Grandma's Berry Rhubarb Pie Recipe

Growing up my Grandmother lived with us for a few years. I was about 6 when she moved in. A big benefit of her living with us was her down home cooking. In addition to her fried zucchini and canned peaches, her Berry Rhubarb pie recipe was my absolute favorite.

I had never had Rhubarb before Grandma moved in. She added rhubarb to our garden and it’s stalks fast became a summer staple at our house. My mother always grew a garden, of which I always weeded- I still hate weeding to this day because of it. She was a great gardener, but she never really loved cooking and baking. My mother had lots of other skills… like dancing, performing, and great bedtime stories. Let’s just say no one ever called her Betty Crocker! When Grandmother moved in dinner went from frozen banquet chicken & tater tots to homemade chicken pot pies.

According to my grandmother, the biggest secret to a great pie starts with a buttery homemade pie crust. My Grandmother taught me 2 tricks to ensure the pie crust always comes out light and flakey:

Use butter instead of lard or shortening
refrigerate /freeze your butter and water

Perfect double Pie Crust Recipe:

2 1/2 cups all- purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, diced & refrigerated

1/2 cup freezing cold water

Directions:

Dice butter and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Measure out 1/2 cup of water and place in freezer for 15 min. – I promise this makes all the difference! Grandma’s says…and I listen!

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Do not over mix or it will make your pie crust tough! Stir in cold water one tablespoon at a time. I use my hands to combine the ingredients to form a ball. Split the dough into 2 balls and wrap in plastic. refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Roll 1 ball of dough out to fit a 9 inch pit plate. Place the crust in the pie plate and press the dough evenly into the bottomed sides of the plate. Do not trim excess dough off edges. Keep the second dough ball in fridge until the pie filling is ready.

Once the pie filling is placed in the pie dish roll out the second dough ball and cut into 1/2 inch strips. Carefully thread the strips over and under one another , pulling back strips as necessary to weave. Press the edges of the strips into the bottom pie crust edges to seal. Use a small knife to trim off excess dough. Carefully fold extra pie crust under all around the edge. Then pinch to add decorative detail.

Easier option: simply cover the filling with the 12 inch pie dough circle. Cut slits in the top to form steam vents. Trim and crimp the edges.

Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash. Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.

Berry Rhubarb Pie Filling:

*Preheat oven to 4oo degrees.

2 1/2 cups fresh red rhubarb, chopped once lengthwise down the stalk and then diced into 1/2 slices.

2 cups fresh strawberries, quartered

2 cups raspberries – if you omit the raspberries then double the strawberries

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 tablespoons tapioca starch or corn starch

1 tablespoon all- purpose flour

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg white beaten with 1 teaspoon of water (this is for an egg wash to finish the crust with a nice golden color)

Directions:

Combine rhubarb , strawberries, raspberries, sugar, tapioca starch, all purpose flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Spoon the filling into the pie crust. *Refer to pie crust recipe for top crust instructions.

Collar the edges of the pie with aluminum foil and place on a rimmed baking sheet (in case any of the filling bubbles out). Place pie in preheated oven and bake at 400 degrees. Bake for another 55-60 minutes. Allow the pie to cool for at least 3 full hours.

Tip: I always make this pie a day in advance. Because berry rhubarb pie is already really juicy, the extra time really allows the pie to fully set. Also you can make the pie crust up to 5 days in advance, just keep refrigerated! When I make pie dough I always double the recipe and freeze the extra batch. It will stay good up to 3 months.

For STREUSEL TOPPING option follow these instructions:

*Freeze the other half of the double crust recipe for next time.

1 Cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into tablespoon size pieces

Instructions: Combine flour and brown sugar in a small bowl. Add cold utter using a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into the flour/sugar mixture util it has the consistency of course crumbs. Sprinkle the streusel topping every over the tip of the pie, but not covering the edges of the pie crust.