America’s Favorite Pies & the History Behind Them

We Americans love desserts. From chocolate chip cookies and brownies to fudge and Jell-O, we have favorite desserts for each and every occasion. While it’s hard to choose between all the amazing desserts that our fine country has to offer, for us, nothing is better than pie. And it seems that the rest of the country agrees.

When the average American lists his or her favorite desserts, they tend to be ice cream, cake, cookies and, you guessed it, pie. Even better… you can combine two of America’s favorite desserts for pie à la mode. According to the American Pie Council, about 186 million pies are sold each year in grocery stores alone. Now that’s a lot of pie!

We decided to dig deeper into the history of some of America’s favorite pies. We explored how they were first made and why they are so special to Americans. Check out this fun, and very literal, pie chart to see where your favorite pie ranks in America’s eyes. And get ready for a major sweet tooth craving as we count down the top 4 of America’s favorite pies:

4th – Cherry Pie

The popularity of cherry pie is in part thanks to the state of Michigan, which produces about 75% of tart cherries in the U.S. The state is also home to the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Mich., which is known as the cherry capital of the world. Thanks, Michigan, for bringing us these tasty and tart treats!

3rd – Chocolate Cream Pie

Although the exact history of chocolate cream pies appears to be unknown, they resemble the French chocolate pâtisserie known as the tarte au chocolat. It is generally thought that cream pies first became popular in the American Midwest, where there were dairy farms aplenty. Chocolate cream pie is traditionally made with a flaky crust on the bottom, a chocolate custard filling, and whipped cream on top.

2nd – Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie is synonymous with one of America’s most beloved holidays: Thanksgiving. And while we’re all about switching it up with something different for the holiday, there really is nothing like a slice of pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream. Originating with the Pilgrims in the 1600s, pumpkin pie is now our country’s second favorite pie.

1st – Apple Pie

And the vote is in: America’s favorite pie is apple pie. As we wrote about in our blog on the history of apple pie, today’s apple pie is quite unlike the delicious dessert’s predecessor. In fact, the pies were once made with hard, inedible crusts that simply served to preserve the pie’s contents. Luckily for us, bakers sweetened up these treats over the years and perfected the art of the perfect flaky, buttery crust. Today, the apple pie is even Vermont’s official state pie.

MMW