Boysenberry Pie

Boysenberries, and consequently boysenberry pie, became famous because of Knott’s Berry Farm and theme park in Buena Vista, California, literally just down the road from that other well known theme park and rival, Disneyland.

People have been buying and enjoying boysenberry pie at Knott’s Berry Farm for over 75 years. Boysenberries are not on every shelf and can be difficult to find but worth the effort. A cross between loganberries, raspberries and blackberries they are sweet and delicious. And if you can’t find them fresh or frozen in your market, you can buy them in a can from Oregon Specialty Fruit. These work well for making the pie. They are available on Amazon.

Now for the recipe…

1 double pie crust recipe*
3 cans Oregon boysenberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Drain the berries but reserve the juice from one can. Add the juice, cornstarch and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a saucepan and stir to mix well. Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens.

In a bowl combine boysenberries and the additional 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice. Stir in the thickened boysenberry mixture and stir everything just to combine.

Line a 9″ pie plate with the pie crust dough and fill with the fruit filling. Dot with butter.

Cover with top crust and crimp the edges to seal so juices don’t escape while baking. Make slits in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape.

Brush the top of the pie with melted butter and sprinkle liberally with sugar. Place pie plate on a lined baking pan to catch any juices that might escape and stop them from burning on the bottom of the oven should the pie leak while baking. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is browned. It can be served at room temperature or warm but allow the pie to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

This particular pie has a “P” for my darling son-in-law Peter who’s birthday we were celebrating. It is a yummy treat and a tradition for his birthday every year. Give this a try….you might just create a tradition of your own!

*This is the recipe for a double pie crust. We used gluten free all purpose flour to keep it all gluten free but it works just as well with regular all purpose flour.

3 cups flour, GF or regular all purpose
2 sticks butter, cut into very small pieces or grated with a cheese grater
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1 egg

Measure the flour into a bowl along with the salt and stir to mix. Add in the butter and make sure all the butter is covered in flour. Whisk the milk and egg together and add to the flour. Stir just to moisten the flour and until it begins to come together in a dough. Do not over mix as this will make the pie crust tough. Gather the dough in your hands and divide it in half. Wrap each half in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight. Remove from the refrigerator and allow the dough to sit for 5 minutes. Roll out one piece to fit your pie plate and the other for the top of the pie.