By Request: Blueberry Pie
My friend, Olivia, who is 12 years old and whose school is closed, asked me for some easy recipes so she can try her hand at more cooking while she is stuck at home. She asked me for some dessert recipes to start, and, to be honest, because we do not eat dessert every day I usually am willing to try something more complicated when I decide to make a dessert.
But after discussing it for a while, she thought her parents would still be able to go to the store and get a refrigerated crust and two pints of blueberries, so here’s an easy blueberry pie recipe!
It really is quite easy, especially if you use a store-bought refrigerated crust. If you do want to make your own crust, see my friend Alanna’s blog post here. I had so many failed attempts at making pie crust until Alanna told me about this method!
One of my pies with bear cut-outs!
Of course it’s best to use fresh blueberries. But you can also use frozen, although there may be a bit more liquid in the finished product. I just made a pie for Pi Day using some blueberries from the freezer that I had picked back in July, and though a lot more liquid oozed out after I cut slices, it was still delicious!
Easy Blueberry Pie
Store-bought refrigerator pie crust (or make your own with this recipe)
2 pints blueberries (4 cups)
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (optional)
¾ cups sugar
6 Tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons butter cut into small cubes
1 Tablespoon milk
Cinnamon sugar or vanilla sugar (optional)
Unroll one crust and press into pie plate. [Optional step: Blind bake the crust. Preheat oven to 400℉. Place parchment paper or foil on top of the bottom crust and add uncooked rice or dried beans to weight down the crust. Bake empty crust for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and remove parchment or foil with the weights used. Rice or beans can be reused the next time you make a pie!]
Place the pie on a foil-lined sheet pan. Trust me, this will save you from cleaning sticky pie drips off your oven floor!
Preheat oven to 425℉.
In a large bowl toss blueberries with the lemon juice if using. (Be careful to keep the lemon pits out!) Pour berries into bottom crust and spread evenly.
In another bowl combine the sugar, flour, and spices. Feel free to experiment with other baking spices such as dried ginger or allspice. Pour dry ingredients all over the berries, trying to distribute as evenly as possible. You can shake the pie plate carefully to help the dry ingredients get down between the berries. Scatter the butter pieces over the top.
Unroll the top crust and place over the berry mixture. Pinch to close with the edges of the bottom crust. If you need to you can fold over the edge of the top crust to make it fit. Don’t worry about how it looks or how well it seals; everyone will be so impressed and excited that you made a pie!
Brush the milk on the top. If you don’t have a brush, just pour a little milk into your cupped hand over the pie and rub it around. (That’s what I usually do!) Sprinkle cinnamon sugar or vanilla sugar over the whole thing. If you don’t have either, just plain sugar will be fine.
Cut three slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. (Another option: Before you put on the top crust, you can use a cookie cutter to make cut-outs. I sometimes do that with bear shapes – no surprise! See the photo at the top.)
Place the sheet pan with the pie in the oven for 25 minutes. Lower the heat to 350℉. and continue to cook for 30 minutes more. Transfer to a rack to cool before serving. If you cut into it too early, the filling will not be set.
