The New Pie Cookbook Review

The New Pie: Modern Techniques for the Classic American Dessert

Today we are back with another pie cookbook! The last time we did that, we reviewed Sister Pie, which was one of the best books of 2018. Now we’re back with what we believe to be one of the best books of 2019 – The New Pie.

Get ready for a new, fresh take on baking the ultimate feel-good dessert! In The New Pie, the baking celebrities Chris Taylor and Paul Arguin re-examine the amazing world of pies. Through traditional time-honored techniques, modern cooking methods (like sous vide), innovative flavors (birthday cake; Tahitian pineapple; and mocha “mystery”), and a love for kitchen gadgets (like immersion circulators and silicone texture mats), these legendary competition circuit pie experts reinvent the traditional pastime of pie-making.

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When Science and Pastry Come Together

The New Pie is a different book from the ones we are accustomed to finding on the market. This is probably because it was written by two passionate bakers, who also happen to have day jobs as scientists. In recent years though, they’ve also become baking celebrities. Together, they’ve won nearly every prize on the amateur pie competition circuit, including the 2017 National Pie Championships.

What we really like about this book is that it preserves Arguin and Taylor’s genius for novelty. Here you will find amazing combinations like Bloody Mary-flavored filling and Cheetos in the crust, or a root beer float pie that uses Pop Rocks to approximate the sensation of drinking soda. But the book also serves as a precise pie-making primer. Whether you’re a newbie or a pro, this book has a new technique, tool, or recipe that will make your pies a bit more delicious.

The scientist’s side of these two passionate bakers is obvious in this book. They focus on precision and technique, and they also embrace fancy kitchen gadgets. They use immersion circulators to sous-vide fruit, to achieve a perfectly toothsome texture and control the amount of liquid in a fruit pie. And they strongly recommend that all bakers invest in a digital scale for weighing ingredients, rather than measuring volume.  They have other great recommendations but we leave that aside so you can find out in the book!

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Unique Combinations

The secret of the success of this book is in the flavor combinations. Taylor and Arguin have created a host of new classics that are mostly easy to make. Even with techniques and equipment that we normally don’t see in pie recipes, everyone will be able to replicate the recipes of this book at home without any problem. For a more challenging work, you have a chapter dedicated to some very involved, prize-winning recipes. That require pastry bags, days of planning, a steady hand, and an artist’s eye to execute.

The New Pie offers 75 beautiful and unique recipes with step-by-step instructions and playful photography. You’ll learn to make groundbreaking creations, including a magnificent Blueberry-Maple Pie with wood-grain lattice, the King Fluffernutter Pie and a striped chocolate Pie of the Tiger.

Final Thoughts

After a few weeks, and dozens of pies, we couldn’t be happier with this book. We love the flavor combinations and the fresh ideas that it brings to the table. Although this book is full of new flavor combinations and innovative cooking techniques, anyone can have a good time with it. Whether you are a new baker or baking enthusiast you will find inspiration at every turn and pies to satisfy every craving.