Apple Blackberry Pie

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope you all are having a wonderful day (or had since I hope you are not catching up on your Google reader when you should be spending time with your family). I am spending time with family in North Carolina and we actually jumped the gun on one of the two desserts I made for today, and ate it last night. Apparently this pie looked too good to not eat immediately upon my arrival after a 10 hour drive.

They really didn’t have to convince me to dig into pie a day early. Especially since I had baked it that morning and there was ice cream to put on top, yummy!

BTW, if you do not own an apple peeler/corer/slicer and a silicone pie shield, I strongly recommend them. The all-in-one peeler/corer/slicer perfectly peels off all the skin, cores out the middle and uniformly slices each apple all at once. And it’s fun to play with!

One year ago: Cranberry Sauce

APPLE BLACKBERRY PIE

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

CRUST

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2/3 cup cold butter, cubed

4 to 6 Tbsp cold water

FILLING

5 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples (about 6 medium)

1 cup fresh blackberries

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

4-1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 egg + 1 tsp milk, beaten

1 tsp cinnamon-sugar (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Divide dough in half. Roll out one portion to fit a 9-in. pie plate; place pastry in plate and trim even with edge. (To avoid a soggy crust, brush egg-milk mixture on crust before adding filling.)
3. In a large bowl, combine apples and blackberries. Combine the brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg; add to fruit mixture and toss to coat. Pour into crust.
4. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in pastry*. Add decorative cutouts if desired. Brush a little of the milk-egg mixture over the pie dough and sprinkle with 1 tsp cinnamon-sugar if desired. Cover edges loosely with foil**.
5. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees; remove foil. Bake 40-50 minutes longer or until lightly browned and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Store in the refrigerator.

*I made a lattice top

**Or a silicone pie crust shield

Source: Adapted slightly from Taste of Home