12 Classic Pie Recipes from the Yankee Archives

Here at Yankee, we’ve been making and sharing classic pie recipes since 1935. To help keep you pie-inspired (and to celebrate National Pie Day on January 23!), we’ve put together a list of our favorite sweet and savory pies from the Yankee archives. From traditional apple and blueberry to fluffy eggnog chiffon and savory chicken potpie, there’s something for every appetite. Happy baking!

12 Classic Pie Recipes from the Yankee Archives

Simple Double-Crust Apple Pie

It doesn’t get more classic than this buttery, sweet double-crust apple pie. Use a mix of tart and sweet firm apples for the best filling, then top with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream. Prefer a crumb-topped pie? Try our Apple Pie with Crumb Topping.

Blue-Ribbon Deep-Dish Apple Pie 

This deep-dish apple pie is a stunner, and our foolproof method guarantees you’ll never have a gap between the apples and crust. Add a slice of sharp cheddar cheese for an authentic New England dessert experience.

Apple-Cranberry Slab Pie with Cranberry Drizzle

There’s something endearing about slab pies, which bring to mind bake sales and lunchbox treats. Adding dried cranberries to the apple mixture in this pie balances out the richness of the crust and acts as a natural thickener, too. A pretty pink cranberry drizzle is the finishing touch.

Two Fat Cats’ Wild Maine Blueberry Pie

Two Fat Cats is one of our go-to bakeries in Portland, Maine, and we especially love their blueberry pie, which piles blueberries, lemon, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar into a flaky crust. Co-owner Stacy Begin recommends using frozen berries for two reasons: Freezing sets the berries’ pigment, which makes a prettier filling, and the cold fruit keeps the fat in the crust from melting before it hits the oven.

Blueberry Buttermilk Tart

The everyday elements of this tart are all elevated when married in this beautiful dessert. The filling must be chilled ahead of time, so this tart is perfect for making the morning before a dinner party; simply top with fresh blueberries when you’re ready to serve it.

Creamy Pumpkin Pie with Hazelnut Crust

In our October 1995 issue, food writer Corby Kummer riffed on classic pumpkin pie with multiple recipe variations, including Pecan Crunch, Marble Cheesecake, and our pick here, Creamy Pumpkin Pie with Hazelnut Crust. It’s fully recognizable to traditionalists but adds a pleasing aroma of hazelnuts to keep things interesting. Like a hit of coconut? Try our Coconut-Pumpkin Cream Pie.

Eggnog Chiffon Pie

This pie tastes like a glass of creamy eggnog and is based on a wartime Thanksgiving recipe from November 1942. Yankee’s food editor at the time, Marjorie Mills, wrote that while it departed from the traditional, it’s “a delectable concoction.” Prefer pumpkin? Our Pumpkin Chiffon Pie is equally delicious.

Bourbon Pecan Walnut Pie

Amid the rolling fields and roaming goats of their farm in Cape Neddick, Maine, culinary pros Justin and Danielle Walker created a family feast to remember for our 2017 Thanksgiving food feature. This bourbon-kissed pecan and walnut pie — created by Matt Jauck, the pastry chef at the couple’s Walkers Maine restaurant — is the perfect ending to any holiday meal.

Mr. Ellis’s Tomato Tart

This savory tomato tart has a buttery crust, a righteous mayonnaise-buttermilk-Parmesan custard, and loads of tomatoes. Though it goes without saying, this tart is best made in deep summer, when you can get the best, juiciest tomatoes of all colors and sizes.

Savory Corn, Pancetta, and Leek Tart

In texture, this corn and leek tart falls somewhere between a quiche and a savory pie as it brings classic French flavors — leeks, Gruyère, bacon — to a rich corn custard. It’s a delicious and elegant addition to any brunch or lunch spread.

Joanne Chang’s Chicken Potpie

Joanne Chang, award-winning Boston pastry chef and owner of the bakery-café chain Flour, says this chicken potpie recipe was created by former Flour executive chef Corey Johnson. “He made this as a dinner special one cold blustery December week, and it sold so quickly that it became a staple on our dinner menu,” she says. Starting with good chicken stock, preferably homemade, the pie folds white-meat chicken, peas, carrots, and potatoes into Chang’s signature pastry dough (find the recipe below). You can assemble this pie and freeze it, then bake it right from the freezer; just add 10 to 15 minutes of baking time.

French Canadian Pork Pie (Tourtière)

Meat pies are a staple of Acadian cooking, particularly around the holidays. This pork pie, also known as tourtière, is simple, cozy, and flavorful, and a great way to make use of leftover mashed potatoes. This version was inspired by the 100-year-old family recipe of Raymond (“Moose”) and Penny Despres, whose cooking we featured in January/February 2010. (We streamlined the technique and changed the spices.) Serve hot, warm, or cold — it’s delicious at any temperature.

Aimee Tucker

Aimee Tucker is Yankee’s senior digital editor. A lifelong New Englander and Yankee contributor since 2010, Aimee has written columns devoted to history, foliage, retro food, and architecture, and regularly shares her experiences in New England travel, home, and gardening. Her most memorable Yankee experiences to date include meeting Stephen King, singing along to a James Taylor Fourth of July concert at Tanglewood, and taking to the skies in the Hood blimp for an open-air tour of the Massachusetts coastline.

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