Grab your calculator and your apron for Pi Day! These New England-inspired, from-scratch pies are inviting and flavorful. Find fruit-filled pies, chocolate pies, no-bake pies, and even savory pies! It's going to be the best March 14th ever.
This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. You can read my full disclaimer here.
If it's been a minute since you've baked or enjoyed a pie, March 14th is the perfect reason to fix that. Yes, it's Pi Day, and I have 17 kinds of sweet and savory pies recipes for you to try.
From quiches to hand pies, and no-bake pies to oven-baked classics. There are fruit-filled pies, chocolate pies, pies big enough to feed a crowd and pies that you can hold in the palm of your hand.
Browse through my Pie Recipes and invite friends over to celebrate Pi Day together! **Scroll to the end to see a bonus recipe!
In a nutshell... ๐ฟ๏ธ
- What this is: A collection of 17 New England-style sweet and savory pies to celebrate Pi Day! From juicy fruits to creamy fillings to herby quiches.
- You'll love this part: These recipes turn a quirky math holiday into a delicious reason to gather with pie-loving friends and family!
- How to use this guide: Choose a pie recipe; they're organized by type of filling, hand-helds, and savory. Then, tap on the recipes to see detailed recipes, photos, and tips.
Jump to:
What is Pi Day? ฯ
To understand what Pi Day is, you must first understand pi (ฯ). So allow me, an admitted math-averse individual, to explain... on second thought, I'll let Encyclopedia Britannica explain:
"In mathematics, pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. The Greek letter ฯ was first used by British mathematician William Jones in 1706 to represent the ratio and was later popularized by Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler. Because pi is irrational (not equal to the ratio of any two whole numbers), its digits do not repeat, and an approximation such as 3.14 is often used for everyday calculations. To 39 decimal places, pi is 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197."
That approximation of pi, 3.14, is the part you should focus on.
In the brains of pie-minded individuals like myself, 3.14 looks a heck of a lot like shorthand for March 14th. And pi sounds suspiciously, deliciously like "pie". Therefore, the sum of the roots of the common denominators and carry the one equals... well, we must celebrate and eat pie on March 14th!
Who was the first to celebrate Pi Day?
The first official celebration of March 14th as "Pi Day" was launched by a man who was arguably the world's biggest pi fan.
Larry Shaw was a physicist working at the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco, California. In 1988, he looked at those first digits of pi, 3.14, and decided to have some fun. On March 14th of that year, he planned a unique pi celebration for the employees of the museum.
Beginning at 1:59PM on March 14th (because 1 5 9 are the numbers that follow 3.14 in pi), Shaw and the others marched around in a circle (because pi relates to the circumference of a circle). When the march was over, Shaw and his wife treated the staff to a feast ofโyou guessed it, PIES!
The Pi Day celebration at the Exploratorium became an annual tradition and grew in popularity to include visitors to the museum as well. It's still celebrated at the museum today!
In 2009 the U.S. Congress made it deliciously official, declaring March 14th to be National Pi Day.
Although folks outside of the San Francisco museum may not bother with the marching-in-a-circle portion of the day, the tradition of baking and eating pies on March 14th caught on like wildfire in the U.S. and beyond.
Why you'll love this collection of pie recipes for Pi Day
What a treat to bake up: a buttery, flaky pie for friends and family on March 14th! There are savory pies below, such as Mini Chicken Pot Pies or Carrot Quiche that you can make for supper. Or, make a fruit filled pie for dessert, like Vanilla Apple Pie or Cranberry Pumpkin Hand Pies.
There are options here for no-bake pies, too, like creamy Baileys Chocolate Irish Cream Pie, or my family's favorite, Chocolate Caramel Pie.
I pair many of these sweet and savory fillings with my All Butter Pie Crust recipe. (When you subscribe to my newsletter, I'll send you a free video tutorial on how to make it!) Other pies are made with cookie crusts and graham cracker crusts.
In short, the ratio of the circumference of these pie recipes is that there is a delicious pie here to make everyone happy on Pi Day!
SAVE THIS RECIPE OR POST!
I'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later.
Pie FAQs
Cold butter is the secret to a flaky crust. When the dough is rolled out, you should be able to see little pieces of butter suspended throughout. As the butter pie crust bakes, the water in the butter turns to steam, puffing up the crust to create layers and flakes.
Fortunately, regular, easy-to-find all-purpose flour makes an excellent pie crust. My preference isย King Arthur Baking Company brand, because it's a New England company and a high-quality product. Whichever brand you choose, make sure the flour is fresh. (Check that expiration date!)
In their article aboutย the best pie crust,ย King Arthur Baking shares that flours with lower protein content produce a more tender crust. Although fine pastry flour has a very low protein content, it produces a dough that's trickier to work with, especially for those new to pie making. All-purpose flour is a perfect compromise for a tender dough that's also easy to roll out and shape.
There are pros and cons to a crust made with all shortening. Shortening-based pie dough is easier to handle because shortening has a higher melting point than butter. It also creates a tender crust. The downside is that shortening crusts won't have the flakiness of butter crusts or the flavor either. I also find that shortening leaves a filmy mouthfeel.
If you would really like to use some shortening in your pie crust dough, I recommend a compromise of half butter and half shortening. This way, the pie crust will still have a buttery flavor and some of the flakiness.
Yes, you can substitute store-bought pie crust dough to save some time. However, the flavor and flakiness of a from-scratch All-Butter Pie Crust Doughย is worth the effort. You can make it ahead of time and store for 3 days in the fridge or longer in the freezer.
17 Pie Recipes for Pi Day
Find your March 14th pie recipes below!
Start with a good crust
All-Butter Pie Crust
I have a complete guide for you to make this delectable pie crust with ease, including tools, tips, and tricks.
Fruit Pies
Vanilla Apple Pie
Instead of the expected cinnamon, this apple pie has a velvety flavor from loads of vanilla, and a sweet crust.
Fruit of the Forest Pie
Instead of one fruit, this pie boasts SIX, including berries, apples, and rhubarb.
Starry Cherry Blueberry Tart
Add food coloring to the pie crust stars or leave them plain. This sweet fruit tart is delicious either way.
Sweet Pies
Lemon Lavender Pie
Chase the winter chill away with this creamy lemon pie with a hint of floral lavender, and a vanilla cookie crust.
Cinnamon Pie
Inspired by the TV show Psych, I created a silky smooth cinnamon pie, nestled in a butter pie crust.
Baileys Chocolate Irish Cream Pie
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day and Pi Day with one creamy, chocolaty pie in a chocolate cookie crust.
viral recipe!
Salted Caramel Chocolate Cream Pie
Make a homemade graham cracker crust or pick up a store-bought one to hold the chocolate pudding filling.
Sweet Potato Pie
Proof that sweet potatoes deserve so much more than to be French fries! This pie filling is made with boiled apple cider.
Toffee Cherry Chocolate Pie
Decadent as all get out! Dried cherries are tart and chewy in the sweet chocolate filling.
Handheld Pies
Coconut Hand Pies
A simple, sweet coconut macaroon-like filling inside a ridiculously flaky crust.
Pumpkin Cranberry Hand Pies
These flaky little pockets have a delectable combination of creamy pumpkin pie filling and cranberry sauce.
Thanksgiving Hand Pies
This is your permission to throw suppertime leftovers like mashed potatoes and meat into handheld pie crusts!
Savory Pies
Quiche Lorraine
The classic, savory filling of bacon, Gruyรจre cheese, and herbs, this is a lovely recipe to make for brunch.
Carrot Cheddar Quiche
Celebrate spring with the sweetness of carrots baked with cheddar and onions.
Mini Chicken Pot Pies
Filled with tender chicken, gravy, and veggies, these pies can be frozen to bake up for suppers down the road.
Beef Chorizo Empanadas
These spicy meat-filled pockets can be made as a casual dinner or for a weekend snack.
Pulled Pork Tamale Pie
Topped with a layer of thick cornbread, this is a delicious and hearty meal for chilly nights.
A bonus pie-adjacent recipe!
Okay, this one's not technically a pie, but it does have a pie fillingโall-wrapped up in a tender bread swirl! So I think it counts as a Pi Day Candidate.
Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls
Tender, spiced apple pie filling in an iced cinnamon roll. YUM!
Have a delicious and mathematically thrilling Pi Day, everyone!
Comments
No Comments