I Like Pie – Ranking Their Winter Menu Before We Say Goodbye

I first wrote about I Like Pie, an adorable and delicious pie shop in Claremont, CA a few years back. And although I don’t make it out to enjoy their baked goodies as much as I would like, to this day they remain one of my favorite dessert shops. But unfortunately, as has happened to way too many small businesses, this past week I Like Pie announced that they will be closing down both of their locations before the end of the month (Pasadena closes tomorrow 2/16 and Claremont will close 2/23).

This announcement absolutely broke my heart and I knew I had to make it over there one last time.

So despite California seeing the most rain (by far) that it has seen in over a year, I ventured out in the storm to get me some pie, and I went a bit overboard buying every pie (with the exception of savory, hand pies, gluten-free, and vegan) they have available.

So to make myself feel less guilty about the amount of sweets I have eaten over the last few days, and to celebrate an absolutely wonderful business that will be missed, I have decided to rank every one of their pies as one last goodbye (and as a way to encourage anyone who may see this to go check them out before it is too late).

*One last note before I start my ranking – I have never had a pie from here that I did not like or at least couldn’t see why someone would like it. So although I will be ranking these, this is based purely on my preferences and what I would choose for myself, not that any one of these pies are bad.

10. Chocolate Chip Chess

“With brown sugar custard and chocolate chips, Chocolate Chip Chess has all the gooey goodness of a warm cookie in our buttery, sweet crust. We double the cookie goodness with a chocolate chip cookie on top. Checkmate!”

Although this is a chocolate chip pie, I can’t help but want to describe this pie as the vanilla ice cream option of pies. What I mean by this is that it is safe and you know exactly what you are going to get. It tastes pretty darn close to chocolate chip cookie dough and I could see this being a child’s go-to favorite (or anyone who loves something like cookie dough ice cream). Not for me, but I’m also not a huge chocolate chip cookie fan either.

9. Mixed Berry

“Meet our most popular fruit pie. It’s sweet, tart, and brimming with blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and cherries. Baked in our traditional crust and topped with our classic shortbread crumble.”

Cherries. That was the overwhelming flavor I experienced here and I love cherries, but not cherry jam/preserves that sort of thing. And that is what this reminded me of more than anything else. So again this was just not a pie for me, but with that being said, the crust is buttery and flaky and the pie tasted fresh and was not too sweet at all.

8. Cookie Butter

“We fill our signature graham cracker crust with utterly yummy cookie butter cream cheese filling and top it with a cloud of whip and Speculoos cookie crumbs. Then top it again with a Speculoos cookie. A popular treat year-round!”

Not to sound like a broken record (my reviews get better from here on out), but once again this is a pie that just wasn’t made for me. I don’t like cookie butter, but it delivers exactly what it promises – cookie butter in a pie.

7. Key Lime

“You know this one: classic key lime filling, salty sweet graham crust, and a must-have mound of fresh whipped cream. Tart, creamy and here year-round thanks to customer pleas.”

I’ve never had a key lime pie before, so you can take this review however you would like, but I really really enjoyed this pie. I had it early on in my pie deep dive this week and it started at the top of my list (#3 if I’m being honest) and expected it to stay pretty high, except I ended up being pleasantly surprised by several pies I normally wouldn’t have ever considered (you’ll see soon).

This pie is the perfect combination of sweet and tart. It was a bit richer and heavier than I expected, with it being a citrus dessert and all, but still delicious.

6. Banana Split

“We are bringing summer to your winter. Thank us later! Filled with freshly sliced bananas, chocolate fudge, vanilla pastry cream, and a pineapple cream cheese. Topped with fresh whipped cream along with candied pecans and a cherry on top. One of our favorite deserts – in pie form!”

This is a pie I never would have considered ordering normally and it caught me completely off guard. Banana split in a pie?

I expected it to be super sweet and overly rich, but it was surprisingly balanced. If I’m being completely honest, I didn’t notice the pineapple, but it wasn’t missed. The banana added a bit of freshness, the fudge broke up the creaminess of the pastry cream (added a tad of bitterness), and the nuts added a wonderful texture.

5. Boysenberry

“That luscious berry filling – fruity and floral – blanketed by a lemon shortbread crumble in our traditional crust. Topped with a lemon cookie and powdered sugar. It’s been called “a revelation.” Taste for yourself.”

What is a boysenberry? I have no clue, but this pie reminded me of blueberry and I am here for it! I love blueberry jam, it is my pbj go-to, so this pie was perfect for me. The boysenberry filling was tart and sweet and the crust was buttery and delicious (honestly I Like Pie’s pie crust is to die for always).

4. Dutch Apple

“It’s all about that crunchy, buttery, sweet cinnamon crumble. Ohhhh, and tart Granny Smith apples caressed by cinnamon sugar sauce. Perfectly topped with a crust cookie garnish. Not too sweet, and perfect for any season.”

I love apple pie. Almost all apple pie. So it’s no surprise that this made my top five. Once again the pie crust – chef’s kiss, and the amount of apple they are able to cram into this little pie is mind-blowing. The apples maintain just enough bite (not too mushy) and the perfect amount of tartness.

If you’re an apple pie person, you need this!

3. Salted Caramel Banana Cream

“This is sweet + salty at its tastiest. Dig into a layer of ripe bananas, homemade pastry cream, and a dollop of salted caramel in our traditional crust. Topped with whip and salted toffee bits. (It’s OK to drool.)”

A salty twist to a classic pie. I love bananas and I love salted caramel so this was a pie made for me. Despite the combo of caramel, pastry cream, and whipped cream this pie is surprisingly not too sweet. The bananas add a bit of freshness and the salted caramel adds just the tiniest of twist to make this pie stand out among other banana cream pies.

2. Lemon Danish

“This lemon brown sugar custard filled pie brings citrus lovers running in! With its traditional crust and topping of sweet cream cheese with vanilla glaze, it is sweet yet tart.”

My top two pies caught me off guard 100% and are honestly pies that I would have never ordered had I not decided to try them all.

The lemon danish is tart and dense (in a good way) and sweet and refreshing all at once.

If this came in a bigger size I would be in trouble because I don’t know if I would be able to show enough restraint to not eat the whole thing. I was a bit sad I had to split this with my husband.

1. Turtle Brownie

“This custard pie is enriched with a chocolate filling partnered with a delicious sweet cream cheese and topped with candied pecans and caramel drizzle. Every chocolate lovers dream!”

I don’t like chocolate yet this was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. Turtle brownie, I expected this to be super sweet, rich, and overall just too much for me. But it instead was perfectly balanced, not too sweet and not too fudgy. The filling tasted like the best brownie you’ve ever had. The cream cheese helped break up the sweetness, and the pecans added a wonderful crunch.

**Descriptions are taken from the I Like Pie website.