Holy Blackberry Pie Amazingness

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I'm thankful for all of the wonderful and inspiring people in my life....and blackberry pie. In preparation for a big Thanksgiving feast with my friends, I searched for the perfect blackberry pie recipe. And I think I found it. Made from fresh blackberries hand picked and delivered from Washington, this pie was my very first homemade pie accomplishment!

Ingredients


6 cups blackberries (thawed from frozen or fresh)
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp butter
2 pie shells  (I got mine from Trader Joe's--they come frozen, two in a box)


Directions


1. Combine 5 1/2 cups of the blackberries, salt and sugar in a skillet over medium heat. I left out 1/2 cup of the berries to put in at the very end to add some delicious texture to the filling.
2. Mash the berries with a fork or whisk and bring to a simmer.
3. Mix syrup and cornstarch in a glass as best you can. I had to add some of the liquid from the simmering blackberries to get the cornstarch to dissolve all the way.
4. Pour in the cornstarch and syrup to the blackberries and stir.
5. Sprinkle in the flour and stir all together.
6. Continue to simmer the mixture for a couple more minutes then fold in the rest of the whole berries.
7. Take the filling off the heat and let it sit while you roll out (or make) your pie crust.
8. Lay in the bottom of the pie shell in your baking dish.

9. Pour in the filling and then dot the top of the filling with pieces of butter.
10. Cover the filling with a second pie layer. I attempted a lattice but I rolled the dough too thin so it became impossible to do a lattice. I just laid the dough over the top in a faux-lattice pattern :)

Whatever you do to the top layer, make sure you have some sort of "vent" for the filling to breathe and bubble during baking.

12. Brush on a mixture of egg yoke and a tablespoon of water on the top of the pie to give it a nice browning effect when it's done baking.
11. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes and then turn down the heat to 350 degrees to continue baking for 35-40 minutes.
12. Once out, let the pie sit for at least 2 hours before eating it to let the filling set and allow yourself some time to admire your masterpiece :)

I was so happy this pie was not overly sweet and had the amazing blackberry filling of the perfect consistency.

Happy baking and eating on this Thanksgiving day!