This 4th of July I made a blueberry pie, something I’ve never tasted before. Oh my goodness. It was delicious. It just might be my favorite pie ever! What you can’t see in the picture is the red dish this pie is sitting in. Red dish, blue berries, white crust- it was very festive. And then the stars. Instead of a traditional disc crust, I used a Christmas cookie cutter to cut out stars to banner the top. Pastry dough is very versatile- with little difficultly you can shape it into whatever design you’d like. Someday I’d like to make a lattice. But remember the key to a buttery flakey pie crust is keeping the pastry cold (and not over-working it). Here we refrigerate it between each step to ensure that its still cold when it hits the oven heat. Cold butter + hot oven = puffed flakey crust!

Blueberry Pie

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe sweet all-butter double pie crust
4 cups (2 pints) fresh blueberries
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
3/4 cup sugar + extra for sprinkling on top (optional)
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into tiny pieces
1 egg + 1 Tbsp. water, whisked (for the egg wash)

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare the pie crust according to recipe directions. Roll out half of the dough into a large round and place in the bottom of the pie pan. Set in the refrigerator while preparing the filling.

2. Toss the blueberries and the lemon juice in large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk to combine the lemon zest, sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the blueberries and toss to coat. Transfer to the dough-lined pan. Dot with butter.

3. Roll out the second half of the dough into a large round and place on top of the filled pie. Trim the edges, leaving about 1 inch of overhang. Crimp the edges to seal. Cut several small slits in the top for steam to vent. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or until the dough is firm.

4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 F. Before placing the pie in the oven brush the top with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar (optional).

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-60 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before serving with vanilla ice cream.

Makes 1 9-inch round pie.

(Adapted from Sugar and Spice)