Raspberry Apple Pie

For me, one of the best parts about the holiday season is celebrating old traditions and creating new ones. So many of my happy memories revolve around family and friends gathered over a good home-cooked meal, and perhaps nothing is more symbolic of bringing people together than a pie fresh out of the oven. Growing up, my family always put an Asian-American spin on traditional holidays dishes so we didn’t really eat much pie. But we have one pie recipe that’s very special to us, and it’s the perfect blend of old and new.

*Jump to Recipe*

This apple pie recipe spans generations, but our story today takes us back more than 25 years ago to a cold, autumn night in Rhode Island. My parents had immigrated to America a few months prior in pursuit of their dreams, and found themselves alone in a completely foreign country with new cultures and traditions. So when a friendly coworker invited them over for a Thanksgiving potluck dinner, naturally they said yes. It was there that they had pie for the first time. Pie wasn’t a thing in China back then and my mom isn’t a big fan of sweets, but when she ate that first bite of apple pie, she was sure of two things: 1) that she had no idea what she was eating, and 2) that she needed to get her hands on that recipe.

The recipe belonged to a grad student, who got it from her grandma, who… I have no idea. Did she invent it? Was it passed down to her? I like the mystery behind the recipe’s history though, because it makes it that much more meaningful. My mom ended up writing down the recipe in a little notebook where she kept all her important things, but plot twist — we lost it! Or so we thought…

This notebook has moved with us across 3 states and 7 homes, so it’s surely been shoved around and forgotten. I remember my mom reminiscing about this pie on multiple occasions over the years, but every time we tried searching for it we had no luck. Well, two years ago we were doing a massive clean-out of our attic… and we found it! The notebook had frayed edges and its pages had all turned brown, but when I read the recipe, I could hardly believe my eyes. That couldn’t be it, right? All those years of anticipation and longing, for this? It was so short. Well as it turns out, this recipe’s beauty is in its simplicity. Sometimes all you need to do is let the ingredients work their magic.

And here’s where the “new” part of this recipe comes in — last year for Thanksgiving we got a raspberry apple pie from a local farm, and WOW. I don’t think I’ve ever had a pie that good. I mean, apple pie is great and all, but have you ever had raspberry apple pie?! The unique combination of flavors is something out of this world. Raspberries are one of my favorite fruits and quite sentimental for me too — some of my fondest summer memories are raspberry picking in our backyard — so I knew I had to incorporate them into our apple pie recipe. So while this recipe was borrowed from another family, with this twist we made it our own. And now I’m sharing it with you!

For the crust, I used this pie crust recipe and doubled the amount to have two crusts. You’ll need 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and about 20 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes. The recipe calls for 4-8 tablespoons of ice water as needed until the dough comes together. Refrigerating the dough is key so don’t skip this step! Room temperature or warm dough is very sticky and difficult to work with. You can also use pre-made pie crust, which will probably be a lot quicker and less messy. But there’s something so fun about rolling pie dough!

Here is the original apple pie recipe for reference. As you can see, there are no measurements for the brown sugar and cinnamon (typical of homemade recipes, ha!), so it’s really it’s up to you how much you want to put. I usually sprinkle enough until it evenly covers the surface. The instant tapioca is the key secret ingredient here, as it does an excellent job of thickening your pie filling.

To create a raspberry apple pie, I simply cut down the number of apples to 5 and add 2 small cartons of raspberries. Depending on the size of your apples, you may need to add another one to ensure that you have enough filling to cover the base and stuff your pie. You want the fruit to be packed but not too tight. Mix together all the ingredients until the apples and raspberries are evenly coated with the honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, and tapioca.

I’ve never made a lattice pie before, but it was a lot easier than I thought it’d be. This video from Sally’s Baking Addiction was very helpful!

Once your pie is all crimped and ready, brush it with a layer of egg wash. I used one egg and one tablespoon of water. Bake for 1 hour at 425°. Some of the juice might spill out (this is a good thing!), so place a baking sheet covered with parchment paper underneath the pie to catch any liquids. When you notice juice dripping, it’s a sign that your pie will likely be ready soon. For me, this happens around the 50 minute mark so I continue baking for an additional 10 minutes to give the crust its golden glow.

And voilà! If you try this recipe, let me know what you think! What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?