Razzleberry Pie
Andrea Potischman
Jul 25, 2024
Razzleberry pie happens when you throw raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and a little magic into a pie crust. Honestly, I must admit, I had never heard of this kind of pie until my husband told me about it. He had discovered it years ago when he and a close friend from high school stumbled upon it at a roadside dinner while on a road trip.
What is Razzleberry?
To clarify, “razzleberry” is not a real fruit or type of berry, but rather a flavor of pie made popular by Marie Callender (Restaurant & Bake Shop). Razzleberry, however, is not a common pie flavor where I grew up (in NYC) or, from what I can tell, where I live now (in Northern California), despite Marie Callender’s being based on the West Coast. What I quickly discovered is that razzleberry pie is at its core a simple marrying of three of my favorite things; a combination of fresh, ripe red raspberries, juicy blackberries, and sweet blueberries which create a memorable, sweet-yet-tart, flavor surrounded by a flaky, buttery crust. Razzleberry pie, for obvious reasons, has quickly become one of my favorite summer pie flavors.
Marionberries
Some believe the berry combination in a razzleberry pie tastes very similar to marionberries. For those unfamiliar, marionberries are a rare blackberry variety from Oregon and certainly something I had never tasted until moving to California. More than half the blackberries grown in Oregon are of the Marion variety. Marrionberries and common blackberries are both members of the blackberry family, but marrionberries are a hybrid of two types of blackberries, the Chehalem and the Olallieberry.
The Marion blackberry has only been in existence since the late 1950s. They are medium-sized, conical in shape, longer than they are wide, with a dark purple to black hue and a sweet-tart flavor. Various razzleberry pie recipes out there will instruct you to use marionberries when making this kind of pie and, if you can find them, this can work, although as a berry aficionado, I think it yields a slightly different-tasting pie.
Fresh or Frozen?
If you ask me, fresh berries are always going to have better flavor, so when I make razzelberry pie I prefer to use fresh berries, but if you need to go frozen, or you’re simply craving a razzelberry pie in the middle of winter, frozen can work just fine. But, when you are buying frozen fruit, try to avoid buying fruit that is frozen with sweet syrup, which will ruin your pie. But when it comes to the crust, don’t cheat, make the real deal, or don’t make pie at all!
Razzleberry Pie
Ingredients:
For the Pie Crust:
- 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- Pinch of Kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and diced
- 1/3-1/2 cup ice water, as needed
For the Pie Filling:
- 2 cups raspberries
- 2 cups blackberries
- 2 cups blueberries
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg, blended 1 tablespoon milk, for the egg wash
- Course sugar for sprinkling the crust (optional)
Directions:
- For the Pie Dough: In the bowl of a kitchen mixer, add the flour, sugar, salt, and butter. Pulse on/off to blend. Add the water gradually, a little at a time, until the dough just comes together but is not overly wet.
- Divide the dough in half. Using your hands, flatten each half into a 1-inch thick disc.
- Wrap each disc tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- For the Pie Filling: Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the sugar and cornstarch, and mix to blend. Next, gently fold in the raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and vanilla extract until evenly coated. Set aside while you prep the pie crust.
- On a floured work surface, roll out one of the discs of chilled dough. Roll half the pie dough into a 12-inch circle. Place the dough into a 9-inch round pie dish. Tuck the dough in slightly under itself with your fingers, making sure it's smooth. Pour the filling into the pie dish. Set aside while you work on the top pie crust.
- For the Lattice: Remove the other disc of chilled pie dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough into a circle that is 12 inches in diameter. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into ten (1-inch-wide) strips. Carefully weave the strips over and under one another, pulling back strips as necessary to weave. Press the edges of the strips into the bottom pie crust edges to seal. Use a small paring knife to trim off any excess dough. Flute or crimp the pie crust edges with a fork as desired.
- Using a pastry brush lightly brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash. Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar, if using.
- Place the pie on the prepared baking sheet, place in the oven, and bake at 425 F for 25 minutes, then, reduce the oven temperature down to 375 degrees F. Place a pie crust shield (or foil) on the edges to prevent it from over-browning. Continue baking the pie until the filling’s juices are bubbling, about 40–50 more minutes.
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