Blackberry Pie

When I was young, my Grandma Jean lived on a big lot near the lake in a house she built with my Grandpa in the 1950s. The large deck was lined with pots filled with geraniums, petunias, and impatiens--all thriving under my Grandma's unassuming green thumb. On the sprawling lawn, we'd play kickball or practice gymnastics until her legendary dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and gravy was ready.

If it sounds idyllic, it was. But it gets even more lovely. In a field next to my Grandma's property were dozens of giant blackberry bushes (no surprise in the Northwest where they seem intent on taking over any abandoned lot or empty ditch). On warm, forever-light summer evenings after stuffing ourselves at dinner, we'd grab plastic grocery sacks and head over to pick berries.

Picking blackberries is dangerous work for little hands. The thorns are unforgiving, and the rounded shape of the bushes make it hard to harvest without leaning dangerously forward into the prickly plant. But each berry-picking expedition had a concrete goal: four cups of perfect blackberries. Four cups is what we needed to enable my mom to make her own crowing culinary achievement: blackberry pie.

This is the pie everyone requests for birthdays and special occasions in our family. Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream and prepare for your own perfect summer idyll.

Recipe: Blackberry Pie

Ingredients
For the crust
4 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 cups Crisco
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup cold water

For the filling
4 cups blackberries (fresh or frozen and thawed)
2/3-1 cup sugar, depending on the sweetness of the berries
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Directions
For the crust, combine the egg, vinegar, and water in a small bowl and mix to combine. Place in the freezer while preparing the dry ingredients.

Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the Crisco and cut into the flour with a pastry cutter until the Crisco pieces are no larger than peas.

Add the cold egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Gather half the dough into a ball (be gentle - overworking pie dough makes it tough). Roll out on a lightly floured surface to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Carefully place in the pie pan and roll out the other half.

For the filling, combine the sugar, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the berries and let sit for 15 minutes. Pour into the bottom crust and top with butter pieces (this helps thicken the filling as it bakes). Gently place the top crust over the berries and crimp the edges. Make some small cuts or designs on the top crust to allow air to escape during baking. Cover the edges of the crust with foil.

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes. Then reduce oven heat to 350 and bake for 35-45 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Serves 8.