Michaelmas Recipe- St. Michael’s Blackberry Pie

The feast day of St. Michael and the Archangels is just around the corner on September 29, and there are a lot of traditional recipes to celebrate this day! Some traditional recipes for Michaelmas include goose, carrots, bannock, and also… pretty much anything with blackberries! If you want to learn more about Michaelmas traditions, read this article.

The legend of St. Michael and the blackberries

It is said that when St. Michael cast Lucifer (Satan) into Hell, that he landed in a prickly blackberry bush. He was so mad that he spit upon the blackberries, cursing them and turning them sour. Since this happened on the feast of St. Michael, it is traditional to pick blackberries before September 29 when Satan curses them. So on Michaelmas, we eat all the blackberries that have been picked!

You could celebrate Michaelmas with any of your favorite blackberry recipes including a blackberry crumble, smoothie, or even on top of an angel food cake for extra Archangel fun. My family chose to bake a blackberry pie, and I would love to share our recipe with you today!

Michaelmas Pie Recipe

I usually use a frozen pie crust, but I was feeling overly domestic this week and actually made one from scratch! haha. Check out this pie crust recipe if you are feeling a homemade vibe this week as well.

For this recipe, you will need a 9 inch pie crust. I always prefer pie recipes with some lemon juice in them because I love the sweet plus sour combination!

Pie Filling:

• 5 cups fresh blackberries (if you are using frozen, thaw them first, drain off the extra liquid, and dry a bit with some paper towels)
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cornstarch (this is what keeps the pie from being overly runny. If you are using frozen blackberries, you should use 2 tablespoons of extra cornstarch to help absorb the moisture.)

Topping:

• 1 large egg whisked with 2 teaspoons milk
• granulated sugar

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 425F. Toss the blackberry filling ingredients together until the berries are evenly coated and with your wooden spoon, gently crush the berries just a bit. Spoon the filling into your crust, leaving the liquid behind in your mixing bowl. Cover with additional slitted pie crust, and fork the edges. Brush the egg mixture topping on the top crust and then sprinkle the top with sugar. As always with pies, cover the edges with foil to prevent the lip of the crust from burning, and remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of baking. Bake 35-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and pie is bubbling through the top crust.

Allow the pie to cool before slicing it.

Is there anything better than a freshly baked pie?

This recipe came out just right- not too juicy and not too firm.

You might also love my recipe for blackberry Michaelmas smoothies, so be sure to check that out!

If you are looking for more ideas to celebrate Michaelmas with your family this year, be sure to check out my article all about St. Michael’s feast day.

Also, you can find all of my resources for celebrating September feast days here.

St. Michael’s Blackberry Pie Printable Recipe

Print Recipe

St. Michael’s Blackberry Pie

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Lacy

Ingredients

• 2 9-inch pie crusts homemade recipe of your choice or store-bought pie crust dough
• 5 cups fresh blackberries if you are using frozen, thaw them first, drain off the extra liquid, and dry a bit with some paper towels
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cornstarch this is what keeps the pie from being overly runny. If you are using frozen blackberries, you should use 2 tablespoons of extra cornstarch to help absorb the moisture.
• 1 large egg whisked with 2 teaspoons milk for top of pie
• granulated sugar for top of pie

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 425F.
• Toss the blackberry filling ingredients together until the berries are evenly coated and with your wooden spoon, gently crush the berries just a bit.
• Spoon the filling into your crust, leaving the liquid behind in your mixing bowl.
• Cover with additional slitted pie crust, and fork the edges.
• Brush the egg mixture topping on the top crust and then sprinkle the top with sugar.
• As always with pies, cover the edges with foil to prevent the lip of the crust from burning, and remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of baking.
• Bake 35-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and pie is bubbling through the top crust.
• Allow the pie to cool before slicing it.