American Pie

I’m one of the few people in this country that never gets the 4th of July off.

This year, instead of enjoying the sweet summer heat and watching fireworks, I’ll be up at 3am to cover shootings/stabbings/accidents/other miscellaneous breaking news. Oh joy!

I know, I signed up for this gig…and I will be making a pretty penny in holiday pay (OT 2.5x!). But sometime, just sometime, I would like to partake in the festivities of Independence Day.

That’s why a few weeks ago I organized a potluck for all of us working at the station (a good 20 of us, by the way) to indulge in after our 5 o’clock newscast. I wasn’t expecting to work the early morning shift when I sent out the invite, so I signed up to bring some baked beans and some other patriotic dish. I’m still going to make it to the potluck (after taking a nap) but I was undecided on what else to bring until a few days ago. I stumbled upon this super cute flag pie and fell in love.

One weird obstacle I encountered while making this pie: It is damn near impossible to find cookie cutters in July. I went to three different places before finding a set of 3 mini star-shaped cookie cutter at Hobby Lobby for $2.99.

And to think I was going to settle on a bucket of random cookie cutters for $15 at Bed, Bath and Beyond! Hah! I’m very thankful that the clerk told me to try Hobby Lobby…I saved $12 doing so!

American Pie

• 5 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
• 2 cups blueberries, whole
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 ready-to-use, refrigerated pie crusts
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sugar, for topping

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, unroll one of the pie crusts and roll out with a rolling pin until it is large enough to fit in a 9x13x1″ baking dish. Place pie crust in baking dish and run it up the sides so that it covers all of the dish. Pinch edges and cover any holes you may find. Refrigerate for 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, unroll other pie crust on a lightly floured surface. You don’t need to roll this one out as much with a rolling pin, but make it a little larger than it is. Using a pizza cutter, cut thin strips out of the bottom half of the crust. Using a star-shaped cookie cutter, cut out stars in the top half of the pie crust. I cut out about 12 stars of differing shapes. Place strips & stars on a plate and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Make the pie fillings: In one bowl, combine blueberries, 1/4 cup cornstarch, and 1/4 cup sugar. Stir until well combined. Add zest and juice of 1/2 of a lemon. Stir and set aside.
4. In another bowl, combine strawberries, 1/4 cup cornstarch, and 1/2 cup sugar. Stir until well combined. Add zest and juice of the other 1/2 of the lemon.Stir and set aside.
5. Take baking dish with crust out of the fridge. With a sheet of foil, fold it into an L shape to put in the corner of the dish. Pour blueberry mixture into the square shaped corner made by the L-shaped foil. It should all fit perfectly.
6. Pour strawberry mixture around the other side of the foil. Spread it evenly into the baking dish. Carefully remove L-shaped foil. Place stars on top of blueberry mixture. Place strips 1″ apart over the strawberries, tearing off any extra so it doesn’t hang over the edge.
7. In a small bowl, beat egg. Using a pastry brush, carefully brush egg wash over strips of crust and stars. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until bubbly and crust is lightly browned.

I was very impressed with my pie making skills after this! I usually burn pies or can’t cut shapes very well, but everything came out perfect. I’m going to serve this with some whipped cream, and *hopefully* everybody likes it! It’s definitely a showstopper and is perfect for a 4th of July potluck.