Tag: Pie

A bunch of blackberries on the vine features varying levels of ripeness, including seven plump, ripe black berries.

Blackberry Pie

Servings:
10 Slices

Prep Time:
15 minutes

Cook Time:
45 minutes

Blackberries are an invasive species that should never be planted in Oregon gardens. But established thickets of blackberries fill unmaintained spaces throughout Portland. Every August, white flowers give way to abundant black berries. You can make as many blackberry pies as you pick berries for.

Ingredients

  • 9″ Double Pie Crust (recommended recipe)
  • 4 – 6 Cups Fresh Blackberries
  • 1/2 Cup White Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

Directions

  1. Prepare the lower pie crust. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Mix the berries with the flour, sugar, and spices in a large bowl until evenly moistened.
  3. Place the upper crust. Solid top crusts work best for blackberry pies.
  4. Bake for 45 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
Blackberry filling oozes from a golden-brown pie crust sitting on a solid wood railing overlooking a sunny grass yard.

A zigzag of leafy branches is adorned with clusters of ripe red cherries.

Fresh Cherry Pie

Servings:
12 Thin Slices

Prep Time:
90 minutes (including pitting)

Cook Time:
60 minutes

Fresh cherry pies are a delicacy that can usually only be offered once a year (unless you have more than a few productive trees). Accordingly they deserve more effort than other pies. A hint of lemon balances sweeter varieties such as Rainier. From pitting the cherries one-by-one to layering an intricate lattice crust, this pie is well worth the extra effort. And probably my favorite, but don’t tell pumpkin!

Ingredients

  • 9″ Double Pie Crust (recommended recipe)
  • 4 – 6 Cups Fresh Cherries (any variety, preferably a mix)
  • 3/4 Cup White Sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
  • Zest and Juice of One Lemon
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter
  • A few drops of almond extract

Directions

  1. Prepare the lower pie crust, allowing ample crust margins, and place in refrigerator.
  2. Pit the cherries and place in a metal saucepan. A cherry pitter is a must-have.
  3. Mix sugar and cornstarch into the cherries and let rest until juicy, about 10 minutes.
  4. Add the lemon juice to the filling and place over medium heat, stirring constantly. Allow to boil for one minute, then remove from heat, continuing to stir. Remove from heat if juices thicken completely before boiling. Note: the filling is forgiving if you cook for too long as long as you stir continuously.
  5. Mix in the lemon zest, butter, and almond extract. Allow the filling to mostly cool.
  6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. while cutting the upper crust dough into lattice strips with a serrated pastry wheel. Fill the bottom crust and layer the lattice on top.
  7. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until crust is golden brown and filling is oozing.
A cherry pie with red filling oozing through a tight diagonal lattice crust

Three freshly-harvested pumpkins sit on a concrete curb between a gravel pathway and a backdrop of green plants.

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

Servings:
8 Slices

Prep Time:
15 minutes

Cook Time:
45 minutes

Pumpkin pie is a delicious and easy-to-make treat. Home-grown pumpkins lend a surprising freshness to the pie. Play with a variety of spices to enhance the pumpkin pie flavor.

Ingredients

  • 9″ Single Pie Crust (recommended recipe)
  • 20 oz (about 2 1/2 cups) Pumpkin Puree (fresh pumpkin instructions below)
  • One 14-oz Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 2 eggs
  • Spices

Directions

  1. For garden-fresh pumpkins, start by making the pumpkin puree. This puree can be frozen, thawed, and used to make fresh pumpkin pies throughout the year. Volume yield depends heavily on the size and variety of pumpkins. Leftovers are easily made into a flexible-ratio pumpkin soup.
    1. Cut the top and bottom off of the pumpkin and remove the seeds and guts. Rinse the seeds, then salt and oven-roast until golden-brown.
    2. Cut the pumpkin into large slices and place them in a glass baking dish with the skin on. Roast at 350 degrees for about 90 minutes, until soft when pressed with a fork. Longer roasting will induce caramelization, providing a deeper, richer flavor and resulting in a color closer to the traditional orange for the pie filling. Roasting until just soft offers a fresher flavor and an unusually-yellow pie color.
    3. Allow the pumpkin slices to cool, and peel off the skin. Also remove any portions of the flesh that became hard when roasting.
    4. Puree the roasted pumpkin until very smooth.
  2. Roll out the single pie crust and place into the pie pan. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  3. Whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, sweetened condensed milk, and spices until uniform and slightly foamy. Pour into the prepared crust.
  4. Bake for about 60 minutes until pumpkin custard is set and lightly browned. Rotate as required to evenly brown the crust.
  5. Serve at room temperature or chilled with freshly-whipped cream.
A slice of fresh pumpkin pie on a navy blue plate on a vertical-grain Douglas Fir table with a view of a white picket fence out the window.

A sea of freshly-roasted pumpkin seeds