Pie is undoubtedly the dessert of the holiday season (sorry fruitcake), and as such, December should be spent tasting a wide variety of flavors and styles to expand your pie palate when the treat is at its most readily available. Here are 10 pies you should try on the East End this year.
HAMPTONS
At the crossroads of Tate’s Bake Shop’s signature chocolate chip cookies and scrumptious walnut brownies, lies the indulgent Tate’s Chocolate Chip Pie. With a layer of crispy crust followed by walnutty goodness in the middle and a base of gooey chocolate, the 9″ treat, available in Southampton and online, is best served warm with chilling ice cream.
A big hit around the holidays, Mince Pie is actually available at Krieg’s Bakery in Hampton Bays anytime. Made with rum-soaked apples, raisins and their signature crumb topping, this is one pie you’ll want to enjoy year-round. Other popular picks include Krieg’s Boston Cream, Lemon Meringue and Chocolate Pudding pies.
Mary’s Marvelous Pumpkin Pie returns this Thanksgiving, with orders being accepted through November 23. The East Hampton deli’s holiday pies, including apple and pecan, are so famous that even Hamptons celebrities can’t help but gush over them on social media. They’re that good.
While coconuts may hail from a different island paradise than the East End, local farms are just as adept at baking with them as with their own ingredients, and the Milk Pail Coconut Custard Pie is so expertly crafted and flavored, you’d think their Water Mill orchard had a row of palm trees. And yes, they also offer several variations of apple pie, as well as other fruit.
Few pie ingredient trios pair as well as strawberry, raspberry and rhubarb, and Fairview Farm at Mecox in Bridgehampton has mastered the combination. Meredith’s Famous Strawberry Rhubarb Raspberry Pie is sweet and slightly tart, and offers a more complex flavor palate than the farm’s equally delicious apple, pecan, key lime and cherry pies.
NORTH FORK
The 1760 Homestead Farm in Northville has made quite a name for itself as the East End home of Concord Grape Pie. Originally from the Finger Lakes Region, the grape pie recipe has been passed down through owner Larry Kaiser’s family and updated to give this local variant a uniquely North Fork flavor.
Pecan Pie is basically a Thanksgiving tradition at this point, but this year, the holiday is being crashed by its naughty cousin Bourbon Pecan Pie. This indulgent dessert, on offer at D’latte Bakery & Café in Greenport, offers a more mature take on the classic treat, and it comes with the option of a pint of vanilla gelato, available exclusively when ordered with one of D’latte’s 10″ pies. Other flavors include Apple Cranberry, Wild Blueberry and more.
One thing Thanksgiving and Woodside Orchards have in common is an association with timeless apple pie, which is why the Aquebogue orchard has taken it upon themselves to go above and beyond with the flavors of apple pie on offer. Apple Crumb, Apple Cranberry, Honey Apple and No Sugar Apple are exciting takes on the classic dessert, but the Apple Blueberry Pie just hits that tartness sweet-spot so effectively that it’s an instant favorite.
At the center of the Blue Duck Bakery Café’s delicious Country Peach Crumb Pie is a window into the dessert’s irresistible peachy core, luring curious café-goers to experience its perfect balance of fruit and crumble. With locations in Greenport, Riverhead and Southold, sweet temptation is always around the corner when exploring the North Fork.
Thanksgiving pies have returned to Briermere Farms in Riverhead with flavors ranging from pumpkin and apple to peach and blueberry. While all delicious in their own right, the four cream pies hit different than their more traditional fall pie brethren, and the Briermere Cherry Cream Pie deserves an extra special mention. Hurry and order yours by Friday, November 20.
This story first appeared on DansPapers.com.
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