First thing’s first: make sure you’re using a quality pie dough. This American flag pie, inspired by King Arthur Flour, starts with homemade pie crust. I recommend homemade simply because you have total control over the texture. This homemade pie dough makes 2 pie crusts: one crust for the bottom and one crust for the top. It’s the recipe I’ve been swearing by for years and it combines both shortening and butter to deliver the perfect blend of buttery + flaky. We’re talking layers and layers of flakes! Read my pie crust recipe for why both fats are crucial, or use this all butter pie crust if you prefer. With either one, don’t forget my pie crust mantra I’ve drilled into your head time and time again: cold cold cold.
American Flag Pie Filling
For the fillings, keep it simple. You’ll divide the pie into 1/3 and 2/3 portions. The smaller portion for the blue filling, the larger portion for the red filling. Blue filling = blueberries and blackberries. Red filling = strawberries and cherries. Want to substitute? You can use all blueberries or all blackberries, you can use all strawberries, you can use raspberries instead of cherries, you can use all cherries, etc. As long as you’ve got 1/3 blue and 2/3 red, you’re golden. To prepare the fillings, mix cornstarch + sugar together then divide up between both bowls. Add lemon juice + almond extract to each. That’s IT. (I strongly recommend almond extract. Taste testers couldn’t stop raving about the added flavor!) Just use a piece of aluminum foil folded over a few times to help you divide up the filling. Don’t worry, it will be removed before the pie is baked. Just like this: REMEMBER THIS! When adding the fillings to the bottom pie dough, don’t just pour right in—rather, spoon the fillings in and leave all the extra liquid in the bowls. You don’t want all that liquid in the pie. Your fillings will be soggy and won’t set up properly. It’s a mess. For the American flag decoration, roll out your 2nd pie dough and cut into stars and stripes. For the stars, you’ll need a cute little star cookie cutter. I used the 1.5 inch size. Anywhere around that tiny size works! For the stripes, just cut pie dough into strips. It’s that simple. And don’t forget to crimp or flute those pie crust edges! Here’s my full tutorial on how to crimp and flute pie crust, if you need a refresher. You can absolutely use these same decorations on many different pie fillings. They work beautifully on a blueberry pie and a triple berry pie. You can totally show off at your next summer picnic with this dessert. Don’t forget the vanilla ice cream and whipped cream for on top! Serve alongside this red, white, and blue tie dye cake for the ultimate patriotic spread.
More Festive Desserts
Fruit Pizza Vanilla Sheet Cake (decorated as an American flag) Strawberry Shortcake Fresh Berry Cream Cake Sugar Cookies (cut into stars and decorate with red, white, and blue cookie icing!)
