I love to bake. Every Thanksgiving, I entertain my entire family—and I make about fifteen pies. One of my favorites is a Swedish apple pie. A coworker gave me the recipe years ago when I was working at The Arc, and I’ve made it every year since.
It’s so simple. You just cut up fresh apples and put them in the pie plate with a little cinnamon and sugar. Then you mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nuts in a bowl and scoop it over the top of the apples. There’s no pie crust—the topping bakes into a crust of its own. I think it’s great. But the best part is, it’s easy.
Mary Beth’s Swedish Apple Pie
Ingredients:
- 9–12 peeled apples
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 tablespoon sugar
Batter:
- ¾ cup melted butter
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- Dash of salt
- ½ cup chopped nuts (walnuts)
Directions:
Toss sliced apples in cinnamon and sugar.
Place in a glass pie plate.
Pour batter over the top of the apples.
Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.
Thanksgiving Traditions in Mohawk Valley
We asked Mohawk Valley residents to share some of their most cherished Thanksgiving traditions.
Judy Galimo
With so many children, nieces, nephews, and cousins in the LaBella family, a Thanksgiving tradition we started about ten years ago is our annual touch football game Thanksgiving morning. Everyone joins in — kids, adults, even grandparents cheering from the sidelines. The laughter, friendly competition, and crisp fall air make it something we all look forward to. When the game ends, we gather for cider and donuts, warming up together and reliving the morning’s best plays.
Jenna Peppenelli
My Thanksgiving tradition is that no matter where everyone eats their main meal, we all end up at my cousin’s home to play cards after dinner. It’s something we’ve always done, and it brings us all together again. I’ve always been thankful for those pitch games — the laughter, the banter, and the friendly competition that carries late into the night. No matter where the day starts, it always ends the same: surrounded by family, laughter, and cards.
Amy DeMetri
One of the things I remember most vividly from our big Italian family was Thanksgiving prayer. My grandfather, Felix “Phil” Vennero, would stand at the table each year, raise his glass of red wine, and give thanks to God for our blessings. Though he prayed in Italian, we always understood his greatest blessing was his family. We’ve continued that tradition, now in English, but it carries the same meaning — la familia. This simple ritual reminds me how wonderful life has been.
Marianne Hagadorn
Every Wednesday before Thanksgiving, my son Logan and I bake all our pies from scratch. It’s a tradition passed down from my grandmother, my father’s mother. I don’t have many memories of her, but baking those pies connects me to her in such a meaningful way. The smell of the kitchen, the flour on our hands, the laughter — it all feels like family history coming to life. I cherish this tradition and am thrilled to pass it on to my son.
Danielle McDonough
Every year, I make my childhood best friend’s Aunt Becky’s stuffing — the best I’ve ever had. I grew up on Stove Top, so this was a game changer. It’s filled with cranberries, apples, fresh herbs like sage, rosemary, and thyme, and, of course, plenty of butter. The recipe feeds an army, so now I share it with my neighbors and their families too. What started as one family’s recipe has become a tradition that connects several of us every Thanksgiving.
Kathy Caruso
Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful — for health, healing, family, friends, and the simple joy of being together. Our traditions have changed as family has moved away, but one thing I’ve always loved is making something individualized for each person, no matter how many we were. One year, everyone got their own stuffed Cornish hen; another, stuffed squash; another, personal-sized pies. It’s my way of letting each person know they’re special — that they matter at the table.
Maria Murad Blais
Thanksgiving is so special and full of traditions for us. We wake up early and start cooking our family recipes while watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. One of our favorite traditions is writing what we’re thankful for on small cards, placing them in a basket, and reading them aloud at dinner while guessing who wrote each one. It always brings laughter and tears. For us, Thanksgiving is about family, food, and truly taking time to appreciate one another.
Gail Belden Harrington
Every Thanksgiving, our family finds its rhythm — familiar dishes, a few surprises, and lots of laughter. Aunt Shirley’s scalloped carrots always make the table, creamy and golden as ever. My baked cranberries — now “Gail’s Signature” — started simple but grew into a favorite with grapes, craisins, and pineapple. Courtney makes the best stuffing (never in the turkey!), and Brittany carries on her great-grandmother’s pumpkin pie recipe. The next day, Shane makes thick turkey sandwiches. It’s food, laughter, and love.
Mary Jane Tottey
The first year I was a single mom, I was determined to cook Thanksgiving dinner myself — though my only cookbook was The Mickey Mouse Cookbook. So our menu included Mowgli Fruit Salad, Tom Thumb Turkey, Minnie Mouse Mashed Potatoes, and Goofy Green Bean Bake. Wanting to be sure the turkey was cooked, I used multiple pop-ups — it looked like a porcupine! The Butterball Hotline talked me through it, and my three Disney Princesses were wonderfully kind — and thankful.
Catherine (Sciortino) Pillmore
When I was young, Thanksgiving at my Aunt Nancy Sciortino’s was a celebration fit for a king. The table was decked with tissue Tom Turkeys and smiling Pilgrims, and her perfectly roasted bird filled the house with warmth. But the best part came the next morning — Black Friday at Riverside Mall in North Utica, bundled up and chasing deals. Those simple days were magical — a kitchen filled with love and laughter. Now, as Nonna to nine, I try to recreate that same magic.
