Friday Pie-Day: Stars & Stripes Pie

Although this is one of the simplest pies we have made, it looked the most elaborate! We made it for the 4th of July this year – instead of a flag cake, we had a flag pie!

This is one of those pies that people think you worked forever on, and it really was whipped up in a few minutes. The filling was effortless to “make,” and it was fun and easy to decorate too!

The ingredients were super simple. I think next time it would be fun to make our own pie fillings, adding in spices and such instead of just using those cans – simply do ¾ of the cherry pie recipe and ¼ of the blueberrypie recipe.

The first step was making the pie crust. The original recipe called for a pre-made crust, but we just made our own.

Then drain the “juice” (glop is more like it) from one of the cans of cherry pie filling. Who knew there were so few cherries in there – more than half the can is just thickener!

Next you get to make a little wedge out of foil (the original recipe called for cardboard). We found an 8x4 inch dimension to work perfectly. It needs to be positioned to separate the upper left corner from the rest (think clock hands for 9:00).

Then simply dump in the cans of pie filling!

The blueberry pie can goes in the separate portion, and cherry pie fills the rest. Could it get any easier? I was a little scared about taking out the foil when we were done, but it was surprisingly uncomplicated!

Now that the pie is filled, it is time to top it off! Roll out the other pie crust and cut it into 4 strips, about ½ inch wide each. Begin by placing one of the strips halfway across the pie, right under the blueberry filling.

Add other stripes below it, and cut the last stripe in half to go in the upper right corner. With the remaining crust, cut out stars with a cookie cutter.

Arrange the stars artfully over the blueberry pie filling, and voila! You have a stars and stripes pie!

Don’t forget to make the pie crust edges – we used a fork to crimp it all the way around.

To make it even prettier, brush the edges of the crust and the stars and stripes with egg, then sprinkle some coarse sugar on top!

And then you must stop to photograph it for a few minutes because it is just so beautiful...

Ooo, shiny!

Now into the oven with you!

And just look at the finished product! As I said, making it was easier than I expected.

It browned so nicely too!

We watched it carefully and ended up turning down the heat a little early (reflected in the recipe below), but every oven is different, so just stay attentive.

We also let it sit for about 2 hours before slicing, just so the filling would get firmer – when we first took it out of the oven, it was bubbling up a storm!

Cutting it was fun too. Just start at the point where the blueberries and cherries meet, making sure the first slice has a little of each.

For every subsequent slice, cut off a small portion of the blueberry side and pair it with a larger portion of the cherry side!

It’s like having 2 different pies at the same time!

This might just become a Fourth of July tradition!

 Stars & Stripes Pie (recipe adapted from Woman's Day)

9 inch double pie crust

3 (21-oz.) cans cherry pie filling

1 (21-oz.) can blueberry pie filling

1 egg, slightly beaten in a cup

3 T. sanding or coarse (crystal) sugar

1½ - 2 inch star-shaped cookie cutter

1. Prepare bottom crust.
2. Drain 1 can of cherry pie filling; combine in a bowl with remaining 2 cans of cherry pie filling.
3. Bend an 8x4 inch foil rectangle and place in upper left corner of pie (like the hands of a clock pointing to 9 and 12). Fill small corner with blueberry pie filling. Spoon cherry pie filling into the rest of the pie; lift out foil.
4. Roll out top pie crust. With pastry wheel or sharp knife, cut in 4 (½-inch) strips. With cookie cutter, cut 5 or 6 stars from remaining pastry. Brush stripes and stars with egg; sprinkle with sanding sugar.
5. Heat oven to 425. Starting in the middle of the pie, carefully place 3 long strips, evenly spaced, across filling toward the bottom edge. Cut remaining strip into 4-inch long pieces. Lay over cherry pie filling in upper right corner of pie. Press ends of strips into edge of crust. Roll overhang over ends of strips; brush rim with egg; sprinkle with sugar. Place stars in upper left corner of pie.
6. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350; bake 35-40 minutes longer. Cool on wire rack completely before serving.