Open-Faced Berry Pie

I had a surplus of frozen pie crusts so I went searching for berry pies that did not require a top crust and found this on Epicurious and modified it a bit for the ingredients that I had on hand. It really came out good and went over well for a holiday get-together even though it is a spring recipe 🙂

Frozen Pie Crust for a 9-inch pie
1 tablespoon egg white, lightly beaten
4 cups berries, rinsed and dried (I used frozen organic mixed berries here)
1/2 cup and two tablespoons water, divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups whipped cream (optional)

– Defrost and brown frozen pie crust in a 450 degree oven. Let this cool for a few minutes and then brush the top and sides with the egg whites. Set it aside.
– Measure out 1 cup of the berries (defrosted if they’re frozen), choosing he softest ones.
– Place them in a medium saucepan together with the 1/2 cup water.
– Cover and bring them to a boil.
– Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. Set it aside.
– When the water and berries have come to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, stirring constantly for 3 to 4 minutes or until the blueberries start to burst and the juices begin to thicken.
– Stirring constantly, add the cornstarch mixture, the sugar, lemon juice, and salt.
– Simmer for a minute or until the mixture becomes translucent.
– Immediately remove it from the heat and quickly fold in the remaining 3 cups of berries.
– Spoon the mixture into the baked pie shell and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving.
– Just before serving, if desired, pipe or spread the whipped cream around the sides of the pie.

Linda’s Notes:
– The berries I used were very sweet, but if they’re too tart the recipe suggests adding more sugar
– I used just a little more constarch than directed because I have a history of fruit pies that never set up 🙂
– I also used much less lemon juice since the berries were not fresh that I had on hand.