Lemon Zest Raspberry Pie

Berry pies are a favorite around our house! Mitch and I like pretty much all kind of berry pie. I loved this simple raspberry pie recipe adapted from the blackberry pie I made for Thanksgiving following Paula Deen’s recipe here. The lemon zest really brings out the flavor of the berries! I used the huge organic bag of Costco’s frozen raspberries. I thawed them for about 30 minutes before making the pie filling. They were delicious!

The Perfect Pie Crust (adapted from A Bountiful Kitchen’s pie crust and Jenny Evans’ pie crust) – my notes or changes in italics:

• 2 c. flour
• 1/4 c. butter (chilled, chopped into cubes)
• 3/4 c. shortening (chilled. chopped into cubes)
• 1/2 c. cold cold ice water
• (egg wash for cooking (1 egg + 1 tbsp. water))

  Mix flour and salt. Cut in butter and shortening with pastry blender or knives. Add water. Stir with fork until flour is absorbed and ball forms. (*Here I formed it into a ball, put it in saran wrap and chilled it in the freezer for about 10 minutes (or you can chill it longer in the fridge if you want to make it a couple hours or a day beforehand.) Dough is much easier to roll and handle when chilled).

  Flour surface and rolling pin well. Flatten dough with hand to make round pancake shape. Roll out from center to about 1/8” thickness (I made mine a bit thicker—I love a thick pie crust). Fold in half, lift onto pie plate. Open and shape to pan. Crimp edges. Cut off excess dough. If baking for single crust pie needing baked shell, bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes, lined with parchment paper and filled with dry beans so the crust retains its shape.

Raspberry Pie Filling (adapted from Paula Deen’s recipe here):

• 6 7 cups raspberries (if you have a small pie tin then use 6 c. but if you have a larger pie pan like a Pyrex glass one, use 7 c.)
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 4 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 batches homemade pie crust (above) or 2 disks of store-bought pie crust (the store-bought ones have a great consistency but they’re so thin. Try to make it if you can—it’s really easy!)
• (As noted above—egg wash for top: 1 large egg + 1 tbsp. water)

  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F with a baking sheet on the middle rack. In a large bowl, toss the raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and lemon zest. Let stand, mixing and coarsely mashing occasionally, 20 minutes.
  Fit one round of dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim the edges, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Refrigerate while you continue. Cut the remaining piece of dough into approximately eleven 11/4-inch-wide strips.
  Spoon the raspberry mixture into the pie shell. Arrange the dough strips in a lattice pattern on top of the filling and trim the strips close to the edge of the pan; roll up and crimp the edge. Lightly beat the egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush on the top and edge of the pie.
  Place the pie on the hot baking sheet in the oven and bake until the filling is bubbling, 45 mins – 1 hr.
  

  I think pies are best about 4-5 hours after cooking.