Make Ahead

Crusty Blueberry Pie

by:
April  4, 2012
0
0 Ratings
Photo by Rob Crisp
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

A family member's milestone birthday was coming up and he mentioned that he "loves" blueberry pie so I decided to make it for him. As a cornmeal crust lover, I combined lapadia’s Himalayan Blackberry Pie and DrBab’s Blueberry Pie with Cornmeal Crust recipes along with the use of tapioca for thickening from Kraft’s Blueberry Pie with Tapioca and it was really delicious. My mother-in-law said it was "the best" pie she had ever eaten!
Crispy

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Double Pie Crust (10 inch)*:
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 8-10 tablespoons ice water
  • 3 tablespoons milk or cream
  • Blueberry FIlling
  • 4 cups fresh blueberries, washed and stemmed
  • 1/2 cup honey (or scant 3/4 cup if you prefer sweeter)
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon or lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon fresh spearmint or mild mint, finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons tapioca
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Directions
  1. Double Pie Crust (10 inch)*:
  2. In a food processor combine butter, flour, cornmeal and salt. Pulse lightly until mixture resembles wet looking fine particles (some recipes say pea sized).
  3. Add water one tablespoon at a time, pulsing a couple of times after each tablespoon. Keep adding water until the dough just starts to gather into larger clumps.
  4. Lay out two pieces of plastic wrap. Form dough in a ball, split in half (one just slightly larger than the other – the larger for the bottom crust) and pat into two disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and place in freezer for a minimum of 30-45 minutes.
  1. Blueberry FIlling
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  3. Combine blueberries, honey, cinnamon, lemon or lime juice, spearmint and tapioca. Let stand for 15 minutes to allow flavors to meld and tapioca to soften.
  4. Roll out one pie crust**and place in the bottom of pie pan (ceramic glass pan with fluted edges makes for a nice presentation).
  5. Roll out the 2nd crust so it’s ready to place on top.
  6. Pour blueberry filling evenly into the pan and dot with butter.
  7. Add the top crust and crimp the edges together. Cut several slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
  8. It is customary to brush the top of the crust with milk or cream. I didn’t have any so I brushed it with water and sprinkled it with a little bit of white sugar and it came out beautifully anyway.
  9. Suggestion from lapadia, which is a great idea: cover your oven rack with foil.
  10. Bake 45 min-1 hour depending on your oven and what you bake your pie in (I used a ceramic pie pan) and it took one hour to bubble and get golden brown.
  11. Cool 30 minutes before slicing.
  12. * You can certainly use a prepared crust, but I have to say…this one is really delicious! I made a double batch and put in the freezer.
  13. ** I don't bake regularly so making a pie crust was pretty intimidating. If you’re like me, here are a couple of tips: Great short video on crust preparation and how to crimp edges: http://www.food52.com/blog/1181_himalayan_blackberry_pie You want your dough firm coming out of the freezer, but not frozen. If it’s too hard it will crack the edges and if it’s too soft it will stick to everything. Place a piece of plastic wrap on your surface, dust with flour, place your dough, dust with flour again and place another piece of plastic wrap on top. Always start from the middle of the dough and work your way out, rolling evenly from the middle of the dough out - in a radius and not too hard. When you think the dough is about the right size, place your pan above it to gauge whether it is big enough to cover the pan. Roll one (bottom crust) slightly larger than the top crust. Fold it in half and in half again. Gently lay crust in your pan so the edge of the pan is covered (you don’t want to have to move the dough around once it’s placed in the pan so do your best to judge it right the first time). I hope this helps!

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  • kimberley
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2 Reviews

kimberley March 8, 2015
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. I made it last night and everyone agreed it was the best pie I had made and I make a lot of pies. We had family friends over and the wife has an allergic reaction to processes sugar. This recipe uses honey instead. I don't think I will ever add processed sugar again! Also, instead of sprinkling sugar on the top crust, I brushed maple syrup over the top. I did this after the pie had baked for 40 minutes and still had another 20 minutes left. It was perfect! Thank you again!
 
Crispy March 8, 2015
Hi Kimberley, I'm so glad it came out well and everyone enjoyed it! I'm more of a recipe tester than creator, hence my one and only recipe! You can also use ground maple sugar vs. syrup. Since you like pies, Jennifer Perillo's Sweet Cherry Hand Pies are really good too. Thanks again :)