Blackberry Apple Pie

People in Washington always say that summer break should go from July til October.  June is usually terribly rainy, and September really is our best month.  Everywhere I turn online and in the stores, fall is everywhere..... yet our weather is screaming summer.  Still, the signs are increasing day by day.  Mornings are a little crisper, the trees are starting to turn (although that could be lack of water!), and harvest is in full swing.

You know it's September in Washington when you have more zucchini, apples and blackberries than you know what to do with.

So when Michael from Inspired by Charm posted a Fall Baking Link Party, it was a great excuse to finally get in the fall spirit. (And if you don't know who Michael is, you're missing out!  Do yourself a favor: go on Pinterest and join the over 3 million -yes, MILLION- people already following him.)

I decided to use up the rest of the blackberries that Ellie and I picked yesterday at a friend's house.  We DID have enough for a pie, but the kids couldn't help snacking on them all evening, so I was left with too few.  No problem-  I still have a bunch of apples we picked on Labor Day from the same friend's house (Thank you, Constance!).  So Blackberry Apple Pie it is!

I tend to make up recipes as I go then forget how I made them, but I wrote it all down this time!  I didn't make this pie very sweet, since I'm letting the kids eat it for breakfast.

 Filling:
2.5 Cups Blackberries
5 small baking apples (about 2 Cups)
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/3 Flour (I realized too late that I was out of corn starch. Ideally, use 2-3 Tablespoons of corn starch instead)
1/3 Cup Sugar (more if you want a really sweet pie)
3 Tbsp Golden Syrup (the last of the left over from this recipe)

If I had more, I would have only used the golden syrup to sweeten the pie... it is so good!

I used my handy-dandy corer/peeler/slicer

It makes fun little apple slinkies

Then just cut crosswise twice to get nice apple chunks

Fruity goodness

For the crust, I used a basic recipe:

3/4 C shortening
2 C flour
1 tsp salt

Growing up, I remember my mom always hated rolling out pie crust, if only she had known about this:

Roll pie crust out between two sheets of plastic wrap

I probably would have gotten a lot more pie as a kid.  Darn it!

Make sure to flip the crust over and straighten out any large creases in the plastic wrap.  

Peel off the top layer....

...and cut out your design.  You can see I pushed the pie plate down onto the crust to give myself a circle on which to center my design.  

Use the plastic wrap to pick up the crust

and flip it onto the pie

Get it centered....

Slowly, SLOWLY, pull off the plastic wrap.  If the crust has gotten too warm, you can stick the whole thing in the fridge for a few minutes before removing the plastic.  By the way, see that crack in the crust on the right? That was from a crease in the plastic wrap that I missed.  

Trimming edges. 

I sprinkled my pie with evaporate cane juice, then it was ready to bake.  350 for about an hour.  I also cut out some of the extra crust and sprinkled them too.  Take the crust scraps out after about 20 min.  

Pie crust scraps- crumbly, but delicious!  

All done!

In the fridge awaiting tomorrow's breakfast.