Thanksgiving 2025: We Have Pie

Yesterday the first thing on my to-do list was to make two cherry pies. A family favorite, the recipe from my Grandma Honeywell has been used in our family since 1955.

It can be a bear to make. Most scratch pies are, but they and this pie are worth it. However, I was feeling weak and tired and was rolling around with my walker. Honestly, I was not sure how I would get those pies made.

Enter Kyle.

"Need any help?" he asked. Boy howdy, I was so relieved I thought I might cry then and there.

What began with just a few requests to get the pie plates down from the cupboard and open the cans of cherries so I could make the filling soon turned into a joint pie baking effort.

It was so much fun. It was also so helpful. 

Making scratch pie dough is a messy process.

The first pie was ready to go into the oven in far less time than usual.

And the second one was put together just as quickly. We vented the pies with my Grandma Honeywell's signature design and popped them into the oven.

A half hour later we had two beautiful cherry pies ready for Thanksgiving dinner.

We also made a memory together, one that I will always cherish. Thanks, Kyle. I don't think I could've made those pies this year without your help. xo

Here's a step by step blog post with the recipe and how to make the pie. 

BreyerFest 2023: Saturday's Activities

BreyerFest Saturday was a very busy day! 

Kyle got up early - he wanted to do some things around the house for Craig and me, things that are getting hard for us to do.

Like get down on his knees for an extended period of time and install a new garbage disposal for us. That took most of the morning, and I was not needed to help, so I began my BreyerFest activities for the day. (Thank you so much, Kyle!)

We'd had heavy rain during the night but the weather cleared enough so that I was able to go out to the "horse park" and visit my girl.

Twinsies!

Sultanna badly wanted to be in my selfie with Abby and kept pushing in behind me. This was the result. Made for a memorable shot and made me laugh so no harm done!

More, please!

Abby never fails to make me smile. I love this gal so much.

When I got back home it was nearly noon - BreyerFest Saturday was going fast! I logged into my Breyer account and turned on the live feed.

Next up? Watching some of the workshops. I started with mine. While I've seen it many times already, I hadn't seen it as an official part of BreyerFest.

Me watching me sew. That's a strange feeling!

Then I scrolled through pictures of other activities that were going on. This one caught my eye.

The two pony pouches that can be seen in the background are two that I made! (Photos by Kammie Fenwick and used with permission.)

She'd found some damaged Hagen Renakers to bring home and repair and was using this haversack as a pony pad. 

Mid afternoon I had to leave BreyerFest for a couple hours so I could do something even more important to me.

Bake two cherry pies for Beach Son Kyle's Sunday birthday celebration, scratch crust and all! Pies are a labor of love, but I did not mind at all. Cherry are his favorite and I was happy to make them for him.

I popped the two pies into the oven and sat down to watch the auction.

The highest bid of the evening was, as expected, for the Pegasus Pony. It's lovely but well over my budget - actually, they all were.

I recorded the amount each went for and if they sold from the floor or online.

Two things that I found interesting - first, the winning bids seemed low to me in comparison to past years.

Second, only 4 of the 22 lots sold in person (on the floor) while 18 were sold to online bidders. Is that because there is a bigger audience online? Or was it that those very high bidders want to preserve their anonymity?

I finished the evening by watching the Celebration of Horses show. There were some problems with the music and a naughty horse or two, and the lighting often made it hard to see the performers but overall I enjoyed it.

There is some controversy about whether or not the show was child appropriate. Lianna Paloma did some amazing aerial movements on a rope, but at times I felt like I was watching a pole dance. (Not that I've ever seen one, hah!) She did absolutely nothing with or connected to horses - the only horse in her act was the one a cowboy sat on near her rope, pointing at her as she performed. 

I thought my BreyerFest Saturday was over at that point, but I was wrong; there was one more bit of exciting news to come.

I was sitting in my favorite chair reading before I went to bed (I'm working my way through the Harry Potter books again) when I received a message from my friend, Danielle Feldman. The Best Customs Contest had been judged and she'd sent this picture to let me know how she'd done.

Congratulations, Danielle! I am thrilled for you and it is very well deserved. And for those of you who don't remember, Danielle also won the Most Extreme last year, too!

I won't be attending virtual BreyerFest today - it's Sunday and I prefer to attend Church and then spend time with my family. Teacher Daughter Lisa and Local Son Curt, Vanessa, and their kids will all be coming over here in the afternoon to celebrate Beach Son Kyle's birthday. We will play games and eat BBQed ribs, watermelon, and cherry pie.

It's going to be a good day!

(Don't forget to enter for the show apron!)

Grandma Honeywell's Cherry Pie

 Last November just before Thanksgiving, I shared Grandma Honeywell's pumpkin pie recipe here on Horsiemama. It is my favorite pie, but the rest of my family thinks her cherry pie is even better. I will be making both this week and thought that I would share her cherry pie recipe this year.

This recipe does not use store-bought cherry pie filling, it uses pitted tart red cherries.

My original recipe card from the mid 1970s. You can tell that it is well loved and well used! I have also added notes to it - they continue on to the back. (I double the filling now despite what my 1997 note says. And, I omit the salt.)

Grandma Honeywell's 1955 Cherry Pie Recipe

2 cans of cherries, drained in a colander with the juice saved

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca (NOT the pearled!)

1/3 cup of the saved juice (discard the rest)

1 tablespoon butter, thinly sliced into pats (sometimes I omit this, too)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine the sugar, tapioca, and cherry juice in a medium bowl. Stir until well mixed and let stand while preparing the pie dough. Roll out half the pie dough (or use a prepared crust) and place bottom crust into a 9" pie pan. Mix the cherries into the sugar/tapioca/juice mixture and then pour into the pie pan. Place thin butter pats on top of cherry mixture. Roll out the other half of the pie dough (or use prepared pie crust) and place on top. Cut a few steam vents into the top. Bake at 450 degrees for ten minutes, then turn the heat down to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. 

Now, because there are 29 Isenbargers and every last one of us loves homemade pie, I always double the recipe. It's easy peasy - I use 5 cans of cherries and 10" pie pans. (Just roll the dough thinner to fit the pie pan.) I do not change anything else in Grandma Honeywell's recipe.

When doubling, I make each recipe twice in separate bowls. 

The cherries and sugar/tapioca/juice have been mixed together and poured into the pie pan.

Dotting the top with butter before adding the top crust.

The top crust has been added, the edges fluted, and the steam vent cut into the top crust. (Use the tip of a sharp knife to cut your vents. Hold it vertically to the pie crust and cut with a quick, shallow, up and down motion.)

Hot out of the oven and cooling on the counter.

Cowpoke Ian checking out the desserts - the cherry pie is the bottom right pie.

Because our family is so big and there is so much food being prepared, we run out of space quickly. The solution to the space crunch? Putting completed dishes that do not need refrigeration in other places in the house - on top of the the washing machine, outside on the patio table (which sometimes doubles as a second refrigerator if the weather is cold enough), and...

... in the tub in my bathroom. As you can see, Cowpoke Ian has discovered them. Usually all the grands have to come take a peek. They get the giggles when they see pies in the bathtub.

Grandma started baking this cherry pie recipe in 1955, maybe earlier. It wouldn't be the holidays to me or to my family without a slice of it.

I feel very close to her when I make it and often get a little teary, too. She passed the recipe to my mom who passed it to me, and I have passed it on to my children. An unusual legacy, but a very important one, too.

Enjoy your cherry pie, and Happy Thanksgiving!