Friday, October 29, 2010

Friday Pie Day!

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Friday Pie Day was something that Aaron and I started because I was driving all the way out to the Eastern Shore from Baltimore every other weekend to see him...and I would always either bring a pie with me or bake one in their kitchen. We had a ton of pies...and most of them were pretty delicious! Some were a little bit of a fail, but still tasty...just well...in the case of the lemon meringue...kind of texturally lacking.

I'm extremely excited about this Friday Pie Day because for the first time I (drumroll) made up my own recipe for the filling! Not the dough...I found a perfect piecrust recipe about 2 years ago and don't deviate...it's absolutely perfect every single time, so why change it?

Today's pie is Apple Blackberry Pie. I have made Peach Blackberry pie in the past, but since we're smack in the middle of prime apple season and all peaches I find at the store are like little rocks...apple it became! I'm really happy with the way it turned out and plan to start being more inventive with my pies from now on...

Em's Apple Blackberry Pie

Ingredients (for pie crust)
- 1 1/2 sticks (12 tbsp.) of very cold unsalted butter
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1/3 very cold vegetable shortening
- approx. 1/2 cup ice water

Ingredients (for pie filling)
- 6 granny smith apples
- 1 1/2 cups blackberries (I used fresh)
- fresh lemon juice (about 1/8 cup - I used 2 lemons)
- zest of one lemon
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup white sugar (plus a little to sprinkle on top)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- allspice

Instructions

1.
First you need to make the crust. Dice the butter and pop it back in the fridge while you prepare the flour mixture. Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl and mix a few times using an electric mixer to combine well. Then add the butter and shortening. Mix until the butter is about the size of small peas, then add the ice water until the dough begins to form.





















2. Dump the dough out on a well-floured surface and pat into a rounded disc, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes.











3. While the dough is chilling you can start on your filling (hah - rhyme!)...Whisk together the fresh lemon juice, zest and vanilla in a large bowl. Wash and add the blackberries to the lemon juice mixture.











4. Peel your apples and chop them roughly in about 3/4 inch sized chunks and mix them in well with the blackberries until they are completely coated with the lemon juice mixture. Next add the sugar and cornstarch and toss until the fruit is completely coated.











5. Now its time to roll out the pie dough. Make sure you use plenty of flour as you roll out both pieces (cut the original disc in half for a bottom and top crust). Drop the crust into a deep-dish pie plate and score gently with a fork. Fill with the apple/blackberry mixture.





















6. Cover with the top crust, making a few vents to let the steam out, then brush the top of the pie with water (not too much!) and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes and tah dahhhh...my first original pie filling recipe was a success! Happy Friday Pie Day to everyone!

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