Raspberry Pie

Ingredients

• 1 package (2 crusts) refrigerated pie dough (store-bought or homemade), or a double batch of homemade dough
• 6 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
• 1 tbsp coarse sugar, for sprinkling

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Fit one crust into a 9-inch pie dish.
2. In a large bowl, gently toss the fresh or frozen raspberries with the sugar, thickener, spice, lemon juice, and salt until evenly coated.
3. Pour the filling into the crust and dot with the butter pieces.
4. Top with the second crust, forming a lattice top, or cut several vents in a full top crust. Crimp the edges to seal, then brush the top with the beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
5. Bake for 45–55 minutes, until the crust is deep golden and the filling is bubbling through the vents.
6. Cool on a wire rack at least 2 hours before slicing so the filling has time to set.

The Tale of Raspberry Pie

Story updated September 18, 2026

Compared to many of its fruit-pie relatives, raspberry pie has a surprisingly thin documented history; food historians generally note that its specific region and moment of origin are simply unknown. Wild raspberries and black raspberries grew freely across the woodlands of New England and Appalachia, and colonial and 19th-century American cooks, following the same logic that produced blackberry and mixed berry pies, likely used whatever wild brambles were at hand for pie filling. Raspberries were more fragile and harder to grow commercially than sturdier fruits like apples or cherries, which probably kept raspberry pie a smaller-scale, home-garden tradition rather than a widely commercialized one. It appears, without fanfare, alongside other berry pies in 19th-century American cookbooks, and is often paired with cream in "raspberry cream pie" variations. Its story is best understood not as a single invention but as one branch of America's long-running tradition of turning whatever berries were ripe and available into a summer pie.