makes 4 individual pies

(I used baking dishes from Emile Henri that measure 4½” across by ¾” deep)

Pie Pastry
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
6 oz. (1½ sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¼ cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
¼ cup ice cold water

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter, then add the shortening, using your fingertips to blend until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the ice cold water, a little bit at a time, tossing the mixture with your fingers until it just comes together. Divide the dough into four equal pieces, shape into discs. Wrap each in plastic wrap (they should weigh roughly 5 oz. each) and refrigerate for an hour before rolling out. Lightly dust a sheet of parchment paper with flour, roll out each disc of dough about ⅛” thick. Cut them into circles measuring about 7½” in diameter. Gently place one circle of dough into each of the baking dishes, and let the excess pastry overhang the edge of the dish. Set the baking dishes on a parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate while you prepare the filling. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Blackberry Fig filling  (adapted from Nigel Slater)   
3 cups fresh blackberries, lightly rinsed
2 cups ripe, fresh figs, rinsed, stemmed, roughly chopped
¼ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon cardamom
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon lemon zest
2-3 tablespoons of honey, depending upon the sweetness of the figs
2 tablespoons fig butter (available at Trader Joes)
2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, to dot the fruit

egg wash made of one egg yolk combined with 2 tablespoons heavy cream
sanding sugar for sprinkling

In a large bowl, toss together the blackberries and chopped figs. In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch, cardamom, salt, nutmeg and lemon zest. Add the sugar/spice mixture to the fruit, then add the honey and the fig butter turning to coat. Remove the baking dishes from the refrigerator and divide the filling evenly between them. Dot with pieces of cold butter. Bring up the edges of the pie pastry and loosely pleat it with your fingertips. (The pastry edges the fruit, leaving the fruit exposed in the middle.) Brush the pastry with the egg wash, sprinkle with sanding sugar and place the dishes on the parchment lined baking sheet. Set on the bottom rack of the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees, move the baking sheet to the middle rack of the oven and continue baking for an additional 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden and fruit is bubbling. Serve with mascarpone and a drizzle of honey.

Strawberry Conserve  (generously fills one recipe of strawberry stuffed scones with extra to serve alongside)

⅔ cup granulated sugar
⅔ cup water
2 pints of fresh strawberries, lightly rinsed, hulled and halved (equals 4 generous cups)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the berries and return to a boil. It takes about 5-7 minutes for the berries to soften. Remove the pan from the heat. Using a potato masher, crush the berries. Set a small strainer over a bowl, strain the mashed berries, reserving the juice. Return the juice back to the saucepan, cooking over medium heat until it reduces to about ⅔ of a cup. The juice will become quite thick; this takes about 15 minutes. Keep an eye on things here- you may need to lower the heat. Remove the thickened syrup from the heat, add the vanilla and the reserved mashed berries. Set aside to cool. Cover with plastic wrap and chill completely before assembling the scones.

Strawberry Stuffed Ginger Rhubarb Scones  (makes 18 scones)

(inspired by Bluebird Bakery, Ithaca Farmers Market and King Arthur Flour)

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon orange zest
scrapings from ½ of a vanilla bean
3½ oz. (7 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup fresh rhubarb, trimmed of leaves, rinsed, dried, cut into ¼” pieces
2 eggs
⅓ cup heavy cream 
½ cup candied ginger, coarsely chopped by hand or pulsed until coarse in the food processor

additional heavy cream to brush on top of the scones
coarse sanding sugar for sprinkling

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together both flours, baking powder, salt, spices, both sugars, orange zest and vanilla bean scrapings. Use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add the rhubarb and toss gently to coat with the flour/butter mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and heavy cream. Add this to the dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix. Fold in the candied ginger.

On a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, gently knead the dough just until it comes together. Divide the dough into three discs of equal size. Pat them into circles 4” round by 1” thick. Place the three circles of dough on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 45 minutes. When chilled, use a serrated knife to carefully divide each circle of dough in half horizontally. You will have 6 circles of dough, (hopefully of even thickness.) Remove the strawberry conserve from the refrigerator. Spread a generous ¼ cup of the conserve on 3 of the circles of dough, leaving a small border so the filling does not leak out of the sides. Top each with one circle of dough, creating a scone ‘sandwich.’ Use your fingers to gently press down and seal the edges and place the scone sandwiches back on the parchment lined baking sheet. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. and refrigerate the scones for 15 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator, brush the top of each circle with heavy cream and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Space the 3 circles evenly on a baking sheet and bake for about 25-28 minutes, until the center tests clean with a knife. Let the scones cool for 15 minutes before slicing. Slicing each circle in half then in thirds will yield 18 scones, although you can certainly slice them larger or smaller. Serve warm with unsweetened whipped cream and any remaining strawberry conserve.

makes one 9” lattice top pie

Pie Pastry for one 9” double crust
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
½ cup ice cold water
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Using a bench scraper or your fingertips, cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until you have coarse crumbs with a few pea-size pieces. In a small bowl combine the ice water and vinegar. Add half of the water/vinegar to the flour/butter mixture and use your fingertips to combine. Add just enough of the remaining water/vinegar to the pastry so it comes together and does not feel dry. Gather the dough into 2 discs, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling out. On a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, roll out one disc into a 12” circle and gently fit it into a 9” pie plate. Fold and crimp the edges, refrigerate. Roll out the second disc of dough on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper into a 12” circle and cut into 1” strips using a pastry cutter. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Fresh Cherry filling with a splash of Bourbon (adapted from Food and Wine)

6 cups of fresh sweet cherries, pitted
3-4 tablespoons Bourbon (depends on the day that precedes the baking of the pie) 
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
½ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
generous pinch of salt
3 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon cardamom

egg wash made with 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water
coarse sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the pitted cherries, bourbon, orange juice and zest.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugars, salt, cornstarch and spices. Add the sugar mixture to the cherries, combine thoroughly using a rubber spatula. Pour the cherry filling into the chilled pie shell, cover with the lattice, seal and crimp the edges. Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with coarse sugar and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and move pie to middle shelf of the oven. Continue baking for 35-45 minutes, until the juices are bubbling thickly around the edges and in the middle of the pie. If the edges are getting too brown during baking, cover them with strips of aluminum foil. Set pie on a rack to cool completely before slicing.