Blackberry Pie

One of the treasures of summer was going out into the country with my dad to collect the little clusters of black gold. We would take the berries home, wash them well, and freeze them for use all year round. My favorite application for blackberries is in pie. Blackberries tend to get runny, so to thicken the pie, add tapioca. Unfortunately, for this round of cooking, I forgot to get the tapioca at the store. Even if your pie turns out extra juicy, it's great over ice cream!

A note about the whole wheat pastry flour: I had no idea where to find it and recipes call for it all the time. I finally found the pastry flour in the bulk foods section of Fred Meyer—if that helps.

Ingredients

Crust
1¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour
1¼ cups unbleached white flour
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons Smart Balance baking spread
¼ cup fat-free sour cream
3 tablespoons canola oil
4 tablespoons ice water

In a food processor, pulse together the ingredients until a dough that holds together. Add more water, if necessary.

Knead a few times, split into two equal halves and flatten each half into a flat disc. Wrap in saran wrap and put in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

This makes one 9-inch double pie crust.

Blackberry filling
3 cups blackberries, washed and drained
½ cup Splenda or sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Dash of salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
4 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca

Combine filling ingredients. Make sure to let the filling stand 15 minutes before putting into the pie crust to bake so that the tapioca can start working.

Line a 9-inch glass pie pan with dough. Roll out the top crust.

Fill the pie with your blackberries. Gentle place the top crust and seal the top and bottom crusts by pressing the edges down with a fork. Cut off the excess dough with a knife. Cut holes in the top to release the steam. Sprinkle sugar on the top and spray with a little canola oil.

Bake at 450℉ for 10 minutes. Then, reduce to 350℉ and bake for another 25 minutes. Cool for an hour or more and transfer to the refrigerator. The pie will taste better (and hold together better) if eaten the next day.