I want to encourage you to step into the realm of making things from scratch. Like completely from scratch. The end product is incredible and doesn’t have any of the preservatives and additives that our store bought foods possess. Today is all about a fresh from scratch blackberry pie.
A fresh blackberry pie is simply delightful. Are there tricks to making one? Just a few, but the time and effort is well worth it.
Berries On Sale
The best time to make a fresh blackberry pie is when the blackberries are on sale. I can get a 6oz tub of fresh blackberries on sale for under $2 a tub. That makes this pie very affordable. This occurs a couple times throughout the year here in Texas.
Wash Your Berries
You must wash fresh berries! Don’t skip this step, the risk is not worth it. E-coli is not a joke.
I use vinegar to wash my fresh fruit. It’s natural and safe to eat if the rinsing isn’t thorough enough.
Making Pie Filling
You’ll mix sugar into your fresh berries and allow them to sit about 10 minutes or so. This will cause the berries to release their juices and that all creates an amazing berry goop for your pie. I do this in the pan I’m going to boil it in to save on dishes.
You only need to boil the filling for 15 minutes, but you won’t start that timer until the berries are rapidly boiling. It may not look thick enough to be pie filling, but once it has cooled, it will be. Trust the process. If you boil the berries too long, you will end up with blackberry cement.
If you’d like to ‘put up’ and learn to can your own pie fillings, get this book! It’s amazing and informative for any beginner.
I’ve made their pickles, preserves, pie filling, and thanks to my youngest, I can now get into pressure canning.
Pie Crust
You need to use cold, straight from the fridge, butter to make your crust. You want the solid fat chunks to create a flaky pie crust. Also, leave a few butter chunks visible, this will give you open pockets in your crust when it bakes.
You need to allow that pie filling to cool to at least room temp or it will melt your pie crust. If you want to do a decorative top crust of any kind, like lattice work, you need the filling to be cool and you may need to pop the top crust back in the fridge while you work with the bottom half. Cold crust dough will be easier to play with for that purpose.
You do need a few steam slits cut into the top crust as well. If you don’t cut them, steam will create them in your crust. Also, I highly recommend putting your pie plate/pan onto a baking sheet to avoid spilling. It’s a bear to clean an oven after a pie burps all over it.
Classic Fresh Blackberry Pie
Equipment
- 1 Colander
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 2 cups AP Flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 Tbsp cold butter
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup flour for dusting
Pie Filling
- 8 cups water
- 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
- 24 ounces fresh blackberries
- 1 cup sugar
Instructions
Making Pie Crust
- You can do this by hand or use your food processor: whisk the flour and salt together well. Chop your cold butter into chunks and cut that into your flour mixture until it looks like wet sand. You can leave larger pieces of butter.2 cups AP Flour, 1 tsp salt, 6 Tbsp cold butter
- Add your egg and mix until a firm dough is made. Roll your crust dough into a round ball and roll into plastic wrap. Chill for an hour.1 large egg
Making Pie Filling
- In a large bowl, mix the water and vinegar. Dump in your fresh berries and wash them well. Pour your clean berries into your colander and remove any leaf bits or unwanted berries.8 cups water, 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar, 24 ounces fresh blackberries
- In a 3qt sauce pan, combine your clean berries and the sugar. Mush them around, slightly mashing the berries until the sugar is absorbed. Allow the berries to sit for 10 minutes while their juice is released.1 cup sugar
- After the 10 minutes, bring them to boil over medium heat. They will actively boil for 10-15 minutes. The pie filling is done when the filling coats the back of a spoon. Allow the pie filling to cool before assembling your pie.
Assembling Your Pie
- Preheat your oven to 375°
- Pull your pie crust from the fridge. On a clean, well floured surface roll out half of your pie dough. You won't grease the pie plate/pan. Press your crust into the bottom of your pie plate, leaving crust to hang over.1/4 cup flour for dusting
- Pour your cooled pie filling into the bottom crust.
- Roll out the other half of your pie crust and fold it in half. Place the pie crust onto half of your pie and bring the folded half over. Cut the excess crust off the sides and crimp the crust. Cut a few steam vents into the top crust.
- I place my pie plate onto a baking sheet because pies like to burp over the edge quite a bit. This will save you cleaning an oven in the future. Bake your pie for 45 minutes, or until the crust is tanned.
- Allow the pie to cool 15 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.