Honey Sweetened Gooseberry Pie

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

• 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

1. Make your pie crust (check out my pie crust recipe!)
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.
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.
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?