Off the Shelf, November 2026

I have always loved cook books and have wonderful memories of reading them alongside my mother when I was a child. We would ooh and ahh over the photos and mark the pages of recipes we wanted to try. I distinctly remember her telling me, if you can read then you can cook. And pouring over cookbooks with her was a huge part of how I learned to cook.

Many of my recipes are now online or stored on my computer but there is one cookbook that I turn to over and over again and November seems like the perfect time to share this particular Off the Shelf Title: The Joy of Cooking All About Pies & Tarts.

This book holds the recipe for my flaky pie crust. It was a long time before I allowed myself to give up on my mother’s pie crust recipe (which worked perfectly for her but I always had issues with it) and adopt this one as my own.

It’s also how I make a prebaked pie crust for cream pies like chocolate cream and banana cream.

And speaking of banana cream pie, here’s the recipe for that one. It is, perhaps, the most damaged pie in the entire book, full of splotches and stains, a clear indication of how often I have used it.

I owe my apple pie awards (I’ve won 2nd and 1st place in a local business association contest) to this cookbook. It taught me to macerate my apples before adding them to the pie pan. And the list of apples and their attributes is so helpful when I’m choosing apples for a pie while at the store – I actually have a photo of that list on the left in my phone and use it for reference often.

I’m no expert and I learn something new with every pie I bake. I credit my mom for instilling in me a love of baking pie. And I credit this book with my ability to consistently produce delicious and beautiful pies for my family and friends.