Free Blackberry Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke Page A

package directions
    Hannah’s 1st Note: Sally said her chef’s grandmother preferred this pie in a graham cracker crust. Personally, I like it in any of the above crusts.
    6 Tablespoons (3⁄4 stick, 3 ounces) salted butter, room temperature
    1 cup brown sugar (pack it down in the cup when
    you measure it)
    2 large eggs, separated (the yolks in one bowl and
    the whites in another)
    1⁄4 cup all-purpose flour (pack it down when you
    measure it)
    1 Tablespoon fresh lemon or lime juice (Sally says
    her chef’s grandmother used lemon juice in the
    winter and lime juice in the summer—she doesn’t
    know why)
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    1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated is so much bet-
    ter!)
    1⁄4 teaspoon cardamom (if you don’t have it, use
    more nutmeg instead)
    1⁄4 teaspoon salt
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1 cup buttermilk, room temperature (if you don’t
    want to wait for your buttermilk to warm up to
    room temperature, pour it into a microwave-safe
    measuring cup and heat it for 20 seconds on
    HIGH in the microwave.)
    Use a medium-size mixing bowl to combine the butter and the sugar. Beat them until the sugar is completely incorporated and the mixture is light and fluffy.
    Hannah’s 2nd Note: Sally uses an electric mixer when she does this. You can also do it by hand, but it takes a bit of muscle.
    If you haven’t done so already, separate the whites of the eggs from the yolks. Add only the egg yolks to the mixture and beat well.
    Add the flour, lemon or lime juice, nutmeg, cardamom, salt, and vanilla extract. Mix them in thoroughly. The resulting mixture should be smooth with no lumps.
    With the mixer running, add the buttermilk a bit at a time, pouring slowly and mixing it in until it is incorporated.
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    Use another bowl to whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks. (Soft peaks droop at the tips when you stop
    mixing and raise the whisk or beaters.)
    When the egg whites have formed soft peaks, it’s time to
    “temper” them with the heavier mixture. You do this by pouring a small amount of buttermilk pie batter into the bowl of whipped egg whites and folding it in gently, just until it’s incorporated.
    Hannah’s 3rd Note: I use a rubber spatula to do this.
    The object is to incorporate the buttermilk batter, but to leave as much air as possible in the whipped egg whites.
    Now it’s time to reverse directions. Pick up the bowl with the tempered egg whites and fold them gently into the buttermilk mixture. Fold only until the egg whites have been incorporated. Again, your goal is to preserve as much air as possible in the mixture.
    Pour the final mixture into the baked pie shell, smooth-ing the top if needed.
    Bake the Buttermilk Pie at 350 degrees F. for 45 to 50
    minutes, or until the filling is lightly browned and barely moves when the pie is jiggled (with potholders, of course).
    Cool your pie on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack until it reaches room temperature.
    This pie can be served warm, or at room temperature.
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    Refrigerate any leftovers.
    Hannah’s 4th Note: When Sally serves this pie at the Lake Eden Inn, she centers the wedges on pie plates and decorates the rim of the pie plate with raspberry sauce and lemon or lime sauce. She also brings a bowl with sweetened, whipped cream to the table. When I serve it at home, I don’t get that fancy. I simply place a mint leaf on top of each slice, and I double the recipe when I serve it to Mother. Even though it’s not chocolate, she’s crazy about it! Perhaps it’s because she’s always wanted to be a Southern Belle. And PLEASE don’t tell her I said that!
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Chapter
    ! Seven #
    When Doc filled a wineglass with her favorite white wine and handed it to Hannah before he served anyone else, Hannah knew that whatever they had to tell her wasn’t good.
    She waited until everyone else had been served and then she spoke. “Something’s wrong. What is