Black & Blueberry Bourbon Crumble Pie and the New Music Bake Sale

Sunday marked the annual New Music Bake Sale, one of my favorite musical events of the season. Everyone brought their A-game this year - there was some serious baking going on in Brooklyn last week! I sampled chicken empanadas, gluten-free goat cheese and tangerine tarts, coconut jelly shooters, killer meatballs, and probably the best "feed" i've ever tasted. 

For Ensemble, Et Al.'s table, I made a few pies to accompany Charlie's outstanding mango salsa. I also brewed up an iced batch of Blue Lady Tea's organic ceylon, but I promise that's not nearly as exciting as the pie I'm about to share with you:

This pie is sinfully delicious - jam packed with flavor - just boozy enough to feel scandalous - i want to eat it every day!!! The best part is I made it up and I'm going to give away my recipe right here. Because sharing is caring :-)

Black & Blueberry Bourbon Crumble Pie

For the crumble:

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup packed muscovado sugar

1/4 cup sliced raw almonds

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2/3 cup chilled unsalted butter, diced into 1/2-inch cubes

For the Filling:

1 9-inch pie crust (that's a secret for another time...)

1/4 cup dried blueberries

1/4 cup bourbon

two 6 oz. boxes of fresh blueberries

one 6 oz. box of fresh blackberries

3/4 cup sugar

juice from half a lemon (about two TBSP)

zest from a whole lemon

3 TBSP cornstarch

Crumble - combine all but butter in a medium bowl, and then incorporate butter with fingertips until a crumbly meal forms. Chill at least 15 minutes before baking. 

Pie - preheat oven to 350*F

-In a small bowl, combine dried blueberries and bourbon

-In a large bowl, combine fresh berries, sugar, lemon zest and juice until sugar appears syrupy

-Roll out pastry dough, set in 9-inch pie dish and place in freezer
-Add bourbon/berry mixture to fresh berries
-Incorporate cornstarch into berry mixture just before you're ready to bake
-Pour berry mixture into prepared pie crust and top with chilled crumble
-Bake until crumble appears golden brown (approx 45-60min)

*let cool at least two hours before serving so the filling can set