Blackberry Pie

This recipe came to The Times in 1996 from Annie Davis, a United Air Lines flight attendant from Elizabethton, Tenn., who competed in the Appalachian Fair in Tennessee. It is a classic summer pie, but don’t feel beholden to the season’s gifts: if the taste for blackberry pie strikes in, say, darkest January, feel free to bake it with frozen fruit. Use the opportunity to remind yourself that summer is, always and forever, on its way.

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups flour
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, sliced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 5 to 7 tablespoons ice water
• 5 cups fresh blackberries (unsweetened frozen berries may be used)
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons blackberry brandy
• ½ cup confectioners’ sugar (approximately)

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

    525 calories; 23 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 73 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 36 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 61 milligrams cholesterol; 154 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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8 servings

Preparation

1. Combine the flour, sliced butter and salt in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is the texture of coarse meal. With the machine running, add the ice water a tablespoon at a time through the feed tube until the dough clumps together, no more than 10 to 15 seconds. Divide the dough into 2 balls, flatten them and chill about 30 minutes.
2. Combine berries and butter in a nonstick saucepan. In a separate bowl, whisk the light brown sugar, granulated sugar and cornstarch together, then add to the berries. Cook over medium-low heat until the sugar melts and the mixture thickens. Stir gently to prevent scorching, but take care not to break the berries. Remove from heat, and stir in the brandy.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Sprinkle a pastry board with half the confectioners’ sugar. Quickly roll out a circle of dough on the sugar, and line a 9-inch pie pan. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the berries to the prepared pie pan.
5. Briefly boil the remaining juice from the berries until it thickens; spoon the juice over the berries.
6. Sprinkle the rest of the confectioners’ sugar on the work surface, roll out top crust, cover the pie and seal the edges. Cut decorative vents in the top.
7. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the crust is an even pale brown.

2 hours