Hello, friends. It's been a little while since I wrote to you; I found myself preoccupied with canning fresh applesauce from the apples I bought at the farms, baking ciabatta bread to dunk in my hearty soups, and making a lot of pie kits for you! But I'm here now and ready to show you my very favorite pie in the whole world - Cherry Berry Pie. I made for my family to enjoy after Thanksgiving dinner. Actually, I made two of them so my current family can enjoy one tomorrow and my future family can enjoy one on Friday.
I will always and forever make Cherry Berry pie for Thanksgiving; not only is it my favorite, it's my youngest cousin's favorite and I just cannot deny that boy of his pie. He's not really a boy anymore... he's in high school now, but he loved this pie when he was little and used to fit in my lap and he still loves it today.
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My mom started making this pie more than a decade ago, and I was instantly hooked. I'm a sucker for raspberries, and this pie has them in spades. During the summer months, they are my breakfast of choice, my snack of choice and my dessert of choice. I put them in my cereal, my yogurt and my salads. I make jam out of them and fill my pantry with the bright red jars. And then I fill my freezer with these delicious berries and make pies until summer rolls around again and I can pick them fresh from the bushes.
So how do you make Cherry Berry Pie? The secret is in the cherries, actually. If you buy cherry pie filling, you're asking for trouble... that stuff is janky. You must use either fresh tart red cherries or ones that are canned in water, and either fresh or frozen raspberries. Mix up your filling with sugar and cornstarch and pour it into your crust. Don't forget that I'll send you all the dry ingredients needed for your filling in one of my pie kits, and that takes the thinking out of it for you!
The pie crust is the best part of this pie. Gorgeous pies like this one deserve to be flaunted and dressed up, and I think the best way to show it off is through a criss-cross crust. Try and go back to your fourth grade days and remember how your teachers taught you to weave baskets and yarn pouches. It's the same concept here. Cut strips of pie dough and do the over-under approach, and then finish it off by pressing the ends into the bottom crust. Sprinkle a little sugar on your criss-cross crust, and you're done! 
I hope you find this pie to be as magical as I think it is. I find it to be best served with whip cream and a friend (preferably a fourteen year old cousin) who appreciates it like you do.
If you'd like to order one of these pie kits, my email address is at the top of my blog. You can order apple, peach, french silk, and cherry berry pie kits from me for $15. Happy baking!
