Serves: 5

Pies have been a favorite throughout the BakeOff® Contest, and many from the early days of the contest are still popular, like 1949's Company's Coming Cashew Pie, 1951's French Silk Chocolate Pie and 1952's Caramel Candy Pie. Women didn't have the easy access to supermarkets that we have today, so most of these early recipes could be made out of ordinary pantry ingredients. The pies of the 1960s tended to be fluffy, pretty creations, like 1960's Chocolate Dream Pie or 1964's Strawberry Devonshire Pie. The 1970s for the most part were not an innovative time for pies, but saw the rise of "squares," pielike bar cookies. The most recent pies have shown a complex exploration and adaption of U.S. regional flavors, such as 1992's Pennsylvania Dutch Cake and Custard Pie, or 1994's Buttered Rum Banana Pecan Pie, which is a version of a New Orleans specialty.

No matter what goes into dessert pies or tarts, smiles and delight are sure to result because, for all their complex variation, they are always the surefire crowd-pleasing combination of a crispy crust, something sweet and the cook's own creativity.

From "Pillsbury Best of the Bake-Off® Cookbook." Copyright 2004 General Mills. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

More Recipes from the Pillsbury Best of the Bake-Off® Cookbook Cookbook:
08: Pies and Tarts
Almond Macaroon Cherry Pie
Apple Date Pie
Apple Nut Cookie Tart
Apple Nut Lattice Tart
Apricot Coconut Cream Pie
Apricot Tea Tart
Buttered Rum Banana Pecan Pie
Caramel Candy Pie
Caribbean Truffle Pie
Cherry-Berry Pie
Chocolate Caramel Satin Pie
Chocolate Dream Pie
Chocolate Orange Layer Pie
Chocolate Silk Pecan Pie
Chocolate Swirl Coconut Almond Tart
Chocolate-Laced Apricot Walnut Tart
Coconut Fudge Crescent Tart
Coffee Crunch Chocolate Tart
Company's Coming Cashew Pie
Cranberry Cheesecake Tart
Cream Cheese Brownie Pie
French Silk Chocolate Pie
Frost-on-the-Pumpkin Pie
Fudge Crostata with Raspberry Sauce
Grandmother's Raisin Cream Pie
Lemon Cloud Pie
Lemon Luscious Pie
Luscious Almond Caramel Pie
Melba Streusel Pie
Mystery Pecan Pie
Open Sesame Pie
Orange Kist Coconut Cream Pie
Peacheesy Pie
Peanut Butter Luster Pie
Pecan Caramel Tart
Pennsylvania Dutch Cake and Custard Pie
Pineapple Blueberry Cream Tart
Pineapple Crunch Pie
Raspberry Angel Cream Pie
Strawberry Devonshire Pie
Taffy Apple Cheesecake Pie
Tangy Crescent Nut Tart
Taste o' Lemon Cream Tart
Toffee Dream Pie
Topsy Turvy Apple Pie
Vienna Chocolate Pie
White Chocolate Pecan Mousse Pie
Winter Fruit Pie