My, my — it's American pie

Everyone loves a slice of pie. No matter the season, pies play a starring roll at picnics, church gatherings and family suppers across the nation.

True, pie isn't exactly an American invention, but try and find another country that embraces pie crust the way we do. Fruit pies, custard pies, coconut pies, meringue tops or the all-American apple pie — what's your pleasure?

Here are seven regional favorites from across America.

7) Derby pie (aka Kentucky pie, Run for the Roses pie, Race Day pie, thoroughbred pie)
A time-honored favorite in the winning rooms of Churchill Downs on race day and at picnics and gatherings throughout the season, this chocolate nut pie has several names and a zillion variations: spiked with bourbon, topped with whipped cream, made with pecans instead of walnuts.

Just as at the races, there’s an ongoing bid for the winning pie at local events, and an enduring argument about what should and should not go in it — corn syrup being one of the questionable ingredients. The original Derby pie is said to have been a specialty of the Melrose Inn in Prospect, Ky., in the 1950s, and was later marketed by the Kern family under a now-registered and heavily defended trademark, Derby-Pie. Members of the Kern family drew the name for this rich, chocolate confection out of a hat, and it has made history ever since. Kern’s Kitchen in Louisville is run by the grandson of the founders, and he has the recipe under lock and key, but they proudly proclaim on their Web site that they use chocolate chips, English walnuts and vanilla.

Peggy Stevens, a chef and master taster at Woodford Reserve Distillery, in Versailles, Ky., affirms the Kern family's hold on the name, but calls the Derby pie a classic Kentucky dessert and “the best kept secret” of Louisville.

Unlike the Kerns' pie, which is made with finely ground nuts and a thin layer of chocolate, Stevens' Race Day pie is made with a thick nougat-like filling of chocolate and pecans — and of course, some of her distillery's bourbon.

6) Funeral pie (aka raisin pie, rosina pie)
This humble pie is aptly named for the fact that for many years the Amish presented it to families who had recently lost a loved one. Traditionally made with raisins (because they were in the pantry and didn’t spoil), funeral pie can be made with any non-seasonal dried fruit, plumped in a bit of water and then folded into a simple filling of butter, sugar, flour, eggs, and a bit of lemon rind.

Some recipes include milk, making it more like a custard pie, and others include water, but they all seem to agree on the necessity of a double-crusted pie, usually with a lattice top. Early references suggest this pie was also made with sour cherries, and in Wisconsin a similar pie can be found with sour cream — a possible ode to German and Norwegian heritage. It is likely that it arrived on our shores via Pennsylvania Dutch settlers from Germany, which might explain the alternate name rosina pie (rosine means raisin in German). It is referenced as such in the “Pennsylvania Dutch Cookbook: Fine Old Recipes” as early as 1936.