Nothing says summer more clearly to me than berry pie!

I love pie.

Apple, pumpkin, pecan, peach, cherry, coconut cream-

Mmm- have I mentioned how much I love pie?

But berry pie- specifically,  black raspberry pie- that is a midsummer delight!

Just look at this luscious berry goodness!

And when it is baked up into a pie- you have summer on a plate!

Just make your favorite pastry dough-

mine is:

2  1/2 cups of pastry flour

1  1/2  sticks unsalted butter

1/2 tsp  salt

1/2 cup ice water

Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour and salt mixture.

( Flour will have the consistency of oatmeal when ready,)

Make a well in the middle of mixture and pour water and then

lightly mix with a fork.  Gather the dough and flatten into two disks

and place in a plastic bag in the fridge for at least 45 minutes.

Flour flat surface and rolling pin and

roll it out and place in pie pan.

Then use 1  1/2 quarts of berries.

Crush 1/2 quarts, squeeze out the juice- leaving the seeds behind- and cook the juice up with

2 tsps lemon juice, 1 1/2 cups white sugar, and 1/8 cup cornstarch ( you can add 1/4 cup water if the

sauce is very dry).  Bring to a slow boil and

then  take off heat and add 1 TBS butter and allow to cool. (Or- buy a good quality of black or

red raspberry preserves and eliminate the first step altogether and mix up with your fresh

berries.  It is a cheat- but a real time saver and not that much more expensive!)

Add berries to cooled mixture, put into pie crust, roll out top crust and place on top.

Decorate with a garnishing knife tip and bake at 375 F for about an hour.  Keep an eye

on it so the crust doesn’t get too dark and allow to cool for at least an hour before cutting.

Then cut and serve a little bit of summer on a plate!

 

MMmmm!