Blackberry Pie

Blackberry season is my favourite. There's just nothing like walking out of your front door with a pail and plunging knee deep into brambles loaded down heavy, juicy berries that leave their good purple stains everywhere. It's been a slow summer for just about everything this year, but the blackberries are here in full force. In honour of their abundance, I've committed to baking up ten fresh blackberry pies before their season is over. I've already got three down, so I don't think it's going to be a problem. Pie for breakfast, pie for dessert, pie for a late night snack, pie to share and give to friends, pie to celebrate this last stretch of such a glorious season. Anyone else want in on a tasty ten pie challenge?

INGREDIENTS

For the crust:
2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, very cold (if you're looking for a shortcut, freeze your butter and then grate it in instead of cutting. It works!)
1 cup ice cold water

For the filling:
5 to 6 cups fresh blackberries, washed
1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar, depending on how sweet your berries are
2 Tbsp sornstarch
1 tsp lemon juice


DIRECTIONS

Fold the filling ingredients together in a bowl and set aside while you prepare the crust. The cornstarch keeps your pie from being halfway to berry soup, but can easily be left out if, like me, you like a little berry soup.

In a wide bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and sugar for the crust. Either cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or two knives or, if it's frozen, grate it in. Either way, you want to end up a mealy mixture that has some butter lumps the size of small peas and others the size of oats. Do your best to keep the butter cold, cold, cold by not handling it too much. Add in your water, starting by drizzling about half a cup over the mixture and gathering it together with a rubber spatula or a fork. Add more water a tablespoon at a time until the dough just barely comes together. You're going to need to get in there with your hands to know.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and nudge gently into two balls. If the dough is simply too crumbly to stay together, add a little more water. If it starts getting sticky, you've added more than you need (to know for next time). Chill those babies in the fridge for an hour or two if you're patient and think ahead; start rolling if you're not.

Make sure your surface and your rolling pin are still well floured and then roll one of the balls of dough out into a disc that more or less fits your pie pan. Scoop it up by rolling it loosely over the rolling pin and then unrolling onto the pan. You can always mend holes with a little bit of cold water as glue. Roll out the top crust in the same way.

Add your filling and place the top crust over it, sealing the two crusts together with a little cold water and by folding the bottom crust up over the edge of the top one and crimping (a fancy word for pinching) it closed. Make some decorative slashes in the top crust to let the steam out. Stick it in the oven at about 375 degrees until it's brown and crispy and bubbling irresistibly. Then try to resist and let it cool.

Eat and enjoy!