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Fabulous All-American Blueberry Pie!

By Elaine Mellen

Posted on July 24, 2014

I’m obsessed with baking, especially pies! Sweet, savory, dessert, appetizer or main dish, I love them all. And I especially love to bake those mouth-watering pies, the ones that ooze and drip all over.

My absolute, and I mean absolute, favorite pie is blueberry. Blueberries are the best! I can just eat a whole pint in no time. Usually I have to buy double the blueberries to make a pie, since I’ll eat one whole package raw.

This recipe is the first in a series of my favorite pies, which will include dessert, appetizer and main dish pies. Pies are not only delicious, they’re also seasonal. I use fresh fruits in the summer, apples & pears in the fall, pumpkin and pecan in the winter, and delicious spring pies during the spring. I could just go on and on; I’m a little nuts about pies! I’ll also be sharing different kinds of pie crusts that go with certain types of pie.

Most importantly, have fun making your pies. I know I do! If you are pressed for time, just use a Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust which bakes well and tastes good. Otherwise dive into my recipes, staring with my favorite, the All-American Blueberry pie.

Fabulous All-American Blueberry Pie

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening

1/3 cup sweet butter (love my Cabot!)

7 tablespoons cold water

Filling:

6 cups blueberries, rinsed and picked over

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

4 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

3/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1 tablespoon sweet butter, cut into small pieces

Glaze:

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon whipping cream

Directions:

Crust:

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar and salt. With a pastry blender, cut in the shortening and butter until the mixture resembles coarse corn meal. Sprinkle water over the top and work mixture together with pastry blender or fingers until it comes together to form a ball. Shape dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and let it rest at room temperature for one hour.

Filling:

Place rack in lower third of oven and pre-heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (I like to put a piece of aluminum foil down, or a baking pan on the bottom of the oven to catch any drips and keep my oven clean.). Place blueberries in large mixing bowl. In a smaller bowl combine the remaining ingredients, except the butter. Add dry ingredients to blueberries and gently toss.

Divide pastry in half. On a floured surface, roll one of the pastry halves into a twelve inch round. Fit into a ten inch pie plate, letting the pastry hang over the edge. Fill with blueberry mixture and dot with butter. On a floured surface, roll out remaining dough to a twelve inch round. Place over pie. Seal edges and crimp to form decorative rim.

Glaze:

In a small bowl whisk egg yolk and cream. Brush top of pie with glaze and cut vents into the pie top. You can use mini cookie cutters for a more decorative top.

Finishing up:

Bake pie for ten minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 F and bake pie for 35 or 40 minutes longer, or until nicely glazed. Cool on rack.

Serve plain or with vanilla ice cream.