The Wonderful & Surprising Pi Day Party

Well, I always say (well, I sometimes say) that when things don’t work out the way you expect, you can usually get a good story out of it – and we definitely got a good story out of the 2026 Pi Day Party!

If you were here last week, you got the backstory and some of the prep for our Pi Day Party. But if you missed it or you just want a refresher, check out this post: Preparing Pretty Pies for Pi Day! (And One Beautiful One!

But just quickly, my New England blogging buddy and talented interior designer Janet of Nestfeathers blog and I were going to have a little bi-coastal Pi Day Party blog hop – just the two of us, hosting Pi Day parties on each coast! (And we are – I’ll give you the link to her party post at the end of this one!)

Uh Oh – Unexpected Changes!

But then my schedule suddenly and completely changed. I ended up going out of town for my day job for the whole week, with just a few days’ notice. So my plans to invite people over and make my pies a leisurely day or so beforehand had to be … adjusted!

I got home Friday night after a long heavy work week and a long cold and rainy/slushy/snowy drive, with several detours to avoid multiple crashes on the freeway! Not to put too fine a point on it, as they say in the movies, I was REALLY tired! But when I got home, there were some beautiful flowers waiting for me from my wonderful thoughtful son!

Rescheduling the Pi Day Party … ?

I was hoping I’d be up early and raring to go on Saturday – I could make my pies and invite my neighbors over for an impromptu Pi Day party … But I bet you can guess how that plan went!

I imagined Janet hosting her fabulous Pi Day Party on Saturday as I was catching up on my correspondence, email, and SLEEP, unpacking, doing laundry, and generally tidying up from being gone for a week.

So since no party on Saturday, I thought – Sunday! It can be a Post-Pi Day Party! Ummmmm, well, not quite! Seems nobody was around for a spontaneous pie get-together on Sunday.

I did get my pies made though, and my husband and I thought about eating them all ourselves, but fortunately good sense did kick in, and I decided I’d throw a post-post-Pi Day party at work on Monday!

The Surprising Pi Day Party Location

Originally, I had planned to hold my Pi Day party in my own dining room, where fancy decor would be just fine. But I really had my heart set on using my beautiful blue tablecloth, my sterling forks, and the gorgeous flowers my son had sent me – and I wasn’t going to let the fact that I work in a manufacturing plant stop me!

We have one relatively new building, and the lunch room hasn’t had a chance yet to get covered with ingrained metal dust like everywhere else onsite, so I set up there.

Then I waltzed downstairs to the shop floor and asked the welders if they wanted any pie!

Not surprisingly, they did!

These guys are pretty funny when they put their welding torches down! That guy on the left is a former professional baker, and he commented on the crust a couple times, so I felt very proud!

The division manager and a project manager showed up too!

Hmmm – deciding on a second piece.

Going for the second piece!!

Then they made me sit down and have some too! Yummm! (That peanut butter pie really was my favorite!)

All in all, a very wonderful and fun – if surprising – post-post-Pi Day party!

Then it was back to work for everyone. (I did not take the pictures below, btw – they’re professional ones of a few of the guys – back at work!)

Pi Day Party Pie Recipes

Now that I’ve shared the Pi Day Party, I’ll share the pies themselves! I had six different ones: apple, peach, pecan, chocolate peanut butter, chocolate mousse, and lemon cream. They’re all fabulous, though I really have to go to bat for the chocolate varieties. However, not everyone agreed – the apple was the first to disappear!

As I mentioned in the prep post Preparing Pretty Pies for Pi Day! (And One Beautiful One!), I used one crust recipe that my kids and I made up years ago for all the pies except the chocolate peanut butter one. It’s a super versatile crust – really more like a shortbread, but hey, if a professional baker liked it, I say it’s legit!

So, I first made all the crusts, then put the different fillings in them. I’ll tell you about each one below, and the recipe link, if there is one, is below the picture.

Apple Pie

This is the classic Erik’s Famous Apple Pie recipe that the boys and I created. (Get the recipe in the Prep post above.) While the crust is baking, you slice up enough apples to fill your pie. Then heat them up with 1/4 Cup butter, 1/2 Cup brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon until they’re soft.

There will be a lot of liquid in the pan as well – you can add as much or as little of that as you like to your baked crust.

For this little pie plate, I used about half the amounts above. I’m not a huge apple pie person, but everyone who’s ever had it RAVES about it!

Peach Pie

This one totally couldn’t be simpler! Use the same famous crust recipe, and after it’s baked, open a can of peaches and put them in! I don’t remember which brand I used, but they were in juice, not syrup. You can heat it up briefly if you want the peaches warm. You might need to put some foil around the edges to keep the crust from browning too much.

Or if you want some baked crust on the top, like I did, put the peaches in the unbaked crust, put on the crust topping, and bake the whole thing for just a little longer than the recommended 12-15 min.

Remember to always check your oven early and often – every oven heats differently.

I like to sprinkle a little cinnamon on the top too.

Pecan Pie

For this pecan Pi Day party pie, I put my crust in the pan, then used the recipe below for the insides. I baked it all at once per the directions in the recipe. Since I used that little pie plate, I cut this recipe in half too. It was SO SO good!

The Best Pecan Pie – Preppy Kitchen

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

For this pie, I just followed the recipe instructions wholesale except for cutting the ingredients in half, as usual. Also I used milk chocolate chips instead of the peanut butter cups for topping. Oh my gosh – it was FABULOUS, and SO beautiful!!

Peanut Butter Pie Recipe – Handle the Heat

Chocolate Mousse Pie

Same with this as the others above – I baked the crust, then put in the filling from the recipe below. My only change was to use vanilla instead of almond extract. I put a thick layer of whipped cream on it, grated a chocolate bar over the top, and added a little chocolate triangle for garnish. ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY DELICIOUS!!!

EASY Chocolate Mousse in 5 Minutes | Kitchen Cents

Lemon Cream Pie

And finally, our last Pi Day party pie – what I’m calling lemon cream, because when I say lemon, some folks think I mean meringue, and it’s not that.

The same as our other Pi Day party pies, this one uses the regular pre-baked kid-created crust, and I used about a quarter of the Kirbie’s Cravings recipe below for the insides. It really truly is super easy and seriously delicious!

3 Ingredient No Bake Lemon Pie – Kirbie’s Cravings

And That Wraps Up Our Pi Day Party for 2026!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the surprising Pi Day party as much as I have! Let me know if you make any of these for yourself. I’m already looking forward to next year!

Take a minute to grab whatever you need for your own kitchen in the Boutique below, then pin the post (this really helps Mantel and Table grow!) then keep going to get to Janet’s wonderful Pi Day party post!

Barbara’s Boutique

Click on the pictures of the pieces I used in this post. If the exact item isn’t available any more, I chose a similar option.

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And remember, a portion of anything you buy from MANTELandTABLE.com goes to Habitat for Humanity and Proud Ground. With our purchases, we get to help people build homes for their own mantels and tables!

Pin the Pi Day Party Post for Later!

Now Let’s Go To a Pi Day Party on the East Coast!

And now, let’s go to a post by the master! Janet is an amazing baker – I can’t wait for you to see it all for yourself!

Tell her I said Hi!

Janet’s Pi Day Party Post: Pi Day Pie Party pictures and recipes