I’ve often spoke on this blog about how I excited I am for fruits other than citrus. I’m ready. I am a pie person, for goodness sake! Spring can’t get here soon enough. I realize there are some out-of-season things at the store that are shipped from literally other countries, and that just doesn’t feel right. So I wait.

Well, I was, but I’m not anymore. Because I discovered something. You can get local, Willamette Valley berries in the freezer aisle at the store! And it turns out that freezing is a pretty good way to lock in both nutrients and flavors. I purchased some at New Seasons – they even had multiple brand options of local Oregon berries. Ridiculous. This is what I get for being always distracted by ice cream in the freezer aisle.

I picked up a couple of bags immediately and headed home to make pie – or rather, a form of pie – forthwith.

Why hand pies this time? Well, these are a little easier for a family of two to handle than a full pie. And also, they make more sense when you want to add some hot pink glaze.

Both of these reasons are completely research based.

Speaking of research. I’m in the middle of my master gardener class at Oregon State’s Extension office, and we learned something cool on the first day: Oregon’s natural soil is slightly acidic. It’s perfect for big ol’ evergreens and, you guessed it, BERRIES.

I’m so glad I had the chance to pick up some up early – I am dreaming of my first u-pick of the season, and in the meantime, it was so nice to have a dessert based on one of my favorite local treats.

Pie crust:

6 oz. (1 cup) AP flour
3 oz. (6 Tbsp.) butter, chilled
1 oz. (2 Tbsp.) shortening, chilled
Heavy pinch kosher salt
1/4 cup ice water

Filling:
1.5 cups berries, fresh or thawed, previously frozen
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. cornstarch

You will also need:
1 egg
1 Tbsp. water

First make the batch of pie crust:

Add the flour, butter and shortening to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until mealy. Add 2 Tbsp. water and pulse a couple more times, adding water in increments of a teaspoon or so until the dough stays together when pinched. Dump the bowl out onto a workspace and shape into a disk, then wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Next, make the filling – best to do it right after putting the pie crust in the fridge, so it has time to cool down.

Stir berries, sugar and cornstarch together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Use a potato masher or similar tool to smash the berries together and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook at a simmer for 5 minutes, then kill the heat and allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 425. When the pie crust has properly chilled, roll it out to about a 1/8 inch thickness and cut into four long rectangles, each about 4 inches by 12 inches. You will be folding these long strips in half, so make note of the approximate midline of the first pastry, then spoon about 2 Tbsp. of the berry filling into the center of one side of long rectangle. Fold the other half of the pastry closed to make a final size of about 4 inches by 6 inches. Press with your fingers to seal around the edges, then use a fork to seal it very tightly. Repeat for the other pastries.

Use a fork to mix up the egg and water, then brush the pastries liberally with the egg wash and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool before eating.

If you like, you can make a glaze. Smoosh more berries until they release about two tablespoons of juice. Strain the juice using a cocktail strainer, then use a fork to stir in 3-4 Tbsp. powdered sugar until smooth. The glaze should be thick enough to not be runny, but thin enough to drizzle. You can drizzle with a spoon, but I prefer to put the glaze in a zip top back, snip off a tiny piece of a corner and use it as a low-fi pastry bag.

Disclaimer!!! This post is a partnership with the Oregon Raspberry & Blackberry Commission. I was compensated for this post, but all opinions are my own.