What’s in Season: Niecy’s Bakeshop apple pie

Niecy Melbourne with more of her baked offerings above, and pie by the slice, below, Amy Sowder photos

By AMY SOWDER

Typically, this column celebrates a single ingredient that’s grown or crafted in this local area or region at a certain time of year.

But we can’t help ourselves. And why should we? After all, it’s pie season. 

Like the 3.14 mathematical constant, the edible version of pi (π) is also circular and delightful year-round, but we’re feeling especially peckish for pie amid the full swing of December holidays.

Comforting, sweet, and shared with family and friends, the apple-filled version is quite the local treasure.

Launched last spring, Niecy’s Bakeshop crafted the first-place apple pie in a fall contest at the Mount Kisco Farmers Market.

Baker-owner Niecy Melbourne wasn’t even going to enter her pie into the contest, said Nikki Sturomski, the market’s business director.

“She opened up the box and said, ‘Look how ugly it is,’ and I said, ‘It’s beautiful!’” Sturomski recalled, shaking her head with a smile.

With a flaky, buttery, glossy crust, these pies are stuffed with either gala or golden delicious apples sourced from local farms, like D.I.G. Farm in North Salem and Rochambeau Farm in Mount Kisco on the border of Bedford.

“I don’t like those super tart green apples, like Granny Smith. No matter how much sugar you add, they still taste too tart,” Melbourne said.

She doesn’t use a thickener — just as many apples as her pies can fit.

“You reduce the juice as much as possible. My pies have a lot of apples. I hate the gook,” she said about the excess gooey, syrupy filling that a lot of other pies have.

And she’s not shy about her cinnamon usage. The warming spice’s welcoming aroma marries just right with the heady scent of baked apples.

Crafting a perfect crust is perhaps the trickiest part of an award-winning pie. The correct thickness and consistency of the crust can make or break a pie, she said.

“The thinner you do it, the better. It has to be almost ready to tear,” she said. “You want it to be a light crust.”

Niecy’s Bakeshop also makes cakes — carrot is the best-selling flavor — and cookies, often in seasonal flavors. For instance, the pumpkin cookie with white chocolate chips and pecans is made with whole pumpkin that Melbourne roasts and mashes.

In true modern fashion, Melbourne taught herself to bake in 2023 via “YouTube University,” basically learning from cooking videos. She’s a huge fan of Australia-based Brooki Bakehouse.

Niecy’s Bakeshop pies, cakes and cookies can be ordered online or by phone and picked up in Mount Kisco. She has a booth at the Mount Kisco Holiday Market at Goodhouse Social Club located at 103 East Main St., Mount Kisco, on Dec. 21 and 22, from noon to 5 p.m. And when the town’s market returns outdoors in May, she’ll be there.

For more information, visit niecysbakeshop.com or call 914-458-2193.