Yelm resident's pie-baking dominance continues at Prairie Days contest

Courtney Andren of Yelm has no plans to see her dominant run at the Prairie Days Pie-Baking Contest end. She entered four pies, with two earning a first-place title and another securing a second-place prize.

Overall, Andren has won the non-fruit category for three consecutive years and the fruit category for two straight years. She also took second in the fruit category, and she received a check for $375 during Prairie Days on Saturday, June 22.

She baked a mango key lime cheesecake and a strawberry lemonade pie for the fruit category, and she created a fudge brownie mint chocolate mousse pie and a Biscoff cookie butter pie for the non-fruit category.

“It feels crazy to keep my title. I don’t care if I win or lose, and I’m actually surprised every time I win,” Andren said. “There are some good bakers, but I’ll come here every year because I just enjoy baking.”

Andren said her strategy is to concoct different combinations each year and lean heavily on innovation for both the pie flavor and the crust.

“I try to do unique flavors and unique crusts because I want to try something different every year. I look for unique combos or things that not many people think about as a pie, which apparently is working,” she said.

Andren, who works as a massage therapist at Yelm Chiropractic Massage, enjoys baking pies, cakes and bread as a hobby. She taught herself how to bake and has done so “since I was able to read a cookbook.” Andren’s skills have come a long way since her first crack at baking at a young age when she made brownies, which she admitted had too much oil and they turned into “lava.”

She aims to shoot for three-straight fruit championships and four-straight non-fruit titles at the contest next year and further cement herself as the most accomplished pie baker in Yelm.

“I’m too competitive, and I have a hard time losing. As much as I love to do it, I don’t expect to win it. I just like to do it,” Andren said.

Connie Standley took second place in the non-fruit category with a chicken pot pie, while her daughter, Joelle, took first place in the youth category with a raspberry pie. Joelle earned a $250 scholarship that she plans to use toward her driver’s education courses.

“I just love this. I think it’s a big deal to be in a small town and have something that gets people to come here and try each others’ baked goods,” Connie said.