These five Thanksgiving pies are a dessert lover’s dream

By Claire Saffitz, The New York Times

Thanksgiving is a major production if you’re the host, and generally I encourage cutting a few corners. If it eases your workload, I say go ahead and buy the gravy or use the canned cranberry sauce.

But I draw the line at dessert.

As a baker, I give my all to the pie spread, making my own crusts, assembling fillings from scratch and softly whipping fresh cream for serving.

No matter the number of guests we’re expecting, I insist on preparing the pie trifecta (pie-fecta?) of apple, pumpkin and pecan, with some twists.

Rather than overload my apple pie with spices, I marry a dark caramel with chunky apple slices, so the end result is slightly reminiscent of tarte Tatin. My pumpkin pie is fairly traditional, save for the crunchy layer of toasted…