Four Berry Pie

Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries all combine to make a perfect pie in our house!

We use Mom's Pie Crust for every pie we make and then make the filling depending on what season it is and who is going to eat it.  Her Four Berry Pie is definitely a bit more of a complicated process compared to some of the others.

My mom uses frozen berries because where we live all four of them are never ripe at the same time. She always has a big bag of frozen berries in the freezer so she can make this pie throughout the entire year.


Some of the frozen berries are heated on the stove to get ride of excess moisture before getting mixed with the sugar, grated apple, tapioca, lemon zest, and lemon juice.

The top crust is has holes poked in it to let the moisture escape while the pie is cooking.  Berry pies tend to have a lot of moisture which is why they are usually soggier.  Having the holes in the top increases the viscosity of the filling.

Four Berry Pie
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated's Blueberry Pie

1 recipe of Mom's Pie Crust
8 cups frozen berries (a mix of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries)
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, shredded
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons instant tapicoa, ground
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
pinch table salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, in 1/4 inch pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and place a baking sheet in the oven. Prepare the pie crust. Place 6 cups of the berries in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Let them warm up and become liquidy (Yes, I know that's not a real word). Simmer on low for about 15 minutes stirring gently, occasionally until the amount of liquid reduces by about half. Pour the heated berries in a big mixing bowl and gently stir in the other 2 cups of berries, the sugar, the apple, the tapicoa, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

Lay half of the pie crust out on a pie pan.  Spoon out the berry mixture.  Lay the second half of the pie dough out on a cutting board and cut small penny-sized circles into the top.  Cut about 8 circles and then lay the dough on top of the pie.  These circles create vents for the steam to escape.  It's an easy alternative to a lattice pie.

Place the pie on the preheated baking sheet and cook for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees, rotate the pie and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes until the crust is a deep golden brown color.  Let the pie cool for about 4 hours on a wire cooking rack. Enjoy!