In my true procrastination-prone spirit, I am now cramming in the last few summer goals that I had into September. One of those goals was to successfully make a berry pie. The last attempt that I made tasted pretty good, but the filling was a soupy mess (which my grandma and I later figured out was because I forgot to use cornstarch!)
My hope is that one day when I am a prevailing queen of the kitchen, I can look back at my past errors and be entertained by them. The night I almost lost my eyebrows starting the grill; putting ginger in a casserole instead of cumin, and managing to ruin countless crock pot dinners will be a distant memory. For now, I will revel in my little accomplishments. After all, I was planning on being a famous fashion designer in New York who would have her own personal chef, so I avoided most of my mother’s cooking lessons…
Below is the recipe that I used for both the crust and the filling. I got the black berries from my grandparents’ garden, and it was my first time making crust from scratch. I think it tasted best after being refrigerated over night. Here’s to many more adventures in pie baking!
Filling:
- 3 cups mixed blackberries and strawberries
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup raw cain sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- a pinch of salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
After combining all of the ingredients in a bowl, I refrigerated the mixture for about an hour while I prepared the crust.
Crust:
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 3/4 cups butter
- 1/2 cup cold water
I cut the butter into the flour with an electric mixer. Then slowly added the cold water, while mixing with a fork. Once the dough was stiff, I rolled it into a ball and refrigerated it for 30 minutes before rolling it out and constructing my pie.
Makeup Artistry and Esthetics 
That looks delicious!