Mother’s Day Pie
I’d like to pretend that this pie is an homage to all the times my mother baked some sort of home made pie as an endless source of comfort and the American Dream. However, no one in my immediate family has made a pie in my lifetime, so this was more just something that my sister and I decided to do on Saturday night and masquerade it as a Mother’s Day gift.
I wish I had taken some pictures of making the crust, because it turned out really well. I’ve heard lots of people say, “I just can’t make a good pie crust!” and I was very pleasantly surprised to get it on the first time. I have to give Smitten Kitchen credit for that.
Wahh it looked so nice before it got in the oven and EXPLODED.
So runny… =C
Other than having to pour about a half cup of liquid out of the pie into the sink after it was done, this pie was delicious! Next time I guess I’ll use fresh berries rather than frozen, since frozen berries have a ton of water in them.
Ingredients:
Crust: (Recipe from Smitten Kitchen)
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (8 ounces, 16 tablespoons or 1 cup) unsalted butter, very cold
- about 3/4 cup of water
Filling, adapted:
- 5 cups of berries
- 3 tbsp. cornstarch
- 2/3 cups sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Method:
1. For crust, cut butter into dry ingredients using a pastry blender or potato masher until the butter is in pea sized bits. Then add about 1/2 cup of the water and bring together with a spatula, adding more water until you can form a dough with your hands. Divide the dough into two and refrigerate for about an hour. Since the bottom crust needs to be bigger than the top, you should divide the dough unevenly. (For more detailed instructions and pictures, check this link)
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Celsius. Combine cornstarch and sugar. Pour over the berries and mix. Then pour the lemon juice.
3. Roll out half of the dough to make the bottom of a 9-inch pie crust. Pour berries in, then roll the second half of the dough to cover the top. Cut some slits into the top to allow air to escape.
4. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, then lower the temperature and bake for 35-45 degrees. I think I ended up baking it for over 45 minutes because the berries were frozen.
5. Enjoy!
