Even though my mom's ancestors settled in Kentucky before Daniel Boone and had a taste for sugar and spice, I didn't meet or eat a Kentucky Appalachian stack cake until grown and on my own.

Gingerbread-dense and layered with apples, the cake's flavors wowed me. But even more winning? The recipe's fabled origins as a community-baked wedding cake. Each family attending an Appalachian stack cake wedding would bake and bring one of the six to 12 thin layers. The bride's family would cook the apple filling and assemble all the layers into the finished cake. Practical, and tasty.

But historical recipes suggest it took three hours to make. Could there be an easier way?

Eyeing my post-holiday fridge full of ready-made, roll-and-bake pie crusts, the thought occurred: How about using the leftover dough to make mini Appalachian stack pies, instead of stack cakes? Practical, tasty and quicker.

I've stacked two pies in your favor: the Appalachian spiced apple and a plain sour cherry. Either of them would be fit for a Valentine's Day finale.

I went with individual-size pie stacks because they're cute, and trying to cut a large pie stack into attractive serving portions is nearly impossible — the delicate pastry tends to crumble. It takes one roll-and-bake pie crust to make a dozen 3-inch pastry circles, or enough for four pie stacks.

In each recipe, the fillings take the most time — 30 to 60 minutes, so you might want to make fillings the night before you plan to serve the dessert. All else is easy: The pastry circles bake in five minutes flat, ready to be layered with filling and served. You'll want to serve the pie stacks right after you assemble them, or your crisp pastry rounds will get soggy and your stack will topple.


Appalachian spiced apple stack pie

Prep: 25 minutes

Cook: 55 minutes

Makes: 4 servings

Using dried apples and juice rather than fresh apples and sugar yields a more intense apple pie. Normally, Appalachian stack cakes put the spices in the batter, rather than the filling. We've switched that here, spicing the filling, rather than the pastry. Use less spice, if you like.

Pie circles:

1 roll-and-bake ready-made pie crust

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


1 package (6 ounces) dried apples, chopped