Classic Blueberry Pie
Today’s recipe was both the first thing my mom wanted me to make and the last thing. She started with “please make me something with these blueberries.” Then we went down the rabbit hole of “should we make a braided bread instead?” And then we decided yes, we should definitely make a braided bread.
The grocery store disagreed – no yeast to be found anywhere, except the local French bakery, which only had fresh yeast, and that seems like way more work than I wanted.
So we came back to blueberry pie, and I got to play with pie stamps!
This pie recipe comes right out of the Joy of Cooking. I think the dough is fine (hard to work with, but tasted good) and the filling was also just fine (this I think was more my fault than the recipe’s – I used 1 cup fewer blueberries than I should have). However, fine pie, when served warm with vanilla ice cream, is still delicious.
Start by making the dough. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the shortening and cut in until the size of small peas.
Add the child water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork after each addition, until pressing the dough against the side of the bowl makes it come together.
Press dough into a ball and divide it into thirds. Roll one third out into a big circle, and flip into a pie plate.
In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, lemon zest and flour for the filling.
Toss the blueberries in the mixture.
pour the berries into the pie crust.
Roll out the next third and use it to make a lattice. Then, roll out the last third and make cute little cut-outs! I may have gone overboard on this one.
But my mom loves daisies! How could I not!
Anyways, whisk together one egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush it over the crust. Sprinkle with Demerara sugar. Cover the edges with tinfoil and bake at 375°F for 20 minutes. Remove the tin foil and bake for another 20 minutes, until golden brown.
See how the filling still has sugar/flour in it? That’s what happens when you don’t use 5 cups of blueberries. Don’t be like me. Don’t skimp on the blueberries.
Anyways, this is definitely best warm, and obviously with ice cream. I tried a piece, for the science, of course.
Enjoy!
Classic Blueberry Pie
Ingredients:
Pie Crust
- 3 1/4 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup shortening
- 10-11 tablespoons ice cold water
Filling
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- zest of one lemon
- 5 cups blueberries
Directions:
- Start by making the pie dough. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
- Add the shortening and cut in until the size of small peas.
- Drop in the water, one tablespoon at a time, using a fork to toss until dough starts to come together. Gather into a ball.
- Next, make the filling. Stir together the sugar, flour and lemon zest.
- Stir int he blueberries to coat. Set aside.
- Cut the pie dough into thirds. Roll the first third into a large circle and turn into a pie plate. Scoop blueberry filling into the pie crust.
- Roll out the next third and cut into strips. Weave into a lattice.
- Roll out the final third and use pie stamps to create shapes. Layer the shapes over each other to create a crust.
- Whisk together one egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush over the crust. Sprinkle with Demerara sugar.
- Cover the crust with tin foil. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until golden.
