Amy's Pie
This is a blueberry-red raspberry pie with zest of lemon added for brightness. A special recipe created in memory of North Iowa Blogger, Amy of Rural Modern Living.
Servings: 10 slices
Ingredients
Double Crust
- 2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Granulated Sugar
- 1 cup butter, cubed, well chilled can use lard, shortening or combo. I love butter.
- 1/3-1/2 cup water
- 2 tsp vinegar
- 1 large egg
Blueberry Red Raspberry Filling
- 3 cups blueberries washed, dried, stems removed (fresh or frozen)
- 1 cup red raspberries washed, dried and picked over (fresh or frozen)
- 1 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 c minute tapioca rounded cup, *use a bit more if using frozen berries or if fresh berries are really juicy
- 1 large pinch of salt
Egg Wash and Sugar
- 2 tsp water
- 1 tbsp Sugar
Butter to dot on top of filling
- 1 tbsp Butter in pieces
Instructions
Double Crust
- Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cut in butter with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add wet ingredients, mix only until combined and dough just clings together. Divide mixture in half. Wrap in plastic wrap, pat into disks, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Blueberry Red Raspberry Filling
- Add berries to a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, combine sugar and zest of lemon, rub sugar into zest to release oils. (*this perfumes the sugar with lovely intense lemon flavor. Try this trick with sugar cookies, scones, etc.) Add sugar to large mixing bowl with berries. Add juice of lemon, tapioca and salt. Stir to combine.
Pie Assembly
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. When filling is prepared, remove disks of pie pastry from refrigerator. Roll 1 crust out to fit the pie plate. Place inside, using care not to stretch the crust. Gently fit to plate. Fill with filling, dot with 1 TBSP butter. Roll second crust out, cut into strips. Weave strips in lattice fashion on top of the pie or simply lay uncut pastry over top of pie, cutting a vent or two to let steam escape. Fold edges of pastry upwards and crimp decoratively. Brush pie with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes and 350 for an additional 40 minutes, if you used fresh fruit and an additional 55 minutes if you used frozen fruit. Remove from oven, let cool for 4 hours before slicing. This will ensure that your fruit pie will 'set'.
Notes
Pie Tips:
Dry Ingredients:
*Pre Measure all flour, salt and sugar. (Scoop flour into cup, gently. Don’t pack.)
*Sugar is optional in pie crust pastry. It lightly browns the crust.
*Some people add 1 tsp of baking powder to their crust, I choose not to because I swear I can taste it.
Fat of Choice:
**Whatever fat is used it must be cubed and well CHILLED.
*May use butter (browner crust, flavorful, usually denser, somewhat less tender, easy to work with when rolling out.)
*May use shortening (blonde crust, less flavorful, light and flaky, tender, somewhat easy to work with when rolling out)
*May use lard (blonde crust, flavorful taste of lard pastry, lightest and flakiest, most tender, somewhat difficult to work with when rolling out)
*Combination of fats is also a possibility. Find your perfect blend. (*I like all butter nowadays, but butter + lard is also fantastic!)
*FLOUR to FAT ratio in pie pastry is suggested 2:1. (ie: 2 Cups Flour to 1 Cup of fat)
Wet Ingredients:
*Ice Water to combine ingredients. (The less water used yields a more tender crust)
*Vinegar combined with the water will tenderize the crust
*Some use eggs in crust, will deepen color of crust and eggs bind the crust a bit better, great for beginners who want a little help with their rolling.
Method:
*After dry ingredients are sifted, fat is ‘cut’ into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (pea sized).
*1 TBSP at a time, water is added until you can squeeze a TBSP size of the mixture in your hands and it holds together on its own.
*Do not over-work the dough. This will make it tough.
Helpful Hints:
*Chill ingredients before beginning.
*Always use plenty of flour when rolling out your crust. (On board, rolling pin etc.)
*If crust is difficult to work with, return it to refrigerator for a brief chill before continuing.