For the fifth year in a row, my knitting friend and I gathered at Casa Cleaver to celebrate National Pie Day with lots and lots of pie.
Due to the seemingly never-ending snow and some scheduling conflicts, our group was slightly smaller than usual, but we still managed to have 11 kinds of pie represented. There was a spicy meat pie, lentil shepherds pie, empanadas, cauliflower quiche, chocolate tart with hazelnut crust, nutella/banana, raspberry ribbon, ginger pear, lemon meringue, cherry and blackberry.
Much pie was eaten, much tea was drank, and much knitting was done. We also managed to cover all 70 toes present with hand-knit socks.
I intended to make my traditional cherry cup-pies, but due the lack of tasty ingredients in unbaked pie-dough, my baking assistant started losing interest and I went for simple(r), by making a regular pie and using a heart cookie cutter for the top crust, which would make a great valentine's day dessert, methinks.
I also tried out a new recipe that I've been dreaming of for a while, inspired by my much-beloved Katie Cakes from Chicago. While I'd like to try one at least one more iteration before I'd call it final (adding a bit of cinnamon and clove to berries), it was pretty delicious, so I thought I'd share it here.
Blackberry Pie with Lemon Streusel:
Crust
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup shortening or unsalted butter
- up to 1/2 cup of cold water
Filling
- 4 cups blackberries (boysenberries would work great too), fresh or thawed frozen berries
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
Streusel
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 stick melted butter
- zest of one lemon
Pre-heat Oven to 350 Degrees F.
Mix together flour and salt for crust. Using knives or a pastry cutter, cut in shortening until mixture resembles course meal. Add cold water a small amount at a time, until dough holds together. Separate into two equal-sized balls. Flatten balls into discs and wrap separately in plastic wrap and place in fridge for about 30 minutes, or at a minimum, while filling and streusel is prepared.
Mix together filling ingredidents and set aside.
Mix together streusel ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Roll out chilled dough for bottom of pan. Insert pie filling. Roll out dough for top of pan, making a lattice structure is recommended.
Sprinkle streusel on top. It seems like a lot of streusel, but I'd recommend using it all as the pie expands slightly while baking.
Put in oven and bake for 1 hour, or until pie bubbles. Briefly broil top to brown if needed.