As American as ...Berry Pie!

"Sarah's Berrylicious Pie" to be exact. My sweet friend Sarah Morrison brought a special homemade berry pie in to the office to share with us last week (I told you she was sweet!). This pie was very sweet, tart, and rich at the same time. And the crust? Very buttery and flaky! It was one of those "tastes so good it will make your tongue slap your brains out" desserts. It was so good I just had to have a cup of coffee with it. But don't trust my word for it, it received several raves and reviews from others (I shared the second piece I had put in the fridge with the facilities crew that came to shampoo the faculty lounge carpet).

Anyway, I confess I had never made a berry pie before, but this one was too easy to be true! Sarah emailed me the recipe and I couldn't resist. I made the pie the next day to take to church for a committee meeting. Well, let me tell you, that pie was the hit! (I actually made some brownies as a backup in case the pie didn't turn out -- I think only two brownies were eaten. ) There were even a couple of pieces left over, so I gave them to Gene (one of the committee members) who was very grateful.

Well, I know you are getting anxious, so without further ado here is the recipe (courtesy of Sarah):

Berrylicious Pie

1 qt. berries (she used strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries**)
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. butter
Pastry for 9 inch 2 crust pie*

Wash and drain berries. Mix sugar, flour and salt together, sifting several times. Pour the sugar mixture over the well drained berries and mix. Line pie pan with pastry. Brush bottom and sides with butter. Add sugared berries, and top with remaining butter. Roll remaining pastry and cut in 1/2 inch wide strips. Weave a lattice top on a flat lid, pinching the ends of the strips over the edge of the lid. Moisten edge of bottom crust lightly with cold water. Turn lattice top directly over berries, loosen ends of strips, and press strips to edge of bottom crust. By weaving the lattice top on a flat lid, you'll find it much easier to weave a neat pastry topping.
Bake 15 minutes in hot oven (425 degrees F.). Reduce heat to 350 degrees F. and bake 35 to 40 minutes longer. Enjoy!

*Sarah used a solid top crust (not a lattice top), so that is what I used. Just make a few slits in the top so the steam can escape.
**I used frozen raspberries (grocery was out of fresh ones), so I just increased the flour to 1/3 cup to soak up the excess liquid.

I hope you enjoy this pie as much as I did! Thanks Sarah!! :)