A few weeks ago I was going through the fridge and realized I had a bunch of several pints of berries that I still hadn't eaten. I'd bought a half-flat of mixed berries because I wanted to make raspberry vodka/liqueur and have some fresh berries to eat too, but then I hadn't finished all of those berries. I haven't made a pie in some time, and I wanted to perfect my pie crust recipe anyway. I was going to make just a berry pie because there were some blueberries in the fridge too, but I've never cooked cherries and I figured, why not!
Pie Crust (makes a top and a bottom pie crust)
-2 1/2 c flour
-1 1/2 tbspn granulated sugar
-3/4 tsp salt
-1 c cold, unsalted butter
-1/2 c ice water (more as needed)
-1 tbspn freshly squeezed lemon
1. Put flour, sugar, salt in a bowl, stir to combine and place in freezer until really cold (like 10 min)
2. Cut butter into 1 inch cubes, add to flour, toss evenly (if it gets warm, put it back in the freezer)
3. Pulse in food processor until coarse and butter is the size of peas
4. Stir water and lemon together and drizzle into the butter/flour mixture a little at a time until pastry is shaggy and holds together when squeezed. Add more water as needed.
5. Dump dough onto floured work surface and fold over on itself a few times. Don't handle it too much because you want it as cold as possible. Divide pastry into two equal parts, wrap in plastic and chill for an hour.
Pie:
1 pint raspberries
1 pint blackberries
1 pint strawberries, chopped
1 pint cherries, pitted and sliced in half*
1/2 c sugar (or more to taste)
3 1/2 tblspns cornstarch
1 tblspn vanilla (if you want, I used less)
2 tblspns cold butter
fresh lemon juice to taste
*about 5-6 c fruit in all
1. Rub dry ingredients together in a large bowl, add berries and toss until evenly coated. Add the vanilla and lemon and set aside for 15 min.
2. Roll out one disk of pastry and place in 9 inch pan, stab dough with a fork several times and add berry mixture. Dot butter on top of berries.
3. Roll out second disk and place on pie, crimping edges, and slashing the top several times to create steam vents...or use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and place on top, or make a lattice crust (I did stars).
4. Chill the pie for an hour. I know this seems unnecessary but it keeps the crust really nice and flaky and solidifies the berry mixture, promise!
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 60-70 min (until the juices are thick and bubbling). Check the pie after 45 min and cover if it's getting too brown (mine was fine)
6. Cool for 3 hrs to let filling set. Eat.
*note: if you make it yourself, this whole pie takes forever, but it's worth it.
