Jenny Jensen is a mom whose children attend the same school as mine, and until now, I’ve only known her as the Pie Lady. This story allowed me to get to know her more personally, and of course provided an excuse to order pies.

Her flavor selections are all delectable. I landed on the perennial blueberry favorite and raspberry cream cheese, regular double crust. 

Jensen said that one of the reasons she loves to bake pies is the “togetherness and community” it brings. “I love that pie is meant to be shared, meant to bring people together…to share something delicious.” 

She welcomed me into her kitchen, perfect for a television set—I could envision her hosting her own baking show—yet homey and warm.

We talked while she put together my blueberry pie. She pressed the crust just so, gently poured in the filling, formed the delicate lattice and sprinkled sugar on top before placing it in the oven.

Her pie making journey started with a New Year’s resolution. One season she told herself, “I’m going to learn how to be really good at one thing.”

She jokes with family and friends, that “my pie making is the only New Year’s resolution I’ve ever stuck to.” 

Jensen was a teacher, and then when she became a mom, she wanted to be home and raise her children. In this life stage, she found herself in the familiar motherly space of what can be at times a quiet and lonely experience. She needed something for herself.

She chose pie making for sentimental reasons. 

Jensen has fond memories of baking with her mother, who made it a point to bond with her daughter through the activity. She had lost her own mother at a young age, missing out on those memories. 

It is also a meaningful way she connects with her husband’s family. His great-grandmother was a family legend for her pies. Jensen inherited all of her recipes.

“I just dove right in,” she said. She researched recipes, watched videos and tried different things. She had taste-testing gatherings (and still does). She’ll gather friends and families over to taste pies and help her to discern what to do better. She continuously amends and annotates her recipes to get the perfect tasting experience.

She started baking in 2011, primarily selling pies through word of mouth.

Soon people were asking for pies for holidays and birthdays. 

Around Thanksgiving, her home is a full assembly line. “I’ll sell like 100 pies,” she said. She has a system in place. Crusts are premade and stored in the deep freezer; some fillings can also be premade; and every table in her home (dining, kitchen and pop-up tables) along with her spacious counter, are used for assembly.

The isolating experience of the pandemic encouraged her to find a way to connect with others through pie making online. Her teaching background equipped her to lead group baking classes, which she initially did for several companies.

“Everyone would bake together from their kitchens on Zoom,” she said, which fostered the sense of togetherness.

Pie orders still commonly come through referral, but orders also come through her personal Instagram page, where she offers tutorials and instructional classes.

“It’s different every time and fun to get to know people and share this thing I love.”

Occasionally, families will have some semblance of an old family recipe they’ve tried to make but it’s never turned out quite right. They’ll ask Jensen to try and recreate it, and she does. 

It means a great deal to her, to “have people that trust me to make these family recipes for them.”

It becomes a way of honoring ancestors, she says. “The smells and tastes evoke so many memories.” 

Jensen will also create new pie recipes, for her own family and others, to remind them of loved ones, melding flavors of their favorite treats. 

She talked about her own family’s favorites, called Dad’s Pie. Her father, whom she lost a few years ago, loved Hostess Raspberry Zingers, so she created a Raspberry Zinger-inspired pink coconut cream pie with Nilla wafer crust. 

In her home, pies are always in progress, and the kitchen is a centerpiece to their daily rhythm. She hopes it’s something her kids will look back on and remember.

Jensen doesn’t view her pie making as a career. She remains open to the idea of going back to teaching. But her pies have given her freedom to be with her family. 

It’s also been personally fulfilling. The practice of making the pies, and in particular, seeing the finished product, is rewarding for her.

“I like the sight of it, the feel of it—there’s this beautiful, wonderful thing at the end. You feel you’ve accomplished something.”

She uses quality, fresh ingredients every time. “I put a lot of time into making it just how I want it to be,” she said.

The blueberry pie she was making for me needed time to bake to perfection, so she hand-delivered it later in the day. 

I took the pies next door, and my neighbor and I divvied out slices. λ