Elderberry Pie

I was gifted yesterday with a beautiful bag full of Elderberries- thanks Carl! Since Sue’s birthday is today and she loves elderberry pie it seemed natural to bake one for her. If you never cooked with elderberries before the real work is in the cleaning. Elderberries are really tiny- supported in large clusters on thin stems. You just have to be patient and pull them off as best you can. I found it was more fun while listening to music. Wash the berries and be sure to look for little stem pieces.  You’ll need four cups of prepared berries for the pie. I had extra so I am making Carl a jar of elderberry jam with the rest. In the past I have had luck finding elderberries for sale at local and Amish markets. They grow in the wild, too. But don’t pick or consume any berries unless you know for sure what they are.

Here is the recipe I used.

Elderberry Pie

Crust:

2 c. flour

1 t. salt

3/4 c. chilled shortening or lard

2 T. cider vinegar

about 1/3-1/2 c. ice water

Mix together  flour and salt. Cut in shortening to resemble coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with the vinegar and then slowly start to add the water, tossing with a fork as you go. Stop adding water when dough holds together. Shape dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for a couple of hours.

Filling:

4 c. elderberries, washed and stemmed

1 c. sugar

3 T. cornstarch

3 T. lemon juice

1 T. butter

Place berries and sugar in saucepan. Combine cornstarch with the lemon juice and stir until smooth. Add to the berry mixture and cook- stirring constantly until mixture is thickened and bubbly. remove from heat. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out half of the chilled crust to fit a 9-inch pie pan- not deep dish. Pour filling into crust.  Dot with the butter. Roll out remaining dough to fit over the top of the pie- or you can cut into strips and do a lattice. Crimp edges and place pie pan on a cookie sheet to catch any drips. Bake for 45 minutes- crust should be golden brown all around. Yummy.