The Girl and I went blackberry picking this afternoon and for my first blackberry pie of the season, I wanted to make something a little special. So I pulled out my cast iron skillet and got to work.
Last fall someone on the HOA gave the go ahead to cut down about 75% of our neighborhood’s prime blackberry picking bushes. Booo! Now all that’s left is a small patch and let me tell you Bob, the pickin’s are slim.
Luckily the only berry pickers in the neighborhood are me, Girly Girl and Mrs. Hillbilly, so chances are, we’ll still get enough berries to stash away for pies this winter.
Here’s the recipe. It’s freakin’ delicious!
Ingredients
5 cups blackberries {I used fresh berries}
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all- purpose flour
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 double pie crust
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Toss blackberries with granulated sugar, cinnamon, flour and 2 tablespoons of butter cut up into bits. Set aside.
Melt 1/3 cup butter in an 8-inch cast iron skillet. Once melted whisk in brown sugar and stir until the brown sugar has dissolved.
Line cast iron skillet with 1 pie crust {the butter and brown sugar goodness will be beneath the pie crust}. Add berry filling. Top filling with remaining pie crust, shape the edges and brush with egg wash {egg and eater}.
Carefully cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes {Be sure and place a cookie sheet on a lower rack to catch any juices}. Remove foil and cook for another 30 minutes or until the juices are bubbling and the top is a nice golden brown.
Cool and serve with homemade vanilla bean ice cream.
Hide all leftovers and enjoy once everyone has gone to bed.
Kaitlin - Handmade Freedom says
I had never thought of baking a pie in my cast iron pan! What a fabulous idea! This looks wonderful.
Tina says
Not the HOA! Who could disrespect blackberry bushes like that??? However, pie looks plumb delish.
Happy eating. I was cruising the yard sale circuit and came across a gianormous cast iron skillet.It
had to be 24″ for $30. If it’s there next go round, I might splurge.
Wynne says
That’s a nice price. I paid $35 for my 12″ and a flea market seller tried to rebuy it from me for $50. (It’s a Griswold, one of the nicer ones.)
The Prudent Homemaker says
My favorite part of the directions is the last line. Excellent!
Susan says
We had the same thing happen at the end of last summer. Came in and cut all the blackberries from the wetlands behind us. Luckily not until I had picked what I wanted.
Lisa says
Looks yummy! I’m saving this recipe.
In all fairness, have any of you had wild blackberry brambles in your yard? I have. I had a small patch when I moved in, and ignoring the Master Gardener’s advice (“Get rid of it!”), I let it grow for one summer. Just one summer, and it grew into at least a 10′ long bramble. That is nowhere near the usual growth for a season, which can be over 20′!
If you don’t control them somehow they become nearly impossible to deal with. One square yard can produce 500 canes! Most State Extension offices have brochures on how to get rid of it, and why it’s important to try.
Most of what we consider “wild blackberries” are actually an invasive species, Himalayan blackberry, a native to Iran and Armenia.
I love the berries as much as the next guy, or gal, but I managed to get rid of my bush. I have a few canes try to come up now and again, but I put a board over them!
They sure are delicious though!
Robin says
I am a big fan of any pie in a CI pan they come out awesome, too bad about your HOA but when I was in your neck of the woods I could always find at least 5 gallons of blackberry, salmon berry’s and huckleberry. Great looking pie and thanks for the inspiration.
Shereen Travels Cheap says
I’m not much for making pies, but I have pounds of blackberries in my freezer from our bushes, so this might be an addition to our Thanksgiving table. My pie will just have to be square though, since I don’t have a round cast iron skillet. LOL! Thanks for posting. This sounds delicious.
Lora Smith says
Yummy.
Ashley Schiavon says
Quick question! With the sugar on the bottom you ever burn the bottom of the pie?
Mavis Butterfield says
I haven’t. The berries cook down a bit and it makes for a really nice pie.