Little Blackbird Blackberry Pie

In celebration of publishing my second novel, Little Blackbird, I made a special pie just for Kate (and her friends, if she wants to share).

Growing up is difficult for most of us, and accepting ourselves sometimes doesn’t happen for years (and oftentimes well-past our teenage struggles). Kate Muir isn’t like others her age. She can see the future, but she’s been forbidden to change what she sees—no matter what.

But will Kate change what she sees? Will she finally make friends and find love? And a final, less important question is: Will she like this blackberry pie? I think the answer to that is yes. I know I love it. I’d try to eat this at every meal if I could and if my pants would fit afterward (they wouldn’t).

So curl up with a copy of Little Blackbird and eat a warm slice of blackberry pie!

Little Blackbird Blackberry Pie

Serves: 8

Difficulty Level: Easier than accepting yourself

Ingredients

5 c fresh blackberries

½ c all-purpose flour

½ c brown sugar

½ c white sugar

¼ c cornstarch

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

½ stick unsalted butter

2 9-inch pie crusts (I use homemade, but store bought will work)

Optional: molded* chocolate feathers

How to Make

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Mix dry ingredients together.
3. Roll out dough to form a 10-inch circle. Lay dough in the bottom of pie pan.
4. Sprinkle ¼ c of dry ingredient mixture onto dough.
5. Fold blackberries into dry ingredient mixture and allow to sit for 30 minutes, occasionally flipping berries gently with spatula to ensure even coating.
6. Pour berries into pie crust.
7. Cut cold butter into pats and drops these pats on top of the berries.
8. Roll out second ball of dough into a 10-inch circle. Gently lay dough on top of berries. Seal edges together and cut off excess dough. (Eat dough if compelled.)
9. Cut slits in dough to allow steam to vent while cooking.
10. Bake pie for 45 minutes. Check pie after 30 minutes to make sure top is not overbrowning. If so, cover pie with tin foil.
11. After 45 minutes, cover pie with tin foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until pie is nice and bubbly.
12. Serve hot!

Little Blackbird can be purchased in paperback or for the Kindle from Amazon and for the NOOK from Barnes & Noble.

*Chocolate feathers were molded using this mold.