On the seventh day of our 12 Days of Christmas Desserts, 
we are featuring Holiday Pies!

Peppermint French Silk Pie from Rocket Baby Bakery

Sweeten your holidays with a holiday pie – chocolate, pecan, apple, pumpkin, eggnog, cranberry - the flavors are endless!

While pie is considered a year-round treat, pie will be a festive change of pace on the holiday dessert table.

Early pie recipes were a lot different from what we have today, as they rarely called for sugar, because sugar was too expensive and rarely available to the masses at the time. In the New World, pies were flourishing. In addition to pies being a delicious treat, settlers also had practical reasons for making them.

 

Grasshopper Pie from Manderfield's Home Bakery

Pies used less flour than bread and could be easily and cheaply baked. They also provided a sustainable food source that could be rationed out to hungry immigrants. Pie continued to sustain early settlers as they expanded to the west. Once pioneers found land to claim as their own, their pies began to reflect the regional differences of the areas where they settled.

Mistletoe Pie from Elsie Mae's Canning and Pies

Pumpkin pies and pies sweetened with maple syrup were enjoyed in northern states. “Chess pie” was popular in the South—a silky pie with a rich filling of sugar, buttermilk, and egg. Settlers in Florida, utilizing the local citrus, turned native limes into key lime pie. The Midwest, famous for its dairy farms, favored cheese and cream pies. But apple was the most plentiful fruit of all, and in almost every part of the country, (especially the Midwest and the Northeast), apple were baked into their pies.

Pfeffernusse pie from Hatched

However, during the mid-1800’s, the pie craze in America cooled off. Early concerns for nutrition and women joining the work force contributed to the decline. But pies never disappeared completely, and after World War II they rebounded. Modern food advances and technology made pie making easier with the advent of ready-made crusts and box mixes.

Peppermint French Silk Pie from Periwinkle's Bakery on Broadway

So, mix up your pie routine this holiday season and add something rich and luscious, creamy or sweet, and trust us, your friends and family will thank you for it! Remember – holiday pies are packed with Santa-approved flavors like cherry, chocolate, and even eggnog.

Find a festive Holiday Pie at one of these WBA member bakeries:

Elsie Mae's Canning and Pies

Hatched

Hill Top Bakery

Linda's Bakery

Manderfield's Home Bakery

Neat-O's Bake Shoppe

O&H Danish Bakery

Periwinkle's Bakery on Broadway

Rocket Baby Bakery

To find a WBA Member bakery near you, click here.

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Day 6 - Fruitcake

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Day 8 - Gingerbread