“Last of the Summer Berries” Lattice Pie
One two-crust pie
Crust:
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp granulated sugar (plus more for dusting the top before baking)
1 ½ tsp fine sea salt
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, well chilled
4 Tbsp Crisco, as cold as possible
4-5 Tbsp ice water
Filling:
6 pints berries – my favorite combo is 4 pints blackberries and 2 pints blueberries
½ cup granulated sugar
4 Tbsp cornstarch
½ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp cinnamon
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla paste
1) For the crust: Whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Using a box grater, grate in the butter and the Crisco. Use your fingers to quickly crumble the fat into the dry mix. Add the ice water and use your hands to quickly squeeze the ingredients into a dough ball. Divide the dough in half, flatten into two discs, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.
2) When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Also preheat a sheet pan on the middle rack.
3) Roll one disk of dough into a circle large enough to fill your pie plate with a 1” overhang. Gently place the circle of dough into your pie plate and roll out your second circle to the same size as the first.
4) In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, sea salt and cinnamon. I n a large bowl, gently fold together the berries, zest and juice of 1 lemon, the almond extract and the vanilla paste. Gently fold in the dry mix and then fill your prepared shell with the fruit mixture.
5) Use a ruler as a straight edge and cut the second circle of dough into strips (as many as you would like to lattice). Lattice the top of the pie and then fold the edges under, sealing the top and bottom crust. Sprinkle the top of the pie with granulated sugar and then place the pie on the preheated sheet pan (add a layer of parchment for easy cleanup). Close the oven door and lower the temperature to 375 degrees. Bake the pie for roughly one hour until the filling is bubbly and the top is deliciously browned.
