My mom purchased numerous quarts of freshly picked blackberries the other day from a stand somewhere in the vicinity of Herkimer, NY. Am I being vague about where it is as though I am a large bear who found a particularly nice bush at the egde of the woods? Why yes I am…

As good as they are eaten directly from the basket, they’re even better in a pie that showcases all of their best qualities. This recipe comes from my Grandma Collis and I don’t even want to talk about how much pie I’ve eaten (and will eat) this weekend.

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Blackberry Pie
Start out by making your favorite pie crust as a shell. I think, for this recipe, it’s best to stay simple and let the berries steal the show.

4.5 cups blackberries
.5 cup water
2 tbs cornstarch
1 cup sugar

Mash 1.5 cups of berries with a fork. Add .5 cup of water and cook until warm. Mix 2 tbs. cornstarch with 1 cup sugar. Add to berry mixture and cook until thick. Cool partly.

Put 3 cups of berries in cooled pie shell. Pour above mixture over top and stir around a bit to distribute throughout. Chill.

Top with whipped cream (optional).

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The fresh taste of the blackberries is preserved in this recipe, but the small amount of cooked berries, the cornstarch, and the sugar transform the berries into a PIE. This has rocketed to the top of the list of my favorite pies ever. Thank heavens we have three of them.

One other variation is a pie that combines the fresh blackberries with vanilla cream. My mom decided to make this one after dealing with a troublesome banana cream pie last week. It didn’t set properly, so if anyone had a slice of blackberry and a “slice” of banana cream, it mixed together. My grandfather liked the combo, so a true blackberry cream pie was made for him this week.

To make this pie, again, bake your favorite pie crust. The vanilla cream recipe comes from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

1 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix sugar, flour, and salt in a double boiler top. Stir in milk. Cook 15 minutes over hot water, stirring constantly until thick. Add egg yolks. Cook 3 minutes. Add butter. Cool. Add vanilla.

The blackberries in this pie were the remainder left over from the other pies, so I’m not sure of an exact measurement. My mom thinks it was about 3/4 of a quart. Maybe you like a little more or a little less though? She put a layer of berries in the bottom of the crust, then half of the cream, another layer of berries, the rest of the cream and then the rest of the berries on top. The pie then has to chill to allow the cream filling to set up.

Maybe this is also my new favorite pie? I can allow more than one at the top.