Pies

This is the original Wesson Oil pie with a few variations. The dough is so wet, you’ll think there’s been a mistake. There hasn’t. Roll it out between sheets of waxed paper.

OVER the years, I’ve described cobblers, crisps, betties, free-form tarts and just about everything else I could think of to keep people from having to tackle the classic pie. A pie crust in itself is not much of a challenge, but many home cooks fear or fail at transferring the crust from countertop to pie plate.

This spice-filled, smooth, rich pumpkin pie comes from restaurateur Lydia Shire of Locke-Ober and Scampo in Boston, and Blue Sky in York Beach, Maine. She makes it for her own table.

When she was a teenager, Cindy Carpenter’s mother taught her how to make this pie from “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.’’ It is always the first pie to go at Thanksgiving, whatever other kinds the family makes. The pastry makes more than you need; roll out the scraps, cut them into shapes, and sprinkle them with cinnamon-sugar before baking.