From a very early age, I loved food. But I was picky. My signatures fast food item was a cheeseburger…
with no meat. But as I grew up, I
started showing an interest in new flavors. If it had cheese and no mustard,
then it would be in my tummy within minutes. My love of food naturally led to a
love of cooking. I adored being able to try out new flavors and ideas.
As I started getting more skilled
with control over flavors, I would notice my father wandering in more often.
I’m not sure if it was the possibility of food or my presence that called him
in (I would love to flatter myself and say it was me), but he and I started
cooking together a lot more often.
We began making excuses to cook as much as possible. For
example: “Oh, that pie was good, but
I think it could use a tad more
sugar. How about we test out the recipe 5 more times?” We would go berry picking down at the local creek, and bring home buckets and buckets of fruit to experiment with. We still do. I realized we were the perfect chef duo
the first time I took a bite of our blackberry-blueberry pie, which was
carefully crafted after almost five years of recipe testing and tweaking.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is that pie.
And it is shockingly, wonderfully simple to make. Plump, sweet blueberries and bold, slightly tart blackberries are mixed with sugar and then scooped into a flaky, delectable crust. It is baked until bubbling, and the entire house fills with the smell of ripe berries and buttery crust… drool. I just use store-bought crust, but feel free to add a homemade spin on it if you want.
But basically, you need to try this pie. As in now. As in five more times this month. Trust me, it’s awesome. Kid or adult, you will be grinning from ear to ear.
Blackberry-Blueberry Pie
Serves 8 Serving Size: One nicely-sized slice Calories/serving: 215
Ingredients:
- 2 (9-inch) pie crusts
- 2 cups frozen blueberries that have been halfway thawed (yes, they must be frozen and halfway thawed)
- 2 cups fresh blackberries
- 1/4c. tapioca
- 1 and 1/3c. splenda
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Lay one pie crust on the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan (glass or metal works; I like metal nonstick). Cut the other pie crust dough into 12 even strips (we are going to lattice it!)
- In a medium bowl, combine the berries, tapioca, and splenda. Make sure to combine gently, as one would when folding in egg whites to something. When all mixed together, scoop the mixture into the pie pan (juices included).
- To lattice the top: you are only going to use half of your strips, so throw the end (short ones) away. Now, lay three strips horizontally over the pie, evenly spaced apart and touching the edges of the pan. Take three other strips; one by one, you are going to weave them together. I don’t know how to put this into words, so look here (Simply Recipes!) to see how the steps go (but only use 6 strips total). If you are intimidated, just skip the top crust altogether.
- Lay a large pan on the bottom rack of your oven to catch potential bubbling-overs; cook pie in middle rack for 35-45 minutes or until bubbling and crust is golden. If you are worried about your crust burning, line the edges with aluminum foil or a metal crust cover.
- To cut, allow to cool and then freeze for 1 hour (this makes cutting way easier!) Cut it into 8 slices, and then let sit at room temp to warm up a bit; pop it into the oven just before serving to warm it up again.
