Best Blackberry Pie

Introduction

Best Blackberry Pie is a juicy, jammy dessert, perfect for summer barbecues, holiday tables, or celebrating berry season. This classic recipe, featuring a double butter crust and a perfectly thickened blackberry filling, delivers bakery-quality results with a flaky, golden lattice and burst-in-your-mouth fruit. Presented on a vintage pie stand, optionally garnished with whipped cream rosettes and fresh mint, this Best Blackberry Pie recipe offers a charming, appetizing aesthetic that elevates any gathering. This recipe provides a simple from-scratch method with pantry staples, adaptable for dietary preferences, ideal for home cooks seeking a go-to treat that brings nostalgic, crowd-pleasing charm to any occasion.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Juicy but never runny: Cornstarch + quick-cook tapioca keeps filling thick.
• All-butter crust: Flaky, flavorful, and foolproof with vodka trick.
• Make-ahead friendly: Baked before; flavors deepen overnight.
• Freezer-to-oven: Assemble and freeze unbaked up to 3 months.
• Berry swap insurance: Works with raspberries, blueberries, or mixed.

Ingredients

All-Butter Crust (makes double crust)

• 2½ cups (315 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, cubed and frozen 15 minutes
• ¼ cup (60 ml) vodka, ice-cold (or water)
• ¼ cup (60 ml) ice water

Blackberry Filling

• 6 cups (850 g) fresh blackberries (or frozen, unthawed)
• ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
• ¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch
• 2 tbsp minute tapioca
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp almond extract (optional)
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed

Egg Wash & Finish

• 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water
• Coarse sugar for sparkle

Essential Tools and Equipment

• 9-inch glass pie plate
• Food processor (or pastry blender)
• Rolling pin
• Pastry brush
• Pie shield or foil strips
• Baking sheet (to catch drips)

Step-by-step process

1. Pulse crust: In a processor, pulse flour, salt, and sugar. Add frozen butter; pulse 10–12 times until pea-sized. Drizzle vodka, then water 1 tbsp at a time, pulsing until dough holds when squeezed.
2. Chill dough: Divide in half; flatten into disks. Wrap and chill 1 hour (or overnight).
3. Roll bottom crust: On a floured surface, roll one disk to a 12-inch circle. Fit into pie plate; trim to ½-inch overhang. Chill.
4. Mix filling: Gently toss berries, sugar, cornstarch, tapioca, lemon juice/zest, cinnamon, and almond extract. Let’s sit for 15 minutes.
5. Roll top crust: Roll second disk; cut lattice strips or leave whole for double-crust.
6. Assemble: Pour filling into chilled bottom crust. Dot with butter cubes. Weave lattice or cover with top crust; crimp edges. Cut vents if a solid top. Chill pie 20 minutes.
7. Preheat oven: 400 °F (205 °C) with rack in lower third. Place the baking sheet on the rack.
8. Bake: Brush crust with egg wash; sprinkle coarse sugar. Bake on a hot sheet for 20 minutes. Reduce to 375 °F (190 °C); shield edges. Bake 40–50 more minutes until juices bubble thickly in the center.
9. Cool: Cool on rack at least 4 hours—filling sets as it cools.

Mistakes to avoid

• Warm butter: Frozen cubes = flaky layers.
• Overworking dough: Tough crust—handle minimally.
• Skipping chill: Shrinks in oven; chill before and after assembly.
• Underbaking: Thin juices = soupy pie; look for thick center bubbles.
• Cutting hot: Filling flows out; patience is the secret ingredient.

Variations of the Best Blackberry Pie

• Blackberry-Apple: Add 2 peeled, sliced Granny Smith apples.
• Crumb Top: Skip lattice; 1 cup oats + flour + brown sugar streusel.
• Hand Pies: Cut 4-inch circles; fill, seal, bake 25 minutes.
• Vegan: Earth Balance butter + flax egg wash.
• Bourbon Kick: Splash 1 tbsp bourbon into filling.

Tips for better storage

• Room temperature: Whole pie 2 days under cake dome.
• Refrigerator: Sliced, up to 5 days; warm slices 10 minutes at 350 °F.
• Freezer (unbaked): Wrap tightly; bake from frozen +15 minutes.
• Freezer (baked): Cool, wrap, freeze 2 months; thaw overnight, crisp 15 minutes at 375 °F.
• Revive crust: 5-minute broil, watch for golden edges.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Frozen berries? Yes—no thaw; add 10 minutes bake time.
• No vodka? All water works; vodka evaporates for extra flakiness.
• Gluten-free crust? 1:1 GF flour + 1 tsp xanthan gum.
• Lattice intimidated? Slit top crust; same great pie.
• Too tart? Taste berries; add 2 tbsp sugar if needed.

Conclusion

Best Blackberry Pie is summer captured in a buttery hug—each forkful bursting with jammy fruit and shattering crust that makes you close your eyes and sigh. The vodka crust rolls like a dream, the double-thickener filling sets slice-perfect, and the scent alone will draw everyone to the kitchen. Bake it for the county fair, sneak a midnight slice with ice cream, or gift a frozen pie to new neighbors. One golden lattice, one bubbling center, and you’ve got a dessert that turns ordinary moments into memories. Keep berries in the freezer and dough disks on standby, and pie season never has to end.

Best Blackberry Pie

Double-crust blackberry pie with vodka-flaky pastry and cornstarch-tapioca filling. Juicy, jammy, and slice-perfect.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Chill+cooling 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time 3 hours hrs

Servings 8

Ingredients

  

• For the Crust:
• 2½ cups flour
• 1 cup frozen butter cubes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• ¼ cup vodka + ¼ cup ice water
• For the Filling:
• 6 cups blackberries
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 2 tbsp minute tapioca
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

 

• Pulse crust; chill 1 hr.
• Roll bottom crust; chill.
• Toss filling; rest 15 min.
• Assemble with lattice; chill 20 min.
• Egg-wash + sugar.
• Bake 400 °F 20 min → 375 °F 40–50 min.
• Cool 4 hrs. Serve warm.

Notes

• Chill everything—key to flakiness.
• Thick center bubbles = done.
• Freeze unbaked up to 3 months.
• Glass plate shows doneness.
• Reheat slices 350 °F 10 min.