Anytime Apple and Blackberry Pie

Apples and blackberries are two of Ireland’s most adored fruits, and this pie is an Irish tradition. Instead of making your own piecrust, you can use two 9-inch circles of ready-to-bake pie dough.

Piecrust
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 11⁄4 cups margarine
• 3–4 tablespoons cold water

Filling
• 6 Granny Smith apples
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 11⁄2 cups frozen blackberries
• 1⁄3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons low-fat or
• nonfat milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar

• If you’re using premade crust, skip to step 6. To make the piecrust, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon.
• Cut the margarine into the flour mixture with the pastry blender, using a back and forth motion until the mixture looks like small peas.
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over part of the mixture. Gently toss with a fork. Add 1 more tablespoon of water and toss again. Repeat 1 more time.
• Use your hands to form the dough into a ball. If it is slightly dry, add 1⁄2 tablespoon of water. Repeat if necessary.
• Divide the dough into 2 pieces and flatten each piece into a round disk. Place each disk into a plastic bag and place in the refrigerator to rest for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, wash the apples and dry with paper towels. Peel the apples using a vegetable peeler.
• On a cutting board, slice the apples in half with a paring knife. Cut out the core. With the flat sides down, slice each apple half into 1⁄4-inch slices.
• Place the apples in a medium mixing bowl filled with cold water and the lemon juice.
• Drain the apples using a colander, and place them back into the mixing bowl. Add the frozen blackberries, sugar, flour, and nutmeg. Stir carefully with a wooden spoon.
• On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll 1 piece of dough into a 12-inch circle. Always roll from the center to the edges.
• Roll the dough onto the rolling pin, then unroll the dough over a 9-inch pie pan. Use your hands to press the dough in place. Trim the pastry so that it is about 1⁄2 inch longer than the pie pan edges.
• Preheat the oven to 375 F.
• Place the apple filling into the pie pan.
• Roll the second disk of dough into a 12-inch disk. Roll it onto the rolling pin, then unroll it over the pie filling. Trim the top crust so that it is about 1⁄2 inch longer than the pie plate and is even with the bottom crust.
• To make a fluted edge around the pie, place your thumb against the inside of the pie crust. Press the dough around your thumb with your other hand’s thumb and index finger.
• Cut three small slices into the top of the pie so that heat can vent out.
• Brush the milk on top of the pie with a pastry brush. Sprinkle the crust with sugar.
• Use oven mitts to place pie in oven. Bake the pie for about 50 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Take out of the oven with oven mitts and cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before cutting.