dessert

Lemon Zinger Blueberry Pie

For many years I was not a fan of pie. I am not sure how or why this is, but for most of my life, I would only eat pie on Thanksgiving.  You know, the holiday where eating pie for breakfast is perfectly acceptable? Then, there is the whole transition to fruit filled pie…I mean, Chocolate Bourbon Pecan or Pumpkin, I could sink my teeth into, but fruit? Meh.

Fast forward two decades and I have gotten in touch with my inner pie child.  It could be my first read of Martha Stewart’s Pies and Tarts Cookbook, could be the fact that I became the host of Thanksgiving, or that in the summer we have access to fresh berries, peaches, and then apples…anyway, game on. I’m converted.

But here’s the catch..Blueberry pie can disappoint. The filling can be gelatinous and have the consistency of “canned” filling…it also can be watery and soupy with berries hanging around in blue water. There is nothing worse than cutting into blueberry pie and the filling runs out; with the bottom crust left behind, pale and swimming in the pan. Its just bad. So bad.

This pie is the end result of my many bad blueberry pies before it…and I think this one finds the perfect consistency, or as close as I can get with my Jedi pie skills. This filling requires you to cook most of the berries with cornstarch and sugar, creating a thicker pie filling. Then, fresh uncooked berries are added to the mixture before placing into the pie shell. It seems like work, but essentially, you are putting ingredients into a pan and giving it a stir until it bubbles and looks delicious. I’m a multi-tasker but nature, so this is when I am doing something else in the kitchen. There is always something else to do in the kitchen, so take this extra step to cook the filling.

But, is it sweet?

I like my blueberry pie to taste like blueberries. So, this pie doesn’t have a lot of sugar in the recipe. There is 1/2 C of sugar for the whole pie. Like your pie sweeter? Easily fixed, add more sugar. I’ve seen pie recipes with 1 and 1/2 C sugar in them, so you have some fairly good room to wiggle here. This recipe also calls for lemon zest and lemon juice. The lemon compliments and enhances the tartness of the blueberries. Again, this influences the sweetness, so if you like a sweeter pie, by all means, add more sugar. The berries used in this pie were picked at the peak of the season, and were sweet enough on their own.

Lastly, the crust. So, true confession…for this pie I used refrigerated dough purchased at the grocery store. Don’t judge. When I make multiple pies or for a holiday, I bang out handmade crusts from Noni’s sacred recipe like nobody’s business. When I am throwing together a pie for my people on the fly, trust me, they are happy to have pie and just like instant mashed potatoes…sometimes nobody needs to know. When you take the time to freehand cut stars out of the pie crust, people aren’t thinking, “Man, I hope that didn’t come from the refrigerator section.” If you do have those kind of people in your life, rethink who you are sharing your blueberry pie with.

When it comes to baking time? Here’s something you will find with my recipes. YOU CAN’T RUSH STUFF. When it is done, you know. You may like your crust browner. Personally, when I can smell the filling, and it looks like it is bubbling and thick, coming up through the top layer of crust, I take it out of the oven. Disclaimer: You also can’t WALK AWAY AND FORGET! This is a fruit pie people. If you have ever let fruit filling bubble over onto the bottom of the oven, trust me, you’ll remember next time. For good measure, I place the biggest cookie sheet I own under the pie. Pie goes on the top rack, cookie sheet goes in the rack below. Drips caught, smoky kitchen averted.

This pie is perfect warm with a scoop of ice cream. Or with your coffee the next morning for breakfast. Hey, it has fruit, right?

Thank you so much for coming to the table!

Chrissy

Printable Recipe

Lemon Zinger Blueberry Pie

Lemon Zinger Blueberry Pie

Chrissy@mythankfultable.com

Ingredients:

4 C fresh blueberries

2 additional C blueberries

½ C Sugar

¼ C Cornstarch

1-2 Tbsp Lemon juice

Zest of one Lemon

Directions:

Combine in a non-reactive pan over medium heat until blueberries are bubbling and mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Let cool slightly.

Add additional 2 C of blueberries to the mixture and pour into prepared pie crust.

Add top layer pie crust – I free handed stars on the top crust.

Bake at 350* for 50 minutes. I ended up baking an additional 10 minutes, waiting for the crust to be golden brown and the mixture bubbling.