Berry Pie Filling

I KNOW IT'S HERESY, BUT I'M NOT A HUGE PIE FAN. IF PRESSED THOUGH, THIS IS DEFINITELY MY FAVORITE.

From the kitchen of:  Reesa Boren (Katie's Mom)

INGREDIENTS:

• 5 C frozen berries (blackberries, raspberries or a combination)

• 1/2 C water

• 3 Tbs cornstarch

• 1 Tbs tapioca

• 1 C sugar (or add 1/4 C more if the berries are too tart, or if you like it a little sweeter)

• 1/8 tsp salt

• 1 tsp almond extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Make enough crust for a 9" double crusted pie and get bottom crust into pie pan. (Note to myself... I have a deep 9.5" pie plate that will need an extra half of the crust recipe to fill).

2. Set a rack in the bottom 1/4 to 1/3 of the oven, and a cookie sheet at the bottom to catch drips.

3. Preheat oven to 425.

4. For a raspberry pie combine 1 C  of berries and all of the water in a heavy pot. or for a for a combo - add 2.5 -3 C. of just the blackberries (the raspberries fall apart when cooked much).

5. While berries are warming up, in a small bowl combine cornstarch, tapioca, sugar, and salt.

6. Pour dry ingredients into berry mixture.

7. Stir constantly on high until boiling, then turn down to med-high until the mixture thickens (will be soon - around 2 minutes).

8. Remove from heat, stir in almond extract and the remaining berries (since they are frozen, this should cool it enough to allow putting the filling directly into the pie shell)

9. Add the top crust (you can moisten the edges of the bottom crust to help it seal). 

10. Seal, vent, and get it into the oven (the quicker this all goes, the better, so that the crust doesn't get soggy from all the juices in the berries).

MAKES: One 9" pie