If you ask me (and, for the purpose of this entry, I’m assuming you are), there are some unmistakable signs that fall is here and that the holidays are just around the corner:

The crispness in the air that causes you to reach for a sweater once the sun goes down (yes, this happens in Southern California).

The smell of firewood that laces the air with its nostalgic smell.

The dim lights in my living room as the sun starts to go down earlier, making it feel like 6pm when it’s only 4pm (I not-so-secretly love this).

There are also – to me –  some tell tale signs that it’s a relaxing, perfect Sunday.

Pair the crisp, firewood-smelling air with the dim lights, and add the tranquility of having to tip toe around the house as a loved one is taking is nap (that is happening as I speak: Ted is back from Ethiopia, and is oh so tired).

Now add the smell of apple pie baking in the oven, the dim lights above the stove drawing you in, and contributing to the cozy feeling in the house.

This, my friends, feels like my perfect Sunday. Only, it’s not Sunday. In fact, it’s only Wednesday. But after baking 7 cakes and icing another 4 at Charm City Cakes West this morning, there was not much more for me to do, so I came home early. And I baked.

First: pecan pie. Yummy, gooey, delicious pecan pie.

Next, apple pie, a holiday and fall favorite. All I can smell is cinnamon, baked pie crust, and sweet apples.

Last week I tested a pumpkin pie. Yum.

All of this is in anticipation for American Thanksgiving. I missed Canadian Thanksgiving, so I’m pretending it’s early October and getting myself ready to celebrate.

In searching for the perfect recipes for each pie, I realized that perhaps you might be interested in a one stop shop for the 3 pies I made, so what follow are the recipes, tried, tested and true.

PECAN PIE – makes 4 9inch pies

480g eggs

300g brown sugar

240g unsalted butter, barely melted

15ml vanilla extract

6g salt

480ml maple syrup or dark corn syrup (I used maple)

480 light corn syrup or glucose (I used light corn syrup)

840g pecan halves (I ended up using about 1/2 this amount because I prefer more filling than pecans – it’s your preference!)

4 unbaked pie shells (I used pre made pie mix from Betty Crocker – but you can easily make your own with AP flour, water, salt and butter)

1. Whisk together the eggs, brown sugar and melted butter. Add the vanilla and salt. Whisk in the maple syrup and corn syrup until well combined. Mine had little chunks of butter in it – this is what it is supposed to look like! It cooks smooth, don’t worry!

2. Place the pecans on the bottom of each pie shell. I just put enough to cover the bottom of the shell, and arranged the pecans as nicely as I could so they would have a nice pattern when they rose to the top!

3. Pour the filling over the pecans. Bake at 325F for about an hour (I started checking it after 40 minutes, and found I had to go until about 60 minutes, and even a bit longer, until it set). Once it jiggles like jello, you know it’s set and can take it out!

This recipe came from my International Culinary Schools textbook called ON BAKING by Sarah R. Lalensky, Priscilla Martel and Eddy Van Damme. If you want any other recipes from it, let me know!! It has EVERYTHING baking!!

APPLE PIE – makes 1 9 inch pie

3 lbs apples (I used Gala and Granny Smith – Granny Smith stand up the best to baking – I used 6 medium to large sized apples)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup AP flour

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3/4 ground cinnamon

1/4 ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 unbaked pie crusts (for double crust)

Preheat oven to 400F.

1. Peel, cut and core the apples into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Place in a bowl with all the ingredients except the butter.

2. Roll out your pie dough (make sure it’s chilled) and drape over 9 inch pie plate. Place the apples in the plate. Put the pieces of butter all over the apples. Then, either roll out another crust and drape it over the apples, or do a laced design like I did (see the picture). Either way, egg wash the ends so as to stick the top pie crust to the bottom crust. Cut off the excess crust with a knife. They either take a fork and press the dough along the edges, or use your fingers to press the edges down around the pie plate.

3. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

4. Take it out, and carefully brush it with egg wash. Dust with sanding sugar.

5. Bake at 400F for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 375F and bake another 75-85 minutes, until the crust is golden and the juices are bubbling. Tend the pie with foil if the crust is browning too quickly.

6. Let it cool for about 4 hours. DO NOT REFRIGERATE or the crust will get soggy.

This recipe is from Martha Stewart Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook. GREAT book!!!

PUMPKIN PIE – Makes 1 9 inch pie

14oz pumpkin puree

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 large eggs

1 cup evaporated milk

1/2 cup water

1 unbaked pie shell (I actually used a pre made graham cracker crust, which was great!)

Preheat the oven to 450F.

1. Cook the pumpkin puree in a pan over medium heat stirring until it starts to caramelize (about 5 minutes).

2. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar, salt and spices (if you want, you can get the pumpkin pie spice at Trader Joe’s instead of putting the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in).

3. Whisk the eggs, milk and water in another bowl. Then with this into the pumpkin mixture.

4. Pour the filling into the pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 300F and bake another 40 minutes, or until the center jiggles when the pan is slightly shaken. Let cool for at least 20 minutes.

This came from Williams Sonoma’s Holiday Entertaining book. Another great book!

Happy “Sunday” evening, lovelies!

Lauren

xxx