Pie in the Sky: Mixed Berry

First let me say that I am not a pie girl.

I never order pie, bake pie or favor pie over a slice of cake.

I am a cake girl. I don't need brownies, pie or cookies in my life, just let me eat cake.

I guess it's because I don't eat fruit as a rule. So now you know my dark, dirty little secret, I just don't like fruit (except for cherries in June). And that canned fruit in syrup gives me the willies. No thank you.

I do, however, LOVE apple pie, especially during the fall when I pick my own apples.

A few weekends ago, I picked my own strawberries on Long Island and had lots of leftover blueberries and cherries and raspberries from cakes never baked (a lot of fruit for someone who doesn't eat it!).



I had planned on so many recipes to try out with all of this local berry stuff hanging around, but never got around to most of it (I did manage to make the Cherry Lambic Crisp, the Strawberry Cake & the Blueberry Ricotta Cake!).

What to do with all that leftover fruit? I guess a pie it shall be.

My crust never turns out as flaky and wonderful like your grandmother's. Must be because I don't use Crisco?
If you ask me, great pie crust is an art. The recipe I used is about as close to perfection as I am ever going to get.

I decided on an oat crumb topping (too scared of lattice), but I forgot to add the flour! Even so, the pie came out gorgeous and delicious, though my husband asked if there was granola on top!

Also, for some reason, my pie was not as firm as I would've liked it to be, it was more like a crisp, or a crumble, or I guess just a delicious, messy pie.



Mixed Berry Pie w/ Oat Topping (loosely adapted from Food.com)

1 recipe (9 inch) perfect pie crust

Filling:
4 cups mixed fresh berries (I used local cherries, raspberries, strawberries & blueberries)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla



Topping:
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375F

Roll out your pie crust and fit it into a 9" pie dish, tin or glass. Decorate or pinch the edges together however you like.

Mix topping ingredients together in a small bowl, stirring in the melted butter last, and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix all the filling ingredients together, tossing the berries carefully so they don't fall apart.

Pour filling into pie crust.



Crumble topping over filling, completely covering it.
Place pie on a cookie sheet and bake on middle rack of oven for 40-45 minutes or until done.



Let cool before serving. No a la mode needed!



Yum.

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