Berry Pies, oh me, oh my!  At my house we still call them pie-eee’s!  It just got started one day and is still said like that now… and with the exclamation of pie-eee! there is much happiness in the voice who says it!  For delicious pies, berries give the most flavor and making them is not a hard thing to do.  These days with a lot of women working away from home, we have to find ways to cut corners for saving time and so I would heartily recommend the pie crusts that come already to roll out.  Pillsbury-remember the Dough boy on the outer package, to me are the most tasty of pre-made crusts and taste the best right after coming out of the oven and eaten the first day.  They will not last for taste or texture on the second day, like a homemade one from butter mixed with lard will.  But who wants to save pie for the next day anyway!

  Ready-to-roll crusts should be set out for a few minutes to take some of the chill out for easier handling.  Use one crust for the bottom and when fitted into the pie pan, begin to flute the edges by hand, as pictured above.  When using canned berries, you can enhance the flavor by adding vanilla extract, pats of real butter and a little extra sugar sprinkled in.

  Example:  Cherry pie.

  After the bottom crust is fitted and fluted pour one can of cherry pie filling in, put 3 pats of butter around, sprinkle lightly with sugar.  Then add your second can of cherries and follow suit with the butter and sugar.  Put on the top crust either done in lattice work, or use the whole crust and just cut a hole in the middle and make some slits around it.  Finish off with an egg yolk wash or brush with milk for a nice browning effect.  Also sprinkle a little sugar to show off a sparkling crust.

  *These are only some ways to decorate your pies.  You can also use cookie cutters to top pies with according to the season you bake them in.  I’ve done a hand of cards pie, using blueberries and then cutting out hearts, jacks, kings and queens out of the topper dough and this is a pie that can be made if you have friends over for card games.  Your friends will be so surprised when they see a pie to match the cards!

  *Pictured first is a crust protector-keeps it from burning which they usually will before the pie is finished baking.  If you don’t have this you can line around the top crust with 2 long pieces of foil.

  The best tasting pie crusts, Pillsbury and come 2 in each box.

  When making a homemade pie, the ones that need to be cooked before you put the fillings in them will often times puff up and then the sides slide down making your pie look very disfigured.  So, by putting beads or large dried beans in while the bottom of the crust while you bake it, the pie will not puff up.  Ha, and you thought I was trying to dress up my pie crust!

  All of my berry pies are flavored pretty much the same and I always use just a sprinkling of sugar with the butter pats.  When putting the top crust on and have it fluted, brush it with milk or a wash made from egg yolk only with a little water or milk added.  Then sprinkle just a little bit of sugar on top for a shiny look.  These pies really come out beautiful.  With the easy pie crusts and the two cans of berries for each 9 inch pie, you will have a pie that has a lot of fruit in it that will enhance the taste further.  In the past I’d just use one can of berries and I didn’t like the way they looked, but by adding that second one, it sure made the difference.

  Recipe for a single pie crust:

  1 cup all purpose flour

  1/2 teaspoon salt

  1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening (Crisco, butter or half and half is commonly used)

  2-3 tablespoons cold water

  Mix flour and salt in medium bowl, cut in shortening using pastry blender.  Blend until mixture resembles the size of small peas.  Slowly add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until mixture almost leaves sides of the bowl.  One to two teaspoons more water can be added if necessary and I always find this mostly necessary.

  Gather pastry into a ball and shape into flattened mound on lightly floured surface.  (Some prefer chilling the pie dough for at least 30 minutes.) 

  Roll pastry on lightly floured board into a circle that is 2″ larger than the inverted pie pan when placed on top of crust.  Fold crust in half and place on pie tin, pulling the other half over.  Flute as you choose, fill and line around top of crust edge with aluminum foil.  Bake at time given on your recipe.  Pies are usually baked between 375 to 425 degrees.  Having or purchasing a pie blender really makes a difference in texture too as you do not want to over work pie crusts.  Over working a pie crust will make them tough in consistency.  You want them to be light and flaky!

    Pie blender 

  images by bing.com