Nothing says comfort like a warm slice of homemade pie with its flaky, buttery crust and bubbling filling. With endless ingredient combinations, sweet and savoury, pie is an opportunity to get creative in the kitchen. And while we typically think of pie as a dessert baked in a round ceramic stoneware pie dish, it can be fun to change it up and bake pies in a variety of baking dishes – from skillets and mini cocottes to muffin tins and square baking dishes. From petite mini pies to family-sized slab pies (and everything in between), here are all the ways to make pies for every season and entertaining occasion.
Deep Dish Square Pies
For deep dish pies, think of square baking dishes instead of round. Our Heritage Square Baking Dish has plenty of depth to hold a generous amount of sweet or savoury pie filling nestled within a golden brown flaky crust. This type of pie works best with fresh fruit fillings, like chopped apples and pears, or savoury fillings, like a chicken or mushroom pot pie. Given the extra depth of this dish, be sure to allow additional time for baking this kind of pie to be sure the centre is cooked through to perfection. Bake the pie a day or two ahead and then let it completely set in the fridge – the flavours will taste even better, and slices will be easier to cut.
Get the Recipe: Pear Gingersnap Crumb Pie
Skillet Pies
For a more casual approach, try making your next pie in an enamelled cast iron skillet. These types of pies lend themselves especially well to fruit fillings with more filling than a typical pie. They also allow you to get creative with the crust; try using puff pastry or phyllo instead of pie crust for an innovative twist. Either way, heavy-duty cast iron produces a perfectly browned, flaky crust with evenly cooked filling. A standard pie pan is 23cm so you can make almost any traditional recipe in our 23cm Signature Skillet. The colourful skillet is a beautiful way to present your pie at the table, and the bonus is that the pie stays warm while everyone digs in.
Get the Recipe: Caramel Apple Skillet Pie with Bourbon Caramel Sauce
Individual Pies
Individual pies are an elegant and practical way of serving dessert. Mini pies baked in our colourful Mini Cocottes look great on the table, and they also cook faster than a whole pie. For pies served best warm, like apple pie, they go straight from the oven to the table, no reheating necessary. And for chilled pies, the cocottes are easily stored in the refrigerator with their matching lids, ready for serving. Plus, you don’t have to worry about evenly slicing and serving a whole pie. Our 10cm Mini Cocottes hold enough pie for one person while the 14cm size is perfectly portioned to serve two, making them ideal for entertaining with couples.
Get the Recipe: Mini Lemon Ginger Meringue Pies
Pie Tartlets
Another way to serve individual pies is to make these adorable mini spiced fruit pies. Baked in a Muffin Tray, they look wonderfully impressive, but making them is quite simple. The pies can be made ahead of time and then served at room temperature or rewarmed slightly in the oven when ready to serve. Inspired by mincemeat pies, our filling adds apples to a mixture of currants, prunes and apricots. Each pie is topped with a pie dough cutout in a fun shape – change the cutouts seasonally to match the theme of your table or buffet.
Get the Recipe: Cinnamon, Apple and Dried Fruit Mini-Pies
Slab Pies
If you’re cooking for a big gathering, a Slab Pie serves a crowd using just one easy-to-clean Non-Stick Rectangular Baking Sheet. A slab pie is thinner than a normal pie, so it bakes faster, opening up the oven for other tasks and recipes. Since the crust-to-filling ratio is higher in slab pies, it works best with intensely flavoured fruit and jam fillings, or try it with a rich, thick chocolate, caramel or lemon curd filling. With a wide surface area on top, slab pies allow you to showcase your baking skills with a beautiful lattice-weave, cut-out shapes, or even a crumbled topping for the top crust. Served a la mode with ice cream or with a dollop of whipped cream, this simple pie is a stunner on a buffet or table when cut into neat squares.
Get the Recipe: Cranberry Sage Slab Pie
Traditional Round Pies
For those that like to stick with tradition, a pie made in the round Heritage Pie Dish with its elegant, scalloped edge is always a winner. To up the ‘wow’ factor, try adding a new spice, garnish or twist to your usual familiar family recipe. This sweet potato pie features the warm fall spices of cinnamon and nutmeg and is topped with a maple pecan brittle as well as a cloud of whipped cream. The best part is that most of the recipes can be made in advance for maximum effect at the table with minimum effort.
Get the Recipe: Cinnamon Sweet Potato Pie with Maple Pecan Brittle
