Triple berry pie.

It’s berry season!!! This, in my mind, is a BIG reason to celebrate. Everyone in my family can seriously just eat and eat berries without ceasing. Today, on our way home from swim practice I thought we would swing by our favorite berry farm to see what goodies they had to sell. My youngest and I were quite pleased to find black, red and blue berries. I have to admit, we started eating them on the way home… lack of restraint for certain. So then my mind started racing… a berry buckle, cobbler, tart… no let’s make a pie! Triple berry sounded lovely. I rushed off to the store and bought my very special Irish butter and organic cream (needed for whipping later) and I got to work. Now I have to admit, I have been eating and preparing cleaner dishes for my family however there are just some recipes that I cannot “healthify” (yes I know, not a real word) but there are just some recipes that you don’t tinker with, plain and simple. This recipe for crust is very old and I cherish it. It is certainly indulgent but not something you eat everyday – it’s just that…. a summer treat. Perfect for the 4th of July too!

I love the rustic looking crust. Not perfect but unique to itself. It smells heavenly and now I better go and whip up some fresh whipped cream for topping this beauty.

Ingredients for pie crust:
2.5 cups of all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur)
1.5 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup (yes it’s a lot of butter), use the best butter you can attain (I used Irish butter), ice cold and cut into small cubes
3/4 cup of ice water

Directions:

If you have a pastry cutter you will mix the ingredients into a bowl and use the pastry cutter to incorporate the ingredients. If you don’t have a pastry cutter, place the ingredients (minus the water) into your food processor and process until the butter and flour are lumpy and still retaining the texture (think crumbles). Then drizzle the cold water through the spout and process until incorporated. Divide the dough, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1.5-2 hours.

Place all of the ingredients into a bowl and using your pastry cutter/knife, cut the cold butter into the flour – breaking it down as much as you can. Then add the water. Knead with your hand – working the dough until no flour remains at the bottom of your bowl. This will take a few minutes. Then divide the dough into two balls, wrap individually with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1.5-2 hours. You will visually see chunks of butter in the dough and that is expected. That will make the pastry crust so flaky and absolute perfection!

Berry filling:

Ingredients:

1 cup blueberries
1 cup blackberries
1 cup raspberries
3 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of cornstarch (absorbs a portion of the berry liquid while cooking)
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon or so of sugar

Directions:

After washing and letting the berries dry, toss them in a bowl with the sugar and corn starch very gently.

After the pie crust has chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Get a baking sheet with parchment or Silpat lining. Set aside. Spray the pie pan with baking spray and set aside. Roll out the dough large enough for the pie crust bottom. I roll it out about 1/4 or so of an inch thick. Make sure you add flour to prevent sticking while rolling it out. Avoid over handling. Place the dough in the bottom of the pan. Then add the berries. Get your second dough from the fridge. Roll out in a large circle and either use it as a solid pie top (cutting vents in the center) or slice into strips and do a lattice top alternating above and below each strip. Brush the egg wash gently on top of the crust. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 50-65 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Depending on the thickness of the crust, the baking time will vary quite a bit. I just keep adding 5 minute increments until I get a lovely golden crust. Remove and let cool completely. Then slice and serve.