Blueberry pie is the taste of summer. In this pie, plump native berries are baked to soft, juicy sweetness suspended in a buttery crust. The subtle hints of lemon, cinnamon and nutmeg add complexity and depth to the filling, and somehow seem to amplify the blueberry flavor.
The key to a great fruit pie is knowing how much thickening (such as flour or cornstarch) to add. Too much, and the consistency of the filling will be gluey, bringing up bad memories of your middle school cafeteria. I was so focused on avoiding that result that for years my blueberry pies came out positively soupy, with blueberry juices running out all over the plate – because I refused to recognize how profusely juicy blueberries are and how much cornstarch they really need to set up. I tinkered with the quantity of cornstarch until I arrived at five tablespoons, the perfect amount for clean slices that hold together beautifully, and now all the delicious juice stays in the pie where it belongs instead of puddling in the bottom of the dish.
The crust for this pie is made from my classic pie dough, tried and true. I like a lattice top on blueberry pie, it just seems right, to let all that beautiful dark purple juice bubble up through those checkered spaces, giving the whole pie a sort of stained-glass-window effect. To get a nice golden glow on your lattice top – and to help the sprinkling of sugar adhere – carefully paint the strips of dough with egg wash. I use a mini brush that’s just the right width to fit on the dough without slopping over onto the filling.
If you don’t feel like fussing with a lattice top, just cover the pie with a plain circle of dough and cut plenty of slits in the top to let steam escape during baking.
(And by the way, my lattice tops are not perfect, they’re messy and uneven and….it doesn’t matter. I will put some effort into presentation – because I truly believe beauty is an important factor when it comes to enjoying food. But after a point, what value are we adding by futzing with the details? Spending half an hour on an artistic arrangement of dough on top of the pie is not going to make it taste any more delicious than it already does. And I mean, really – how pretty is this pie, casual lattice and all?)
Making this ahead and what to do with leftovers:
- For the neatest slices, make this Blueberry Pie early enough in the day so that it has enough time to cool completely before you slice it. (But if you don’t care about neat slices, and like the idea of warm, juicy, slightly saucy pie….maybe with a dollop of melting vanilla ice cream on top….don’t wait.)
- If you want warm pie after the pie has already cooled, rewarm the whole pie or individual slices in a 300-degree oven for 10 minutes or until heated through.
- Leftovers will keep 3 days at very cool room temperature or in the fridge.
For a complete summer menu that features this pie, see my post for Saturday August 8, 2020.
Blueberry Pie
Ingredients
- 1 recipe of Pie Crust dough
- 2 pints fresh blueberries (about 5 cups)
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
- 5 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Zest from ½ a lemon
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream or water
Directions
- Step 1 Make the pie crust dough, divide it into two disks, and chill it for 30 minutes.
- Step 2 Meanwhile heat the oven to 425 with racks in the middle and low positions.
- Step 3 Rinse the blueberries in a colander, then dump them into a large bowl along with whatever water is clinging to them.
- Step 4 In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of sugar with the cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and salt. Toss the dry ingredients with the blueberries until the blueberries are thoroughly coated. With your hands, squish a few handfuls (about half) of the blueberries to release their juices so they mix with the dry ingredients to moisten them. Set the mixture aside while you roll out the dough.
- Step 5 Roll one disk of the pie dough out to a large circle. Transfer it to a 9-inch pie plate, draping the dough in gently without stretching. Roll out the other disk and cut it into lattice strips approximately ¾-inch wide.
- Step 6 Use a rubber spatula to scrape the blueberries and all the sugar/cornstarch/juice mixture in the bowl into the bottom crust. Cut the butter into small cubes and scatter them over the blueberry filling. Arrange the lattice top over the filling and crimp the edges with a fork to seal.
- Step 7 In a small bowl, whisk the egg with the cream or water to make an egg wash. Use a small brush to carefully brush the egg wash on the strips of dough on the top of the pie and around the edge. Sprinkle the top of the pie with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.
- Step 8 Put the pie in the oven on the middle rack. Line a large baking sheet with heavy duty foil and put it on the rack below the pie to catch drips. Bake the pie for 25 minutes.
- Step 9 Reduce the heat to 350. Check on the crust. As soon as you see that the outer edge of the crust is getting deep golden brown, cover it with a pie guard or thin strips of foil, leaving the center of the pie uncovered. Bake the pie for 45 minutes more, or until the center of the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling several inches in from the edge.
- Step 10 Cool the pie for at least 2 hours before serving.
