Smithville Pie Social

Smithville Pie Social A sweet community tradition-in-the-making - where neighbors gather over pies, share a slice of kindness, and support our local food system.

Join us for delicious homemade pies, good company, and a great cause.

A big thank you to all the incredible pie makers and attendees who made our very first Smithville Pie Social such a succ...
11/11/2025

A big thank you to all the incredible pie makers and attendees who made our very first Smithville Pie Social such a success! We were blown away by the turnout- and by the 40 pies that arrived for judging.

With so many entries, we quickly realized that awarding only three overall winners in the sweet and savory categories wasn't the fairest approach. Different styles of pies deserve their own spotlight, so we shifted to judging by category. This adjustment also means we're awarding $900 in cash prizes instead of what was originally planned.

So, here are our 2025 Pie Social Winners:
🥧 Cream pies - Wanda Gamble (lemon blueberry) and Diana Saunders (pineapple coconut)
🥧 Fruit pies - Cheree Taylor (cranberry apple) and an anonymous donor (apple cider pie with cheddar cheese crust)
🥧 Nut pies - Suzanne McCanlies (pecan)
🥧 Savory pies - Carol Jackson (butternut squash and caramelized onion) and Selena Woods (smoked chicken pot pie)

We didn't have enough pudding-style or meringue pies for competitive scoring this year, but they were still enjoyed and appreciated.

🥧 In addition, we have a special prize for our two prettiest pies...
Misty Gigut - All American Berry Pie and Janet Jewell - Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

Winners will be contacted soon about receiving their prizes. Feel free to tag them below.

A heartfelt thanks to our generous sponsors- especially our pie contest idea founder and financial sponsor, Doug Leyendecker, our other financial sponsor, Doug Hess, our venue host Lori Huffman at Fat Cat, Brandon Dunham at The General Store for the coffee, Jason Ellis at Lost Pines Yaupon Tea, and Jeannie Ralph at Ralph Land Group for helping bring this idea to life. Gratitude also to our hardworking judges Rob Remlinger, W***y Culberson and Gina Bayer for bravely sampling 40 pies in one morning! And a big thanks to Courtney Dyer and Colin Guerra from the Smithville Farmers Market for helping with the event.

Because of your participation, we raised meaningful funds to support our sweet little farmers market and seed next year's Pie Social. Mark your calendar for the second Saturday of November 2026... we can't wait to do it all over again! And stay tuned... we're already dreaming up our next small-town foodie festival- Tomato Fest, coming late next spring!

Rise and shine, Smithville! It's Pie Social Day! 🥧 🎉 The quilts are hung, the doors are open, and the pie tables are cal...
11/08/2025

Rise and shine, Smithville! It's Pie Social Day! 🥧 🎉

The quilts are hung, the doors are open, and the pie tables are calling your name. Make it a full day downtown with the Tour of Homes, Airing of the Quilts, and the Smithville Pie Social- three hometown traditions coming together for one cozy fall Saturday.

So grab your favorite people, bring your appetite and come celebrate all things home, heart, and handmade. ❤️

👉 Smithville Pie Social
🗓️ Saturday, November 8th
⏰ 11 am to 4 pm
📍 Fat Cat Lounge & Cafe: 301 Main St, Smithville, TX

If you step outside, you might just catch it- that sweet, buttery scent drifting from kitchen to kitchen across Smithvil...
11/07/2025

If you step outside, you might just catch it- that sweet, buttery scent drifting from kitchen to kitchen across Smithville. 🥧

Our neighbors have been busy rolling flaky crusts, toasting pecans, and filling ovens with love today. Tomorrow, they all come together at the Smithville Pie Social, alongside the Tour of Homes and Airing of the Quilts- a perfect day to taste what community feels like.

See you downtown with a fork in hand and gratitude in your heart.

🗓️ Saturday, November 8th
⏰ 11 am to 4 pm
📍 Fat Cat Lounge & Cafe: 301 Main St, Smithville, TX

Two more sleeps until pie, y'all! 🥧 ✨ The first-ever Smithville Pie Social is almost here- this Saturday, November 8, al...
11/06/2025

Two more sleeps until pie, y'all! 🥧 ✨

The first-ever Smithville Pie Social is almost here- this Saturday, November 8, alongside the Tour of Homes and Airing of the Quilts. It's shaping up to be one of the sweetest days in Smithville- quite literally!

So here's your friendly reminder to:
🥧 plan your downtown stroll
🥧 bring your appetite
🥧 and tag a friend who never says no to "just one more slice"

Let's fill downtown with laughter, good company, and the smell of fresh-baked pie. See you Saturday for a taste of small-town tradition at its finest.

🗓️ Saturday, November 8th
⏰ 11 am to 4 pm
📍 Fat Cat Lounge & Cafe: 301 Main St, Smithville, TX

👉 Enter the pie baking contest: https://tinyurl.com/smithvillepiesocial
👉 Or just drop off your pie at the Fat Cat on Friday, Nov 7th between 3-6 pm

🍂 🥧 It's official: Pie Season has begun! 🥧 🍂 Saturday, November 8th is shaping up to be the coziest day of the year in S...
11/03/2025

🍂 🥧 It's official: Pie Season has begun! 🥧 🍂

Saturday, November 8th is shaping up to be the coziest day of the year in Smithville...

✨ Tour of Homes
✨ Airing of the Quilts
✨ Smithville Pie Social

Make it a full day around downtown- stroll the quilts, step inside some beautiful historic homes, then end it in the sweetest way: with a slice of homemade pie!

Consider this your friendly nudge to grab your favorite people and plan your November 8th now. 💛 See you there!

👉 Enter the pie baking contest: https://tinyurl.com/smithvillepiesocial
👉 Or just drop off your pie at the Fat Cat on Friday, Nov 7th between 3-6 pm

🥧 The History of Sweet PiesOnce upon a time, pies weren't sweet at all. But somewhere between abundance and imagination,...
10/29/2025

🥧 The History of Sweet Pies

Once upon a time, pies weren't sweet at all. But somewhere between abundance and imagination, that changed.

When sugar began arriving in Europe during the Middle Ages, bakers started experimenting- combining fruits, nuts, and spices inside the same crusts that once held meats. Early sweet pies featured dried fruits and honey rather than the cane sugar we use today. These were still more "savory-sweet" than dessert pies though - think spiced raisins, figs, or apples wrapped in flaky pastry.

By the 1500s, English cooks had truly embraced sweet fillings. Recipes appeared for apple and quince pies, custard tarts, and mince pies (which originally included meat and fruit!). The art of baking shifted from survival to celebration, where pies graced holiday tables, royal banquets, and Sunday suppers alike.

When colonists came to America, they brought those sweet traditions with them- and adapted them to local harvests. Apples, pumpkins, pecans, and sweet potatoes all found their way into flaky, buttery crusts, creating the iconic American pies we know today.

Sweet pies became symbols of comfort, home, and hospitality - the final note to every good meal and the centerpiece of every gathering. So while savory pies fed bodies, sweet pies began feeding hearts. 💛

Celebrate both sides of the story at the Smithville Pie Social!
🗓️ Saturday, November 8
⏰ 11 am to 4 pm
📍 Fat Cat Lounge & Cafe: 301 Main St, Smithville, TX 78957

Where every slice, from hearty to honeyed, carries a little piece of history and a whole lot of love.

🥧 The Origin of Savory PiesAncient beginnings:The first pies weren't sweet at all - they were practical. Ancient Egyptia...
10/29/2025

🥧 The Origin of Savory Pies

Ancient beginnings:
The first pies weren't sweet at all - they were practical. Ancient Egyptians (around 2500 BC) are believed to have made the earliest versions, enclosing meats and grains in a thick pastry shell made from oats, barley, rye, or wheat. The goal wasn't flavor; it was function. The crust acted like an edible storage container, keeping food moist and protected during travel or long storage.

Greek & Roman influence:
The Greeks refined the idea by using pastry made from flour and water to wrap around seasoned meats. The Romans adopted and expanded it - they filled their pies with everything from oysters and mussels to lampreys and other meats. Roman cooks even recorded recipes for these dishes in Apicius, one of the oldest known cookbooks.
👉 The crust was still mainly a vessel, not intended to be eaten - called a "coffyn" or "coffin" (Old English for container).

Medieval Europe:
By the Middle Ages in England, pies became central to feasts. Bakers filled thick, inedible crusts with poultry, game meats, or fish and baked them for hours in communal ovens. These early savory pies helped preserve meat before refrigeration and were easy to transport - think of them as the original lunchbox.

Pies were often decorative too - some even had elaborate crusts that opened to reveal live birds or frogs as part of the entertainment at royal banquets (the nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence" actually nods to this!)

Renaissance to Colonial era:
As baking evolved, the crusts became tastier and thinner, and cooks started eating them. By the 16th and 17th centuries, pies spread across Europe and into the Americas with colonists. Meat pies, shepherd's pies, and pot pies became stapes in England and colonial America- hearty, one-pan meals that could stretch modest ingredients.

🥧 Why it matters:
Savory pies were never just food; they were survival tools turned comfort food. They represent resourcefulness - the idea of wrapping a meal in something that could travel, last, and feed many. Over time, that practicality transformed into something deeply comforting and celebratory - the same feeling people bring to a pie table today. A pie has always said, "Sit down. Stay awhile. You belong here."

We hope you'll join us. Come taste a slice of the story!
👉 Smithville Pie Social
🗓️ Saturday, November 8th
⏰ 11 am - 4 pm
📍 Fat Cat Lounge & Cafe- 301 Main St, Smithville, TX 78957

🥧 Important Question: What is your favorite pie? 🥧 If you had to pick just ONE... what's the best pie?PecanAppleSweet Po...
10/28/2025

🥧 Important Question: What is your favorite pie? 🥧

If you had to pick just ONE... what's the best pie?

Pecan
Apple
Sweet Potato
Pumpkin
Chocolate Silk
Buttermilk
Cherry.. or that secret family recipe with the crumbly crust and no real measurements, just "a little more sugar, baby."

Tell us your favorite in the comments below. ⬇️
Bonus points if you tag the person who bakes it! 👑

We're celebrating all things flaky, toasty, and homemade in the first-ever Smithville Pie Social on November 8th- the same cozy Saturday as Smithville's Tour of Homes and Airing of the Quilts. So mark your calendar, bring a friend, and come taste what home feels like. 🥧 🍂

👉 sign up to bake a pie here: https://tinyurl.com/smithvillepiesocial

Welcome to the Smithville Pie Social!We're excited to invite you to our very first Pie Social & Baking Contest - a sweet...
09/29/2025

Welcome to the Smithville Pie Social!

We're excited to invite you to our very first Pie Social & Baking Contest - a sweet celebration of community, creativity, and of course... pie!

📅Saturday, November 8
⏰11:00 am - 4:30 pm
📍Fat Cat Lounge & Cafe

🥧What's happening?

- A community pie baking contest with categories for adults and kids

- Awards for Tastiest Pie and Prettiest Pie, with cash prizes for winners.

- Homemade pies sold by the slice, served with coffee and tea.

- All proceeds benefit the Smithville Farmers Market

💛 Whether you come to compete, taste, or simply enjoy the company, there's a slice of fun waiting for everyone.

👉 Mark your calendars, invite your family and friends, and let's make memories over coffee, conversation, and plenty of pie.

🥇Enter the Pie Baking Contest: https://forms.gle/CMCjhjLwRRwofnp29

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Smithville, TX

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