Mixed Rhubarb Pie

I've never understood why people make their own pie crust. I mean, you can easily buy it pre-made at the store, for pretty cheap and it tastes fine. I have tasted homemade crusts before, but the superior flavor was not worth the hassle.

In my attempt to use up the rhubarb that my mom brought me, I decided to make my very first 100% from scratch pie (recipe adapted from allrecipes.com). I again went to my go-to recipe website and found a recipe for a pie with rhubarb. The crust was a pain to roll out AND my pie plate was too big, so it didn't fit exactly, but I have been converted to homemade crusts! I will for sure make pie again, probably this one because it was AWESOME!

     

Mixed Rhubarb Pie

Yield 1 - 9 inch pie

Ingredients

1 cup wild blueberries
1 cup berry blend (your choice)
2 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
2 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons ice water
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons half-and-half cream
2 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

To Make Filling: In a medium bowl, combine blueberries, berries, and rhubarb. In a separate bowl, mix together 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Sprinkle over fruit mixture and stir gently. Cover bowl and refrigerate overnight.

To Make Crust: In a large bowl, mix 2 cups flour with salt. Mix in shortening and 2 tablespoons butter until texture is like coarse cornmeal. Place 1/3 of mixture in a separate bowl. To the smaller portion, add water and mix to form a paste. Add this mixture back to the rest of flour mixture and stir just until dough forms a ball. Allow to chill and rest at least 20 minutes before rolling out. Divide dough in half. Roll out bottom crust and place in 9 inch pie pan.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Mix 1 tablespoon melted butter and lemon juice into fruit filling, then spoon into pastry-lined pie pan. Roll out top crust and place over filling (or cut into strips and weave, which is what I did due to my too-large pan). Crimp edges and cut steam vents in top. Brush lightly with half and half and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake an additional 40 to 50 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Cool on cooling rack.

I made this pie for friends that were coming over late afternoon...and I had to steal a bite before they even arrived! I did reduce the sugar a little bit from the original recipe because I believe anything made with rhubarb should be a little tart. It was awesome, if I do say so myself. Not a drop was left after our friends departed. My picky husband even liked it, so it is a keeper!