Heidi Hammer of Langley is looking for a larger slice of her own pie.

A baker at Mike’s Place in downtown Langley, where for five years she has produced pies on demand, Hammer has branched out, on the side, with Heidi’s Pies, her own business.

Since she started about a year ago, sales have been pretty good, despite the economy, Hammer said.

“The world seems to have a love affair with pies,” she said. “When my friends have something that occurs in their lives, they always get a pie.”

Hammer, 37, grew up in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. She came to Whidbey about 14 years ago to visit her mother in Freeland.

“I went home, packed up my stuff and came back, and have been here ever since,” she said.

At Mike’s Place, she said she bakes pies, often to order, along with cheesecakes, muffins and cakes. Her marionberry pie won a blue ribbon at this year’s Island County Fair.

Hammer says she typically bakes a dozen pies a week, increasing her output during the holidays. This past Thanksgiving, for example, she baked 50 pumpkin and 20 pecan pies.

All of her pies are made without preservatives, and are marketed locally, she said.

“I started making pies because I couldn’t find a good one,” she said.

Hammer said she would like to expand her sideline, but that economically, it’s not a good time.

She specializes in berry pies, but has produced pies with pecans and from a variety of seasonal fruits.

“You can make a pie out of just about anything,” she said.

Her own favorite is a pie made from Italian plums.

“They’re nature’s candy,” Hammer said. “They’re so good, you can eat them until you make yourself sick.

“Add a crust, and some brown sugar, and they’re even better,” she added.

Hammer can be reached at 360-969-5059.