Jennifer's Recipe: Simple Cherry-Berry Pie

I am pretty sure we are the only church anywhere that has a Pie Room. We used to have a Ladies Aide Society at the church and they would serve dinners to raise money.  Dessert was always a piece of homemade pie.  The pies were gathered and cut in a little room in the back of the basement.  That room was called the Pie Room. The women brought their best pies to be served to the public. Only a few women got the privilege of going into the pie room to cut the pies. I feel like it was considered one of the holiest rooms in the whole church. After a few years of attending the church, I even got that honor.  I think it was because I was working at the orchard at the time and cutting countless apple pies there. The ladies figured they could trust me to cut a good piece of pie. The days of those dinners are long gone, but the name has stuck around.

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March 14 is National Pi Day and is an important day in the math world.  I am more interested in eating than in math though, so it is a good excuse to focus on Pie.  So let's celebrate and talk about Simple Cherry-Berry Pie.  A cherry pie is very good but this recipe takes it to a whole new level. The addition of raspberries is the perfect combination with the cherries. The simple part is that you just add raspberries and a few other ingredients to a can of cherry pie filling. The original recipe called for using a Pillsbury Pie Crust to really make it simple. If you do that, just follow the instructions on the box.  If you are feeling ambitious, make your own crust.  I won't include that recipe but pie crust recipes are easy to find if you don't have a good one.

Our pie room is mostly used as a storage room now.  I bet it gets kind of lonely for the days when it held a prominent position in our church.  The days of our church dinners are long gone.  Hopefully, the days of eating pie will never disappear.  National Pi Day is a good excuse to bake a pie.  Maybe I will bake this one and take it over to the pie room for old-time's sake!

Happy Pi/Pie Day!

Jennifer

Simple Cherry Berry Pie

Ingredients:

• Pie crust for a double crust for a 9-inch pie pan
• 2 to 3 cups fresh or frozen whole raspberries (do not thaw if frozen)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 can cherry pie filling (21 oz)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees or 375 if using a glass pan.  Make your crust from scratch or prepare whatever kind you are using. Lay the bottom crust into a 9-inch pie pan.

In a large bowl, gently combine the other ingredients.  Spoon into the pie crust. Top with the other crust.  Seal the edges and crimp together.  Cut a few slits in the top crust.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.  Cool completely before serving. Serve with ice cream if desired.

Notes:

• If using a glass pie pan reduce heat to 375.  May take a little longer to bake.  Just keep an eye on it.
• The original recipe called for 2 cups of raspberries. I feel it needs more if you want to add them.
• Use your own judgment regarding the amount of sugar, just don't skip this ingredient.
• You could get creative and cut decorative holes on top of the crust.
• If the edges of your crust start getting too brown before the pie is baked, cover the edge with foil strips.
• Recipe Source: unknown magazine years ago