Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Best Blueberry Pie

I've mentioned a few times that my mother is a fabulous baker.  On Mother's Day, she made an amazing chocolate chip & orange cake and, naturally, she baked up another amazing treat for Father's Day:


My mom makes this blueberry pie for special occasions every summer when the blueberries are fresh & delicious.  Here is the recipe she uses, adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.  You'll need:

double pie crust of your choice
8 cups of fresh blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small chunks
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon of heavy cream

Start by lining a pie dish with half of your pie crust and roll the second crust flat.  Refrigerate both crusts for half an hour, until firm.  Meanwhile, put the blueberries in a bowl and crush some with your hands so that half of the berries stay whole and the rest are in pieces.  Add the sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice.  Mix together, then add the blueberry mixture to the now-chilled pie shell ("mounding berries slightly in the center," says Martha).  Dot the top of the pie with butter.

Here's where we differ from Martha a bit... you can cut out the remaining pie crust into stars, as shown in the cookbook (the Post-It note says "ROLL THE STARS THICKLY" in my mom's handwriting)...


...or just cut into strips and lay into a latticework pattern, as my mom did.  She does stars sometimes, for Fourth of July or various other patriotic occasions, but Father's Day 2012 called for classic latticework.

To give the pie crust a sheen, whisk together the egg yolk and the cream.  Brush the rim of the pie crust with the egg mixture, then add your lattice (or stars) and brush that gently with the egg mixture as well. Put the pie back in the fridge for about a half an hour until it firms up and preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the lower third.

Once your pie has chilled, place it on top of a parchment-lined baking sheet (this helps with cleanup) and bake about 20 minutes.  Then, turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for another 40-50 minutes, at which point the pie juices will be bubbling and the crust will be a golden brown.


Let it cool & enjoy with ice cream, whipped cream, or on its own.  Dig in and stay hungry!


3 comments:

  1. What a gorgeous looking pie! I absolutely love blueberry pie, and the lattice work on yours is to die for!

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  2. How beautiful! Looks delicious too! Thanks so much for sharing at Mom On Timeout!

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  3. WOW! This is a beautiful pie and looks super yummy too! Thanks so much for linking up to Creative Thursday last week. I can't wait to see what you link up this week. Have a wonderful weekend.

    Michelle

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment!