Fresh Blackberry Pie

For the dough:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt and then cut in the butter with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture resembles a bowl of coarse crumbs (most about pea sized). While stirring with your fingers or a fork, sprinkle in the heavy cream and keep sprinkling and stirring until the dough feels a bit moist and starts to hold together when you press it in your fingers.

You may not need all the cream, you may need a bit more. Just go slowly and test a bit at a time!

When the dough starts to hold together when you press it, divide it into 2 portions and wrap each half in plastic wrap, pressing into a thick round disk shape. Place the plastic wrapped disks in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

For the pie:
Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Line a baking sheet with foil and place that in the oven to preheat also. Place it on a rack on the top 1/3 of the oven (this is to help catch drips).

Grab a 9″ deep-dish pie plate and set it aside for a bit later.

In a large bowl, toss together the berries, and the rest of the filling ingredients except for the butter and cinnamon/sugar.

On a well floured surface, roll out one half of your pie dough to about an 11″ circle. Carefully transfer it to your pie plate and press it firmly into the bottom and sides. Trim the crust to just the edge of the pie plate and place the pie plate in the fridge.

Re-flour your surface and roll out the other half of your dough into another 11″ circle.

Remove the pie plate from the fridge and dump the berry mixture into the crust. Dot the top of the berry mixture with the butter bits and then gently lay out the rolled out dough onto the top of the pie.

Press this crust down gently around the edges, trim the overhang to about 1″ and then fold the top crust under the bottom crust edge, pressing firmly to seal as you go around.

Carefully cut some slits into the top of the pie crust and then sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon and sugar if you’d like.

Cover the edges of the pie with foil and then place the whole pie into the preheated oven, directly onto the foil-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil, and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. Then remove it from the oven and set it on a cooling rack.

Let the pie cool if you want prettier, firmer pieces. Serve with ice cream or fresh whipped cream!

Recipe adapted from Sweety Pies.