With the vacation season simply across the nook, most of us are turning our consideration to 2 issues: shopping for Christmas items and planning our Thanksgiving meal. Whether or not you’re internet hosting this 12 months or are fortunate sufficient to have another person handle the cooking, I believe we are able to all agree {that a} pie is a vital focus for the Thanksgiving desk! It’s the proper package deal: a scrumptious crowd-pleaser of a dessert and the perfect hostess reward.
Whether or not you like a traditional apple pie or favor seasonal pumpkin, Southern pecan, or one thing a little bit extra adventurous, there are many choices on your vacation desk. I like baking, however correctly making pies is a time-consuming course of! Perhaps in the future I’ll get again to baking my very own, however till then I’m blissful to defer to the professionals.
If you happen to don’t have the time or inclination to bake both, I’ve put collectively a listing of outlets in and round San Antonio with pies worthy of your vacation desk.
1. Buttermilk Sky Pie Store
Nestled off Redland Highway and 1604 is a pie paradise! Buttermilk Sky Pie is owned by Barry and Katie Crossland, two Texas-born southern pie lovers who discovered their calling when a pal used to deliver pies dwelling to San Antonio from the Fort Value outpost of Buttermilk Sky.
Their menu is an entire rundown of the proper pies on your vacation gathering. From their namesake Buttermilk (Southern Custard) to Nanny’s Pecan and Granny’s Apple pies, there are additionally a complete host of cream pies (chocolate, coconut, key lime, peanut butter) for a non-traditional pie possibility. Pumpkin pie is their present seasonal particular, and is it a very good one! Candy, creamy, spicy pumpkin filling inside a tasty shortbread crust, topped with an cute shortbread pumpkin and baked to perfection. It seems to be pretty much as good because it tastes, and that’s saying one thing!
All of Buttermilk Sky’s pies can be found in 9-inch, 4-inch, and 2-inch sizes. The two-inch possibility is out there by the dozen and is ideal if you wish to create your individual pie bar (why wouldn’t you?), reward to neighbors, or cater to the youngsters’ desk. Their 9-inch pies make the proper vacation centerpiece.
2. The Bread Field
Pies aren’t only for the vacations at The Bread Field, a beautiful bakery and lunch spot situated in The Alley on Bitters. Key Lime, lemon meringue, and chocolate cream pies recurrently grace the cupboard, in addition to spectacular icebox pies. However with the vacations comes an assortment of scrumptious fruit pies, and my private favourite, chocolate pecan.
The Bread Field hand-bakes every pie with love and a complete bunch of filling! These are hefty, heartwarming pies—the proper reward for a vacation hostess and ultimate to maintain within the fridge for these “only one extra slice” moments which can be inevitable round Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Control their socials or attain out on to pre-order your vacation pie for pick-up. You gained’t remorse it! They could have a couple of last-minute pies left over to select up the day earlier than Thanksgiving, however when the pie is that this good, you don’t want to threat it.
3. Earl Abel’s
A real San Antonio establishment that continues to thrive after its relocation to The Pearl, you would possibly know Earl Abel’s for its award-winning fried hen. Nonetheless, their dessert cupboard is the place it’s at, and so they have an enormous number of scrumptious pies on the market each day (the entire pie or by the slice).
At Earl Abel’s you’ll discover all of the classics: banana cream, chocolate icebox, lemon meringue, coconut meringue, key lime, apple, pumpkin, maple pecan, cherry, and black backside pies. And they’re superb! Classics are classics for a cause, and the vacations are the proper time to collect collectively and luxuriate in a slice of pie, a cup of espresso, and reminisce about holidays passed by.
Name Earl Abel’s for customized orders on pies and truffles, or seize a number of the easiest treats (together with cream puffs and eclairs—yum) on your vacation desk this 12 months. The banana cream is my decide for a lighter pie that basically pleases a crowd.
4. Love Creek Orchards
If apple pie is your decide, I promise you gained’t discover a higher one than these made on the Apple Retailer at Love Creek Orchards. Situated in Medina, about an hour exterior San Antonio, this can be a hidden gem. If you happen to fancy a day journey into the hill nation, you’ll discover lots to do in close by Bandera and an outrageously good lunch on the Apple Retailer Cafe!
Additionally they provide supply (That is the proper possibility for out-of-state vacation gifting!) and occasional pick-ups on the north aspect. Control their Fb web page for particulars on the latter!
Again to the great things: you’ll discover freshly-baked four-pound apple pies, a festive apple and cranberry possibility, scrumptious sizzling apple cider sauce, and a billionaire pecan pie with chocolate and caramel. The Apple Retailer is a hidden hill nation gem.
5. Chicken Bakery
Broadway staple Chicken Bakery presents small-size pies of their cake cupboard year-round, however you’ll discover family-size, 9-inch choices of all your loved ones favorites—pecan, rustic apple, spiced buttermilk, pumpkin, and key lime—out there across the holidays.
Control their social media or name the nest to put your vacation order. Their pies fly out the door, particularly at Thanksgiving, so that you’ll need to be prepped and prepared if you need a Chicken Bakery pie to grace your desk.
6. Bakery Lorraine
If you happen to’ve learn my posts on European eateries and pumpkin spice treats, you’ll in all probability already know that my love for Bakery Lorraine is deep and long-established. Not solely is it an important place to seize lunch or impeccable patisserie, in addition they provide vacation pies for particular order.
Their pumpkin pie has earthier tones than your common shop-bought pie, as they roast the pumpkin to deliver out extra depth of taste. Dutch apple pie with a crumbly cinnamon streusel topping and a shiny cranberry apple pie are your candy and fruity numbers; with a whiskey pecan pie offering that bittersweet, sticky nuttiness that has you going again for extra pie—even while you aren’t hungry anymore.
Control their Instagram web page and name forward. Once more, they in all probability gained’t have many (if any) extras, so that you’ll need to guarantee your pie order is in. Wanting forward, you’ll discover the identical nice pie line-up for Christmas preorder, alongside (I hope!) a to-die-for Bûche de Noël—a Black Forest Christmas log stuffed with vanilla mousse, tart cherries, and boozy Kirsch-soaked cake. Really essentially the most lovely and scrumptious festive centerpiece.
7. Nadler’s Bakery
One among San Antonio’s oldest household bakeries, Nadler’s is the perfect spot to order quite a lot of pies on your vacation desk. Their pumpkin pie is a traditional instance, with candy and spicy pumpkin custard baked to perfection in a crumbly pastry shell. You’ll discover a bourbon pecan pie, buttermilk pie, and cherry pie among the many conventional flavors, in addition to tried-and-tested household recipes like Hungarian apple tart and German chocolate pie—all of the flavors of sticky German chocolate cake (chocolate, caramel, coconut, pecan) baked right into a pie.
If cream pies are extra your fashion, Nadler’s must be your primary vacation spot: their choice is unparalleled. Strawberry, coconut, banana, key lime, and chocolate cream pies are crowd-pleasing choices, and so they have lemon, coconut, and chocolate meringue pies too. For one thing a little bit completely different with a nod to conventional Thanksgiving spices, strive their bread and butter pudding.
Having served the San Antonio space for 3 generations, I can confidently say that for those who occur to overlook to order a pie and are scrambling final minute, they may almost definitely be capable to offer you a tasty pie. You may also decide up scrumptious bread, rolls, and different pastries on your Thanksgiving desk.
8. Invoice Miller
Go for the iced tea, keep for the pie! Invoice Miller’s pumpkin pie is the stuff of native legend, and it’s again for the season!
That is the quintessential pumpkin pie: orange, fluffy, candy, spicy, and topped with whipped cream. Eating in or taking out? You possibly can take pleasure in a beneficiant slice of pie for $2.75. An entire pie will be yours for simply $13.75, making it one of the inexpensive pies on this checklist.
Invoice Miller goes huge on pumpkin pie—it’ll be out there at your native restaurant from October 3 till January 8. So for those who like apple pie on Thanksgiving and pumpkin on Christmas (Identical to the tune!) you’ll be capable to get your repair all season lengthy.
9. Annie’s Petite Treats
Recognized for her truffles, dessert tables, and cake balls, native baker Annie Vu’s Thanksgiving pies have a cult following—and for good cause! Her pies are stuffed deep and have a mouth-wateringly crisp and melty crust. I believe we are able to all agree that it’s a very good crust that makes a very good pie, and this needs to be top-of-the-line crusts round.
In addition to pumpkin pies (full-size and mini, the proper measurement to deal with your self over espresso whilst you watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and silently surprise the way you’re going to prepare dinner every thing in a single oven) there are mini pecan pie bites and apple pie cookies— pies, however not as you realize them. Little ones may also love her cake balls that seem like pumpkins and turkeys.
Control her Instagram for pre-order dates and flash gross sales. Slots for her pies and different goodies are extraordinarily restricted, and as soon as they’re gone, they’re gone!
10. H-E-B
At Thanksgiving, H-E-B’s bakeries churn out 1000’s of pies from their tried and true recipes. You’ll discover massive pies to feed the most important households, half pies, pie slices, and extra.
You possibly can completely quote me that their connoisseur, scratch-baked pecan pies are a number of the best in San Antonio. My husband and I like their pecan chocolate—scrumptious darkish caramel with enormous pecan items and melty semi-sweet chocolate chunks—greater than just about some other pecan pie we’ve ever had. If you happen to love fruit pies (not simply apple, however cherry, blueberry, and extra) H-E-B has you lined this vacation season.
11. Betty Jane’s Bakeshoppe
Primarily identified for his or her intricate and beautiful wedding ceremony and celebration truffles, Betty Jane’s on Blanco Highway is one other native spot able to cater to your pie whims this vacation. Bakers extraordinaire, Betty Jane’s daughter Peggy Jane and granddaughter Amanda Jane, proceed her legacy of scrumptious baking and at all times saving room for dessert.
Whether or not you like your apple pie with a traditional pastry topping or cinnamon crumble, your pecans with a hefty serving to of bourbon, or your pumpkin properly spiced, this household bake store has the proper pie for you. Alongside the traditional vacation flavors, you’ll discover cherry, blueberry, strawberry rhubarb, and blackberry pies; cream pies, and meringue pies. It’s a one-stop pie store, and I don’t care what season it’s—a blackberry pie, served à la mode, is at all times a factor of magnificence.
Betty Jane’s Bakeshoppe requires at the least per week’s discover on all orders, so name forward for those who’d like one among their scrumptious pies in your desk this Thanksgiving or Christmas.
12. Williams Confectionary Crafts
Situated in Reside Oak, this scratch bakery and restaurant is filled with the guts and soul of Joyce, her husband Ernest, and the entire Williams household. Every thing is cooked, baked, and made with love, and the pies are not any exception!
You possibly can order your entire unfold from Williams Confectionary Crafts, or you may make one (or extra) of their pies the jewel within the crown of your desk. From classics like buttermilk or coconut chess pies to caramel apple and candy potato pies, each fall taste is roofed. Fruit pies—blackberry, blueberry, apple, cherry, or blended berry—can be found with a lattice or full crust; and there are meringue pies too.
Vacation cookies, pound truffles, and dessert trays are additionally out there. Pre-orders open a month earlier than every vacation (Thanksgiving and Christmas). Williams is the proper spot to safe your vacation sweets, and, within the spirit of Joyce Williams herself, reward a couple of pies to buddies and neighbors too.
13. Meemo’s Bakery & Cafe
Meemo’s bakes every thing from scratch – from muffins and cupcakes to cookies, celebration truffles, and naturally, pies. Name forward for traditional pies from pumpkin to candy potato, cream and fruit pies, English Walnut pie, bourbon pecan and Pecan French Silk. These are actual eye-catching pies!
I hope this submit has impressed you to create your individual pie bar this 12 months! Asking visitors to deliver their favourite pie is an effective way to have a good time Friendsgiving or contain members of the family within the vacation feast! A pie bar is unquestionably my concept of an ideal vacation occasion, and I’ll be adorning my pies with these reusable wood pie picks from native stationer Belle & Union. Out there in trios for vacation pies, cream pies, fruit pies, and berry pies, they’re the proper manner to make sure you don’t must hold telling your visitors which pie is which. A win-win! Joyful holidays!
Now inform me, what’s your favourite pie and why?
