A year of pies: Blueberry Pie

The traditional gift for the fourth anniversary is fruit or flowers. I decided fruit pies would be the best gift for Clifton, how can you go wrong with pie? I promised him one fruit pie every month for the next year. First up was a blueberry pie. He proclaimed it the best pie I ever made~ wow!

It was a really easy pie, the hardest part was finding blueberries that didn't cost a fortune. As much as I love him, I am not sure $20 worth of blueberries for one pie is quite worth it. For all future blueberry pies, I will head straight to Costco. I also realize upon retyping this recipe that I didn't add the butter...whoops...didn't seem to matter one bit.

The crust is from Martha Stewart and it is my most favorite pie crust recipe, I have tried so many. The best part if that it makes so much. The recipe says one pie crust, but I got one pie crust and the lattice top from it.

Blueberry Pie

2 pints (4 cups) blueberries; rinsed, drained and picked over
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Combine 1 cup of the blueberries with the sugar in a nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is melted and the mixture is very liquid about 5 minutes.

Combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl and whisk the blueberry and sugar mixture into it. Return everything to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, over low heat, until the mixture comes to a boil, thickens and becomes clear. If it does not become clear, continue to cook over low heat for a few more minutes, until it does.

Pour into a large bowl and stir in the remaining filling ingredients, except the blueberries, then add the remaining 3 cups blueberries. Cool.

Set a rack at the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Roll out the bottom crust and arrange in one, 9-inch Pyrex pie pan. Pour the cooled filling into the bottom crust. Prepare a lattice top crust. Flute the edge of the pie and carefully brush it with egg wash. If you wish, sprinkle the top of the pie with sugar.

Place the pie in the oven on the lower rack and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F (190 C). Bake for about 40 minutes, until the crust is baked through and a deep golden brown and the filling is gently bubbling. If the top crust has not colored sufficiently after 30 minutes of baking, move the pie to the upper rack of the oven for the last 10 minutes. Cool the pie on a rack.

Makes 1 (9-inch) pie, 6-8 servings.

Pie Crust
(one crust)
2 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1//2 inch cubes
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add ice water in a slow steady stream until mixture just begins to hold together.

Shape dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour or up to 3 days, before using.

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