The aroma of freshly baked pie almost always greeted us at our grandmother’s house. Grandma was a wonderful baker who loved all of us well through the food she served and, most of all, through her wonderful pies. This unique Fresh Blueberry Pie was a favorite, featuring a blind-baked pate sucree filled with fresh blueberries in a homemade blueberry glaze. Only the berries used in the glaze are cooked, so the pie bursts with the bright flavor and juicy pop of fresh berries.
This pie is very much like our beloved strawberry pie, the recipe for which was also passed down from our Grandma Campbell. We love them both and we love the technique, which could be used for any number of fruits. Peach, cherry, or a combo would be so delicious!
Make and Bake the Crust
You need to make your pie crust first. It’s really not that hard and it’s okay if it’s messy! The key is to follow the detailed instructions below and remember the most important thing is to make sure to not work the dough too much. Or pick up a frozen pie crust from the store.
Pierce the surface all over, line with parchment paper, and weigh it down with pie weights (dried beans or rice are perfect for this) to bake. Allow it to cool while you put together the filling.
A standard glass pie dish works best for this. You will need to double your filling for a deep-dish pie plate. We also like glass so that you can see how well the crust is browning on the bottom. This one is inexpensive and a personal favorite!
Make the Simple Blueberry Filling
For the filling, make the glaze first by combining the sugar and cornstarch (a thickener) in a medium saucepan. Add the water and a small portion of the blueberries, then bring to a boil. Mash the berries as they soften and boil until the mixture is thick and syrupy.
Cool the glaze slightly, then stir in the remaining berries. Once both the filling and crust are completely cool, fill your crust with the berries and top with whipped cream. Bonus points if you whip the cream yourself! (It’s really so easy and so much better than the store-bought stuff. Instructions are in the recipe notes.)
That’s All There Is To It!
Go and grab yourself a box of blueberries from your farmer’s market and make this pie!
While you are using all those berries, whip up a batch of our Gluten Free Almond Blueberry Muffins. Breakfast and dessert are done! Add dinner in the form of this Balsamic Grilled Chicken, Chicken Taco Bowl, or Grilled Steak with Brussels Sprouts Salad or Salad with Apples and Berries. So many amazing options!
Enjoy!
Fresh Blueberry Pie
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 9 ounces (2 cups) all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 6 ounces (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter cold and cut into small pieces
- 2 ounces (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) very cold water
For the Filling:
- 3-1/2 ounces (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
- 2-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces (1 cup) water
- 3 pints (5-6 cups) fresh blueberries
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- To make the crust, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times until well combined. Cut in the cold butter by adding it to the processor and pulsing until it is broken up into pea-sized pieces. Alternatively, whisk these dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or fork. Work quickly so that everything stays very cold.
- Slowly pour in the water while pulsing the processor or stirring with the fork. The dough should still look crumbly but will hold together when you grab a little and squeeze. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and press it together into a small round. Do not overwork the dough here or it will become tough. The goal is to work the dough as little as possible so that you don’t develop the gluten and end up with a tough crust.
- Sprinkle your dough round with a little flour and roll out into a circle about 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick and 12 inches across. Continue to move and turn the dough as you roll it to keep it from sticking to your surface. Sprinkle a little flour onto sticky spots as necessary, but be careful to not add too much flour.
- Carefully lift your dough by rolling it gently onto your rolling pin, then unroll it into a standard 9-inch pie dish. (I prefer a glass dish, which allows you to see how brown the crust is when it bakes.) Gently lift the edges so that the dough will move down into the curve of the pie dish, where the bottom meets the sides of the dish. Use your knuckle or a small ball of extra dough to gently press the dough into place. You don’t want to stretch the dough here or you will have uneven thickness and uneven baking.
- Trim off excess dough all around the edge of the pie dish, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Use some of the scraps to fill in any missing spots along the edge by pressing the piece very gently into place. If necessary, touch the edge with a tiny bit of water to help it stick.
- Gently fold under the overhang so that the folded edge is even with the edge of the pie dish. Leave it as-is or crimp the edges by using your thumb and index finger to press the edge into a wavy pattern. You can also use the tines of a fork to gently press a pattern into the edge. Or cut small shapes out of the excess dough and use those to decorate the edge; simply attach them with a bit of water. (If you use this method, do not let the shape hang over the edge of the pie dish or it may droop too much while in the oven.)
- Cover and chill for an hour in the refrigerator or 15 minutes in the freezer before baking. This helps the butter to chill and the dough to rest so that the shape will hold up better in the oven. You can skip this step, but your dough will have a tendency to slide or droop in places. It will still taste delicious, but may be harder to fill and won’t look as pretty. If you are using a ceramic or stone pie plate, do not put it in the freezer or your dish will crack when it goes into the oven!
- If you have leftover pie dough, you can store it for another pie, but know that the more you roll it and re-roll it, the tougher your crust will become. I like to make “pie crust cookies” with my leftover dough by cutting it into even pieces and placing the pieces on a cookie sheet. Brush each piece with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, then bake alongside the pie until they are golden brown. Cool slightly, then enjoy!
- While the dough chills, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare your pie shell for blind baking by lining it with a large piece of parchment paper that has been crumpled and straightened out again. (Crumpling it makes it more flexible.) Place pie weights, rice, or dried beans, reserved for this purpose only, on the parchment to fill your shell. Be careful not to get any underneath the parchment into the dough itself. Bake the pie shell for 30 minutes. Remove the pie weights and parchment, then bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the bottom of the crust is golden brown. If the edges begin to brown too much, cover them with a strip of aluminum foil or a pie shield.
- Allow the pie crust to cool completely on a wire rack before filling.
- Filling:
- While your crust is cooling, make the filling. Whisk together the sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Add the water and whisk until smooth.
- Stir 1/4 cup of the blueberries and bring it to a boil, stirring often and mashing the berries with the back of a spoon as they soften. Boil until the mixture thickens and becomes clear. Remove from the heat, then stir in the lemon juice. Once the mixture cools slightly, stir in the remaining blueberries.
- When both the filling and crust are cool, add the filling to the crust and top it with whipped cream. Serve immediately.
