Part of my July 4th weekend included visiting my longtime friend Pam and her husband Stephen. I gave her a hands-on pie making lesson and, let me tell you, she was a natural. We did everything by hand (meaning no mixers or even pastry cutters) and the crusts came out extraordinarily flaky. They were also super delicious because we got to use more of those freshly picked raspberries! I sure do love my summer desserts!
I used my tried and true crust recipe (that hails from an old Williams & Sonoma book). Click here for the recipe.
Double the recipe. Cut the dough in half. Wrap in plastic and chill for 20 minutes or so. Then, roll one dough out to about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 4 or 5 inch cookie cutter, cut out as many rounds as you can. Place them on a baking sheet and place in fridge. Then, repeat with the rest of the dough. While the dough is in the fridge mix up the filling.
Filling
5 cups berries
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (if you want)
Mix all of this up in a bowl. Heat oven to 375 F.
Then, get one sheet of rolled rounds out. Place a few tablespoons of fruit on the center of each leaving about 2 inches to the edge. Brush the edges of the bottom rounds with water. Then, get the remaining rounds out and place them on top of the bottom rounds. Press a fork around the edges of the pies. Brush the tops of the rounds with water and sprinkle with water. Make a few vents by poking tops with a fork.
Place in oven and bake until golden brown, roughly 45-55 minutes. Cool before serving or serve warm.
*adapted from Blackberry Pocket recipe in Williams & Sonoma Pie & Tart
