Mmm… honey sweetened gooseberry pie. Of yes. First, a confession: I suck at making pies. Harsh, but true. It's just that whole precision baking thing that really gets to me. I'm more of a ‘feel' type of personality in the kitchen – little of this, little of that. Baking ain't that way.
Baking recipes be all like ‘follow-me-exactly-or-die'. Too harsh for me.
But I love pie. So what's a farm girl to do? The answer is make ugly pies.
Pie makers may judge my lack of pie weights, filling-to-crust ratio, and technique. But that doesn't bother me. I have some strengths… like… ya know… cleaning bathrooms. Or loving bearded men.
We can't be winners at it all. But we can enjoy honey sweetened gooseberry pie.
By the way, if you've never tried gooseberries, you're missing out. Hugh of River Cottage inspired me to grow a few gooseberry bushes in my potager garden and I'm so thankful! Super tart. Super tasty.
Honey Sweetened Gooseberry Pie
You will need:
– 1 recipe pie crust
– 2 cups gooseberries (or berries of choice!)
– 2 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2″ pieces (or additional gooseberries)
– 1 1/4 cup honey (we used the honey from our very own bees!)
– 1/4 cup organic, all purpose flour
– Beans from one vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1. If you follow the pie crust recipe, you should have one pre-baked pie shell. Set that pie crust aside while we mix up the filling.
2. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the gooseberries, rhubarb, and one tablespoon of water. Bring the mixture to a low simmer and allow it to continue to simmer until the gooseberries *pop* and it all sort of dissolves into a beautiful goo.
Mmm. Goo. Delicious.
3. Once the rhubarb and gooseberries have gooified (yes, that's a word…ahem) add in the honey, flour, and vanilla beans. Stir, stir, stir to combine, making sure that there are no lumps of flour. Lumpy flour is a no-no. Even terrible pie makers like me know that.
4. Carefully pour the pie filling into the pre-baked pie shell. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, until the pie filling is set. Because this pie is sweetened with honey, it tends to have a slightly gooier texture than it's sugar-sweetened relative. That's okay. Who doesn't love gooey pie?
Gooseberries. Goo. Good. Glorious. Gastronomically pleasant.
And Amen.
For other great meal ideas, no matter what your dietary restrictions, check out the meal planning service I use: Real Plans.
Honey Sweetened Gooseberry Pie
Ingredients
- 1 recipe pie crust
- 2 cups gooseberries or berries of choice!
- 2 cups rhubarb cut into 1/2″ pieces (or additional gooseberries)
- 1 1/4 cup honey we used the honey from our very own bees!
- 1/4 cup organic all purpose flour
- Beans from one vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make your pie crust (check out my pie crust recipe!)
- In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the gooseberries, rhubarb, and one tablespoon of water. Bring the mixture to a low simmer and allow it to continue to simmer until the gooseberries *pop* and it all sort of dissolves into a beautiful goo.
- Once the rhubarb and gooseberries have gooified (yes, that’s a word…ahem) add in the honey, flour, and vanilla beans. Stir, stir, stir to combine, making sure that there are no lumps of flour.
- Carefully pour the pie filling into the pre-baked pie shell. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, until the pie filling is set. Because this pie is sweetened with honey, it tends to have a slightly gooier texture than it’s sugar-sweetened relative. That’s okay. Who doesn’t love gooey pie?
Miranda
June 20, 2015 at 10:42 amI’m sorry to say I have never tried gooseberries. Perhaps one day I’ll get the chance. Your pie looks wonderful! I especially like how you put the heart shaped crust on top, what a neat way to decorate it.
Tasha
June 22, 2015 at 2:49 pmWell. I have a goose berry bush, but I also have a…hum…dirty rodent (squirrel/chipmunk) problem. Living within city limits does limit my pest control options. Haven’t gotten one yet. le sigh….
Judy
June 22, 2015 at 9:22 pmWhat is a “potager”? My dictionary app says it’s not a word?
Shaye Elliott
June 24, 2015 at 11:47 amIt’s a French word for ‘kitchen garden’ 🙂
Judy
June 24, 2015 at 4:04 pmI was thinking it was something like that. I really like the word. Maybe I’ll incorporate that into my vocabulary, since I do have a kitchen garden.
Madelyn
June 23, 2015 at 5:30 pmAnd all the seven dwarfs said, “(gasp!) Gooseberry pie!?”
Bonnie
June 24, 2015 at 9:17 amI am by no means a pie expert to be honest making pie crust intimidates me… but that being said I do know that to keep the top edge of the crust that can get burnt to heck you can once it is cooked but the rest needs more time cover those edges with foil or they do sell metal rings that lay right over it 🙂 Gooseberries are different and a fun thing, I forgot about them I need to get a couple of bushes and keep hold of this recipe, thank you for sharing.
cassandra
July 13, 2015 at 3:22 pmYou crack me up!!! Loved this and now have to find out if they can be grown in Wyoming:-) need me some goo too!!
Sam Brooke
July 14, 2015 at 7:15 pmThank you for the recipe, it looks divine! Ugly pies are the very best pies, in my humble opinion. They have that extra touch of love and “home-made” flair to them that makes them all the more appetizing, something that no perfectly refined, frozen and pre-packaged pie will ever know.
Lisa
June 7, 2017 at 9:00 amI’m not good at pie either,but I do love my bearded man! Ha, I cracked up. I bought some gooseberry plants from the Pierce Countty Native Plant Sale. I’m looking forward to trying something new 🙂