The Great Pumpkin Pie Panel

As a child, I remember preparing for Thanksgiving by making pies with my Aunt, peeling potatoes, and finding the stretchiest pants that I could so I wouldn't have to hassle with loosening a belt during my Thanksgiving meal.

I was meticulous about my gravy to mashed potatoes to turkey ratios. And while I never liked my food to touch I would plan out the savory to sweet route of my plate using rolls as the great mediator between the two palates. In any case, I always looked forward to the feast the way every little, closet fat, girl would. 

My one and only problem with Thanksgiving has always been the pumpkin pie. I mean no offense to my Aunt and Grandmother who spent the entire day before Thanksgiving making pies, it's just that the mushy vegetable has NEVER appealed to me. 

So, it was always a dilemma for me. I wanted to try everything so I would give it a taste and then I'd have to cover it in whipped cream so it didn't look like I was "wasting" it. For years I tried that method and then finally just gave up trying pumpkin pie at all and learned to just focus on apple pies and other desserts.

However, this year, I thought it was about time to figure out why anyone even likes this dessert at all, and to do so we had little pumpkin pie panel to help us out.

Six pies, twenty people, and a lot of tests later we've found that there are many people who are pumpkin pie traditionalist and those who need a little something different from the norm to be pumpkin pie fans.


The six pies I served are ranked in order of overall favorite to overall least favorite:
1-Maple Pumpkin Pie with a Gingersnap crust
2-Traditional Pumpkin Pie with an all-butter crust
3-Citrus Pumpkin Pie
4-Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
5-Traditional Store bought Pumpkin Pie
6-Traditional back-of-the-can Pumpkin Pie filling with a frozen store bought crust


So get your stretchy pants on because in preparation for Thanksgiving, I've got a new Pumpkin Pie recipe for you each day this week.