Celebrate National Pie Day With the Family

Lately it seems there’s a day for every type of food — tacos, ice cream, even donuts — which, somehow, thank the donut gods, managed to get two days! This Jan. 23, make sure you keep up with this wacky tradition of paying homage to your favorite treats with National Pie Day.

While the day was originally created in 1973 by a Colorado man who designated his birthday National Pie Day, the tradition stuck and Jan. 23, is now devoted to celebrating the sweet, delectable baked good we all know and love. It’s the perfect day of the year to bake pie, buy pie, go out for pie or gift pie. In fact, all pie-shaped foods are encouraged, including pizza pie.

Just about everyone loves pie and, luckily, there are endless options to choose from to satisfy every kind of taste bud — sweet pies like chocolate, fruit and cream pies, and even plenty of savory pies like spinach, cheese and meat. As long as it is food baked inside a crispy crust, you can call it pie. And chances are, it’s going to be good.

Family making pie © Viacheslav Iacobchuk | Dreamstime.com

Food has brought people together since the beginning of time — we gather around the table to share meals, enjoy bonding time while we cook together and even enjoy talking about food with one another — not to mention the advent of social media which thrives on us sharing pictures of our food with friends and family.

National Pie Day is the perfect opportunity to come together as a family to deepen those bonds food creates for us. Grab your kids and spend the day baking your family’s favorite pie recipes. Plan a menu of pie-shaped foods for dinner then sit down and enjoy it together, savoring not only the delicious flavors, but the time spent together as a family.

Start off with an appetizer of Greek spinach pie (spanakopita), work your way through a hearty shepherd’s pie and top it off with a dessert pie of your choosing.

Round out your pie day meal with some extra fun for the kids by using any leftover scraps of pie crust dough to make a special treat. Roll the dough thin and place it on a cookie sheet in any desired shape. Poke holes with a fork, sprinkle generously with sugar and cinnamon and bake until the crust starts to brown.