Brian: We had so much fun with this week's pie! It started out with a trip to Anderson Orchard, in Mooresville, IN. It is pretty common for us to go there and pick apples in the fall, but we decided to make a summer trip to find some raspberries, and use our bounty for our pie of the week.
Angie: I've always loved going to the orchard, It is a tradition for my friend Jen and I to go raspberry picking after the kids are back in school. It was such a gorgeous day to be outdoors, and I thought a raspberry pie would be perfect for the weekend. Jen and I will have to make another trip for sure! I love showing the pie making from the vine to the plate. We did this with strawberries in Florida over spring break, check it out here.
Brian: The orchard also gave us many great ideas for future pies. There were peaches, blackberries, rhubarb, and persimmon pulp just to name a few. We also found something really interesting last year, a cushaw melon. We can't wait to show you that this fall!
Angie: Well after we picked and posed for some silly photographs, it was time to get back and start to work on the pie. As you can tell from the pictures, it was a beautiful day outside. It was the kind of day to just sit back and watch the clouds. Andrea and I went off the beaten path and found lots more berries. I just love lifting up the leaves and finding a bounty of red, ripe berries!
Brian: As per usual, Angie started on the crust, and with a fruit pie you have two per pie to make. Meanwhile, I rinsed and patted dry the raspberries. We also needed some lemon juice for the recipe, so I got to work on that as well.
Angie: Once the crust was ready, I began to coat the berries with sugar by gently tossing them with the sugar.
Brian: I dissolved the water and cornstarch in a separate bowl while Angie was working with the berries. I then combined the lemon juice with the cornstarch mixture. We had some issues with our blueberry pie not setting up correctly, so we went with a bit more cornstarch than the recipe called for in the hopes that it would set up more firmly.
Angie: One thing I have read about, is that some people pre-cook 1/2 to 2/3 of their fruit filling mixture, in an effort to ensure a thicker filling or to reduce bake times. I think we are going to try that with our next fruit pie.
Brian: Angie added the mixture to the pie shells, and then she added her decorative flair.
Angie: We had taken a nap on Saturday after our orchard visit, and decided to work on pies Saturday night. We didn't plan that real well as it would be after 2:00 a.m. when we pulled the pies out of the oven. We knew we wanted to pie someone at church so we needed to have it finished before we went. The smaller pie seemed to set up just fine, but when we went to cut into the larger pie, it was very watery.
Brian: Just to let you know, we cooked this pie for a total of an hour and fifteen minutes, so I was hopeful that was enough. However, it obviously was not. So much like in backyard baseball, we attempted a "do over." We didn't know if it was recommended or not, but seeing that we had nothing to lose, we decided to bake the pie again on Sunday morning. Fortunately for us.. it worked!
Angie: Yum! I don't care for the seeds in raspberries, but the flavor and texture of this pie was delicious and paired perfectly with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!!
Brian: I really loved this pie! I definitely suggest heating it up and adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a winning dessert combination.
Pie Recipient of the Week:
We attend a great church, Kingsway Christian Church, and we have many pastors that help serve our congregation and community. We chose to give a pie to our lead pastor Matt Nickoson. Matt has been involved as a youth minister prior to joining Kingsway, and it is great to have a well rounded pastor, who can communicate with children and adults. He has a passion for serving all, but we love how he is always seeking to reach the lost or those who are new to Christianity. It is a great church, and if you are in Central Indiana, you should check it out!
One reason we started this blog was to spend more time together as husband and wife. Our church is starting a new sermon series next month on marriage and we are so excited to dive in and find ways to better our relationship. Even is you aren't in our neck of the woods, you can access podcasts here.
Recipe
1 9-inch unbaked double crust pie shell
5 1/2 Cups Raspberries
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1/4 C Water
3.5 Tbs. cornstarch
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. salt
Rinse berries and pat dry. Gently toss berries with sugar to coat them. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and then add the lemon juice and salt. Gently stir the cornstarch mixture into the berries. Pour into shell and add the second crust. Cover with a pie guard, and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 35-40 minutes. Remove pie guard and cook for an additional 10 minutes if necessary.
More important than time, you need to make sure the pie has heated until it is thick and bubbly. Cooking times will vary, and you may consider pre-cooking the pie filling before adding to the pie shell. This will make the filing thicker and may reduce the overall cook time.
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