Bumbleberry Pie

. Hold the phones!  Literally.  You'll want to for this one.

Actually, I really don't have much to say besides the fact that this is one of the BEST pies I have ever had.  It is absolutely packed to the brim with a sweet and juicy fruit filling, which is encased in a ridiculously lovely buttery, flakey homemade crust.  Man.  This is a good one.  And guess who I have to thank for this?  None other than good ol' Marcy Goldman from her book A Passion for Baking.  I'm sure you recognize the name, I feel like she gets brought up here quite a bit.  This pie is also so, so easy to put together.  A little rolling of some dough, tossing of some fruit, and BAM!  A few slices of heaven, for sure.

And just to clear things up, bumbleberries don't actually exist [even though you'll wish they did after a bite of this].  Don't worry, it's not some magical fruit that you've gone without your entire life.  No, no.  This pie is simply an assortment of some delectable, wonderful fruits.  Like what?  Oh, just raspberries, blueberries, apples, strawberries, cranberries, and a hint of tart rhubarb.  I mean,  no big deal though.  Sounds like it wouldn't be the most delicious thing to touch those taste buds, right?  False.

So enough chit chat already.  All you really need is this recipe and my promise that you will be obsessed with love this pie!  It was a delightfully pleasant surprise and I think you will agree.  And umm, how could you not agree that this beaut' would look perfect in your Memorial Day spread? Hello, light bulb!

P.S. Sorry I've been MIA, it was quite a busy week at work.  AND, Bacon-loving friend and I are actually in Minne right now visiting my parents.  We decided to make it a girls weekend and come to the Twin Cities for some much needed shopping and to just get away.  So far we've done a fair amount of damage [to our bank accounts] and we still have ALL of today to get through.  But I've been thinking about this pie for the last week and feeling awful that I hadn't shared it's fabulosity with everyone.  It's the guilt, it gets to me.  But now I feel much better, so please enjoy!  And now back to family time, have a great long weekend!! .

Bumbleberry Pie

from A Passion for Baking

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 c. all purpose flour

2 tsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1/2 c. butter-flavored shortening, cut into chunks

2 tsp. lemon juice

4 to 8 tbsp. ice water

Filling:

1/2 c. ground fresh or frozen cranberries

2 apples, shredded, skins on

2 c. fresh or frozen raspberries

2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

1 c. chopped strawberries

1 c. finely diced rhubarb

1 c. sugar

2 tbsp. all purpose flour

1 tbsp. cornstarch

Finishing Touches:

Milk, for brushing

Sugar, for dusting

Directions:

1.  For crust, place flour in food processor.  Add sugar and salt and process 20 seconds to combine.  Add butter and shortening on top of flour mixture.  Process by pulsing to break up butter and shortening until it looks crumbly.

2.  Drizzle lemon juice and ice water on top and turn machine on for exactly 15 seconds until mixture holds together.

3.  Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface.  Knead very gently for a few seconds to smooth out dough.  Pat into two flattened disks and wrap in plastic.  Chill dough for 1 hour.  

4.  Heat oven to 425°F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper and place 9-inch pie pan on it.  Roll out one disk of dough on lightly floured surface and place in pan. 

5.  For filling, in large bowl gently toss together cranberries, apples, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and rhubarb.  Add flour, sugar, and cornstarch.  

6.  Mound fruit into piecrust.

7.  Roll out remaining disk of dough and place on top of filling.  Crimp sides.

8.  Make air vents with paring knife.  Brush pie top and sides with milk and dust with sugar.

9.  Bake 20 minutes and then reduce oven temperature to 350°F.  Bake another 20 to 25 minutes or until fruit juices bubble out of vents in pie crust.  Let cool to warm on wire rack.

Yield: 6 servings

*My Notes:

• For the crust, you can use all butter and skip the shortening.  However, although butter results in the best flavor, shortening gives the crust that beautiful flakiness.  So it's up to you what you use depending on what you're looking for.
• I chose to use all fresh fruit for the filling, but of course frozen fruit will be just fine (and most likely cheaper...).  However, I did have to use dried sweetened cranberries because I couldn't find fresh or frozen ones at the grocery store.  Then, to ground them up, I put them in the processor and pulsed several times to get them broken down.  
• For the dusting of sugar on top of the pie crust, I used sugar in the raw.  It's a little bigger and more visible then regular granulated sugar, but either results in a pretty little pie.