Don's Blueberry Pie. It's excellent. We like to make it from fresh, right-off-the-bush blueberries. Easy, too. But remember, once you learn how to make a good pie crust, any pie is easy.
Don's Blueberry Pie. Traditional. Scrumptious. Easy.
Don's best blueberry pie has two crusts.
Blueberry Pie season is upon us. If you hurry, you can still get fresh. local blueberries. With the picnic season in full swing, everyone is usually up for a good blueberry pie! Of course, in the U.S. we can get good, fresh blueberries just about anytime. But we do like to get them from our local farmers and the local season is usually the months of June and July.
When we are home on the weekends, we get up early on Saturday and go to the farmer's market. When blueberries are in season locally, we like to get 6 pints. Some to eat and some to make into pie. The original recipe for this pie came from Sharon O'Connor's Menus and Music. Never satisfied with recipes as written, I added my own signature ideas to make this one. Some changes were intentional and some were driven by a lack of an ingredient or two.
Pie Thickener
For thickening my fruit pies I like to use tapioca (affiliate link) rather than just plain flour. My favorite deep dish pie plate is one made by our friend and potter Betsy Krome and it's only 8 inches, not 10 as the original recipe specified. Eight-inch deep dish pies are perfect for our empty-nest home. Hence 5 cups of blueberries were reduced to 4.
And the usual stash of vegetable shortening had somehow disappeared; therefore, butter replaced the shortening in the pie crust. I added lemon juice and cinnamon to the filling just to jazz it up a bit. Voila! Don's Best Blueberry Pie. Have an idea on how to make blueberry pie differently? Post a comment.
What You Need
What's pie without coffee? We love espresso! You want a good machine, right? You'll need a rolling pin, measuring cups and spoons, and a lovely pie plate. Get the best you can afford. You won't regret it.
Don's Best Blueberry Pie Recipe
Ingredients
PIE CRUST
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces or ¾ cup Crisco
- 4 tablespoon water
PIE FILLING
- 4 cups fresh organic blueberries
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup Tapioca
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
TOPPING
- 2 - 3 tablespoon cinnamon and sugar mixed
- 1 beaten egg yolk
Instructions
MAKE THE PIE CRUST
- Combine the flour, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- With the processor running, slowly add the water until the dough forms into a ball. (You may have to stop and scrape the dough from the sides to be sure it is all blended.)
- Roll the dough into a ball and divide it in half.
- Then on a lightly floured counter, press each half into a disk.
- Wrap in plastic separating the two disks with waxed paper and refrigerate for at least one hour.
THE FILLING
- In a suitable bowl combine the blueberries, sugar, Tapioca, lemon juice and cinnamon.
- Heat the oven to 450F degrees.
ROLL OUT THE PIE CRUST
- On a lightly floured surface (I use parchment, butcher paper or freezer paper) roll out one pastry disk (recipe above) to a 10-inch round.
- Carefully fit it into the deep-dish pie pan.
- Trim the crust allowing for about a 1-inch overhang.
ASSEMBLE THE PIE
- Mound the filling mixture onto the pie shell.
- Roll out the other pie crust disk large enough to cover the top pie with some overhang.
- Trim the top crust, fold the edge under the bottom crust and crimp the two together.
- Cut steam vents in the top crust.
- Brush the top crust with the egg yolk and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the top crust.
BAKE & EAT
- Bake at 450F degrees for 10 minutes; then reduce the temperature to 350F degrees and bake for 50 minutes longer.
- Let the pie cool before cutting into individual serving-size pieces.
Elizabeth Herbert Cottrell
This sounds fabulous. I've printed it out and hope our local Farmer's Market will have fresh blueberries.
I was so pleased to see that you know Betsy Krome. She and I were college classmates and we're in a group of fellow alumnae (Randolph-Macon Woman's College) who meet at Union Station two or three times a year. She's a gem and such a talented potter.
Lois
It is SO good. Don's a great pie maker. And we love Betsy!
Jane A Missel
Sounds yummy! Will have to try with butter rather than shortening. Trying to cut out sugar from my diet, but there are exceptions and this is one. Would be happy to taste test if I were closer!!
Lois
Perfect for a picnic. The challenge is to eat only a little piece, right??