That Reese’s pie may already be sold out, but these 5 NC pies are better anyway
A peanut butter cup, no matter how large, is not a pie.
This week, venerable candy brand Reese’s announced a pie-scale peanut butter cup. It exploded online, and all 3,000 of the 3.4 pound, $45 “pies” sold out faster than it takes to eat five miniature Reese’s fresh from the fridge.
Thanksgiving is a pie holiday. There’s a time for cake, there’s a time for ice cream, and then there’s that last Thursday in November when a feast of turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes is punctuated with a sweet slice of pie.
Don’t despair if you missed out on this Reese’s pie-straction. North Carolina has a few rock star pies of its very own.
Atlantic Beach Pie
This tangy, citrusy pie from longtime Crook’s Corner chef Bill Smith may be just the sea-breeze brightness you need after the indulgence of a Thanksgiving meal. Smith’s adaptation of an Eastern North Carolina pie is a salty cousin of Key Lime, with its crust made of saltines. It is one of the state’s biggest blockbuster pies, appearing in publications across the country, including this one, for years.
Chocolate Chess
The Angus Barn is a steakhouse for all seasons, but it becomes something magical around the holidays, like a snowglobe come to life. Its claim to pie fame is the chocolate chess, perhaps Raleigh’s most legendary pie, served at the restaurant for more than 60 years. The fudgy masterpiece is shipped all over the country and lands on countless holiday dessert tables.
Pecan
Perhaps the pinnacle of pies, a perfect pecan taps into the season like no other dessert. It’s pecans plucked from the ground and cracked against each other. It’s a bourbon by a fire as the last warmth of summer is extinguished. It’s ooey and gooey in a way that nothing else is.
There are too many great pecan pies to name in North Carolina, but Mama Dip’s in Chapel Hill stands out for many. It even inspired a cookie from Mildred Council’s granddaughter Tonya Council that Oprah Winfrey put on her Favorite Things List for 2021.
Pumpkin
Before there was pumpkin spice there was pumpkin pie. No one eats fruitcake in March or pumpkin pie on the Fourth of July.
Pumpkin pie is the dessert most connected to Thanksgiving, made of gourds and looking like the rich brown of chestnuts or fallen leaves.
There’s a multitude of pumpkin pies worthy of the Thanksgiving table. In 2015, the great North Carolina food writer Kathleen Purvis named the one from Fresh Market as the top store-bought version.
Sweet Potato
For the country’s top producer of sweet potatoes, North Carolina is also home to one of the country’s most famous sweet potato pies. The delicacy of the Eastern North Carolina soil is similar to pumpkin but carries a sweetness of its own.
If you’re stopping by Grady’s Barbecue near Goldsboro, the lovingly-wrapped slices in the cooler are made by Steve Grady based on his mother’s recipe. C
loser to the Triangle, Mama Dip’s sweet potato pie is so famous, you’ll see it called out by name on other restaurant’s menus.
This story was originally published November 16, 2021 at 5:03 PM with the headline "That Reese’s pie may already be sold out, but these 5 NC pies are better anyway."
