Sara Foster takes the expression easy as pie seriously. New and experienced bakers alike will thrill to Foster's encouraging approach to tossing together the most delicious made-from-scratch pies. A southern kitchen is unimaginable without pie, says Foster, who grew up on a farm in Tennessee, where many a meal ended with a bubbling pie or cobbler straight from the oven. There were many pie makers in my family, and no one ever needed a recipe-they just mixed, rolled out pastry, and baked to perfection, she writes. Surrounded from an early age by her pie-baking mother, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and neighbors, Foster developed a natural passion for pies.

Here, reap the rewards of Foster's inspiration: fifty-seven recipes for amazing pies, including the southern classics, each one matched to one of eleven perfect pie crusts. You'll find pies piled with fruit, pies stuffed with nuts, custard and cream pies, icebox pies, tarts and hand pies-and savory pies, too. Guided by Foster's clear instructions and how-to tips, you too will soon be pulling a pie pan of joy out of the oven for every season and taste.