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Top off your Thanksgiving feast with the perfect seasonal pie
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Top off your Thanksgiving feast with the perfect seasonal pie

No Thanksgiving spread is complete without a healthy dose of dessert, and nothing completes a meal quite like homemade pie.

Whether your guests prefer the traditional flavors of apple or pumpkin pie, each ingredient can be purchased fresh from farmers markets, orchards and pumpkin patches across Virginia through November.

Or, if you prefer a true taste of the South, Virginia-grown pecans can be used to bake a delicious pecan pie. While pecans are only grown in small quantities in Virginia, American farmers are the world’s top producers of the popular nut, which can be found at most grocery stores.

If you’re interested in hunting down locally grown pecans—or apples or pumpkins—to get started on your holiday baking, search for them on Virginia Grown.

Diane’s Pecan Pie

3 eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
½ cup margarine, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup pecans, chopped
8” unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 375°.

In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat eggs, and combine flour and sugar. Add margarine, vanilla, corn syrup, lemon juice and pecans, mixing thoroughly.

Pour mixture into pie shell, and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°, and bake another 45 minutes.

Source: Diane Horsley, Virginia Beach Farm Bureau

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

non-stick cooking spray
4 eggs
15 ounces canned pumpkin
8 ounces evaporated milk
½ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla
⅔ cup sugar

Note: Canned pumpkin may be substituted for fresh pumpkin if desired. To prepare your own pumpkin puree, follow these instructions from Michigan State University Extension.

Preheat oven to 400°. Spray a 9" pie pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and add pumpkin, evaporated milk, salt, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and sugar. Mix until smooth.

Pour into pan, and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°, and bake another 45 minutes. Pie is done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Source: Virginia Cooperative Extension

Apple Pie

2 eggs
1½ cups sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup margarine, melted
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups apples, chopped
10” unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and mix in flour and sugar. Add margarine, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla, and mix until well-combined. Stir in apples and pour into pie shell.

Bake for 30 minutes or until apple filling is bubbling in the center. If desired, serve with vanilla ice cream.

Source: Mrs. R.C. Hill, King William County Farm Bureau, Country Treasures from Virginia Farm Bureau Kitchens

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