Every Thanksgiving, after stuffing ourselves full of turkey, we all look forward to what comes next: pie. There’s the classics like apple, pumpkin and sweet potato; or you might go for not so typical ones like blueberry or cherry.
Either way, pie is a staple of Thanksgiving every year. The only problem with pies is that they’re always the same. Every single year. Where’s the innovation, people?!
So we chatted with our friends at Whole Foods Market Georgetown to get inspired this year. Time to revamp grandma’s recipe. Thanks to Whole Foods’ wide variety of pie crusts (seriously, they have everything: gluten-free, organic, spelt, ginger snap, you name it), we were making pie art in no time. Here’s what you should do:
1. Lattice
This is the classic pie crust pattern, and it’s actually pretty simple to carry out. You can switch it up slightly and angle the lattice to make more of a diamond shape with the pattern, as I’ve shown here, or go with the classic criss-cross style.
Photo by Jacqs Carroll
Photo by Jacqs Carroll
2. Cut-out shapes
Bring out your favorite cookie cutter (or make your own) and just cut out the shapes. If you’re feeling patriotic, cut out stars on the top crust of an apple pie. (Why not bring the Fourth of July to November?)
If you’re feeling a little edgy, cut out little circles, creating a honeycomb pattern. Here, I used the cap from my vanilla extract bottle to make perfect-sized circles. The possibilities with this one are endless. If you have two pies to make, you could even cut out the shapes from one and place the cutouts on the other.
Photo by Emma Delaney
Photo by Emma Delaney
Photo by Emma Delaney
3. Flower
This one looks very difficult, but it’s probably the easiest. Take the top pie crust and cut out a bunch of petals (oblong shapes, with points on each end). Ideally the petals will span the radius of the pie, but you can have some shorter ones to mix it up. Then place all the petals on the top, and to finish it off, place a circle in the middle. Voila, a giant flower!
Photo by Emma Delaney
Photo by Emma Delaney
Photo by Emma Delaney
4. Swirl
Two-crust pies lend themselves better to fun designs, but it’s easy to dress up a one-crust pie, too. For some simple flair, twist together two strips of pie crust and attach the twist to the outside of the pie. If you’re feeling ambitious, you could braid together three strips of pie crust to adorn the rim even more.
Photo by Emma Delaney
Photo by Emma Delaney
Photo by Emma Delaney
5. Vines
Vines are another deceptively simple decoration. Make the “vines” by cutting strips off the pie crust. Arrange these on top of the filling, taking up as much space as possible. You can add swirls, turns and other designs as you fancy. For a finishing touch, try adding little leaves or tiny cutout flowers.
Photo by Emma Delaney
Photo by Emma Delaney
Photo by Emma Delaney
All of this is as easy as pie—literally. The best part is you can adapt these designs to almost any pie. All of these designs work with homemade pie crust (a lot of work) or the nice, easy, already-rolled pie crusts conveniently found in the freezer section of your local supermarket. A special thanks to Whole Foods, who provided the crusts and other ingredients to make these pies.
Photo by Jacqs Carroll
Thank you to Whole Foods Market for being a proud Spoon sponsor.