Baked with Love.

Valentine's Inspired "Healthy-ish" Berry Pie.

If it weren't for my birthday, I would probably hate Valentines Day.

But... Since they both happen to fall on the same day, I embrace it!

Since my valentine doesn't like chocolate, or cookies, or anything unhealthy (aka all the fun stuff),

I decided to make him a "healthy" pie.

It is made with fresh berries

I used blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries.

This was my first time baking a pie on my own so I cheated a little by buying the pre-made dough.

The trick to using pre-made dough is to make sure you let it thaw to room temperature after removing from the fridge or freezer. 

This helps the dough stay in one smooth piece as you unroll it. 

Then to spruce it up a bit, I sprinkled some sugar and a rubbed a little melted butter along the bottom. 

For the filling I used:

- 4 cups of berries (fresh or frozen)

- 1 cup sugar

- 1/4 cup cornstarch

- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

you don't have to add the cinnamon but I think it's necessary

To make the filling all you do is combine the ingredients and let it sit for a half hour. This allows the corn starch and sugar to properly blend with the fruit. I also spread melted butter on the top of the crust because lets be honest, butter makes everything taste better.

Finally, you can top the pie with any shape, size, sprinkle assortment you'd like! 

This is where it gets fun!

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

If the pie will last more than 30 minutes (which mine did not), then you will want to store it in the refrigerator to make sure the fruit stays fresh.

In the future I would add tapioca balls to the filling

to help it thicken. 

I brought the pie to my in-laws within minutes of taking it out of the oven. I planned on letting it cool but made the mistake of leaving the room to return to the pie minus two slices. So... it wasn't allowed proper time to cool before being devoured. 

This caused the filling to become kind of soupy. 

I used frozen berries instead of fresh which also probably played a part in the soupiness (because they hold more water than fresh).

Either way.. it was DELISH!

Even my sugar-phobic husband went back for seconds.