Juneberry Pie

Juneberry pies ready to wrap for the freezer - and one to eat

On Tuesday, I talked about growing juneberries.  Part of growing a great fruit and vegetable garden is using the produce your garden gives you.  After picking the juneberries, I used the majority of them for what our family considers the best thing to do with juneberries.  I made pies.  Our opinion is that using juneberries for things like jams and syrups is a waste of good berries, not because we don't like those things, but because you can make perfectly good jams and syrups out of many other fruits, and there is simply no substitute for a good juneberry pie.

So, I thought I'd share my recipe for juneberry pie.  I don't mean to brag, but there is juneberry pie in my history.  When I was in high school, I received the "Grand Champion" ribbon at the North Dakota State Fair for the juneberry pie I submitted as an exhibit.  That was pretty exciting, but I have a confession to make.  I've always suspected that I received that award, not because my pie was so much better than all the other submissions, but because it was juneberry.  Ah, well, I guess I'll never know for sure, but I still make juneberry pies with pride.

I use the "never fail" pie crust recipe my Mom taught me to make.  I wouldn't exactly say I've never failed with it, but all in all, it's a good, easy recipe.  The key is in getting the right combination of flour and water to make a nice, smooth dough that is easy to roll out but not so easy that the crust gets tough. 

Pie Crust:

2 cups vegetable shortening  
4 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 egg yolk
ice cold water

Mix flour, salt and shortening with pastry blender.  Put egg yolk in a 1 cup measuring cup , beat slightly and fill cup to top with ice cold water.  Add to flour mixture.  Mix with 2 forks until mixture holds together.  You may need to add more water to obtain the proper consistency.  Divide into 5 or 6 equal portions.  Form into balls the proper size for the size pie tin you are using.  Roll out on floured surface.  You may wrap the balls tightly in plastic wrap, put them in a freezer container and freeze for later use. 

I've kept the dough frozen for about six months with good success.  One of these times, I am going to try rolling the dough into circles and freezing them that way so that I can take the rolled out crust and just drop it into the pan when I am in a hurry.  I am not above using the pre-rolled purchased crusts when I'm in a hurry, either.

Once the dough is prepared, you're ready to make the filling.

Juneberry pie filling:

6 cups cleaned and washed juneberries
1 T. lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
2 heaping T. flour
2 T. butter


Place measured berries in a good-sized mixing bowl.; gently stir in the lemon juice.  In separate bowl, stir together the sugar and flour.  Pour over berries and gently mix.  I use a thin edged spoon so that the berries more easily slide over the edge of the spoon without being crushed. 








Place half the berry mixture in the crust that has been smoothed into the pie pan.  Cut the butter into small pieces and spread over the berries.













Pour the remaining berries over the top of the butter layer and top with a pie crust.  Seal the edges well.  I sometimes brush a small amount of water around the edges of the crust to make the two layers stick together better.  Juneberries create a juicy pie so tightly sealing the crust edges helps prevent your oven from being filled with run-over juice.

If you are going to bake the pie right away, cut vent holes in the top crust and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes to set and brown the crust; reduce heat and continue baking for another 30 to 40 minutes, until berry juice is bubbling nicely from the vent holes.


For freezing, do not cut the vent holes or sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Wrap the pie pan and all tightly in plastic wrap.  For extra protection, I wrap with two layers of plastic wrap and then a layer of foil to hold the plastic wrap in place.  For smaller pans, in place of the second layer of plastic wrap and foil, you can slip the entire pan into a freezer bag and seal tightly.  I always wrap with that first layer of plastic wrap so I can press it directly onto the crust.  That keeps frost from accumulating on the crust and making it soggy.  When you are ready to bake, partially thaw the pie, then bake as described above.  I do bake the frozen pies on the lowest rack in the oven, as that keeps the bottom crust from getting soggy.  You can keep the pies in the freezer for a year without losing any of the quality.

And enjoying a nice piece of juneberry pie fresh from the oven when it is snowy and cold outside is sure to make my husband think I am simply the best wife he could have possibly been lucky enough to have.