Blackberry Pie Season

Blackberry season marks one of my favorite things about June. The lady who cooked for my grandmother had a wonderful recipe with an absolutely perfect crust, and I have an aunt who used to make pies from the berries that grew along her back border. I very rarely have time to bake, but I really do love the blackberry pies from Mom's Apple Pie Company in northern Virginia. The company is based in Leesburg, but they also have a shop in Occoquan for those on the eastern side of northern VA.


The owner of the store grows blackberries on her farm for the pies and they're only available certain times of the year. When I saw a flyer proclaiming that blackberry pies were in, I immediately found an excuse to detour out to Occoquan to get a treat to bring into work this morning. It was worth the little drive - the blackberries in this pie tasted so fresh!

Blackberries this year have been excellent, with just the perfect balance of sweet and tart. It makes for a delicious pie. Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks so. I saw this shop's blackberry pie featured in an issue of Southern Living that I was flipping through at the vet's office this morning.



For those who don't know northern Virginia, Occoquan is a quaint little fishing village on the Potomac River that has been there for over 200 years. Nowadays, not much fishing goes on and their famous grist mill burned down after running 175 years. However, with the ever sprawling expansion of the federal government, there are plenty of people living in the area who travel to Occoquan to ooh and aah over the cute little town and enjoy a view of the river from the restaurants and cafes. It's a very fun place to get away from DC traffic for an afternoon. Mom's Apple Pie Company is set back from the river and shares space with a general store. I love the cute little gingerbread men decorating the front of the building, and the contents of the pie shop are even more delightful.