So, those cupcakes were really cute, but I gave them all away at work. Then we decided on Saturday to have people over on Sunday. I know nothing says Independence Day like a flag cake, but I had pie on the brain this year. I figured a raspberry-blueberry pie would be delicious and patriotic.

Doesn’t that just make you happy?

Anyway. The crust with this recipe was awesome. It was flaky and not too sweet (there’s no sugar in it), but also pretty easy to deal with. I will definitely use it again.

I stuck the butter in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before I cut it up — you don’t want to leave it in there too long, or it will be really hard and difficult to cut. You probably also want to use shortening that comes in butter-like blocks (instead of a can, like I used), since that is much easier to cut into small pieces.

I did have to add a lot more ice water to the dough than the recipe called for — just to get it to come together in a ball. Just make sure you add the water slowly. You don’t want it watery.

You should probably assemble the filling and let it sit for 15-30 minutes before you pour it into the pie crust. So go ahead and put it together before you worry about rolling out the crust.

Public service announcement: Baking pies when you’re on a diet is a very bad idea.

Yeah, I still am not very good at scalloped edges. I think I’m going to stick to pressing the edges down with a fork from now on. Luckily the pie was too good for anyone to care.

Blueberry-raspberry pie (Adapted slightly from Epicurious)
Crust
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter
6 tablespoons chilled solid vegetable shortening
1/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons ice water (you may need more — I used about 7 tablespoons)

Whisk flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut butter and shortening into 1/2-inch cubes and add to the flour. Add butter and shortening and rub it into the flour with your fingers until pea-sized pieces form.

Add sour cream and 3 tablespoons of ice water. Stir just until the dough comes together, adding more water a tablespoon at a time if necessary. Gather dough into ball and divide into two equal balls. Flatten each into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least two hours.

Pie
3 cups fresh raspberries (about 12 ounces)
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (about 12 ounces)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup tapioca (I used granules, which worked really well — if you have pearls, you may want to try grinding them up a bit first)
2-3 tablespoons crème de cassis (black currant liqueur)
ALSO: 1 large egg, 2 tablespoons milk and 2 tablespoons raw/turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Rinse berries and place in a large bowl. Add 1 cup sugar, tapioca and creme de cassis and stir to incorporate.

Spray a 9-inch pie dish with nonstick spray. Remove crust dough from the refrigerator. Roll one disk out on a lightly floured surface to a circle 12 or 13 inches in diameter. Carefully line the pie dish with the dough, being careful not to stretch it. (I usually wrap the dough loosely around the baking pin and then unroll it over the pie plate).

Pour the berry mixture into the crust. Roll out the remaining dough into another 12- or 13-inch round. Use a cookie cutter to cut a shape in the middle of the dough (optional). Place on top of pie and trim the excess dough. Press edges together and crimp. Cut a 3/4-inch hole in the center of the top crust if you didn’t cut a shape in it already.

Whisk egg and milk together in a small bowl and brush some of it over the crust. Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake pie 15 minutes, then reduce oven heat to 350. Bake for an additional 45 minutes to an hour, until crust is brown and juices are bubbling. (Cover the edges of the crust with foil or a pie shield after the pie has been in the oven 30 minutes, to prevent overbrowning).

Cool pie about 2 hours (or up to 6 hours at room temperature) and serve. It’s good warm, at room temperature or cold the next day.