How to make a mulberry pie with stevia

This year, I’m having a tremendous crop of mulberries from my mulberry tree.

I’ve picked and picked and picked mulberries. I’ve frozen one quart and 14 pints of the berries.

I’m working hard this year to grow more of my own food to save money and cut down on the energy it takes to ship food.

Since I don’t bake anymore because I gain weight when I eat sugar, I thought I’d try to make a mulberry pie with stevia.

Stevia is a sweet herb, native to Paraguay. The sweetener extracted from this plant can be substituted for sugar is some uses. It’s much sweeter than an equal amount of sugar

Here’s the recipe I developed:

Mulberry Pie

4 cups mulberries
1 ½ teaspoons stevia (the white crystalline type, not the green herbal kind)
6 tablespoons flour or 3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 recipe pastry for a 9-inch double crust pie
2 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a small bowl, mix the stevia in with the flour or cornstarch.

3. Put the mulberries in a large bowl. Sprinkle the flour or cornstarch and stevia mixture over the top of the berries. Stir gently.

4. Refrigerate the berries while you make the pie crust.

5. Line a pie plate with piecrust. Add the berry mixture. Dot with butter and then cover with the top pie crust. Crimp edges and cut slits in upper crust. Make an aluminum collar for the edge of the crust to keep it from burning.

5. Bake the pie in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, until the berry mixture bubbles. Remove pie from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Lately, I’ve been making crusts with olive oil rather than hydrogenated vegetable shorting such as Crisco. It’s healthier.

Try it and let me know what you think.

Olive Oil Pastry

2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons milk

1. Measure the four and salt into a large bowl.

2. Whip the olive oil and milk together with a fork. Pour over flour mixture. Mix.

3. Set aside one-third of the pastry for the top of the crust.

4. Press the remaining dough evenly against the bottom and sides of the pie plate.

5. Fill with the fruit filling.

6. Crumble the reserved dough and sprinkle over the filling.

What else can you do with mulberries? See my article “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Tree.”

Copyright 2008, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Comments

[Erica]

Oh, this looks wonderful! I am going to experiment with some rhubarb and apple. I'm so grateful to you for sharing this!

[Rita]

Hi Erica,

I'm glad the mulberry pie post inspired you.

Let me know how your rhubarb-apple pie turned out. It sounds wonderful.

Rita