Apple and Berries Pie- First Time Baker? No Problem! So Am I

Celebrate Pi Day with this delicious pie!

This pie is all made from scratch so get ready for a real hands on experience. It was my first time baking one and it turned out wonderful, so don't be intimidated. I love to cook so I just mixed a few things together that I knew worked well. Each bite of this pie is a different experience every time, you'll get some tartness, some sweetness, and some spice. 

Here are is list of ingredients you'll need:


4 Large Granny Smith Apples about 1.5 lbs 
1 cup dried Cranberries
2 cups  rinsed and drained fresh or thawed frozen mixed berries
1/4 cup Brandy
1 cup  sugar
5 cups + 6 Tbsp of all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp grated orange zest
3/4 tsp fresh ground cinnamon sticks
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
10-inch pie baking dish
1 cup (4 sticks) butter

Step 1: Start With a Clean Work Area

A clean work area is highly recommended!

Step 1: Organize your ingredients and put them to one side, something I would recommend is to take only what you need and put it in a small dish. For example.. instead of having a big bag of flour, take your 3cups and put it in a small bowl so you don't waste counter space. 

Step 2: You don't have to, but I washed my apples along with all my cookware/measuring utensils. Some of my baking dishes has small dust particles due to storage. 

Step 3: Wipe down your countertop and or cutting board. 

Step 2: Bottom Pie Crust

Ingredients Used in this Step:

2 Sticks of cold butter
2 1/2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp of Salt
1/2 tsp of Sugar
2 tsp of ice cold water

Pots Pans Utensils:

10" Baking Dish
Cutting Board 18" x 24"
Large Mixing Bowl
Food Processor

Step 1: Cut 2 sticks of butter (cold) into 1/2" cubes 

Step 2: Measure 2 and 1/2 cups of All purpose flour- I'm using King Arthur All Purpose Flour. 

Step 3: In a food processor, pour in the flour and pulse a few times to release any clumps you may have, sprinkle in 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of sugar (I'm using Sugar in the Raw) 

Step 4: In the food processor, slowly add the clumps of cubed butter and pulse a few times every 10 cubes. If you have a small food processor like I do, do little by little. ( instead of pouring all 2 and 1/2 cups, try doing small portions like 3/4cups of flour with 8-10 cubes, pulse and remove into a mixing bowl and repeat)

Step 5: Remove your pie crust dough (should be quite clumpy) and place into a mixing bowl (I used a 10 cup steel mixing bowl) Mix the dough with you hands until it becomes consistent and no loose pieces break off. You can add ice cold water to help, I used 2 tbsp.

Step 6: Sprinkle some flour onto your cutting board and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough, you should roll out enough to layer it bottom of a 10" baking pie dish/pan

Step 7: Take the Rolled out crust and place on top of baking dish. With a knife trim the overhanging excess. ( you can save it for decorations of the top crust which we will make at the end)

Step 3: Filling

This is basically a repeat of Step 2: So don't panic.

Ingredients Used in this Step:

4 Granny Smith Apples
1 cup of dried crannberries
1/4 cup of Brandy
2 cups of Mixed Berries
1 tbsp of Fresh Orange Zest
1 cup of Sugar
6 Tbsp of all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Pots Pans Utensils:

10" Baking Dish
Cutting Board 18" x 24"
Large Mixing Bowl
Food ProcessorStep 1: Set the Formed Pie Crust aside and pre-heat the oven to 375

Step 2: Peel the skin and remove the core from 4 Large Granny Smith Apples, Cut into Slices and place into a Large Mixing Bowl or Large Pot.

Step 3: Take 1 cup of dried crannberries, place into a small bowl and pour in 1/4 cup of Brandy. 

Step 4: Take 2 cups of Mixed Berries ( I used a frozen bag with  blackberries, raspberries, and blue berries ), Thaw/Rinse, and Drain. Set Aside in a bowl

Step 5: Take one Orange and grate 1 tbsp of Fresh Orange Zest Place in a small bowl ( we will designate this particualr bowl as Dry Bowl)

Step 6: to the Dry Bowl add 1 cup of Sugar, 6 Tbsp of all-purpose flour, 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp salt

Step 7: In the large bowl or Pot with the Sliced Apples, Add the berries, cranberries (with brandy), and the contents from the Dry Bowl, Mix Throughly. 

Step 4: Top Crust - Lattice Work

This is basically a repeat of Step 2: So don't panic.

Ingredients Used in this Step:

2 Sticks of cold butter
2 1/2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp of Salt
1/2 tsp of Sugar
2 tsp of ice cold water

Pots Pans Utensils:

10" Baking Dish
Cutting Board 18" x 24"
Large Mixing Bowl
Food Processor

Step 1: Cut 2 sticks of butter (cold) into 1/2" cubes

Step 2: Measure 2 and 1/2 cups of All purpose flour- I'm using King Arthur All Purpose Flour.

Step 3: In a food processor, pour in the flour and pulse a few times to release any clumps you may have, sprinkle in 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of sugar (I'm using Sugar in the Raw)

Step 4: In the food processor, slowly add the clumps of cubed butter and pulse a few times every 10 cubes. If you have a small food processor like I do, do little by little. ( instead of pouring all 2 and 1/2 cups, try doing small portions like 3/4cups of flour with 8-10 cubes, pulse and remove into a mixing bowl and repeat)

Step 5: Remove your pie crust dough (should be quite clumpy) and place into a mixing bowl (I used a 10 cup steel mixing bowl) Mix the dough with you hands until it becomes consistent and no loose pieces break off. You can add ice cold water to help, I used 2 tbsp.

Step 6: Sprinkle some flour onto your cutting board and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough, you should roll out enough to layer it top of a 10" baking pie dish/pan

Step 7: Take the Rolled out crust and with a knife cut 1" vertical strips. These strips will form the lattice work 

Step 8: Take the strips and overlay them on top of the other ( in a weaving manner ) This Step was most frustating to me becaus eht e strips can easily break, A trick i would recommend is to put the strips in the fridge for 10-15 mins so they're more sturdy when you pick them up and fold them 

Step 9: Trim Excess and Crimp the edges with a fork.   

Step 10: Optional ( roll out a small portion of the crust dough and use a cup to cut out a circular portion, with a toothpick lightly score your design ( mine was a pi) then cut with a knife, Remove the cut portion so that you have a void that you can fill in with leftover filling.

Step 5: FINAL PRODUCT

Step 1: Place the pie in your preheated oven and bake close to the bottom of the oven, for 1 hour

Step 2: Remove pie after an hour of baking and take left over filling 2 tbsp and fill in the void in your decoration.

Step 3: Let the pie cool for 2 hours before Serving, add a scoop of vanilla icecream to have an amazing experience.