The wonderful world of pie baking

It's that time of year again, pie baking for the holidays! Among my extended family and various friends, I am well-known for my pie baking. It's not something I've sought, but I enjoy it anyway.

See, I've been baking the pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas for about 20 years now, and I've gotten dang good at it (you'd think I would be, after that long). It all started when my mom asked me to help her in the kitchen. She was swamped with turkey preparation and the like. So began my fabulous holiday hobby!

Today was pie baking day, because tomorrow we'll be journeying south to enjoy Turkey Day with my in-laws and their in-laws (don't ask, they just consider us extended family~ hey, it's the South!). I've spent half the day with the oven on and me covered in flour. The results are a made-from-scratch apple pie, cherry-blueberry (I didn't find another cherry pie filling can until after the thing was cooling) pie, and 2 pumpkin pies. They look dang nice (and yummy) if I do say so myself.

My DH (who does 99% or more of the cooking in our home) said to me the other day (he'd been chatting with aforementioned in-laws) that it was requested that I make pies and bring them. Other family members also attending said feast asked what kind of pies I'd be making. OK! Guess I'm a celebrity, or at least a dessert kinda hero. It's so bizarre.

So what is it that makes others drool over the thought of my pies? Sure my crust is light and super flaky, but I've got no secret recipe. It's just Betty Crocker's. Is it the contents? Nothing special about the apples I've used or the cans of pie filling I dumped unceremoniously into the shells. Regular old Comstock brand! And I do different ones every year? Is it the *LOVE* I bake into them? Not consciously, lemme tell ya! Soooooo I think I will just pipe down and enjoy the 2 times a year I can serve others with delicious treats I make myself. :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Apple

Cherryberry

Pumpkin