Apple Blackberry Pie

I first ventured into pie baking last Christmas. And this wasn't just a little dabble in pie baking, I went from never having made a pie before to making six in one day. I think I was making up for all the lost time, who knows. But one of the pies I had made was an Apple Blackberry pie that I had seen in the Thanksgiving issue of Martha Stewart's magazine. It was amazing, and quite the process which is maybe why I enjoyed making it so much. I decided to make this pie again last week because I still had some apples left over from when we went apple picking a few weekends ago. Although the recipe says blackberries, I used a frozen mix that also had strawberries and blueberries in it. It worked the same and was just as delicious.

Here's the finished process...

I can't tell a lie, and I'm really ashamed that I'm about to admit this...but I used store bought crust. Martha Stewart would be so ashamed. I was extremely pressed for time that night because I made cupcakes for a staff meeting the following day, so I cheated and used Pillsbury store bought crust. But I'll share with you the recipe I made last time because it was divine.

Here's the recipe, literally copied and pasted from Martha's website:

Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

1. Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds.
   
2. Evenly drizzle 1/4 cup water over mixture. Pulse until mixture just begins to hold together (it should not be wet or sticky). If dough is too dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse. Divide dough in half. Place each half on a piece of plastic wrap, and wrap. Press dough into 2 disks using a rolling pin. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or overnight. (Dough can be frozen for up to 1 month; thaw before using.)
   
3. Roll 1 disk of dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a floured surface. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie dish. Trim edge flush with rim. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
   
4. Roll remaining disk to 1/8-inch thickness on a floured surface. Transfer to a piece of parchment. Cut out 18 leaves, rerolling scraps if needed, using 3 1/2-inch leaf-shaped cutters. Transfer leaves to another piece of parchment; chill if needed. Gently press the dull edge of a paring knife into leaves to create veins. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
   

Filling:

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 pounds assorted apples (such as Cortland, Empire, Granny Smith, Jonagold, and Macoun), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 10 ounces (2 1/4 cups) fresh or frozen blackberries, thawed
• 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
• Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

1. Whisk together granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Add apples and blackberries, and toss to coat. Pour filling into prepared piecrust, and dot with butter.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in lowest position. Meanwhile, brush rim of piecrust with egg wash. Arrange dough leaves over filling, creating a spiral from the edge into the center, overlapping leaves slightly to cover pie but leaving some openings. Lightly brush tops of leaves with egg wash as you work, to help them adhere. Once filling is covered with leaves, lightly brush top of entire pie with egg wash. Sprinkle with sanding sugar. Freeze for 30 minutes.
   
3. Place pie on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden, about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees. Bake pie, rotating sheet halfway through, until juices are bubbling in the center and crust is golden brown, 1 hour and 45 minutes to 1 hour and 55 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. (Pie can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.)

The reason I say it was such a process was mainly just because of the leaves. It's a hassle cutting them out and then creating the veins in the leaves by hand. But baking for me is very therapeutic so I loved every minute of it. I was in Williams Sonoma today though and saw some cute little presses to use to cut out dough for the tops of pies. One of which was a leaf that would have been perfect for this pie.

Bon Appetit!

Victoria