Berry Pie with Vodka Crust

Vodka crust? Yes, it's true. Vodka in the pie crust makes it extra flaky and amazingly light. It sounded weird to me too, but I was intrigued and had to try it.

And what better day to try than on Thanksgiving?!  Happy Thanksgiving, by the way!

First, we'll start with the crust. I made it this morning, and let it get cold in the fridge while we got ready and enjoyed some appetizers (and wine) with friends.

Vodka Crust
From Food.com

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup cold vodka
• 1/4 cup cold water

Place 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor. Pulse a couple times. Add butter and shortening. Pulse again a few times until mixture becomes clumpy, and no more un-coated flour remains. It should look like cottage cheese curds. Use rubber spatula and rearrange dough so it's not stuck on the sides. Add the remaining 1 cup of flour and pulse again 4 to 6 times. Move dough to bowl.

Sprinkle cold vodka and water over dough. Fold in with spatula until dough becomes sticky. Split into two even balls. Flatten to 4-inch diameter discs and wrap in plastic. Place in the fridge for at least 45 minutes, and up to 24 hours. 

Now it's time for the berry-liscious filling. You can use any mix of frozen or fresh berries you like. For this pie, I got a bag of mixed berries, a bag of raspberries, and a bag of blackberries. 

Berry Pie

• about 6 or 7 cups of berries
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• zest from one orange
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

If berries are frozen, take out a few hours ahead of time and let them thaw in a colander.  Once they are no longer frozen, add about 1/8 cup of white sugar and stir around. Let them sit again for 20 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 400. When you're ready to bake the pie, roll out the cold dough discs to pie pan size. I grease the pie pan with shortening, and dust it with a mixture of corn starch and sugar. Lay the first crust in pan. Mix all filling ingredients and place in pie crust. Top with second crust and use a fork to seal and trim edges. Cut a few slits on top to allow for steam to escape.  

Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes longer. Let cool for a few minutes, then dig in!

Unfortunately, I have taken up all the free space for pictures allowed on this free blog...I don't know how great my posts will be without pictures!