Pies are defined by their crusts. A filled pie (also single-crust or bottom-crust or tart), has pastry lining the baking dish, and the filling is placed on top of the pastry but left open. A top-crust pie has the filling in the bottom of the dish and is covered with a pastry or other covering before baking. A two-crust pie has the filling completely enclosed in the pastry shell. Shortcrust pastry is a typical kind of pastry used for pie crusts, but many things can be used, including baking powder biscuits, mashed potatoes, and crumbs. Pies can be a variety of sizes, ranging from bite-size to those designed for multiple servings.

The origin of the English word 'pie' is actually rather mysterious. The first known use of the word 'pie' appears in 1303 in the expense accounts of the Bolton Priory in Yorkshire. However, the Oxford English Dictionary is uncertain to its origin and says 'no further related word is known outside English'. A possible origin is that the word 'pie' is connected with a word used in farming to indicate 'a collection of things made into a heap', for example a heap of potatoes covered with earth. One source of the word "pie" may be the magpie, a "bird known for collecting odds and ends in its nest"; the connection could be that Medieval pies also contained many different animal meats, including chickens, crows, pigeons and rabbits. One 1450 recipe for “grete pyes” that might support the "magpie" etymology contained what Charles Perry called "odds and ends", including: "...beef, beef suet, capons, hens, both mallard and teal ducks, rabbits, woodcocks and large birds such as herons and storks, plus beef marrow, hard-cooked egg yolks, dates, raisins and prunes".

Historically, early pies were in the form of flat, round or freeform crusty cakes (represented by modern galettes) consisting of a crust of ground oats, wheat, rye, or barley containing honey inside. These galettes developed into a form of early sweet pastry or desserts, evidence of which can be found on the tomb walls of the Pharaoh Ramesses II, who ruled from 1304 to 1237 BC, located in the Valley of the Kings. Sometime before 2000 BC, a recipe for chicken pie was written on a tablet in Sumer.

The Romans made a plain pastry of flour, oil, and water to cover meats and fowls which were baked, thus keeping in the juices. However, these were more like the practice of clay baking, where the covering was meant to protect the goods baked inside from the direct heat or the fire and the pastry cover was intended to be discarded and not eaten. This was also the common practice in the early modern period and persists for the cooking of fish even today. It should be noted, however that the 1st-century Roman cookbook Apicius (De Re Coquinaria) makes various mentions of recipes which involve a pie case. By 160 BC, Roman statesman Marcus Porcius Cato (234–149 BC), who wrote De Agri Cultura, notes the recipe for the most popular pie/cake called placenta.

In the early Medieval period the earliest pie doughs were probably an inedible, stiff mixture of rye flour and water. The earliest pie recipes refer to coffyns (the word actually used for a basket or box), with straight sealed sides and a top; open-top pies were called traps. Until the mid-16th century this British pie dough known as "coffyn" was used as a baking dish. These pies were meant to be eaten with the hands. The hardened coffyn pastry was not necessarily eaten, its function being to contain the filling for baking, and to extend its shelf-life. Indeed, the thick crust was so sturdy it had to be cracked open to get to the filling.

The first unequivocal reference to pie in a written source is in the 14th century (Oxford English Dictionary sb pie). The eating of mince pies during festive periods is a tradition that dates back to the 13th century, as the returning Crusaders brought pie recipes containing "meats, fruits and spices". Some pies contained cooked rabbits, frogs, crows, and pigeons. In 1390, the English cookbook A Forme of Cury had a recipe for “tartes of flesh”, which included a ground-up mixture of "pork, hard-boiled eggs, and cheese" blended with "spices, saffron, and sugar". The "coffyn" dough for the 14th-century apple pie recipe from the The Forme of Cury was probably a simple mix of water and whatever flour was available in late middle ages. The recipe included spices, apples, raisins pears and figs. The 14th-century French chef Taillevent instructed bakers to "crenelate" pie shells and "reinforce them so that they can support the meat"; one of his pies was high enough that it resembled a model of a castle, an illusion enhanced by miniature banners for the nobles at the event.

Until the start of the 15th century, most pies were expected to contain meat or fish. In the 15th century, more custard and fruit pie recipes began appearing, often with apples and figs and dried fruit like dates and raisins. Fresh fruit did not become widely used until sugar dropped in price during the 16th century. The first cherry pie is recorded in the late 16th century, when Queen Elizabeth I was served cherry pie. Elizabeth was often given gifts of quince or pear pies for New Year.

It was in the 16th century that a puff paste began to be used to make flakier pie crusts. In Gervase Markham's 1615 book The English Huswife, there is a recipe for puff paste where the paste is kneaded, rolled thinly many times while layering with butter. This made a flaky butter pastry to cover meat for pies or for tarts. There is also a pie recipe that calls for "an entire leg of mutton and three pounds of suet..., along with salt, cloves, mace, currants, raisins, prunes, dates, and orange peel", which made a huge pie that could serve a large group. According to Markham, crusts made with fine wheat flour required the addition of eggs to be sturdy enough for raised pies.

In the Georgian era, sweetened pies of meat and dried fruits began to become less popular. In recipe books of the period sweet veal, sweet lamb or sweet chicken pies are given alongside recipes for unsweetened alternatives with the same ingredients made for those who could "no longer stomach the sweetened flesh meats enjoyed by earlier generations". Pumpkin pie was fashionable in England from the 1650s onward, then fell out of favour during the 18th century. Pumpkin was sliced, fried with sweet herbs sweetened with sugar and eggs were added. This was put into a pastry case with currants and apples. Pumpkin pie was introduced to America by early colonists where it became a national dish.

In 1806 Mrs Rundell in her Observations on Savoury Pies in A New System of Domestic Cookery stated that 'There are few articles of cookery more generally liked than relishing pies, if properly made'. Alexis Soyer, a celebrity cook of the 19th century said in his book Shilling Cookery for the People (1860) "From childhood we eat pies - from girlhood to boyhood we eat pies - in fact, pies in England may be considered as one of our best companions du voyage through life. It is we who leave them behind, not they who leave us; for our children and grandchildren will be as fond of pies as we have been; therefore it is needful that we should learn how to make them, and make them well! Believe me, I am not jesting, but if all the spoilt pies made in London on one single Sunday were to be exhibited in a row beside a railway line, it would take above an hour by special train to pass in review these culinary victims".

The alphabetical list of all the pie recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 574 recipes in total:

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Quarktorte mit Agar-agar (No-bake Quark Cheesecake with Agar-agar)      Origin: Switzerland	Schenecken (Crispy Butterhorns)      Origin: Germany	Strawberry Palmiers      Origin: France
Quassatat with Beef and Peas Filling      Origin: Malta	Scone Pizza Base      Origin: Italy	Strudel Dough      Origin: Austria
Queen of Hearts Jam Tarts      Origin: Britain	Scotch Pie      Origin: Scotland	Suet Crust for Pies and Puddings      Origin: Britain
Quesada Pasiega (Cantabrian Cheesecake)      Origin: Spain	Scots Beef Dripping Pastry      Origin: Scotland	Sweet and Savoury Air Fryer Pie Crusts      Origin: Britain
Quesitos (Cream Cheese Puffs)      Origin: Puerto Rico	Scots Mutton Pies      Origin: Scotland	Sweet Potato Pizza Base      Origin: African Fusion
Quetcheflued (Plum Tart)      Origin: Luxembourg	Scottish Bacon and Potato Pie      Origin: Scotland	Sweet Potato Pudding      Origin: Saint Kitts
Quiche au Saumon et Crevettes (Salmon and Prawn Quiche)      Origin: France	Scottish Steak Pie      Origin: Scotland	Sweet Shortcrust Pastry      Origin: Britain
Quiche Dent-de-Lion (Swiss Dandelion Quiche)      Origin: Switzerland	Scottish Venison Pie      Origin: Scotland	Sweet Shortcrust Pastry Dough      Origin: Britain
Quiche Lorraine      Origin: France	Semolina Suet Pastry      Origin: Anglo-Indian	Sweet Suet Pastry      Origin: Britain
Quince Tarte Tatin      Origin: Britain	Sernik Krakowski (Polish Lattice Cheesecake)      Origin: Poland	Sweet Yeast Crust      Origin: Czech
Rabbity Pasty      Origin: England	Shepherd's Pie      Origin: Britain	Tafell Fricyll a Cheirch (Apricot and Oat Slice)      Origin: Welsh
Raised Gooseberry Pie      Origin: Britain	Shortcrust Pastry Dough      Origin: British	Tandoori Chicken Momos      Origin: India
Rhubarb and Curd Cheese Tart      Origin: Britain	Sibierskie Pelmeni (Siberian Meat Dumplings)      Origin: Siberia	Tart au Citron (French Lemon Tart)      Origin: France
Rice Pudding Pasty      Origin: England	Siphnopitta (Honey and Cheese Cake)      Origin: Greece	Tart de Bry (Pounded Cheese Tart)      Origin: England
Rich Herb Pastry      Origin: Britain	Small Raised Mutton Pies      Origin: Scotland	Tart de ffruyte (A Fruit Pie)      Origin: England
Rich Raised Pie      Origin: Britain	Smoked Chicken, Leek and Mushroom Pie      Origin: Australia	Tart in Ymbre Day (Amber Day Tart)      Origin: England
Rich Shortcrust Pastry      Origin: Britain	Smoked Salmon Cheesecake      Origin: Ireland	Tart Pastry      Origin: Britain
Rich, Sweet, Orange Shortcrust Pastry      Origin: Britain	Sorrel Meringue Pie      Origin: Britain	Tarte a L'oingon (Onion Tart)      Origin: Haiti
Rich, Sweet, Shortcrust Pastry      Origin: Britain	Sorrel Tartlets      Origin: Britain	Tarte au Rumex Alpin (Alpine Dock Tart)      Origin: Switzerland
Rieslingspaschtèit (Riesling Wine and Meat Pie)      Origin: Luxembourg	Sour Sauce Pasty      Origin: England	Tarte au Sucre (Sugar Pie)      Origin: Canada
Robinson      Origin: Martinique	Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)      Origin: Greece	Tarte aux oignons de Roscoff (Roscoff onion tart)      Origin: France
Rough Puff Pastry      Origin: Britain	Spanokopita (Cheese and Spinach Pie)      Origin: Greece	Tarte aux Pommes Bretonne (Breton Apple Pie)      Origin: France
Saint Helena Curry Puffs      Origin: St Helena	Spring Greens Pie      Origin: Britain	Tarten Afal (Welsh Apple Tart)      Origin: Welsh
Saint Helena Ginger Beer      Origin: St Helena	Spring Roll Wrappers      Origin: China	Tarten Afal a Chaws (Apple and Cheese Tart)      Origin: Welsh
Salted Pilchard and Leek Pie      Origin: Britain	St Clement's Meringue      Origin: Britain	Tarten Bricyll a Mafon (Apricot and Raspberry Tart)      Origin: Welsh
Samboussa (Djibouti Samosas)      Origin: Djibouti	St Clements Meringue Pie      Origin: Britain	Tarten Bwmpen (Marrow Pie)      Origin: Welsh
Sambusa      Origin: Somalia	St Helena Hertzoggies      Origin: St Helena	Tarten Ceirios (Cherry Tart)      Origin: Welsh
Samosa Wrapper      Origin: India	St Kitts Saltfish And Breadfruit Pie      Origin: Saint Kitts	Tarten Cig Moch â Thatws (Bacon and Potato Pie)      Origin: Welsh
Samsas (Sweet Nutty Samosas)      Origin: Bangladesh	Stargazy Pasty      Origin: England	Tarten Eidion Tun (Corned Beef Pie)      Origin: Welsh
Samusa aux Crevettes Réunionaise (Reunion Shrimp Samosas)      Origin: Reunion	Steak and Guinness Pie      Origin: Ireland	Tarten Eirin (Plum Tart)      Origin: Welsh
Sausage Lattice      Origin: Northern Ireland	Steak and Kidney Pudding      Origin: Britain	Tarten Eirin Mair (Gooseberry Tart)      Origin: Welsh
Savoury Shortcrust Pastry      Origin: Britain	Strawberry Flan with Redcurrant Glaze      Origin: Britain	Tarten Gwreiddlysiau wedi’i Charameleiddio (Caramelised Root Vegetable Tart)      Origin: Welsh
Savoury Suet Pastry      Origin: Britain	Strawberry Galette      Origin: Britain
Scallop and Mushroom Pie      Origin: Ireland	Strawberry Knotweed Pie      Origin: Britain

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