Aunt LoLo's Apple Blackberry Pie

The other day, I decided that what my family needed was an apple pie. Ever have one of those days? When you just really, really need a pie, to make everything right in the world?

I only had 4 apples left from the crate of apples I bought in the fall, so I dug through the freezer and grabbed a bag of blackberries I picked last summer to make sure I had enough filling. A search online gave me a pie crust recipe that didn't involve digging my food processor out of the back of the cupboard, and I got to work.

The pie was, unexpectedly, delicious. Probably the yummiest pie I've ever made! The real star of the show, though, was the crust. As my husband dug into his piece, he asked, "Where did you get the crust?" "Oh, I made it." "No, I know you made the pie, but where did you get the crust??" He thought I bought it. The crust is tender and flaky, and just a bit salty, to counteract the sweetness of the filling. This is a keeper!

Aunt LoLo's Apple Blackberry Pie
Makes one 9" pie

Crust: (recipe adapted from here)

Fill a measuring cup with ice and water. Set aside.

In a high powered blender, or food processor*, combine:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt

Turn the blender on at the lowest speed (variable 1) and slowly increase to medium speed (variable 5). Blend for 10 seconds, then remove the plug from the middle of the lid.

With the blender running, drop in:
3/4 cup Crisco

Blend for 5 seconds.

Add:
5 Tbsp. ice water

Blend until just combined. This should not form a ball. You just want it all equally damp.

*If you are using a food processor, you should be pulsing at each step to combine. 

Prepare your counter with two largish pieces of plastic wrap. Dump your damp dough onto one of the pieces and carefully knead it a few times until it makes a ball. Divide the ball in half, shape each half into a disc, and wrap them up their own pieces of plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.

Assembling the pie:

Preheat the oven to 425 and set aside a 9" pie dish.

Peel, core, and chop :
4 medium sized apples

In a large mixing bowl, combine:

Chopped apples
1 lb. frozen blackberries, thawed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup corn starch

Stir to combine, and set aside.

Remove your wrapped pie crusts from the refrigerator. Flour your countertop, and unwrap one pie crust disc. Roll it out until it is 12" across, and carefully move into your pan. The easiest way is to carefully fold it in half over your hand, and then unfold it into the pan. Settle your crust into the pan, making sure you aren't stretching it at all. Trim it so that the top of the crust is about even with the edge of the pan. Fill the crust with your prepared fruit mixture, stirring it first in the bowl to make sure the corn starch is evenly distributed.

Unwrap the second crust and roll it out so it is approximately 10"-11" across. Drape it across your filled pie crust. Go around the edges of the pan, rolling the excess crust under and using your fingers to press it into a pretty shape. Use a sharp paring knife to poke about a dozen holes in the top crust. Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired, or brush with milk or egg wash.

Place the pie on a cookie sheet, just in case it boils over, and bake it until the top is lightly browned, about 30 minutes.

Lemon Chess Pie

This was still a bit jiggly when it was done, and a knife came out wet, but it set up in the fridge.  Kind of like lemonbars, but not nearly as sweet or tart :)  


I can't remember where this recipe came from, and had to search for it in my e-mail.  Luckily, I sent a copy to my MIL!  It's really, really good.


-Myrnie

Lemon Chess Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell (use your favorite pastry recipe or purchase frozen piecrust)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 Tblsp. flour  (or 1 T flour and 1 T cornmeal)
• 5 large eggs
• freshly grated zest of one lemon
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. Place pie crust in 9-inch pie plate...and flute edges.
3. Combine sugar and flour in mixing bowl.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating at medium speed with mixer until well blended.
5. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and melted butter. Mix well.
6. Pour filling into the prepared pie crust.
7. Bake on lower rack of oven for 45 minutes at 325°F...or until puffed and golden brown in colour.
8. When cool...cut and serve each wedge with a dollop of whipped cream...and a sauce of fresh raspberries or blackberries

Brown Sugar Buttermilk Pie

You need this pie, but if you eat this pie...eat nothing else.  With three eggs, 2 egg yolks, and 3/4 of a stick of butter, there's no messing around here!  BUT (and this is a big but.  Ahem.) You need this pie.

 I cook a lot.  A lot, a lot.  And this is the best thing to come out of my kitchen in a long time!  Crispy pie crust.  Soft custard.  Nutmeg that floats to the top.  Add this to your Thanksgiving line up, folks.

(If you don't subscribe to Martha's "Everyday Food" magazine, PLEASE do.  It's that good.)

Brown-Sugar Buttermilk Pie
from Everyday Food originally, in my own words

3 Tbsp flour
3 large egg eggs, plus two more large yolks, beaten
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
6 Tbsp unsalted butter

1. Press your favorite single-crust pie crust into a glass pan, and bake at 425 for about 10 minutes.
2. Put 6 tablespoons of butter in a small sauce pan on the stove, over medium heat, for 8-10 minutes and let it melt and cook.  It's going to froth up, and it's going to turn brown.  Swirl the pan occasionally, especially towards the end.  When the froth subsides, and it's nut-brown, it's done!
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, eggs, and brown sugar until smooth.  Whisk in buttermilk, nutmeg, and cinnamon until combined.  This pie, with such small amounts of spices, is already heavily spiced.  I wouldn't recommend increasing them at all.
4. When the butter is done, immediately whisk it into the buttermilk mixture.  It will foam up dramatically, be prepared!  Pour mixture into baked pie shell, and bake at 425 for 25-35 minutes, until the custard is set but still jiggly.  This will continue to cook a bit as it cools.
5. Let cool completely, 2 hours, before serving.  Can be refrigerated up to 3 days.

(If you use this pie crust recipe, you won't be sorry!  It mixes together with a fork, IN THE PIE PLATE.  Then you just smash it out with your finger tips.  No rising, either, so it's perfect for this.  My  mom has always, as long as I've known her, left her pie crust behind when she eats pie.  It's just wasted calories, when she could be eating more filling! She ate this crust, and relished it :)

--Myrnie

Sweet Cherry Pie

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we grow sweet cherries.  Lots and lots and lots of sweet cherries.  I've never seen a sour cherry in the store, and wouldn't you know: most cherry pie recipes are for sour cherries!

Smitten Kitchen saved the day, again.  Summer 2009 was a bumper crop year for sweet cherries around here like I've never seen before- we picked up 13 pounds of gorgeous bings one day for a dollar a pound, and spent the evening washing, pitting, bagging, and freezing fruit.
Here is her recipe, excerpted from Smitten Kitchen.  I used my berries straight from the freezer- the pie took a little longer to bake.  There's enough corn starch here to thicken the juices admirably, but definitely let it cool and thicken, especially if you use frozen berries.  (The directions say to leave the juice behind...well, that wasn't possible.)  The tiny bit of almond extract adds an exceptional flavor- I definitely recommend it!  I left the butter out, and it was delicious still.  So delicious that I hid it after our family  meal, so no one would ask to take it home.  That was a bad thing...but this pie...well, it's just that good!


Sweet Cherry Pie
Dough for a double-crust pie
4 cups pitted fresh cherries (about 2 1/2 pounds unpitted)
4 tablespoons cornstarch
2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar (adjust this according to the sweetness of your cherries)
1/8 teaspoon salt
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits
1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons water
Coarse sugar, for decoration
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Stir together the cherries, cornstarch, sugar, salt, lemon and almond extract gently together in a large bowl.
Roll out half of chilled dough (use larger piece, if you’ve divided them unevenly) on a floured work surface to 13-inch round. Gently place it in 9-inch pie pan, either by rolling it around the rolling pin and unrolling it over the pan or by folding it into quarters and unfolding it in the pan. Trim edges to a half-inch overhang.
Spoon filling into pie crust, discarding the majority of the liquid that has pooled in the bowl. Dot the filling with the bits of cold butter.
Roll out the remaining dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface, drape it over the filling, and trim it, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under the bottom crust, pressing the edge to seal it, and crimp the edge decoratively. Brush the egg wash over over pie crust, then sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Cut slits in the crust with a sharp knife, forming steam vents, and bake the pie in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350°F. and bake the pie for 25 to 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden. Let the pie cool on a rack.