Blackberry Pie

3 cups blackberries
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter, chopped
pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

Preheat oven to 450º F. Combine sugar and flour. Sprinkle 1/4 of it over pastry in pie plate. Roll top crust, cut out heart. Heap blackberries in pie plate. Sprinkle with remaining sugar and flour, pat into a mound. Dot with butter.  Cover with top crust and crimp sides. Place pie on lowest rack in oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350º F. Move to top rack and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.


Pie Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, chilled and diced
4 to 6 tablespoons milk

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball. Divide in half and wrap in plastic and refrigerate. Mix the flour and sugar for the pie in the same bowl. Roll cooled dough out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Place crust in pie plate. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Roll out the top crust before adding the blackberries.

If using a food processor, pulse the dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk one tablespoon at a time and pulse. Empty on a lightly floured surface. It will be crumbly...do not add more liquid. Carefully press into two balls. Do not overwork pie crust. Keep everything cold.

~♥~

I never cared about cooking growing up, but the one thing I enjoyed watching and helping mom make was pies. Partially so I could eat the raw dough and partially because I thought it was fascinating. She let me feel what the dough was like and explained that it was important in making pie crust to know the right texture. Pie crust is very tricky to make. The recipe is simple, but you really need to work with someone to learn the finer skills

The only desert I remember mom making was pies. Mom didn't have a written recipe for her pies, but after watching her for years I learned a lot of her pie making skills. Blackberry pies were a real treat growing up. Mom didn't grow blackberries so we didn't have them that often. She had to find patches along the country roads and pick them.

As much as I loved eating blackberries, I hated picking them. Donna was usually the one mom talked into picking and gardening. When my family was growing up, our farm was surrounded by blackberry patches. Luckily my kids didn't mind picking and enjoyed blackberry pies - Brenda Dawson