tie dye sprinkle pie : mixed berries

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ever since i posted my tie dye cherry pie photo on instagram, i’ve had sooo many questions about how to make it! i told the truth of that pie in the comments though. raw, it looked beautiful. but baked, something about the sprinkles and whatever else that might’ve affected the structural integrity of the dough, it was a mess and the crust fell apart in the oven. this is why you ALWAYS bake pie on top of a bigger baking pan– it’ll catch any juices that might bake out, or in my case, it’ll catch your entire pie crust as it falls off.

i was so sad but of course, the cherry pie still tasted amazing! and the crust was still tender and super flaky! i wasn’t going to give up though! i knew i could make it work pre bake AND post bake.

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**very important notes and tips for a successful pie:
1. plan for ease– less mess, less stress: prepare the pie dough the night before you bake the pie. the pie dough will have time to mellow and the butter can completely chill in the dough.

2. make sure all the ingredients are as cold as possible while making the pie, the entire time– from the prepping of the dough to rolling it out, allll the way to right before you stick it in the oven. work quickly and efficiently. if you think your dough is getting too soft and the butter is melting in your hands, stick it in the oven for 5-10 minutes!

3. use a pie pan with a thick outer edge/lip. this is the best way to ensure that the beautifully crimped edges of your pie have a place to sit on top of while baking, and therefore, not fall off your pie!

4. for the tie dye effect, these are things i’ve found that helped create the effect: i use walmart’s brand of generic rainbow sprinkles– nothing fancy. making the dough 2 days ahead of time gives the sprinkles more time to really become a bit more hydrated into the dough. roll out the top crust a little bit thinner than you might usually do. the thinner the dough, the more the sprinkles will become flattened and get blended into the dough, creating a more colorful, tie dye effect!

Let’s get baking!

INGREDIENTS:
makes one 9-inch pie

For TIE DYE (top) pie crust
1 1/4 c (158g) unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 tbs granulated sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, very cold, cubed
1/3 c sprinkles
3 1/2 – 4 tb (about 1/4 c) ice water

For bottom pie crust
1 1/4 c (158g) unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 tbs granulated sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, very cold, cubed
3 1/2 – 4 tb (about 1/4 c) ice water

For filling
7 c fresh berries (mix of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries)
3/4 c granulated sugar
1/4 c corn starch
1 tsp kosher salt
lemon zest of one lemon
lemon juice of one lemon
2 tb unsalted butter, small cubes

egg wash + topping
1 egg
1 tb milk
raw turbinado sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Make the pie dough.
I usually make this a day before I need it. refer to notes above for more about this!
Let’s start with the tie dye dough–
In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar, and very cold butter. Lightly toss everything around with your hands to coat the butter with flour. Then, start flattening and breaking up the pieces of butter in your hands, between your thumbs and forefingers. You want to end up with some bigger flat pieces of butter, and other smaller varied pea sized pieces. work quickly because you want everything to stay cold. The mixture should resemble course meal. Mix in sprinkles.

Add the ice water a couple tablespoons at a time. Toss around lightly with a spoon to hydrate the flour and fully combine. Dough should hold together when squeezed but not be overly wet or sticky. You can lightly knead the dough to bring everything together but DO NOT over-knead it or your crust will be tough. Push dough into a single clump. Form a 1 inch circular disc and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge right away for at least 1 hour, or preferably overnight.

Do the same with the bottom crust, skipping the sprinkles.

prepare the filling.
in a large bowl, combine berries, sugar, corn starch, salt, lemon zest, and lemon juice. mix well so that everything is very well combined. set aside in the fridge while you prepare everything else.

preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

roll out pie dough.
Take the bottom crust disc of dough out of the fridge and let rest at room temperature for about 5 minutes to soften slightly. Heavily flour your work surface and rolling pin. Dust a little flour on top of the disc and start gently flattening it into a circle with the rolling pin, picking the dough up and turning (rotate) it on the surface every couple rolls to make sure it’s not sticking. When disc is slightly flattened, start gently rolling it out until it’s about 1/8 inch thick.

Roll it up onto the rolling pin so it’s easy to transfer to a 9 inch pie pan. Carefully and lightly press the dough into the pan all around, without stretching or tearing the dough. Place into the fridge to chill.

Repeat the rolling out process with the top (sprinkle) pie dough. Use a heart cookie cutter to cut a heart out of the middle of the dough.

Assemble
Bring out the prepared bottom crust, fill it with the berry mix, juices and all. dot the small cubed butter all over the top of the berries.

Carefully place top crust dough on top, with the heart in the middle. Trim the excess dough all around the pie pan, leaving 1 inch of over hang. Now roll and fold the edges up and pinch all around the pie. Now, crimp the edges by using two fingers on the outside of the edge and one knuckle on the inside edge.

Chill in the entire pie in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes. Then turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F (DON’T OPEN THE OVEN DOOR) and bake for another 25-35 mins, until the top crust is to desired golden brown-ness.

Let cool completely before cutting and enjoying! Love you all!

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