Guess what I did this past weekend???? I went blackberry picking! Ok, maybe that’s not the coolest thing to do, but it’s fun and it supports our local farmers. I read a Washingtonian article entitled 61 Hidden Gems. One of the “Hidden Gems” was to go strawberry picking at Homestead Farms in Poolesville, MD. Strawberry picking season is over in my neck of the woods, but blueberry and blackberry picking season isn’t! For $2.49 a pound (not pint!), you can pick blueberries and/or blackberries. That’s a great deal, so I decided to drive the 30 minutes out there – what a great drive through the Maryland countryside too!
Pie Crust:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup chilled shortening (Crisco)
- 7 tbsp. ice cold water
- 2 cups blackberries
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat flour, salt, butter, and shortening until crumbly. Add cold water and mix until a ball forms.
- Divide the dough into two balls and wrap each one in plastic wrap. Chill dough for about 30 minutes.
- Remove dough from plastic wrap and roll out first round on a floured work surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Roll dough to a 12″ diameter. Using a 4″ cookie or biscuit cutter, cut out 6 dough rounds, re-rolling dough scrapes together to get 6 rounds. Lay dough rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat process with the second dough round. Set aside the other 6 dough rounds on lightly floured surface.
- In a bowl, toss together the blackberries, cornstarch, cinnamon, sugar, and salt. Divide the blackberries among the 6 dough rounds on the baking sheet. With a pastry brush, dampen the edges of the first round with cold water and lay another dough round on top. Gently press down the dough over the blackberries. With the tines of a fork, press the outer edge of the two dough rounds together. Repeat with the remaining 5 pies.
- Refrigerate the hand pies, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375. Back the hand pies until they are golden brown, about 30-40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm.