Instead of collecting Easter eggs, I was presented with the opportunity to collect dewberries this Easter. While mowing my yard this lovely Easter afternoon I noticed that the native dewberries had begun to ripen. I picked one from my riding mower as I went by. The berry was tasty so I planned to see how many I could collect after I finished cutting the grass. After mowing I grabbed my Easter basket (colander) and headed out for the hunt. It turns out this is the best year for the native Southern Dewberries that hug my fence in a couple of areas of my yard in quite some time. Based on recent years, I was expecting that I might gather a couple of handfuls to put over some vanilla ice cream.
Instead I found enough to make my simple berry pie. This pie is pretty foolproof. There are only 4 ingredients, 1 store bought graham cracker pie crust, 1 - 8 oz. block of cream cheese, 1 cup of honey and enough berries (blackberries, strawberries or blueberries) to fill the pie crust (slightly domed). Instructions: Let the cream cheese warm up and soften. Rinse the berries. Mix the softened cream cheese and honey. Pour the berries in the pie crust and gently pack them down. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the berries. Now bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, until the topping is golden brown.Southern dewberry is a small native, trailing, prickly vine that is closely related to blackberry.
