Some of you have known Dessa for years. Some of you have watched her grow up through my online cooking classes, and a few of you have even traveled with her to Greece and Sardinia.

Last spring, while I was in Greece, she decided to check out an open cheer class here in the Berkshires. She had been trying gymnastics and a few other things, but cheer was something she had always wanted to try. The coach saw something in her and invited her onto the team, and suddenly we found ourselves in the world of competitive cheer. So far, lots of practices, but we’re on our way to competitions, traveling, and a whole lot of excitement. Apparently, I’m a cheer dad now. 😊

One of the things her coach encourages the athletes to do is come up with their own creative ways to fundraise for the season. And since Dessa and I have always loved cooking together, we figured there was really only one way for us to do it: invite all of you into the kitchen with us.

So we’re having a fun fall cooking class and making one of her favorite treats: homemade hand pies!

Dessa is firmly on Team Pumpkin, while I’m definitely Team Apple, so naturally we’re making both. We’ll make a tender, flaky pie dough from scratch and fill our hand pies with either a warmly spiced pumpkin filling or a classic apple filling—or, like us, make a little of each.

Come spend some time in the kitchen with us—and don’t come solo! Grab the kids, invite a friend, or get a few people together and make an afternoon of it. This is a fun one to do as a family or group, and the more hands in the kitchen, the better.