Blueberry Pie

I loved, loved, loved this blueberry pie. Award-winning it is! The flavor of the blueberries with the cinnamon and nutmeg was amazing. I’m not sure how I ended up with enough filling as I kept going back to sneak a few more berries and then a few more before the pie was assembled and placed in the oven.

The simple pie crust was indeed simple and delicious. Nice and flaky and easy to work with. Together they turned out an absolutely wonderful pie. It was exactly the right sweet-tart combination. The simple pie crust was extremely easy to put together and rolled out nicely. I would suggest flouring your surface very well as I found it stickier than my usual butter and lard crust. The fold-over method was easy to do and made a nice rustic-looking pie.

I made this blueberry pie recipe because I was intrigued by the crust. I’ve never seen a crust that’s made with oil and milk. No shortening, no butter. I was also intrigued by the “foldover” crust method. I’m happy to report that the crust tastes delicious and the foldover method works very well. I refrigerated the dough for 24 hours. The plastic wrap was very oily and I was afraid the dough would be greasy but it rolled out easily. I placed the dough on the pie plate and set it on a sheet pan. I then placed the sheet pan in the freezer for 20 minutes while I prepared the blueberry filling.

I used supermarket blueberries but they weren’t very sweet so I kept the sugar and lemon juice proportions as written. I folded the crust over the filling leaving a small hole in the middle, kind of like a crostata. I cut a few slits in the top of the crust as well. I baked the pie on a foil-lined sheet pan for 1 hour and 10 minutes. I let it cool completely before slicing. The blueberry filling was delicious. It was a little runny, but not to a degree that I would consider it to be a problem. I can’t say the crust is flaky, but it’s not tough and the taste complements the filling. I’d definitely make this again because it’s very easy. The author does not say to freeze the crust or bake on a sheet pan, but I always do that with my pies.

This blueberry pie is delicious. One of the best I’ve ever had. I baked it in the evening and once it cooled, took a small slice. At that point the filling was runny and the flavor of the berries was light. I was a bit disappointed. But the next day, oh my. The filling had firmed up completely, the flavor of the berries was amazing, and the crust seemed flakier and tastier. Definitely bake this pie! And definitely give it the time it needs to come to perfection.

This was a good blueberry pie. Perhaps a really good blueberry pie. This pie was a pleasure to make and a treat to eat! I did find the dough to be finicky to the point that my top crust was ripped and patched in places and I thought for sure the pie would be an ugly, oozing disaster. But the crust was very forgiving and all its fussiness was worth it as it turned out perfectly flaky. I’m glad, however, that I opted for the traditional crust as I think it would have been even more difficult to make a foldover crust. It was also the very first pie dough (except for a 5-minute pat-in-the-pan quiche crust) that I’ve made with oil and I was pleased with the result.

I should note that although I live in Massachusetts, we don’t yet have access to delicious Maine blueberries so I had to go with standard grocery store berries. To compensate, I cut down on the sugar by half and added another tablespoon of lemon juice. I think the ratios worked well and yielded a flavorful but not-too-sweet filling which was nicely complemented by Leite’s Culinaria’s vanilla bean ice cream recipe.

Lovely, lush pie, and possibly the easiest, and most surprising crust. While I don’t usually have access to Maine wild blueberries, this pie is easy to make with store-bought or cultivated ones. I used Kristine’s oil-based pie dough, and was really pleased with not only how easily it came together and rolled out, but how flaky and crisp the crust was with such little effort.

Blueberries that we see do vary in sweetness, and in hindsight, I could have reduced the total to 75 g and it would have still been delicious. Do taste your blueberries and adjust. As it was made, it was perfectly tasty both the evening it baked (with a soft dollop of barely whipped & sweetened cream) AND for breakfast the next morning with some wholesome yogurt. Not only had the juicy blueberry pool set up almost to a jammy consistency, but the flavours were even more pronounced and the crust remained perfectly crisp.

I never feel like I can serve a neat and tidy slice of pie, but this came away from the pan easily. I used the single piece of dough method with 3 slits. I was super impressed that this dough held so nicely that there were no leaks at all (in caution, I put the pie pan on a foil-lined tray, as bubbling blueberry is not so fun to clean off an oven). I used a sloped 10-inch pan, as it was plenty deep and easier to remove slices from. This was the first pie I have made in this pan, and it behaved very nicely. I did bake an extra 12 to 15 minutes to make sure the crust was nicely golden. Along with the butter, I sprinkled about 1 teaspoon of large crystal violet-coloured sugar, which kept shape and contrast through baking. If you wanted to keep this pie vegan, you could easily leave off the butter or perhaps substitute some coconut oil bits.

Blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream is a delicious classic and this recipe makes a simple and fine dessert. It was a hit after a dinner of grilled beef kebabs and grilled veggies. I like the simple fruit-forward filling that tastes of little more than blueberries.

I’m firmly a butter-only crust for any pie. Nothing really compares to the flavor and texture of a pastry made with only butter. I was very intrigued by the oil and milk crust here though, so I decided to give it a shot and see how it works. I like that the crust comes together quickly. The texture was interesting in a good way mostly. It is very flaky and crisp. Rolling it was not as easy as I would have liked though as it tends to break easily. The flavor definitely does not compare to the butter one. It’s flatter and really is just a container for the filling rather than a tasty pastry on its own. So, while I am not switching from my butter crust anytime soon, the oil and milk one is a good alternative (rather than the horrible shortening ones) if I’m in a pinch.

For the filling, I don’t even think we really need the spices. I like them but the fruit flavor alone is enough for me. Next time, no spices for me. The pie took about 1 1/2 hours in the oven to get a good color and for the juices to bubble.