Perfect Blueberry Pie

This year for Father’s Day I decided to make a blueberry pie, my dads favorite!  I’ve never made one before so I researched about the different techniques and finally figured out what I’d do.  I was surprised to find out the pie turned out, well, perfect!  The blueberries, which were fresh, ended up being a good medium between sweet and tart.  Paired with a butter crust this pie will melt in your mouth!

Ingredients:

For Filling:
7 cups of fresh blueberries, picked over (about 2 pounds)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
Juice from 1/2 lemon

For Crust:
2 sticks of cold butter, cubed
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup ice water
1 egg yolk
Splash of milk

Directions:

Add flour and salt to a food processor, pulse to mix.  Then add the cold, cubed butter and pulse for about 10-12 seconds until the butter combines with the flour mixture and is the consistency of cornmeal.  Slowly add in the ice water.  You will need about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of ice water.  Make sure any ice is removed before pouring.  You will know you added enough water when you can squeeze the mixture and it forms together.

Place half of the mixture on a piece of plastic wrap.  Using the plastic wrap, press down on the crust, forming it into the shape of a disc.  You should have two pie rounds with this recipe.  Place them in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.

After the crust has been chilled, using flour to dust your surface area and rolling-pin, roll out the crust to about 1/4 inch thick.  If the crust starts to stick make sure you’re using enough flour and use a scraper or spatula to help move it around.  Place into a pie dish and press into place.  Chill in refrigerator for another 30 minutes.

After cleaning and sorting through the blueberries, place them in a large mixing bowl.  Crush about 1 cup of the blueberries to get the juices going.  Add in the sugar, lemon juice and corn starch; mix.  It’s okay to crush some of the blueberries in this mixing process.  Roll out the other pie crust, fold in half to create a design in the top.  Add the pie filling to the cooled dish and cover with second crust.  Crimp the side of the pie however you prefer.  Mix the egg yolk and milk together in a small bowl.  Use egg wash on the crust, refrigerate pie until it is cold again.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place the pie on a baking tray lined with tinfoil (the filling will spill over the side of the dish)  Bake the pie at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes to brown the crust.  Reduce the temperature to 350 and cook for another 40-50 minutes, turning dish halfway.  If the crust begins to get too brown, cover only the crust with tinfoil.  Cool pie on a cooling rack.

 

Pie is best eaten the day that it’s baked, but is good for up to two days left at room temperature.

Serve with vanilla ice cream, yum!

A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step

It took me four hours to make my first pie.  My feet actually hurt from standing for so long.  My step mother, Nancy, taught me what to do.  “Are you sure you don’t want to just buy the pie crust from the store?” she asked.  Of course not.  Where would the fun be in that?  I didn’t take on the task to make a pie from scratch just for the sole purpose of having one to eat.  If that were the case I would have just bought one from the Farmer’s Market down the road.  It was the journey I was looking forward to most!

My first challenge: the crust.  3 cups of all-purpose flour to 1 cup of shortening, a teaspoon of salt and some ice water.  This made enough for one double crust pie and one single crust.  I was frustrated trying to roll it out.  It kept cracking and didn’t look as “perfect” as I had imagined it would.  My step mother reassured me, “Don’t worry, it’s supposed to be like that.  That’s what makes it homemade and special.”  At the time I didn’t agree.  I thought to myself, how am I supposed to present this!  I decided to believe her and continued to prepare my pie.

It took a lot longer than I had anticipated to peel the apples and slice them.  Even with an apple peeler I soon figured out some things are just easier by hand.  A bit of lemon juice to keep the apples from browning, sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch.  Was that it?  I always imagined a myriad of ingredients went into a pie.  After assembling the pie we tossed it into the oven and the waiting began.  I was nervous about how it was going to turn out seeing as making it didn’t exactly go the way I had planned.  For a dessert with so few ingredients, there was a great deal of skill involved.  Keeping the crust cold, choosing the perfect apples, peeling them, assembling the pie and hoping it didn’t fall apart.  So what’s so great about homemade pies?

Suddenly, the house filled up with the smell of baking apples and cinnamon.  My father came downstairs and commented on the aroma.  A sense of comfort came over me.  Finally, the apple pie was finished baking.  After cooling for a while, it was time to eat!  I presented my first pie to a table of seven judges; my family.  The biggest judge of course being myself.  I took my first bite and realized what homemade pie was all about.  The crust was perfect.  Flaky and soft at the same time.  The filling was delicious!  The perfect combination between savory and sweet.  My family agreed.  I then realized why it was worth it.  My hard work had finally paid off in the form of a perfect bite.

From that point on I continued to bake pies.  Always challenging myself and trying new things.  This blog will be my experiences and recipes for my readers to enjoy!