Small is big with Rachel Guerry. That’s why the young baker came up with the idea for pielets — individual pies petite and neat enough to pick up and enjoy, but big enough to deliver on flavor.

On the day of my visit, Rachel was making chocolate chip pielets and coconut custard pielets, and threw in a full-size coconut custard pie for good measure. The soft-spoken 24-year-old moved easily around the kitchen of her family home in the Lowndes countryside, demonstrating steps for making piecrusts. She creates hers all from scratch because “you can always tell when you bite into it whether it’s homemade or not,” she said.

Much of Rachel’s love of baking is rooted in the tutelage of her mother and grandmother, but she’s also inspired by generations of family cooks that date farther back than that.

“My great-grandmother and her sisters — they were known as ‘the Watson sisters’ — were amazing cooks,” Rachel said. Prized recipes for Brunswick stew and a special hot sauce in particular are family favorites today, passed down from that generation. The Watsons were also known for their cakes. That fondness for making desserts seems to have resurfaced in Rachel, although her specialty is pies.

“I’ve always loved to bake, and I’ve always liked to make pies,” she said. So much so, in fact, that her dream is to open a pie and coffee shop in downtown Columbus. The idea has intensified since she moved back home to Columbus a few months ago from Nashville, Tennessee.

“Coffee and pie is more than just sustenance,” she said, smiling. “It fosters community. It’s a way for people to sit and be engaged in conversation.”

Rachel’s mother, Melanie Guerry, saw her daughter’s baking bug emerge early on.

“Ever since her ‘tweens, she has talked about opening a pie shop — and it was always focused on pies, not cakes,” Melanie remarked.

Going small

A Thanksgiving celebration a couple of years ago helped inspire Rachel’s pielets. The Guerrys like to do a get-together, but not necessarily a huge sit-down feast. As is tradition, Rachel was prepared to make pies for the gathering, but she decided to add a twist.

“I liked the idea of something small that you could pick up,” the baker said. With a biscuit cutter and Mason jar lids, she created a miniature piecrust.

“It was kind of a happy accident that the biscuit cutter had a scalloped edge,” she continued, noting the aesthetic appeal it adds.

Chocolate chip and coconut custard pielet fillings are popular with family and friends, but Rachel is experimenting with other flavors, too, like a lavender brownie. She’s working on some savory varieties as well, including a steak and Guinness pielet and chicken pot pielet. She tends to test out prototypes on friends and family members.

“We’ve gotten used to her being good at baking pies,” Melanie said. It’s not uncommon to hear someone around the house say, “A pie sure would taste good right now,” Rachel’s mother smiled. And when Rachel’s father’s birthday rolls around, he can count on his daughter presenting his favorites — pecan and coconut custard pies.

With the idea of her shop in mind, Rachel is happily perfecting and experimenting with recipes. She’s in her element.

“I love to watch her eyes when she gets into baking; I love to see that passion,” Melanie remarked. “It’s wonderful to watch your children being able to work in something they are passionate about.”

COCONUT PIE

1 stick oleo, melted

1 1/4 cup sugar

3 eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup coconut

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

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