I tried making Ina Garten's pumpkin, apple, and pecan pies. I'll never use another crust recipe again.

Paige BennettJan 14, 2024, 16:23 IST

I made pumpkin, apple, and pecan pies with recipes from celebrity chef Ina Garten. Paige Bennett

I followed Ina Garten's recipes for pumpkin, apple, and pecan pie to see which I liked best.
The pecan pie tasted like a cocktail, and the apple pie was shockingly simple to throw together.

With the holidays just around the corner, there's no better time to brush up on my baking skills, especially when it comes to making pies.

I cook and bake a lot, but I'm not a huge fan of making pies. I sometimes struggle with making a buttery, flaky crust, and my fillings don't always have the right texture.

I decided to sharpen my skills using three approachable and delicious-sounding recipes from Ina Garten.

Here's how my day of baking went as I attempted to make Garten's pecan, pumpkin, and apple pies.

Before I could get started making each pie, I had to prep the crust.

I made Ina Garten's pie dough in my food processor. Paige Bennett

I started with the easiest recipe, the maple pecan pie.

The ingredients for the pecan pie seemed straightforward.Paige Bennett

The filling smelled incredible while it was baking.

I whisked the pecan-pie filling together quickly.Paige Bennett

I put the pie in the oven for just under an hour.

The pecan pie took a while to bake, but it smelled delicious.Paige Bennett

I was pretty impressed with my first pie.

Ina Garten's pecan pie tasted a little like an old-fashioned.Paige Bennett

It tasted good, but I should’ve let it firm up in the fridge before serving.

The pie slices fell apart when I cut them. Paige Bennett

Garten’s pumpkin-pie recipe included a homemade rum whipped cream.

I was excited to try the pie and the whipped cream from Ina Garten's recipe.Paige Bennett

I needed to bake this pie crust twice.

I needed to blind-bake the crust of the pumpkin pie.Paige Bennett

I ended up with way more filling than I needed.

All the pumpkin filling didn't fit into my crust.Paige Bennett

The crust may have been darker than I wanted, but it was still delicious.

The pie turned out smooth and creamy. Paige Bennett

The pie had a perfect custardy texture and a supportive yet buttery crust

The pumpkin pie was even better with the rum whipped cream. Paige Bennett

Garten's apple pie called for sour green apples.

I chopped up some green apples to prep the pie filling.Paige Bennett

All my worries went away pretty quickly.

The apple pie was much simpler than I thought it would be.Paige Bennett

I couldn’t believe how beautiful it looked, both before and after baking.

I was really proud of my pie crust.Paige Bennett

The crust was the tastiest part of the apple pie.

I was so pleased with the buttery, golden crust. Paige Bennett

But I didn't love the flavor of the filling.

I wish there was more of an apple flavor in the filling. Paige Bennett

All of the pies were good, but I was actually most impressed by Garten's crust.

I'll definitely be making Ina Garten's pie crust again. Paige Bennett

I made green-bean casseroles from Alton Brown, Ree Drummond, and Alex Guarnaschelli, and one would fit better at a barbecue than Thanksgiving dinner

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