Mulberry Pie

Mulberries are in season and there's a tree right in our backyard! In fact, there are trees everywhere in Pittsburgh. They look like a little blackberry but are much softer and milder in taste. There are also golden mulberries around which are a superfood. For this recipe Nick, Laura, and Twilly had to scavenge around the block to look for enough berries. I owe this delicous pie to their hard work! The recipe is a compilation of a couple different ones including one from a cookbook my dad gave to me, The Encyclopedia of Baking. We served this for Father's Day dinner.

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 sticks cold butter
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup ice water (or less)

Filling:
3 cups mulberries
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup tapioca flour

Slice the butter into cubes. Then mix the dry ingredients in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like large, coarse crumbs. Then mix the egg yolk with the ice water. With a fork add the liquid mixture into the dry mixture bit by bit just until the dough starts to come together. The less water you use, the better your crust will be. Knead it together just to get it into a ball. Wrap in aluminum foil and let rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, pick the berries. Mix them together with the sugar and tapioca. Don't be afraid to smush the berries a little. Set aside.
Then roll out one half of the dough in some extra flour to one inch bigger than the bottom of your pie pan. Use the rolling pin to roll the dough up and roll it out into the pie pan. Be careful not to stretch the dough. Pour the filling into the crust and place in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll out the other half of the dough just a little bigger than the pie plate. Use fun cookie cutters to cut out patterns if desired. Place on top of the pie and pinch the edges of the dough together to seal the filling in.

If no cut outs were used, just cut some slits on top of the pie. Brush with some milk and place in the oven for about 30-45 minutes until lightly golden brown.
Serve with vanilla ice cream : )