It’s prime time for Thanksgiving pies! Sweet, buttery and flaky, juicy with seasonal fruits or gourd-centric savory with warm spices, what’s a holiday table without one or two?
While baking can score points with guests, you can still get homemade without getting flour all over your face. The South Fork and Shelter Island may not have a bevy of brick-and-mortar bakeries, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a stash of stellar bakers at the ready serving up slices of heaven. Just be sure to get your orders in on time and your holiday desserts will be easy as pie.
Rémy Ertaud is the pastry chef at Mavericks in Montauk responsible for the rich five-tier chocolate cake and a cheesecake that takes two days to make. This fall, he’s debuted a short-term project called “Pie Operation,” (Pie Ops, for short!). Though Mavericks is closed for the season, Ertaud is baking up small-batch pies that will play a starring role on Thanksgiving tables. You can check out more on Ertaud’s just-launched Instagram account to support the project — and have the delights of one of the East End’s most talented pastry chefs on your table. Ordering starts November 6.
The Cookery, 83 Springs Fireplace Rd, East Hampton, 631-604-6317
Celebrity chef Cynthia Sestito and opera singer Trudy Craney, who leaned into baking when the pandemic shut down live entertaining, teamed up to open The Cookery’s brick-and-mortar location in East Hampton in late 2022. The spot has quickly become a hit among locals and guests alike. Like the spot’s other desserts, pies rotate weekly, making a trip to The Cookery worthy of weekly routine status. Some fall classics include a (really good!) gluten-free pumpkin and sweet potato pie with ginger and an apple and rosemary pie with almonds. Rumor has it a deep-dish cranberry ginger pumpkin pie is on its way for Thanksgiving. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
The Chequit, 23 Grand Avenue, Shelter Island, 631-749-0018
We’re starting to wonder if pastry chef Mazie Galle ever sleeps and, instead, just bakes 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The talented, young confectionary wizard who not only bakes all the Chequit’s breads in-house (like those sublime brioche rolls for the burger, available for individual sale, too), but she’s taking pie orders for the Thanksgiving holiday, too. Select from apple, blackberry and peach, made with fruit sourced from the fruit sourced from farms owned by the Chequit’s parent company, Crossroads, including East Hampton’s Truxel Farm. Orders must be places by Thursday, November 16 and you can place yours here.
Tate’s Bake Shop, 43 N Sea Rd, Southampton, 631-283-9830
Kathleen King began baking at 11, selling her crispy, buttery-cookies at North Fork markets, and went on to become the woman behind a nationwide brand. Though cookies are Tate’s calling cards, don’t overlook the pie selection served at the green cottage with white shingles in Southampton. A chocolate chip pie is an obvious choice for folks who can’t choose between pies and cookies, which is only elevated when served warm and beside a scoop or three of vanilla ice cream. And eating just one slice of the pecan pie made with fresh pecans? It’s impossible.
Kyle’s, 27 North Ferry Road, Shelter Island, 631-749-0579
Chef Kyle Seddio has been supplying lucky islanders with Thanksgiving pies (and full holiday dinners) for the last couple of decades from her sweet little restaurant in the center of town. She sticks to the traditional options — pumpkin ($18), apple crumble ($20), pecan ($26) — and you can call to place your order or pick up an order from at bakery counter in the restaurant.
Fairview Farm at Mecox, 69 Horsemill Ln, Bridgehampton, 631-537-6154
Fairview Farm at Mecox gives people the option to order fresh-baked or frozen pies. Any way you slice them, though, they’re delicious. Fresh fruit pies like raspberry, strawberry rhubarb, apple, blueberry and peach have a crumble or pastry top that tastes light and sweet. Non-fruit pie offerings include Thanksgiving-ready pumpkin and a rich chocolate pecan pie that melts in your mouth. Pie-adjacent duck pot pies satisfy savory tooths (and the turkey-averse).
Carrissa’s The Bakery, Multiple Locations
Pies are baked in-house at Carissa’s, The Bakery. The bakery with three locations, including the original locaton Newtown Lane in East Hampton, along with an Amagansett locale on 221 Pantigo Road and a Sag Harbor spot at 3 Bay Street, that baker-in-chief Carissa Waechter opened in 2017, is lauded for its bread, pastries and pies. Focusing on the third, a double-crust apple pie looks as sweet as it tastes (and sells out quickly). A pumpkin and squash pie is often usually available around Thanksgiving. The squash turns down the sweetness and up the brightness of the traditional harvest-season dessert.
Milk Pail, 1346 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, 631-537-2565
Set west of Mecox Road, Milk Pail is known for U-Pick experiences, fresh produce and pies. The fresh-baked pies are typically made with fruit grown by Milk Pail. Apple crisp, pumpkin, peach crust and blueberry lemon are among the options that hit the spot throughout the seasons.
Round Swamp Farms, Multiple Locations
You can order an entire Thanksgiving dinner from Round Swamp Farm, including an (uncooked) turkey. The pie options are as bountiful as the sides. From-scratch pies include traditional Thanksgiving options like pumpkin, apple and pecan. There’s also a juicy, tart tri-berry pie made with raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. Each flavor feeds up to 10 (or allow for plenty of leftovers you won’t want to send home).
Springs Salt’s straightforward goodies like bags of rye chocolate chip cookies by the half dozen and granola are in shops around the East End. But these days, you can have the loot shipped to your door around New York — a win for those with summer homes craving a taste of the East End. For the upcoming holiday, be sure to get your order in for their pumpkin pie in graham cracker crust — a fall must-have.
Beach Bakery & Grand Café, 112 Main St, Westhampton Beach, 631-288-6552
This European-style bakery and café has been serving fresh-baked pies for more than three decades. The quaint red-striped awning may be fading, but the flavor of pies tastes fresh as ever. Ten-inch pies are available in store and vary based on availability and the season, and this time of year: Apple is king! There’s apple crumb, apples last, open-face apple and traditional pastry-topped apple. Add to that the sweet-tart three kings pie with apple, peach raspberry and blueberry is and delicious, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin sweet potato pie and pecan pie with chocolate sprinkles and… well, you might just wind up having Pies-giving.
Montauk Bake Shoppe, 29 The Plaza A, Montauk, 631-668-2439
If you’re out at The End, lucky for you one of the only brick-and-mortar bakeries (and a really good one, too!) happens to be in your midst. While it’s hard to resist their sublime jelly croissant, traditional lattice-top Thanksgiving pies are ready for the ordering here. Think seasonally apropos apple and pumpkin pies, but if those fall flavors aren’t your fave, you can also nab a strawberry-rhubarb, cherry and blueberry, too. Just be sure to place your Thanksgiving orders by November 20!
