10 Unexpected Secret Ingredient Fruit Pies

Traditional blueberry and apple pies are nice, but a little predictable. Next time it's your turn to bring something to a picnic or dessert potluck, take your pie up a notch with a twist on traditional flavors. These 10 secret-ingredient fruit pies feature unusual ingredients, from hot peppers to tequila, and even a few unexpected fruits. Armed with these recipes, guessing that secret ingredient in your pie will be the talk of the party.

The No-Fruit Apple Pie

During the Depression, apples were expensive and not always easy to find. But resourceful cooks found a work-around. Mock Apple Pie uses buttery-flavored snack crackers -- and the traditional apple pie ingredients of cinnamon, sugar, and butter -- to let thrifty bakers make a dessert with a flavor that comes remarkably close to the absent fruit.

Hot Stuff: Jalepeno Fruit Pies

What's dessert without a little fire-breathing? Spicy habaneros are the secret to Greg's Hot Peach Pie. Habaneros' milder cousins star in Poppin' Jalapeno Blackberry Pie. Be sure to have a glass of milk handy to cool the burn. (It really works!)

Margaritas in a Crust (21 and Up)

With a salty crust and a couple of shots of tequila and orange liqueur--plus strawberries, and condensed milk--the frozen Margarita Party Pie will be the life of your next cookout — but remember it's just for grownups!

Candy or Pie?

Fiery cinnamon candies are the secret of Candy Apple Pie, an open-face delight that will take you back to junior high school. It's like digging into a candied apple without the mess. Just add a dollop of whipped cream to ease the burn.

Sneaky Flavor Secrets

Special flavors take regular fruit pies to the next level. Crystallized ginger adds a layer of flavor to Buffalochef's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.

Spoiler alert: The secret in Mystery Ingredient Wild Blueberry Pie is almond extract. Let your family guess what the trick is -- and the winner scores a second helping.

Unexpected Fruit Pies

Who says fruit pies have to use the most common fruits? Watermelon Harvest Pie uses the rind along with cranberries and walnuts (Allrecipes reviewers liken it to mincemeat).

Then there is the humble avocado, which is technically a fruit. In this Avocado Lime Pie, it tastes like key lime pie, not guacamole, with a fresh taste and creamy texture.

Ground Cherry Pie II combines ground cherries--also known as husk tomatoes or tomatillos--with sugar and butter in an old Mennonite recipe.

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