Raspberry Picnic Pie

Pie is one of those things that makes me think of picnics, family reunions and outdoor get togethers. Usually in the summer, berry pies find their way to the weekend table. I created this pie with my first thought being strawberry lemonade. However, the idea of "cooked" strawberries was unappealing. That is when the flavor idea shifted to raspberries.  Raspberry pie may not be the most favorite berry for pie, but I am more fond of raspberries than any other berry,  in spite of all the seeds.

This pie makes use of fresh and frozen berries. Also, it does not have the tapioca ingredient that you find in some pies. The fresh raspberries are layered on top of the crust first. Then it is filled with a cooked mixture of frozen berries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and zest. Since raspberries are pretty tart, the crumbly, sweet topping is the offset to the tartness.  In addition, I used a dairy/egg mixture prior to the layer of crumbs in order to seal the surface of the pie.

Creating the pie is fairly easy. There is no fancy lattice top nor is there prep work on cutting and peeling fruit. Definitely good reasons to try a berry pie if you are short on time. However, bear in mind if you bring it to the family reunion this year, consider that you are starting a tradition. Something this tasty will have your family will be expecting it every year! This recipe makes one 10 inch pie.  


Raspberry Picnic Pie
by Flourtrader

Ingredients/Bottom Crust
1/2 cup refrigerated shortening
1/4 cup cubed cold butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Ice water

Ingredients/Filling
5 cups frozen raspberries (thawed until still icy but pliable)
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups sugar

Ingredients/Top Crust
2 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup half and half
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks butter, room temp

Prepare a baking sheet by lining the interior with foil, making sure all sides and corners are covered.  To create the crust, sift together flour, baking powder and salt into stand mixer bowl. Then add the sugar, butter and shortening. Beat on medium speed until mixture resembles coarse, small clumps. Slowly sprinkle a 1/2 tsp of ice water into the batter and beat. The dough is the right consistency when it comes together on the beaters instead of clinging to the edge.

Lay a piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface and empty dough onto plastic. Flatten into a disc and cover with the wrap. Place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. Once the chilling step is completed, lightly dust a flat surface with flour. Remove the disc from the refrigerator and place on the floured surface and roll out to 12 inches in diameter.

Roll dough over rolling pin and then unroll dough over pie pan and release. Lightly press dough, making sure all the interior of the pie pan is covered. There should be no air pockets. Fold the excess dough under the part of the dough that touches the top outer edge of the pie pan. Then crimp the top edge of the dough. Place in freezer until ready to use.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Fill a medium size saucepan with the slightly frozen berries, cornstarch and sugar. Place over medium heat and stir, blending ingredients.  Mixture will come to a boil, but continue to stir and cook for about 2 minutes after it has reached a boiling point. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest and lemon juice.

Remove frozen pie crust and place fresh raspberries evenly on the bottom of the crust.  Pour the cooked raspberry mixture on top. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, half and half, 1/4 cup of sugar and vanilla extract. Then slowly pour the mixture over the top of the filling. Start pouring on the outer edge, moving toward the center until bowl is empty.

For the crumb mixture, sift together the flour and the salt. Add the butter and remaining 2 cups of sugar.  Combine by using a pastry blender until it becomes a crumbly sandy mixture. Sprinkle crumbs on top of pie, again starting with the outer edges and moving toward the center.

Place pie on prepared pan and transfer pan to oven. Bake for about 45-60 minutes. Pie is done when you see the filling bubbling over and the crumb surface has turned a deep golden brown.

Let cool to room temperature and then cut and serve.
                           **LAST YEAR:Vienna Chocolate Bars*

Coconut Almond Topped Peach Pie

The window of time for the best peaches seems to be pretty small in Texas.  Intending to get fresh fruit for the pie, I was disappointed only to find a sad selection of small hard peaches at the grocers.  Not the tender juicy ones I had in mind.  However, I came across had a note in a pie recipe book stating that sometimes the frozen ones are better because they are flash frozen at the peak of freshness.  So I went ahead and got frozen peaches.

When it comes to fruit pies, the fruit should be the most prominent thing you taste.  Some pies have just too much filling so you are tasting the syrupy type base more than the fruit.  As you can see in the picture, the syrup base keeps the peaches clinging together as opposed to floating in the base.

The crunchy topping is a great alternative to using pie crust.  It not only imparts a nice texture, it adds a little bit more flavor to the dessert.  Let's not forget that it is much easier to make than a pastry crust top for the pie!

Coconut Almond Topped Peach Pie
adapted from Pie by Ken Haedrich

Ingredients/Pie Crust
1/4 cup cold butter (cut into 1/4 inch pieces)
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening (cut into pieces)
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar

Ingredients/ Filling
1 1/2 tbs fresh lemon juice
zest from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup plus 3 tbs sugar
2 tbs cornstarch
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2- 1lb bags of frozen peaches, thawed in a large bowl

Ingredients/Pie Topping
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup sweetened coconut
6 tbs or 3/4 cup cold butter (cut into 1/4 inch pieces)
1 tbs milk
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup flour

For the pie crust, sift together the flour and salt.  Stir in the sugar.  Pour mixture into a food processor.  Add the butter cubes and pulse several times to cut into the dry ingredients.  Scrape the bowl and fluff with a fork.  Do the same with the pieces of shortening.  Drizzle 2 tbs of water over mixture and pulse until blended.  Fluff and then sprinkle additional 2 tbs of water over dough and pulse again. Empty dough into bowl and test texture. Mixture should clump together in your hand.  If still too dry, knead in a teaspoon of water.

Then sprinkle flour on a flat surface and empty bowl of dough on top of flour.  Knead the dough a few times and form into a 3/4" thick disk.  Wrap disk in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least and hour or overnight.

Once chilling time is complete, roll disk out on a floured surface to form a 13" circle.  Then invert into a 9 1/2 inch deep dish pie pan.  Make sure dough is covering all of the interior of the pie pan, so there are no bubbles of air.  Using your fingers or the tines of a fork, sculpt the extra dough hanging over the edge of the pie pan to make the upper edge of the crust.

Place pie tin in the freezer for 15 minutes.

The filling starts with tossing the lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/3 cup sugar and peaches together in a medium size bowl.  Set aside for 10 minutes for peaches to release more juice.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and the remaining 3 tbs of sugar.  Add to the peach mixture, stirring to make sure everything is evenly distributed.  Then mix the nutmeg and vanilla extract into the fruit filling.  Pour filling into the chilled pie crust and smooth the top.  Place in oven to bake for about 35 minutes.

While pie is baking, make the topping.  Fill food processor with coconut, almonds, flour , sugar and salt.  Press the pulse button about 6 times, running each pulse session about 5 seconds.  Then drop in butter cubes and run food processor until the mixture turns into crumbs.  Lastly, pour in milk and process until consistency is uniform.  Pour the crumb mixture in a bowl and test to see if the crumbs will clump together in your hand.  Put in refrigerator until pie has been removed from the oven.

Once pie is removed from oven, reduce temperature to 375 degrees.  Take crumb topping and dump into center of pie and smooth.  Then lightly pat down so crumbs form a solid coating over the peaches.

Cover a baking sheet with foil and place on the bottom rack of the oven.  Then place pie on the rack above.  Bake for about 30 minutes, or until filling is thick and bubbly.

Remove and let cool for at least an hour prior to cutting and serving.

Tips and Notes:
1. The recipe states, partially frozen peaches instead of thawed.  To insure even baking of the crust as well as the filling, I thawed out the peaches completely before mixing to make filling.

2.  When it comes to making the dough, you can use other processing methods such as by hand and by using a mixer.

3. To make sure the bottom crust fully bakes, the freezer time should not exceed 15 minutes.

4.  While the recipe states dump the crumbs into the center of the pie and spread, I sprinkled them on top, this helps make the topping even. Also, not that the crumb mixture does seem like a lot, but the volume insures a crumbly top coat instead of the crumbs melting into the peach filling.
                                        **LAST YEAR: Pecan Tassies**