by SOPHIE BIRD

What is more classic in autumn than pie? Warm and fresh out of the oven or with a big dollop of whipped cream, pies are one of the quintessential food groups of the season. And as we all look forward to gathering with friends and family whenever it’s safe to do so this autumn, a pie makes the perfect treat to bring along and share.

Here, we’ve included two recipes from Chef David Davenport at the Bloomington Cooking School. These recipes first appeared in Bloom’s popular Recipe of the Week series, which was featured on our website, magbloom.com, for many years. We hope you enjoy!

Pumpkin pie. Courtesy photo

Pumpkin Pie

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust
  • 1 15-ounce can pumpkin
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Pinch of cloves

INSTRUCTIONS

Bake the day before you plan to serve.

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F with the rack in the center of the oven.
  2. Place the crust in a pie tin (if it didn’t come in one) and place the tin on a cookie sheet to prevent spills.
  3. Whisk pumpkin, cream, eggs, and brown sugar together.
  4. Mix the spices and salt. Then whisk the mixture into the batter.
  5. Pour batter into the pie crust and dust the top of the batter with cinnamon.
  6. Bake for 30–40 minutes, rotating the pie 180 degrees at 20 minutes.
  7. Start checking the pie at 30 minutes by inserting a knife into the middle of the pie. When it is finished, the knife will come out clean.
  8. Let the pie cool and place in the refrigerator overnight.
Dutch Apple and Pear pie. Courtesy photo

Dutch Apple and Pear Pie

TOPPING / INGREDIENTS

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 sticks salted butter
  • 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Combine flour and sugar.
  2. Slice the butter into small pieces and cut it into the flour mixture. Then fold in walnuts.

FILLING / INGREDIENTS

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup corn starch
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Combine flour and sugar.
  2. Slice the butter into small pieces and cut it into the flour mixture. Then fold in walnuts.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 3 pears peeled, cored, and sliced
  • 3 Honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 unbaked pie shell
  • Rum, to taste
  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Combine dry ingredients.
  3. Combine apples, pears, lemon juice, and rum. Then mix with the dry ingredients.
  4. Place in pie shell and cover with topping. (Any leftover topping can be frozen and used in the future.)
  5. Place pie tin on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes. The pie is done when a knife easily penetrates an apply slice and the topping is bubbling.