The Great Pie Bake-Off

When my sister Katey was visiting last week, my sisters decided a pie bake-off was in order. Although not very confident in my baking skills, I was happy to join in. I don’t know if I’m just so focused on my kids, work, growing to-do list, etc. that I didn’t realize what all was going into this…but I didn’t. Or maybe I’m just sometimes too firstborn.

First, Katey made t-shirts for all of us. I was swamped with work. (My boss e-mailed the day before Emry turned a month old, remarking how amazing it was she was already a month old, and…could I take on some projects? It was okay if I couldn’t, but…you get the picture.) So with two proposals due at work within two days of each other, I couldn’t even think of something creative about a pie to put on a t-shirt So, my “It’s Pie, Y’all” is not to be compared to the creativity of Katey, Sally, Jenny and Abby. Which only showcased how dull my pie was going to be.

Again, with my workload I quickly decided a coconut cream pie would be best, considering I didn’t make one for Valentine’s as I usually do since I couldn’t stomach sugar when I was pregnant with Elly. That pie calls for a basic pie crust, so there was nothing fancy about that. And it’s great because the whipped cream on top covers the crust, which I can barely manage to roll out and get in the pan without holes, or tears, or total disaster let alone crimp the edges to look all beautiful. I knew from the start my pie would get no points for “best looking” especially when up against art-teacher Katey and seamstress-extraordinaire Jenny. But at least it would taste good!

And it did taste good, I personally think, but – again – I was up against Sally, whose hobby and side-job is baking so I don’t think any of us actually beat her Peanut Butter Reese pie. A basic pie crust like mine fell short of the shortbread crusts of Katey’s Strawberries ‘n Cream pie and Abby’s Key Lime pie. (And since I love shortbread, even I concur with that.) Jenny’s Banana and Strawberry pie had a cake mix based crust, and the combination of strawberries and bananas was unique. I think the only points I scored was for nostalgia. My dad loves coconut cream and recalled the days when my mom would make him one. Which caused us kids to recall what a common dessert coconut cream and chocolate pies once were for Sunday dinners. 

In spite of that, we had fun. We even decided that we could be a hit reality TV show: Sisters Bake-Off. Or something like that. And since my brothers are pretty decent cooks as well, we could broaden the scope and invite them as well. But the idea was short lived when Jenny noted all the family drama that would be unearthed and broadcast on national television in our little side interviews. I mean, the stories we could tell about each other! And no one wants to be the Duggars. 

So, who actually won? Well, because my nephew Jay had decided the prize should be the winner gets to take all the grandkids to the trampoline park, we all voted for Abby’s pie. No one deserved the prize more! J

 The pies…

…and the Sisters (with Emry)!