Baking pies with & friends

Jacklyn Hayes, a baker and yogi, founded & Friends to create a sense of community through shared activities. Initially offering yoga classes in the park, the venture expanded to include Jacklyn’s love for pie baking. Now, & Friends offers a variety of beautifully crafted pies and organizes community events and pie pop-ups in New York City.

Her pies boast unique flavors like strawberry cornmeal, matcha with strawberries and cream, and stone fruit crumble (available on her summer menu), all beautifully decorated with nature-inspired designs. Think: flaky crusts, creamy fillings, and fresh flower toppings. Having baked plenty of pies myself, I can attest to the patience and skill required—Jacklyn's stunning creations are in a league of their own. I was thrilled to chat with the founder of & Friends about her journey into the baking world.

Your pies are breathtaking. What sparked your passion for baking? Are you trained in the field or self-taught?

So many things. My sweet tooth is a big part of it. Baking relaxes me and pies are a great creative outlet. I think what keeps me baking is getting to share my creations with my family and friends, and now my neighbors and community in Brooklyn through & Friends.

I’m self-taught but have to shout out my dad’s dear friend Vicki Koelsch who is an award-winning pie baker in Northwest Ohio. She taught me how to properly pinch crust and gifted me my first pie cookbook, The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book. 

That is so sweet (no pun intended)! I got into baking for the same reason - it provides such an incredible creative outlet, centered around community. When did you really start baking?

I have always loved to experiment with baking but my pie and pastry interest really started during lockdown in 2020. I was a bit obsessed with mastering pie crust. When the world started opening back up, I’d bring my pies to hangouts with friends and soon people started asking if they could buy one, which is how & Friends was born.

I think the lockdown propelled lots of people into baking and creating. I found myself starting a new project almost everyday it seems. Now that you’ve been seriously baking for a handful of years, what inspires the design of your work? Has your style evolved since you first started?

Mother nature! I love to bake seasonally so I’m always inspired by what’s at the farmer’s market. When it comes to design, Loria Stern is naturally a huge influence as I use edible flowers as decoration on nearly all my pies. I was gifted a pack of her pressed edible flowers and that’s when I started playing more with the whimsical decoration you see on my current creations. My style has evolved as I’ve learned to better trust my instincts. My pies look more like an expression of my creativity and less like what else I see on the internet. One of the best compliments I’ve gotten was that my pies “looked and felt like me”, which is definitely an aim.

I just LOVE edible flowers! I use them whenever I can. Does the natural world inspire your creative process? Could you walk us through your work - from concept to the finished product?

My creative process often happens in fluttering moments of inspiration. I keep a note in my phone of flavor ideas and when it feels right or a certain fruit is in season, I’ll test the flavor combinations with a bake. Since pie is meant to be shared, I usually end up gifting test slices to my partner or friends for their thoughts. You’re really not safe from pie if you’re around me, I’ve brought slices to work, yoga, my hair colorist, physical therapist, facialist, and more. No complaints yet!

Bakers are the best friends to have in my opinion… Do you have a favorite pie that you’ve baked?

My grandma’s Strawberry pie will forever and always be my favorite recipe to bake and eat. It’s delicious, nostalgic, and makes the kitchen smell incredible. For my own creations, it’s got to be the Strawberries, Matcha & Cream pie that’s new to my Summer menu. The pie is made up of a shortbread cookie crust filled with matcha custard and topped with strawberry compote and whipped cream - I think it’s the perfect balance of earthy and sweet. My two favorites are connected as the compote is just a smaller batch of my strawberry pie filling recipe.

Those sound incredible. I have a handful of family recipes that I swear by, and I love putting modern twists on them. I’ve made a handful of pies in my baking hobbyist career and have found them to be more technical than other desserts. Do you have any tips that you swear by?

European butter, always.

Noted… My friend just went to Paris and came back with a huge tub of French butter. That’s on priorities. What's a day in the life for you like?

I’m not a big fan of routine so most days look different for me. But in the summer I enjoy the ritual of starting my day by tending to my back patio garden in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. The violas I grow are what I use to decorate my pies during the season! 

For work, I am an advertising strategist but what fills my cup is my baking and my yoga practice. While those two things may seem different on paper, I find the experiences overlap quite a bit. A friend once said to me that baking is like a moving meditation and I couldn’t agree with that more. Most days you can find me practicing (and now teaching!) yoga at the amazing studio The Shala in Fort Greene. Beyond that, I love going to concerts and the movies with my friends. My best friend and I even have a couples membership to Film at the Lincoln Center - the New York Film Festival is our Christmas.

I love that! I’ve found that having lots of hobbies does wonders for the mind and body. Are you currently accepting orders or commissions? If so, what's the best way to get in contact with you?

Yes! I accept orders on my website friendsny.com and I'm always happy to chat all things pie via Instagram DM. If you want to try just a slice, follow along on my IG for pop-ups in Brooklyn - the next one is on August 2nd! 

Thank you and namaste, Jacklyn! Cheers to the incredible work you’re doing with & Friends. 

Stay tuned for more moments of inspiration in the Dolcetta Creator Series. If you feel the pull to contribute or have ideas simmering, reach out at dolcettabaking@gmail.com.

Cheers,

Maya