Towards the end of every calendar year, the weather turns cool, the leaves turn red, orange, and yellow, and the citizens of the United States of America converge together for a string of holidays to celebrate another year with each other. Between Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s, most people will be participating in at least one multi-family gathering between now and when the calendar flips to 2022.

A critical component to these gatherings, is, of course, food! Each holiday has its own traditional set of food and beverage; for example, pumpkin products and turkey are the foods of choice during Thanksgiving, while peppermint and ham are considered popular Christmas dishes. But while you can’t go wrong with specific, holiday-centric food options on those particular holidays, one food you can never go wrong with is elderberry.

Perhaps the most seamless way to work elderberry into your diet this holiday season is with elderberry pie, a classic dessert option that not only tastes great, but helps your immune system as well! Here’s how to make it.

Ingredients

In order to make elderberry pie, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Two deep dish prepared pie crusts
• Four cups of fresh elderberries, stemmed
• One cup of water
• Three additional tablespoons of water (keep separate)
• One cup of white sugar
• Three tablespoons of corn starch
• One tablespoon of orange juice

Instructions

Now that you’ve got all your ingredients laid out, it’s time to put them to good use! Here’s how you can take those ingredients and turn them all into a delicious elderberry pie:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Note that the ideal preheated temperature could be slightly different depending on the relative strength of your oven.
• Unroll one of the crusts and firmly press it against the sides and the bottom of an ungreased, nine-inch pie container. Be sure to poke small holes in the sides and bottom with a fork.
• Bake the pie crust by itself in the preheated oven for approximately ten minutes until the crust is a light brown. Note that the time could be slightly different depending on the relative strength of your oven.
• Pour the elderberries, one cup of water, and one cup of white sugar into a saucepan over medium heat.
• Whisk the three tablespoons of water and the corn starch together in a small bowl or measuring cup, and then add this mixture into the saucepan.
• Cook and stir this filling until it thickens, and coats the back of a wooden spoon. This should take approximately five to ten minutes.
• Remove the filling from the bowl or measuring cup, and stir in the orange juice.
• Pour the completed filling into the cooled pie crust.
• Take the second pie crust, and lay it on top of the first pie crust. Press the edges of the crusts together to seal the contents inside. Cut a few small slits in the upper crust to allow steam to escape.
• Bake this new creation in the oven until the crust is mostly brown and the filling is bubbly. This should take approximately 35-45 minutes, depending on the strength of your oven.