Eyes on the Holiday Pies

Thanksgiving is all about the pie! Here, a few local chefs whip up tasty holiday treats to inspire your dessert table this year

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Cranberry Gingersnap pie by Charles Rosselli, Executive Pastry Chef, Sailfish Point Country Club in Stuart. Photo by Alissa Dragun
Cranberry Gingersnap pie by Charles Rosselli. Photo by Alissa Dragun

Cranberry Gingersnap

Charles Rosselli
Charles Rosselli. Photo by Alissa Dragun

Charles Rosselli, Executive Pastry Chef, Sailfish Point Country Club in Stuart

Made with: cranberries, gingersnaps, walnuts, Italian meringue, cocoa butter, salt, sugar, eggs, butter, thyme

Says Charles: “If you love cranberries with your Thanksgiving turkey, then this pie is for you!

The shell is made with ground homemade ginger-snap cookies, toasted walnuts, salt, and cocoa butter. For the filling, I boil fresh cranberries with a little sugar until they pop, then put the mixture through a fine strainer. The result is a cranberry juice that is full of flavor and pectin, a natural thickener. With this cranberry juice, I make a curd, which is fruit juice cooked with sugar, eggs, and butter. I top the pie with dollops of thyme-scented Italian meringue and garnish with chocolate lace cranberry leaves and  sprigs of fresh thyme.”

*Also pictured: almond plum tart and whole grain pumpkin bread

Spiced Pumpkin Meringue pie by Rebecca Traverse. Photo by Alissa Dragun
Spiced Pumpkin Meringue pie by Rebecca Traverse. Photo by Alissa Dragun

Spiced Pumpkin Meringue

Rebecca Traverse, Pastry Chef, Coolinary in Palm Beach Gardens. Photo by Alissa Dragun
Rebecca Traverse. Photo by Alissa Dragun

Rebecca Traverse, Pastry Chef, Coolinary in Palm Beach Gardens

Made with: pumpkin, Chinese five spice, ginger, molasses, graham crackers, sour cream, meringue

Says Rebecca: “Holiday baking will always be dear to my heart, and pumpkin pie is one of the first recipes my mother taught me. This pie consists of a ginger molasses graham cracker crust with a creamy and tangy pumpkin filling. I like to add Chinese five spice to give a rich, warm flavor to the pie filling, and sour cream for acidity. The torched meringue creates a visually dramatic garnish, and the meringue has a soft, subtly sweet flavor that complements and rounds out the pie.”

Pistachio Raspberry Delight pie by Jenniffer Woo
Pistachio Raspberry Delight pie by Jenniffer Woo. Photo by Alissa Dragun

Pistachio Raspberry Delight

Jenniffer Woo. Photo by Alissa Dragun
Jenniffer Woo. Photo by Alissa Dragun

Jenniffer Woo, Executive Pastry Chef, Charlie & Joe’s at Love Street in Jupiter

Made with: fresh raspberries, chopped pistachios, raspberry jam, pistachio cream,
fresh vanilla bean, flour, sugar, butter

Says Jenniffer: “A modern take on a traditional holiday pie, this is a great dessert to serve at Thanksgiving dinner—it tastes as good as it looks! The combination of tart raspberries, nutty pistachios, and sweet vanilla combine to create an explosion of flavors with different textures of crunchy sablé, chewy pistachio cake, creamy pistachio pastry cream, and raspberry jam. To garnish, I used fresh micro mint, edible flowers, and cookies in the shape of leaves to mimic autumn.”

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