Christmas Pie

MAKES 1 PIE OR QUICHE PAN (DIAMETER 9½ IN [24 CM])

For the dough: 2 cups (250 g) flour, ½ tsp baking powder, ½ cup (100 g) sugar, 1 pinch salt, ½ cup (50 g) ground hazelnuts, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ cup + 1 tbsp (130 g) cold butter, 1 egg

For the filling: 1 package frozen mixed berries (14 oz / 400 g), 4¼ oz (120 g) preserving sugar, 1 tbsp starch

Additional: a little bit of soft butter and breadcrumbs for the pan, flour for the countertop, star-shaped cookie cutters, powdered sugar for sprinkling, plastic wrap

For the filling, leave the mixed berries out at room temperature to thaw. In the meantime, butter the pan and coat it with breadcrumbs. Carefully shake out the crumbs that don’t stick.

For the dough, mix flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, nuts, and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut cold butter into pieces and add it to the mixture along with the egg. Using your fingertips, rub everything together until crumbly and then knead into a smooth dough. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C), unless you have a convection oven, in which case preheat to 320°F (160°C), or a gas oven, in which case preheat to level 3. Divide the dough into two pieces, one slightly bigger that the other. Roll out the bigger piece into a circle on a floured surface. The circle should be a little bit bigger than the pan. Line the pan with the dough, pulling the dough up at on the sides, so that it stretches over the edges. Thoroughly mix preserving sugar and starch into the thawed berries and spread onto the pie crust. Fold the excess dough inward over the filling.

On a floured surface, roll the second half of the dough into a circle with a diameter of 9½ in. (24 cm). This will be the top crust of the pie. Use the cookie cutters to cut stars out of the top crust and put the stars aside. Place the top crust onto the pie and press down on the rim, squeezing the two crusts together using your fingertips. Place the star-shaped pieces of dough on top of the pie in between the star-shaped openings.

Bake the pie on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, until golden brown. Carefully remove from the oven, place onto a wire rack, and let cool.

Before serving sprinkle with powdered sugar.

 

It is a quote. Christmas Cookies Dozens of Classic Yuletide Treats for the Whole Family 2015