When I came home last week I noticed my mother had a lot of fresh blueberries in the fridge and I knew I wanted to make a dessert with them. My grandmother was always famous for her blueberry pie and I knew it was one of my dad's favorite desserts so I got to work.
Sometimes when a relative is known for a certain recipe it can be somewhat overwhelming to try to recreate it, but blueberry pie couldn't be easier to make, and even if it's not as good as grandma's, it's still pretty darn good. The pie came out great, the blueberries were fresh and remained whole inside, and, like with many of my desserts, it wasn't too sweet. My only complaint is when transferring the pie to my aunt's it started to leak despite my double plastic wrapping. The real unfortunate part was that it was sitting in my lap and I was wearing a dress {my father turned to me and said "oh yeah, sometimes those things leak," then turned back to driving, thanks Walt}.
Ingredients:
All-purpose flour, for dusting
8 cups (about 4 pints) blueberries, picked over
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch {if you would like it thicker you can add more}
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Directions:
1. On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, roll out one disk of dough to a 12-inch round. With a dry pastry brush, sweep off excess flour; fit dough into a 9-inch glass pie plate, pressing it into edges. Trim dough to a 1/2-inch overhang all around. Fold edge of dough over or under, and crimp as desired. Roll out remaining dough in the same manner; transfer dough (on parchment) to a baking sheet. Chill pie shell and dough until firm, about 30 minutes.
2.Place blueberries in a large bowl; with your hands, crush about 1/2 cup of berries, letting them fall into the bowl as you work. Add sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice; stir to combine. Spoon mixture into chilled pie shell, mounding berries slightly in the center. Dot with butter. Remove dough from refrigerator, and place over blueberry filling. Tuck edge of top dough between edge of bottom dough and rim of pan. Using your fingers, gently press both layers of dough along the edge to seal, and crimp as desired.
3.Using a paring knife, cut several vents in top of dough to allow steam to escape. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and cream. Brush surface with egg wash, being careful not to let it pool. Freeze or refrigerate pie until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack in lower third.
4.Place pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until crust begins to turn golden, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Continue baking, rotating sheet halfway through, until crust is deep golden brown and juices are bubbling and have thickened, 40 to 50 minutes more. Transfer pie to a wire rack to cool completely. The pie is best eaten the day it is baked, but it can be kept at room temperature, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days.
Enjoy!
