This Halloween, save the tricks and load up on treats at the Sweet Dough Pie Festival. A South Louisiana version of a traditional French pâte sucrée, or "sweet dough,” pie, these delicacies feature a butter-pastry dough stuffed with various fillings: sweet potatoes, blackberries, figs, lemon, and more.
Regardless of filling or form (full pie, half-moon hand pie, or small, circular creations), you can be sure of sampling the state’s finest during the Sweet Dough Pie Festival, which takes over Grand Coteau’s Town Park on October 31. For a nominal $5 fee, attendees can taste-test submissions and vote for their favorites.
What goes into an award-winning sweet dough pie? “Well, of course, flour, sugar, and eggs,” said Celeste Greig, winner of the Best Overall Pie award in 2024. “My recipe takes a little buttermilk, and I like nutmeg. Not everybody puts nutmeg in theirs, but to me, a sweet dough pie should have nutmeg.”
Photo courtesy of St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission
In addition to pie tastings included with admission, vendors will have whole sweet dough pies for sale on site.
Greig made her first batch of sweet dough pies more than thirty years ago, using a recipe for four, full-sized blackberry pies that was handed down to her. One summer day her father brought her an ice chest full of figs and suggested that she try making a sweet dough fig pie instead. “I made the fig, and it’s very good. I enjoy it better than the blackberry,” said Greig, whose prize-winning pie was of the fig variety.
In 2024, Greig almost didn’t enter the contest; her dad had passed away two months previously. “I was talking to him one day and, of all things, he brings up sweet dough pies,” said Greig. “I’ll tell you what he told me—‘You need to use less filling in your fig pie.’ The next morning, he passed away. At first, I thought, I’m not having a booth. But then I decided to, and I was going to use less filling, like my daddy said.” That year, Grieg not only won Best Overall Pie, but also the First Place ribbon for her fig pie, and Second Place for her blackberry pie.
In addition to all the pie-tasting, the Sweet Dough Pie Festival promises pies to buy, vendors selling arts and crafts, food trucks, and live music—all contained within the picturesque small town of Grand Coteau.
For more information and to plan your Halloween festival weekend, visit St. Landy Parish: Gumbo for Your Soul.
