My guess is the world doesn’t need another blueberry pie recipe. I mean, you can google and find … well… too many. (And which one is good?) You might even go old school and open a cook book or a baking book to see what you find. Is mine the very best? Probably not to some. But it’s the one that baked in my kitchen and it’s the one I know well because it got eaten right here. Quickly. And with big scoops of creamy vanilla ice cream, naturally. Is mine messy Bessy? You bet, for sure, and it looks darned homey, right? (Hint: It’s really hard to over bake or burn a pie. Sometimes, in order to get a golden brown crust, the filling may bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble right out of the slits or edges. Like in the photo above.)
Why a blueberry pie? Why not? Actually, I had simply over-purchased blueberries. Forgetting what was stored in the fridge, I bought another container at the grocery and then, while at Costco, just tossed one more little box into my cart a day or two later. (Because that’s what I do at Costco. Duh.) I had to do something with them and it just happened to be my late FIL, Gene Morgan’s first heavenly birthday. Why not bake a sweetie pie in his memory? And, there’s this…blueberry pie is so easy. No peeling; no chopping. Right.
Now Gene was a pie-guy from way back. If there was anything he loved more than pie — particularly a lemon meringue pie–I’m not sure what it was. Lemon Meringue was always his birthday request instead of cake.
Over the years, my MIL Lorna would try to bake for him but she was not always terribly successful. A good story is that in pursuit of a better birthday pie she asked HER MIL Lela, my husband Dave’s grandma and also Gene’s mom, how she made her family’s lemon meringue — expecting a complicated recipe, I think. Well, it turns out grandma used the boxed JELLO lemon filling mix. Lorna soon went that route and it was better, I think. In fact, Gene loved pie so much that later in life (when Lorna gave up baking) he took it upon himself to learn basic pie baking albeit with a store bought crust. One year, when Christmas fell on Sunday and I had to direct the church choir on Christmas morning, Gene stayed behind and baked our Christmas pie in my kitchen. I had run of out of time and energy and was deeply grateful. That pie was a keeper. As is nearly any pie someone bakes for you. Precious Pie. Pleasant Pie. Perfect Pie. Playful Pie. Passionate Pie. Peaceful Pie. What else?
The great thing about Blueberry Pie is that, while it’s a stitch better come summer when we get Pacific Northwest (my favorite and those are the berries I freeze) or Michigan fruit, there are decent Fed-Ex blueberries all year round. Unlike strawberries or blackberries, for instance. My good friend Jerome Carter — a pie baker and lover par excellence — thinks Peruvian blueberries are just top notch. Many are in agreement. Jerome baked us a gorgeous blueberry pie using berries from Peru when we had a Christmas meal at his house! Peak season is December and January, but these sweet babies are exported year round.
Whatever and whenever you bake, have a light heart about it and your pastry will take its cue from you. Be gentle with it (and yourself) and get it to do what you want as quickly as possible–the goal is to get it into the oven as cold as possible because the cold fat will give you a flakier crust. And because, the less you work it, the more tender your pastry will stay. Your warm and strong hands, while perfect for many things, are not its friend. Keep some fun music on (remember “cook with a band on?”) and keep everyone else out of the kitchen so you can concentrate. If you have a veteran pie-baker friend or partner in the house, tell them exactly what kind of help you need if you haven’t asked them to be your wing woman.
But not to worry how things look or turn out. Nothing is perfect, particularly not pie. It’ll get eaten no matter. Ice cream, or better yet whipped cream, hides a plethora of sins. Think of the Amish quilters who intentionally sew one imperfect patch into every quilt because only God is perfect. Keep baking, use a lined rimmed baking sheet under your pie plate for bubbling overs, and your pie-making will improve much like your piano playing, typing, hammering a nail, or baby-handling did as you went along. That’s just how it rolls. (See what I did there?!)
If you’re not an experienced pie baker but want to give my pie a go, I include some helpful hints and videos down below the recipe. If the dough is a stopping block, there’s no shame in grabbing a box of Pillsbury pie dough out of the refrigerated case (usually in the dairy section) at the store. It’ll still take a bit of finagling to get it into the pie evenly, etc., but that’s at least one big help. Next time, make your own dough and begin practicing. No matter what, you’ll have a happy blue mouth when you try this:
Blueberry Pie
Ingredients
- 9" double crust pie pastry
- 6 cups (840 g/1.85 lb) fresh or frozen blueberries-Rinse and pat dry for fresh or frozen berries.
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (can sub 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest)
- 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup/31 g)) white, all-purpose unbleached flour
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar– plus a little more for dusting the top of the pie before baking
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons (14 g/1 oz)) butter, cut into small pieces–to be placed on top of the filling before the second crust is added
Instructions
- PREPARATION: PREHEAT OVEN to 425 F (218 C) and set oven rack at center. Take out a rimmed baking sheet, line with a sheet of parchment paper, and set aside.
- MAKE FILLING: In a large bowl, gently stir together until well-mixed the ingredients for the blueberry filling (blueberries, juice, sugar, flour, salt) except for the last 2 tablespoons of pieces of butter. Set aside briefly while you roll out the dough for the bottom crust.
- ROLL OUT DOUGH FOR BOTTOM CRUST: On a lightly floured counter, using a floured rolling pin, roll out one piece (half) of the dough–dusted with a bit of flour– into an 11"-12" circle. Lift and turn the dough once or twice and reflour the counter before rolling again to prevent the dough sticking to the counter. Roll up the circle of dough onto the rolling pin or fold in half and transfer the dough, carefully fitting it into a 9" pie pan. Trim edges, leaving 1/2-inch overhang. TIP: Don't stretch dough (it will shrink when it bakes) but lift and adjust the entire piece of dough to move it to fit.
- ADD FILLING TO BOTTOM CRUST: Spoon the reserved blueberry mixture into the the dough-lined pan and smooth top. Dot with the butter. Place in fridge.
- ROLL OUT TOP CRUST/ADD TO PIE: Lightly flour the counter and rolling pin again and roll the second piece of dough–lightly dusted with flour– into an 9"-10" circle, again lifting once or twice and reflouring counter to avoid sticking. Roll it up on the rolling pin. Remove pie from fridge.~Carefully lay the second piece of dough evenly over the top of the pie. With your fingers, fold and press the edge of the bottom crust up and around the edge of the top crust. Crimp or press the edges down with the tines of a dinner fork.
- CUT VENTS INTO THE TOP CRUST/FREEZE PIE FOR 20 MIN: With a small sharp knife, cut several slits at equal intervals into the top crust to vent the pie–a decorative pattern is fun here: B for Blueberry Pie or G for Gene if the pie is Gene's, etc.~Freeze pie for 20 minutes. This will help prevent the crimping from blurring in the heat of the oven and will give you a flakier pie crust.
- BAKE PIE/COOL/SERVE: Place pie on the lined baking sheet, sprinkle the top with a teaspoon of granulated sugar, and bake for 15 minutes at 425 F. Reduce heat to 350 F (180 C) and bake another 30-50 minutes or until juice are bubbling through top slits and the crust is browned to your liking. It is hard to over bake a pie but if it's getting too brown and not yet bubbling, cover loosely with foil.~ Remove pie to a rack and let cool at least three hours before cutting and serving. Store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for a week. If you must bake ahead and freeze, double wrap in foil when the pie is totally cooled and freeze for no more than 6 months.
Notes
PIE HELPS:
Need a pie dough recipe? Try mine; it’s included in my SHE’S A PEACH! Brown Sugar and Spice Peach Pie post. You can include the cinnamon if you like, but I leave it out for Blueberry Pie.
TIP: For deeper browning of crust, brush the top crust evenly with a little milk or even with an egg beaten with a little water before sprinkling with sugar.
Never made a pie and want to see one made from start to finish? Watch this latticed apple pie appear like magic in Binging with Babish. Every pie baker has a different technique. This guy, like many people, chills his dough before rolling.
Read up: Blueberry Pie and A Lesson in Piemaking by Dorie Greenspan
Another Rolling/Chilling Method–Using two sheets of parchment paper – Steve Konopelski
How to Throw Flour Like a Baker (Michael Kalanty): This version of flouring the counter or board is somewhat different than my “feeding the chickens” but you may like it better.
How to Flute and Crimp Pie Crust/Sally’s Baking
Once in a while, I’ll put up a recipe in a photo for social media. It’s fun to figure out but also quite a challenge to execute. Here’s something I recently did for fb. And while it has little to do with blueberries or pie, it might come in handy for a nearly instant meal. Change it up by using canned chicken and cannellini beans. Make it larger by adding some small-sized cooked pasta; increase seasonings, olive oil, and lemon juice. Maybe toss in a little minced fresh parsley. Need fatty and fancy? Throw in a chopped avocado and a few toasted walnuts.
LIFE GOES ON:
Regular readers may remember Lurky Turkey (see above), our so-sad solo turkey hen who has made the rounds of the neighborhood for the last couple of years. Just last summer, Lurky fell madly in love with a tom who had appeared out of the blue after so many months of solitude for her. A brood of poults (I looked that up, so there) followed but now here she is….on her own once more. Poor Lurky. Or maybe she’s just on the lookout for love again.
The local deer population loves our yard and appear to be unafraid of us or our barkbutt dog, Rosie. Lately, in and out of the snow — but mostly in — they are decimating our junipers and other bushes in search of winter food. We don’t mind this but do try to plant spring and summer flowers they don’t like.
If you’ll bake a pie, the world will disappear for a few minutes and your shoulders will ease into the gentle shape for which they’re meant. The folks who’ll eat it will feel loved and become sweet themselves. Have hope; that’s best and it always works. I trust that despite the painful storm, we’ll push through and come round right — even if it takes a while. Perhaps quite a while. It won’t happen easily. In the meantime, hugs.
Pie on,
Alyce
