Best Pie Plates

Here's a gift for bakers that takes all the guesswork out of making a pie: Littleton-based Mudworks makes colorful, hand-painted, dishwasher- and oven-safe earthenware pie dishes with recipes indelibly glazed into the edges. A wide range of available recipes includes a 1998 best-of-show-winning berry-and-rhubarb tart from the annual National Pie Baking Championships in Boulder and the Perfect Flaky & Tender Cream Cheese Pie Crust, from Rose Levy Beranbaum's Pie and Pastry Bible. Potter Julie Vincelette will also do custom work for folks looking for a novel way to hand down the ingredient list for their dear old Granny's best apple pie.