oz.) cool whip

Crush all oreos except 5 or 6 until fine.  I like to use my blender, but a food processor works great too.  Reserve 1 cup of oreo crumbs.  Pour the butter over the top of the remaining crumbs and mix until combined with a fork.  Press into the bottom of a 9 x 13 cake pan.

Warm the hot fudge in the microwave until it is pourable.  Pour over the oreo crust and spread until completely covered.  (Leave a little hot fudge if desired to use on the top of the cake.)  Place in the freezer for about 20 minutes.

Next spread the softened ice cream over the hot fudge.  I ended up using my hands...it was just so much easier to squish into the corners and get an even coverage.

Mix the reserved oreo crumbs with the whipped topping and spread over the top of the ice cream.  Place in the freezer for at least an hour.

When ready to serve drizzle with leftover hot fudge sauce and coarsley chopped leftover oreos.

Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle

Strawberries...mmmmmm!!

It's getting to be strawberry season soon.  So along with strawberry freezer jam, fresh strawberry sorbet and strawberry peach jam, you've got to make this as well!  

I love trifles.  This one is fabulous with the fresh strawberries, cream cheese whipped cream, chocolate shavings and pound cake...wow...amazingly delicious!

And I love how cute they look.  I also love to make individual trifles.  You could use mini trifle bowls (you can find them at walmart for a couple bucks) or plastic cups, glass canning jars, etc. and they turn out so cute.

So, when you grab a bunch of strawberries this season to stock up on your jam, make sure you make this at least once...your family will thank you!

Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle

PRINT RECIPE

2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced

1 cup sugar, divided

2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons orange juice

3 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped

1 loaf (about 12-14 oz.) pound cake, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, grated

extra strawberries & chocolate for garnish

In a large bowl toss the strawberries with 1/2 cup of sugar, set aside.

In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, orange juice and remaining sugar until smooth.  Fold in the whipped cream; set aside.

Drain the strawberries, reserving juice, set the berries aside.  Gently toss cake cubes with reserved juice.

Place half of the cake cubes into the bottom of your trifle bowl.  Top with 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture, half of the strawberries and half of the grated chocolate.  Repeat layers.  Top with reamining cream cheese mixture.  Garnish with strawberries and grated chocolate.  Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.  (I think it's even better the next day!)

Yield: 14-16 servings

Fresh Strawberry Sorbet

We had a fun day shopping the other day.  The boys were busy playing at a friends house, so Tony and I took Kyla shopping.  Ok, actually, I took Kyla shopping & we dropped Tony off at Sport's Authority & Office Max while we were doing our business!:)

I was exhausted when we got home & decided to lay down on the couch.  My wonderful hubby went to the store to get ingredients so Kyla could make Pesto Chicken for dinner.  Kyla started the chicken & Tony started the rice.  It was so nice to not have to worry about it...I got spoiled!

But here's the kicker...when the rice was supposed to be ready, it wasn't.  It was still soupy & chewy.  The chicken was covered in tin-foil to help keep it warm while we were waiting on the rice.  I turned the rice cooker back on & kept checking it.  About 40 minutes later....it was still the same, so I started it over. 

20 minutes later it was ready & perfect.  (Have no clue what happened to the first batch!)  So we sat down to eat, it was about 8:30 by that time.  When I took the tin-foil off the chicken I noticed that they were still full chicken breasts.  Kyla had "skipped" the part in the recipe that says to cut chicken breasts into 2 or 3 pieces.  I was worried that the chicken wasn't fully cooked and so cut into the biggest one...and I was right.  So....back in the oven the chicken went.

We ended up having a very wonderful dinner at 9:30 that night!

I was going to make this wonderful sorbet to go with the dinner, but that just didn't happen, so we ended up making it the next day instead.  IT WAS PERFECT for the hot day that we had, so everything turned out great!

Fresh Strawberry Sorbet

PRINT RECIPE

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

1/2 cup light corn syrup

2 quarts (8 cups) fresh strawberries

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup lime juice

Combine the water and sugar and heat until boiling over medium heat, stirring frequently.  Let simmer for 5 minutes, do not stir.  Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl & place in the fridge to chill.

Place strawberries and citrus into a blender & blend until smooth.  Pour into a large bowl & add the corn syrup & sugar water syrup.  Mix until combined and then place in the fridge for about an hour to chill.

Place in ice cream maker and follow your directions for freezing.  I think they're all about the same.  For mine we just needed to place the strawberry sorbet into the canister.  Place ice and rock salt around the sides and turn on.  Ours took about 1 1/2 hours to soft serve (which is about as good as you're going to get it in the ice cream freezer).  If you like it set up a little more place in the freezer for a couple of hours to harder more.

We served it soft serve and then placed the leftovers in the freezer for later.  We liked it both ways!

Chocolate Dipped Peeps

When I think about my favorite "Peeps", there are plenty of people who come to mind.  I could wipe out quite a large amount of cash trying to make these for all my favorite "Peeps" out there, so I'm settling on making them for my hubby and kiddo's for Easter. 

Not only are these the cutest peeps out there, but they are WAY better when dipped in chocolate.  But really...what isn't?:)

Make some of these for your favorite "Peeps" the Easter season!

Chocolate Dipped Peeps

Idea from Your Home Based Mom

PRINT RECIPE

Peeps (whatever colors and amount you want)

Chocolate flavored Almond Bark

Sprinkles of your choice

 Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.

Melt almond bark according to package directions.

 Hold peep by the head and dip body into chocolate covering all of the tail and part of the body.  Let excess chocolate drip back into your bowl.

To apply the sprinkles, hold peep over a bowl and apply sprinkles.  This saves you a mess to clean up later!  Trust me...we learned first hand.

Place decorated peep on wax paper to harden.

I put some chocoalte dipped and some that were not dipped back into their original packaging and then wrapped them in celophane and tied a bow with this saying I made and printed out.

This would be a great gift for family, friends, neighbors, teachers, church leaders, etc. 

You can also change the saying to "To one of MY favorite peeps".  This one was from both of my boys to one of their teachers, thus the "our". :)

HAPPY EASTER!

Blackberry Ginger Crisp

There's something about ginger that I love.  The smell is intoxicating to me.  Especially freshly grated ginger.  I love to just sniff it all through the cooking process whenever I get the chance to use it (which isn't very often).  But this recipe is one of those times!

Some would think that blackberries and ginger don't go together.  I'm here to say THEY'RE WRONG!!  They compliment each other so wonderfully I don't think I'll ever have another blackberry dessert without adding some ginger of some sort.

So keep your eyes peeled for blackberries on sale & make this dessert! (and please don't forget the ice cream...and serve it warm...and savor every bite...got it??)

Blackberry Ginger Crisp

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4 cups fresh blackberries

4 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoon cornstarch

3 teaspoons water

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 cup quick-cooking oats

1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

1/2 cup cold butter

Vanilla Ice Cream

Wash blackberries and drain any excess water off of them.  Pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish. 

In a small bowl combine the sugar, cornstarch, water and lemon juice and stir until smooth.  Pour mixture over the berries.

Combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and ginger in a large bowl.  Cut in the cold butter using a pastry blender until crumbly.  Sprinkle over the berries.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until filling is bubbly.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. (Vanilla Bean is the best in my opinion!:))