vegan blackberry citrus pie

yesterday i went to the river and picked another 2.5lbs of blackberries, came home and almost immediately baked about half of them into a pie. there is nothing like going berry picking then baking a pie from scratch to make a person feel delightfully old-fashioned and down-home. this is the most successful vegan pie i’ve ever made.

ingredients

crust/topping:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons cold water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar
(+ for topping: 2 tablespoons each white and brown sugar)

filling:
3 cups blackberries
zest of one lemon (optional)
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

preheat oven to 425.

for the dough, mix together flour, salt, cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of sugar. pour in the oil and water and mix thoroughly.

reserve about 1/4 of the dough for the topping; the rest is for the crust. i found it way too crumbly and impossible to roll out with a rolling pin so i just squished and pinched it into the pie pan with my fingers. so, using whatever method works for you, line the pie pan with dough.

mix sugar into the remaining dough ball--use your fingers to scrunch it into chunks, then set aside.

filling: blend sugars, flour and cinnamon. pour berries into a large mixing bowl and sprinkle lemon zest over them (if using). then add the dry ingredients to the berries and gently stir the mixture until they’re well-coated.

pour filling into the dough-lined pan and cover it with crumbly topping.

bake for around 35 minutes or longer (start checking at 30min). you want the filling to bubble up and the crust to brown slightly.