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Quick & EasyBy Beverly Barbour
Some berry good piesSummer time is a berry time and berry time is picnic time. Here are four fine desserts which can be made as pies or tarts. A tart having been baked in a shallow baking pan with fluted sides and hopefully a removable bottom. A pie, on the other hand, is baked in a pie tin with slightly sloping sides and usually holds much deeper filling than a tart. The names have become interchangeable. Press-In Pastry Crust Easy to mix in a food processor and easy to press into shape, using your fingers. Or visit your grocery story and pickup a frozen pie crust. Makes 1 pie or tart shell. 1 cup all-purpose flour
Combine flour, butter and sugar in a food processor. Whirl or rub with your fingers until dough holds together. Press dough over bottom and 1-inch up sides of a tart pan. Bake in a preheated 350 F oven until golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes. You can let the crust chill for 4 hours before baking and up to one day refrigerated. Bluberry-Cinnamon Pie Lemon juice and peel in the filling add the tartness the blueberries crave. This filling can be made a day ahead and fresh blueberries can be used. Makes 8 servings. 2 sheets pastry dough
Arrange prepared crust in pie pan and place a baking sheet on rack beneath where pie will be baking. Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix together brown sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon in a bowl. Add berries, lemon juice, lemon rind and vanilla. Toss to combine. Let stand until berries thaw and mixture is room temperature, about 1 1/2 hours, or warm at 2 minute intervals in microwave oven until mixture is room temperature. Transfer filling to crust and cover with second crust. Trim and press edges together to seal. Flute edges decoratively. Cut 5 slits in crust to allow steam to escape. Brush top with egg yolk which has been whisked with a small amount of water. Brush onto top crust and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 F and bake until pie is nicely browned, about 30 minutes. Old-Fashioned Blackberry Pie Serve with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream or with whipped cream or yogurt. For a lattice crust it is best to start laying your strips by placing the first one in the center of the pie, and then move on from the center with your second strip running perpendicular to the first. Top with ice cream or lightly whipped cream sprinkled with candied ginger. Makes 8 servings. Pie crust dough for double crust
Place a baking sheet on lower third of oven beneath where pie will be baked and preheat to 400 F. Line 9-inch pie pan with one layer of dough. Roll top crust into a 16- by 11-inch rectangle. Toss together berries, granulated sugar to taste, cornstarch, butter, lemon juice, water and tapioca. Let stand, tossing occasionally, for 20 minutes. Stir berry mixture, then spoon evenly into shell. Arrange strips in a tight lattice pattern on top of filling and trim strips close to edge of pan. Roll up and crimp edges. Brush top and edge with egg white and sprinkle all over with sugar. Bake until crust is golden and bubbling, about an hour. Check after 45 minutes. If edge of crust is browning too quickly cover edge with foil and continue baking. Gooseberry Pie My mother had a gooseberry bush but never made anything from the gooseberries. Perhaps she didn't have a recipe. She baked exclusively from the Rolla, N.D., Community Cookbook, tucking between the pages recipes friends had shared with her. I have it still, with ragged pages and food spots everywhere--the marks of a good cookbook and a good mother. Recipe makes 6 to 8 servings. 1 Deep pie shell, baked
Arrange a generous layer of gooseberries in the baked crust. Make a custard by combining well the egg yolks with milk. Stir together 1/2 cup of the sugar and cornstarch and whisk that mixture into combined egg yolks and milk. Cook in a double boiler over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly. When thickened, pour the custard over the gooseberries and allow to cool. Beat together egg whites and sugar until it makes very stiff meringue peaks. Spoon over filled pie and bake until meringue is nicely browned. Glazed Strawberry Tart You can use the Press-In Pasty Crust recipe from above or any crust you prefer. Using melted jam or currant jelly for glazing perfect fresh fruit, can be done with any berry recipe. Makes 8 servings. Press-In Pastry Crust
Pastry: Easiest to work with if it has been in refrigerator for 1 hour or overnight. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a baking sheet. Place dough on sheet; pat into a 10-inch circle, forming a high edge. Pierce bottom of dough all over with a fork. Bake until slightly browned, about 25 minutes. Place sheet on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes; then transfer shell to rack to cool completely. Filling: melt jam with lemon juice in a small pan until spreadable. Spread 1/2 cup of mixture over bottom of shell. Arrange berries on top, cut side down. Brush with remaining mixture. Serve with whipped cream on the side. 4th of July celebrations cry for pie!
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