Growing blueberries and blackberries is high on our priority list. There’s nothing like small fruit pies/tarts to help satisfy the craving for something sweet. (And no — you don’t need sugar — but I’ll get to that in a minute.)
This year I started picking blueberries June 13th. Here it is the end of July and we’re still picking! We’ve harvested 9 gallons from 8 bushes. Almost 6 gallons in the freezer for winter. Yummm—! (at 1 cup per small pie that’s 96 pies!)
Blackberries grow in my front yard fence border. I keep them to 2 to 3 fruiting canes. The other night I made a discovery that will force me to find room for more in future years.
Here’s how it happened: I usually add one to two tablespoons of honey to one cup of berries when I make a blueberry tart (or small pie). I use about 1/2 tsp. of stevia when I make a blackberry tart. (Stevia doesn’t taste good in everything, but I think it’s perfect in blackberry pies.)
One evening I was out of honey. I had a 1/2 cup of blackberries; not enough for a pie. So I decided to add them to 3/4 cup of blueberries and sweeten them with 1/2 teaspoon of stevia. (Add a rounded serving tablespoon of flour to the mix and then moisten with about 1 tablespoon of water.)
It was the most wonderful tasting pie I have every had! Tart — but not too tart. Offset with just the right amount of sweetness.
Here’s my pie crust recipe and the instructions for making a perfect crust. (Pie crusts are easy.)
Here’s the post that gives all the ingredients for the other fruit pies I make. (Experiment to find the amount of sweetness that best suits your taste.)
If you have the berries give one of these combination pies a try while you can. It might change the way you fix pies.
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Sources – In case you’re not growing any berries and want to:
Spring Hill – Apache Thornless Blackberry
Spring Hill – Top Hat Blueberry
Gurney (Save $20)
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