Blackberry Lime Apple Pie

July is an excellent month for pie. I probably prefer July Pies to November pies. November pies are something you try to fit in after a too-rich dinner. July pies are something fresh and tangy that you can eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Which we did. I also like my pie tart, which is convenient since in Utah it is nearly impossible to get enough sweet berries for a pie unless you sell your soul to whole foods. Or grow your own maybe.

So for this recipe feel free to increase the amount of sugar. I kept it at 1/2 cup, I used tart fruits so I thought the pie should be tart. I also kept the ingredients pretty simple, the lime zest gives all the fragrance I need.

This looks like a lot of flour, but since I was planning on eating this for breakfast the next day, I liked having something solid that I could pick up by hand. That being said, if you like your pies to be saucy, bleed into the pan types then it is an easy fix, just use less flour.

We also don't let pie crust go to waste. I doubled the thickness of the edge and crimped it straight up. Extra trimmed bits were turned into cookies with just a little cinnamon sugar.

Beautiful. Doesn't that feel american? Since I made the crust edge so thick, I didn't have to cover the edge halfway through baking. No fuss pie works for me!

And there is a slice. Solid. Purple. Tart with a buttery crust. If you don't have a favorite pie crust recipe try this one from smittenkitchen, all butter is the way to go.

1 recipe for double crust pie dough
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Filling:
4 cups Blackberries (fresh or frozen)
2 granny smith apples
1 lime
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pinch salt
1/2-1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour

topping:
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon sugar

Prepare Pie dough first. Be sure it is chilled before starting your pie filling
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
Peel, core and slice apples thinly, then combine with berries.
Zest and juice lime, and add to fruit mixture. You should have about 1 tablespoon of zest and 3 tablespoons of juice.
Combine fruit mixture with 1/2 cup - 1 Cup sugar (depending on sweetness),1/3 cup flour, salt and ground ginger.
Roll out bottom crust of pie and place in pie pan, add filling, and top with second crust.
Crimp edges and add vents to top pie crust.
Lightly brush the top crust with milk and sprinkle on sugar. (this makes the crust more golden and sparkly)
Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, then turn oven down to 375 degrees F and bake for 30 more minutes, or until crust is golden and juices begin bubbling.

If the crust gets too dark, cover just the dark parts with tinfoil and continue baking.

Notes:

• Substitute any berry for blackberries
• Substitute any apples for granny smith
• Adjust sugar to taste, and depending on ripeness of fruit. 1/2 Cup sugar = tart, 1 Cup = very sweet
• If your pie begins to overflow, place on a tinfoil covered cookie sheet and continue baking.