Rural Missouri - March 2020 - 26

Left: Blueberry Streusel pies are topped before being boxed and sold to customers at Peggy Jean's Pies in Columbia. Right: There are a quartet of
apple pies from which to choose at Peggy Jean's, including this popular American Apple.
pies is the dough - the recipe is only known by Jeanne,
Rebecca and her son - which is made purposefully thin.
"The crust should complement the filling, not be overbearing," Jeanne says.
Dutch Apple is the best seller. The traditional filling features apples, sugar, cinnamon, flour and nutmeg. Where
it stands out is the brown sugar crumble topping. "The
topping holds up well with ice cream, people just love it,"
Rebecca says. "When we're industrious we jar it up and
people put it on ice cream, sweet potato casserole or just
eat it directly out of the jar."
One of Jeanne's newer creations has grown to be a customer favorite. "I thought it would be a great combo to put
white chocolate and cream cheese melted together, blended
with heavy whipping cream."
The base of the White Chocolate Strawberry Pie is that
filling spread over Peggy Jean's crust with a layer of freshcut strawberries. The whole pie is mounded with freshmade, strawberry-infused whipped topping and one more
berry on top. The delicious finished product tastes like a
cheesecake and pie mashup. "It eats very light," Rebecca
says. "We've tried it with dark chocolate, but the white
chocolate makes it the best with the combination of strawberries and homemade whipped cream."
Taking the time to make ingredients the old-fashioned
way - such as only using Hershey's cocoa because that's

the only option Jeanne's mother had - and paying attention to the details are the heart and soul of Peggy Jean's.
It'd be easier to buy crust or whipped topping off a truck,
but that was never an option. "It would be such a disservice to our girl, Peggy," Rebecca says. "I would feel like we
were cheating her."
The team at Peggy Jean's makes 18 to 22 varieties of pie
daily. The few items that don't sell are half-off tomorrow.
Flavors are offered as 3-inch tarts and 5-, 9- and 12-inch
pies. When you don't have a sweet tooth, PJP offers chicken
and beef pot pies and bacon and vegetable quiches.
One of the busiest days of the year is March 14, aka
Pi(e) Day. The store discounts 5- and 9-inch pies by $3.14
all day long with no preorders. "It's a zoo," Rebecca says.
"But the nice thing about days like that is everyone is there
for fun, no one is difficult. They can see us working hard in
the open kitchen getting pies ready."
Interacting with their customers has become a hallmark
of the store and reflection of the owners. "We're part of
every holiday they have, every celebration and every piece
of news their family has," Rebecca says. "They're more
than customers to us."
For more information on Peggy Jean's Pies call 573-447PIES, email help@pjpies.com or visit peggyjeanspies.com or
www.worldpiedomination.com.

Celebrate Pi(e) Day

March 14 with the infinite sweet and savory selections.
Peggy Jean's celebrates with $3.14 off 5- and 9-inch pies.
26

RURAL MISSOURI | MARCH 2020

March20_Slice of happiness 2.indd 3

2/7/20 3:23 PM

http://www.peggyjeanspies.com http://www.worldpiedomination.com

Rural Missouri - March 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - March 2020