The Great Arkansas Pie Book

There's no more Arkansas dish than pie. In The Great Arkansas Pie Book, Little Rock-based food historian Kat Robinson explores centuries of pie-making across the Natural State through more than 200 sweet and savory recipes, stories, and full-color photography.

From recipes preserved in old church and community cookbooks to pies served in beloved Arkansas restaurants and bakeries, Kat brings together an impressive collection celebrating one of the state's most enduring food traditions.

This isn't simply a book about how to bake a pie. It's a delicious piece of Arkansas food history—and a cookbook meant to get flour on its pages.

Why We Love It

• Written by Little Rock-based Arkansas food historian Kat Robinson

• Features more than 200 pie recipes

• Includes both sweet & savory pies

• Draws from Arkansas restaurants, bakeries & home cooks

• Incorporates recipes discovered in historic church and community cookbooks

• Includes tested recipes, stories & full-color photography

• Explores generations of Arkansas food traditions

• Wonderful gift for bakers, pie lovers & Arkansas foodies

• A beautiful addition to an Arkansas cookbook collection

An Authentic Slice of the Natural State

Pie has been part of Arkansas tables for centuries.

Long before today's cream and fruit pies became familiar favorites, savory pies filled with wild game were part of the region's food traditions. Over generations, pie continued to evolve alongside Arkansas itself, eventually becoming an essential sweet ending to family meals, church suppers, restaurant lunches, and holiday gatherings.

Kat Robinson digs into that history to explore not just how Arkansans make pie, but why pie has remained such an important part of our culinary landscape.

More Than 200 Recipes

This is a book for people who really love pie.

Kat researched historic and contemporary Arkansas restaurants, bakeries, home kitchens, and hundreds of church and community cookbooks to curate a collection representing the remarkable variety of pies made across the state.

You'll find familiar classics alongside unusual discoveries, with recipes spanning both the sweet and savory sides of pie.

Each helps preserve another little piece of Arkansas food history—while giving you something delicious to make at home.

Recipes, Stories & Arkansas Food History

Part cookbook and part culinary history, The Great Arkansas Pie Book pairs its tested recipes with the stories behind Arkansas's pie traditions and full-color photography.

It's equally at home on the kitchen counter and the coffee table: flip through it for inspiration, read it to learn something new about Arkansas, or pick a recipe and start baking.

Meet the Author

Kat Robinson is a Little Rock-based food historian, travel writer, and enthusiastic road warrior who has traveled through all 75 Arkansas counties documenting the food, restaurants, people, and traditions of the Natural State.

Pie has played a particularly important role in Kat's work. Her years spent seeking out Arkansas pies, talking with the people who make them, researching historic recipes, and documenting the state's foodways have made her one of Arkansas's best-known culinary storytellers.

The Great Arkansas Pie Book is her 12th book and brings that extensive research together in one substantial collection devoted to one of Arkansas's favorite foods.

A Delicious Arkansas Gift

For someone who loves to bake, collects regional cookbooks, misses the foods they grew up with, or simply loves exploring Arkansas through its food, this is a particularly special gift.

Pair it with an Arkansas-made kitchen towel or locally made pantry item for an entire Natural State kitchen gift.

Or keep it for yourself.

With more than 200 recipes, you've got a lot of pie to make.

Book Details

Title: The Great Arkansas Pie Book: Recipes for The Natural State's Famous Dish From Our Favorite Restaurants, Bakeries and Home Cooks
Author: Kat Robinson
Recipes: 200+
Features: Tested recipes, stories & full-color photography
Release Date: May 9, 2023

More than 200 recipes and generations of Arkansas stories—because sometimes the best way to understand a place is one slice at a time.