Who makes the best pies in Huntley?
Right now, the answer is Jeanne Bruntyn, a resident of Neighborhood 33 in Sun City.
After a lifetime of baking for her friends, family, and just because she wanted to, Jeanne baked a Morello cherry pie and submitted it to the Huntley Farmers Market pie bake off earlier this fall. On her first try at pie-baking competition, Jeanne won first prize in the fruit pie category.
Jeanne’s entry, and this story, was inspired by Jeanette Zielinski, Jeanne’s friend and neighbor.
“She loves to bake, and is doing it all the time,” said Zielinski. “Up until now she has only shared her wonderful creations with friends and family.”
In the market competition, there were three categories of pies – fruit, cream, and “other,” said Zielinski.
“All pies had to be made from scratch and recipes had to be provided for the crust and filling. A panel of three judges, including a professional baker, critiqued the homemade pies on one, attractiveness and aroma; two, tenderness, flavor, and proper baking of the crust; and three, taste and texture of the filling.”
“I got started in baking when I was a child and I helped my mother when she baked,” Bruntyn said. “I especially enjoyed helping my mom make cupcakes, I had fun cracking the walnuts. My husband Rudy and I have been married 39 years, and this prize came on our 39th anniversary,” Bruntyn said. “So we had a big party and reminisced about our years together.”
The Bruntyns came to Sun City in 2016.
“We thought about coming when Sun City opened in 2000,” Jeanne said. “But we were both still working and we decided to wait until we retired.”
The couple lived in Lake Zurich and Fox Lake in the years leading up to coming to Huntley.
