Look at this absolute giant! The mile-high apple pie, besides being fun to say, is as much a feat of engineering as baking. The trick is to somehow fit all those liquid-heavy apple pieces under a crust without bursting, leaking, or making an air pocket. There are a number of different origin stories and variants on this eye-popping pastry recipe from Sugar Hero, and just as many techniques for managing it without making a mess.

With smart tricks like the “bowl method,” the mile-high apple pie is more achievable than it looks and brings the “wow” factor to family gatherings. Let’s just hope folks are hungry enough to eat all that pie!

One thing’s for sure: you’ll need a lot of apples.

If you just can’t get enough of apple flavor, this pie doubles down on it with a sweet, creamy filling. The recipe isn’t for a pie within a pie (as cute as that would be)—it’s actually referring to two apple ingredients in one pie. In this case, Melissa Clark’s New York Times recipe recommends using apple butter to sweeten the apples in your pie.

To really push the envelope, take this recipe even further by making a triple or quadruple apple pie with apple cider vinegar, apple cider jelly, or even apple sauce.

If you’re a fan of both apple and pumpkin pie, why not enjoy the best of both worlds? This Tastes of Lizzy T recipe from Julie Clark replaces pumpkin puree with apple butter to make a soft, golden-brown pumpkin pie lookalike with a rich apple taste. Simple and clever, this pie is sure to surprise and delight Thanksgiving guests who take a bite, especially if they haven’t been told what to expect!

The filling is a little finicky and needs high fat milk or cream to really get the texture right. Otherwise, this is a straightforward apple pie recipe worth trying for the novelty of it. Carter Mountain’s apple butter fits perfectly in this recipe, leaving plenty to enjoy as a spread on toast or crackers!

From mile-high heights to adorable handheld bites, apple pies come in all shapes and sizes! This eye-catching apple hand pie recipe comes from Heather Baird at Sprinkle Bakes, who’s managed to shrink pies down from centerpiece deserts to snack-sized morsels. She even paired them with homemade caramel dipping sauce. Make no mistake, these things are dangerous—how could you have just one?

Smaller pies require smaller chunks of apple, diced tiny to bake faster. Her lovely latticework is achieved through a unique mold or could be done the old-fashioned way.

Life in the Lofthouse’s recipe brings us this fascinatingly simple twist on an apple pie, opting to shred the apples through a cheese grater rather than dice them. The result? An easy, quick recipe with a melt-in-your-mouth softness and that beloved apple pie flavor. With its quirky look, the shredded apple pie is a contender for a new holiday tradition.

Still, for many purists, an apple pie needs an outer crust, which this recipe doesn’t call for. Crust debates are as old as pie itself: one compromise to avoid tweaking the recipe too much is a crumbly topping baked onto the pie.

Okay, this is getting a bit silly. This Lakeside Table recipe produces an elegant, beautiful, delicious-looking dessert. Is it still a pie, though? Well, whether it is or not, this “deconstructed” apple pie recipe certainly caught our eye!

Baked apples are a quick and easy treat that’s lighter and healthier than a whole pie. Each type of apple has a different flavor that comes out when baked, both in and out of a pie.

We have a chart all about apple varieties, their flavor profiles, and which are best for baking. If you’re looking to test new kinds of apples or mix and match, check out Carter Mountain’s fruit availability page to see which varieties are available!