I was curious about state desserts in the U.S., and my sister and her family live in Oregon. It was lovely to come across the state dessert for Oregon, the Marionberry Pie. If you can get your hands on some marionberries, this dessert is absolutely worth making at home. They are similar to sweet blackberries, but the flavor profile is different. You can sometimes find marionberry jam, which is wonderful with toasted and buttered bread.
Ingredients
5.5cupsof fresh marionberries,(washed and drained)
3Tbspbrown sugar
½cupwhite granulated sugar
½tspground cinnamon
¼tspground ginger
Zest from ½ lemon
Juice from 1 lemon
¼cupall-purpose flour
2tspcorn starch
1Tbspbutter, (softened)
1package of store-bought pie crust,(containing two 9” crusts)
3egg yolks,(whisked, for brushing on the bottom and top of pie crusts)
1Tbspwhite granulated sugar,(for topping pie)
Instructions
Wash and drain the five and half cups of fresh marionberries, and set them aside in a large mixing bowl.
Add the brown sugar and white granulated sugar to the mixing bowl, along with the ground cinnamon and ground ginger.
Add the lemon zest and lemon juice, and stir to combine.
Add the ¼ cup of all-purpose flour and the corn starch, and stir the flour and corn starch to evenly coat the berries.
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Use the 1 Tbsp of softened butter to grease your round 9” pie baking dish.
Roll out the bottom layer of your store-bought pie crust to roughly 12” in diameter, or large enough so that the pie dough fills the pie dish and comes over the sides.
Place the rolled-out bottom layer of pie dough on the buttered pie baking dish, and hang the edges gently over the edges of the pie dish.
Whisk together the 3 egg yolks, and gently brush some of the egg yolk mixture in an even layer over the top of the bottom pie crust that you have laid out in the greased pie dish.
Reserve the extra egg wash mixture for later.
Roll out the second pie crust (the top layer) into a 10” diameter circle.
Add the marionberry mixture that you made earlier to the pie dish, on top of the bottom pie crust that has been gently covered with a thin layer of the egg wash mixture.
Add the top pie crust to cover the pie.
Crimp the edges of the bottom and top pie crusts together using your fingers, to seal the two layers of the crust together.
Spread a thin layer of the remaining egg yolk wash over the top of the pie crust.
Gently poke some holes into the top of the upper pie crust using a fork.
Top the pie with a sprinkling of 1 Tbsp of white granulated sugar.
Bake the pie in the oven on a sheet tray at 425F for roughly 10 minutes, and then reduce the oven temperature to 350F.
Continue to bake the pie at 350F for roughly 45-55 minutes, or until the crust is completely golden brown.
Allow the marionberry pie to cool for at least 75-90 minutes before cutting and serving.
Notes
This recipe uses store-bought pie crust to save on time, although you can easily make your own delicious pie crusts at home. It is helpful to have a sheet tray lined with aluminum foil under the pie as it bakes, in case it spills over during baking.