Vaughn Vreeland has six gorgeous new pies for you

Hello, sesame swirled pumpkin pie, butterscotch banana cream pie and pomegranate cardamom apple pie.

View in browser|nytimes.com November 12, 2024 Vaughn Vreeland's coffee and maple chess pie. Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks. Cook what you love By Mia Leimkuhler I was 16 when I had mashed potatoes for the first time. My family never made them, opting instead for a rice stuffing at Thanksgiving — my mom's dish is sort of like this recipe from Genevieve Ko. But that year I was a guest at a friend's house for the holiday. I ate three helpings. After high school, many Thanksgivings were spent on tour with the ballet company I danced with. I don't remember much about the food (generous hotel spreads), but I do remember the people: my fellow dancers crowded into a conference room, exhausted from "Nutcracker" rehearsals and excited to sit down and eat, laughing and picking fake plastic snow from each other's hair. Now that I'm in charge of Thanksgiving dinner, I lean into my favorite flavors and assemble a feast that incorporates seasonal produce, my Japanese heritage and my grandma's birthplace of Hilo, Hawaii. Last year I made furikake party mix, shoyu chicken, mac salad, kale salad with dried cranberries and sweet onion dressing, kimchi and takuan, and a Zojirushi brimming with white rice, with kabocha pumpkin pie and pandan Basque cheesecake for dessert. All of which is to say: There are no rules on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, if you're lucky, is an opportunity to cook the things you like just the way you like them, and to eat too much and feel gloriously full. It's for getting all your loved ones together in one room, for better or worse. Or, if a big gathering isn't in the cards, it's a Thursday evening to make yourself the dinner of your dreams to eat in perfect peace and quiet and comfort. Thanksgiving is for cooking what you love. And, friends, I really love pie. Left: Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks, Adam Centrella/The New York Times Meet Your New Thanksgiving Pies Watch video → Vaughn Vreeland — he of Cookie Week and salted margarita bars fame — has six (!) new pies for us to consider this holiday season, and I'm honestly hard-pressed to choose. Do I want a butterscotch banana cream pie, a cranberry citrus meringue pie or a sesame swirled pumpkin pie? (Yes.) This coconut caramel tart is essentially a giant Girl Scout cookie, and this pomegranate cardamom apple pie looks like a fantastic showcase for those Honeycrisp apples I can't stop buying. And Vaughn writes that this coffee and maple chess pie is like "enjoying maple-soaked pancakes with a cup of coffee," which is perfect, since the only thing better than pie for dessert is pie for breakfast. Featured Recipe Coffee and Maple Chess Pie View Recipe → There are many more pies to consider in our Thanksgiving pie collection. You'll find New York Times Cooking classics in there — Melissa Clark's brandied pumpkin and chocolate pecan pies, David Tanis's neon cranberry curd tart, Yossy Arefi's gasp-worthy rose apple tart — as well as new recipes for old favorites. I love the sound of this junkberry pie, a recipe from Royers Round Top Cafe in Round Top, Texas, adapted by Melissa Knific. The "junkberry" element is a mix of apples, frozen peaches and berries cooked into a delicious crimson filling; I think I'll make mine with frozen mango instead of peaches as suggested by Katie, a reader. Our Best Thanksgiving Pies View Collection → Our friends at Wirecutter are also here for the pie party with helpful pie-making gear recommendations, including for practical (but pretty) pie plates and an old-fashioned apple peeler that makes pie prep fun. Which reminds me: Here's Cybelle Tondu's recipe for Dutch apple pie, which can be frozen, assembled and unbaked, for up to three months. And for all my Thanksgiving planners (daydreamers) out there, here's our ultimate guide to Thanksgiving, full of advice, recipes, wisdom and playlist picks. Try out the nifty sliders that help you find the perfect dessert for your preferred type and difficulty level. Slide them over to "not pie" and "easy," and you get Tanya Sichynsky's aforementioned Basque cheesecake, Eric Kim's no-bake caramel apple pudding and Samantha Seneviratne's pumpkin blondies with chocolate and pecans. Choose, plan, cook and eat what you love. IN THIS NEWSLETTER Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks. Butterscotch Banana Cream Pie By Vaughn Vreeland 1 hours 35 minutes, plus 5 hours' cooling and chilling Makes 8 servings Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks. Coconut Caramel Tart By Vaughn Vreeland 2 hours 15 minutes, plus 1 1/2 hours' cooling Makes 8 servings Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks. Pomegranate Cardamom Apple Pie By Vaughn Vreeland 2 hours 40 minutes, plus 4 hours' cooling Makes 8 servings Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks. Cranberry Citrus Meringue Pie By Vaughn Vreeland 3 hours, plus 3 hours' chilling and cooling Makes 8 servings Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Brandied Pumpkin Pie By Melissa Clark About 2 hours, plus 1 1/2 hours' chilling Makes 8 servings Evan Sung for The New York Times Cranberry Curd Tart By David Tanis 1 1/2 hours Makes 8 to 10 servings Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Junkberry Pie Recipe from Royers Round Top Cafe Adapted by Melissa Knific 5 1/2 hours Makes 1 (9-inch) pie Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Yossy Arefi. Dutch Apple Pie By Cybelle Tondu 9 1/2 hours Makes 8 servings Sign up for Dinner Tonight One quick and easy recipe in your inbox each night to answer that eternal question: What's for dinner? Get it in your inbox Sign up for The Veggie newsletter Tanya Sichynsky shares the most delicious vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties. Get it in your inbox Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Cooking from The New York Times. To stop receiving Cooking, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. 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