Mini Pies, Big Love
Words by Michelle Ferrand
Photos by Brie Golliher and Lizzie Loo Photographs
If people are born to be something, Brie Golliher was born to be a baker. Even as a little girl, Brie was methodical about baking; careful with her placement and size to ensure a uniform batch of chocolate chip cookies—the steps future bakers don’t skip.
Brie’s childhood dreams of becoming a baker came true in 2015 when she started Pie Queen. Based right outside of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Pie Queen quickly became a community staple thanks to her delicious homemade mini pies, sammies, and no-bake cookies. Everything Brie makes for Pie Queen is proudly made with locally-sourced, Kentucky-based ingredients. Her flavorful recipes and dedication to using local ingredients landed her a distribution contract with Whole Foods. Currently, Pie Queen only distributes to Western Kentucky University.
Brie operates Pie Queen out of the Boyce General Store, a restaurant turned bakery that Brie and her husband have owned since 2012. Below, Brie shares more on her Pie Queen journey and what Pie Queen has planned for Valentine’s Day.
Have you always been passionate about baking? Do you remember any early memories surrounding baking?
I’ve always wanted to own a bakery, since I was a kid. My No-Bake Cookies were one of the first recipes I remember learning and making in the kitchen with my mom. My mom wasn’t a baker, but my dad had a major sweet tooth, so she learned how to do that.
When you bought the Boyce General Store, was the intention always to sell pies?
We originally bought the store for me to have space to bake, but opened BGS as a restaurant. We switched to carry out because of the pandemic, but then in October 2020, we pivoted to only being the Pie Queen. So in a nine-year long, roundabout way, we got back to what we really wanted to do with the space.
Pie Queen started selling Date Night Boxes during the pandemic. Can you tell me more about that?
I started these date night boxes during the pandemic with the goal of helping people reconnect. I still do them now, I do them once a month with each month having its own theme. So for February, we’re doing a Valentine’s Day theme. Also, in every box, I try to incorporate five other Kentucky-based businesses.
What are some popular Pie Queen flavors?
Our Kentucky pie is what I’m known for. It’s a chocolate chip, bourbon pecan pie with a little Kentucky shaped cut-out on top. The classics—which we include in a SurPIEval box—are peanut butter fudge, regular fudge, the nest pie, and the Kentucky pie. Personally, my favorite is the peanut butter fudge.
Are there any new flavors you’re excitedly working on for Pie Queen?
We now have an espresso pie, with espresso chocolate chips and mocha filling. The next one we’re working on is a s'more pie. The crust is made from homemade graham crackers, with a fudge filling, and then homemade marshmallow is piped on the top, then blow torched.
Is Pie Queen offering anything special for Valentine’s Day?
Yes! We have the mini date night boxes that have two mini fudge pies, Kentucky Chocolate Bourbon Sauce, playing cards, and Nut’n better cinnamon glazed nuts. That mini-box is shippable.
Locally, we’re doing a chocolate-covered strawberry pie. On my Instagram, I have a video on how you can turn your mini date night box kit into a chocolate-covered strawberry pie. All you need to buy on your own are the strawberries.
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The Pie Queen will have extra Valentine’s Day mini date night boxes for sale on Monday, February 14, from 11 am to 1 pm. You can find her in her pie wagon at Pappagallo boutique. You can also order online here.