Simple blueberry pie made with fresh berries and a grated apple which thickens ups the blueberry filling to a perfect consistency.
Okay, I might be a little obsessed with blueberries if you couldn’t tell from how many recipes I have posted with them in. But really, how could you not love these little dudes? They’re little (cute points!), blue (not too many foods are naturally blue), full of antioxidants, and sweet! Plus they pair well with tons of breakfast food like this, this, and this. And I sure love them in these cupcakes. Oh and you can get them for a pretty good price this time of year so I’ll take ’em!… the costco size. 🙂
Now, I don’t make pies very often. Like, maybe only twice a year so I haven’t yet perfected the whole sealing in all juices skill but I was totally prepared for it and had my pie resting on a baking sheet in the oven so cleanup wasn’t too bad (isn’t cleaning the oven the worst?). It doesn’t look picture perfect, but I like to think of pies as being kind of rustic, baked out in the country, nonchalant, carefree, made with love kind of thang… so it’s all good. The little sugar sparkles help too. 
Mmmm… Look at those berries gushing out with that sweet purple juice/syrup! So delicious wrapped in the flaky crust and topped with ice cream. Yeah, don’t forget to make it à la mode! You just have to eat pie with ice cream. I like to think of it like a husband and wife. They’re good on their own but together they rock! And if you’re wondering, the better half would be ice cream! 😉 Can’t ever get enough ice cream.
So as far as pie goes, this blueberry pie is really the only pie I’ll eat. I just am not a pie girl… unless it’s ice cream pie and in that case I’m pie ALL-THE-WAY! But really, this pie + a LARGE scoop of vanilla ice cream makes me happy.
Oh and you’re probably wondering why there is apple in there. You really can’t taste it but it helps thicken things up. Feel free to add another for more of an apple taste.
Blueberry Pie
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 2 cup flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 5-8 tablespoons ice water
For the Filling:
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 T cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 4 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried
- 1 granny smith apple, peeled and grated
- 1 T lemon juice
For the topping:
- 1 egg, beaten (optional)
- Coarse sugar, optional
Instructions
- One hour prior to making pie, place flour and shortening in the freezer.
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, and zest together. Set aside. Place grated apple in a towel or paper towel and ring out juice. In a large mixing bowl, combine blueberries, grated apple, and lemon juice. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix flour and salt together. Cut shortening into flour using a pastry cutter or fork until it's the size of peas. Add one tablespoon ice water at a time to the mixture, gently stirring in between. Once the dough starts to come together as a ball, stop adding water and gently press any straggling flour/dough into the ball. Divide in half and place one half on a lightly floured work surface (place the other in the fridge while you work). With floured hands, form the dough into a disk. Flour rolling pin and begin to roll the dough out from the middle to the edge, rotating the dough 90 degrees between each roll to make sure it doesn't stick. (Add more flour to the surface or rolling pin as needed.) Roll it out to no thicker than 1/4 inch thick. You'll want to take your pie dish and hold it upside down over your dough and make sure that your dough is an inch wider all the way around than the very edge of the dish. Fold the dough in half or kind of roll it over the rolling pin and lay it in the center of the pie dish and lightly press it into the dish.
- Add the sugar mixture to the blueberries and mix until coated. Pour berries onto pie crust forming a mound (it will cook down).
- Roll out the remaining pie dough as done before and lay on top of the berries. Pinch and tuck the top crust under the bottom crust all along the edges and cut off any excess dough. Flute edges and make a few cuts into the top crust to allow steam to vent.
- Place pie plate on a baking sheet to catch any drippings and cover the edges with a pie edge protector or with foil (my crust still gets slightly browned with my metal one). Bake for 15 minutes and then turn down temperature to 375 F and bake for 30 minutes. At this point you can remove the edge protector and can lightly brush the top and edges with the egg (you won't use you all of it) and then sprinkle with sugar and cook 5-10 minutes more until crust is golden.
- Let pie rest for at least 1-2 hours before cutting (4 hours is best). Serve à la mode.
This looks so delicious!! I noticed you used grandmas recipe for pie crust!! It’s the best!! Also, if you put wax paper on top and below the dough when you roll it out you don’t have to use flour and it’s super easy to take off and put in the pie dish ! I usually put two squares of wax paper down and overlap them so it covers the whole crust!! I hope Nebraska is treating you well!! Every recipe I try of your is always soooo delicious!!
Thanks Rachel! I’ll have to use wax paper next time. Sounds way easier to transfer the dough and clean up.
Nebraska has been great but I’m so jealous you guys are in St. Louis. Great city!
And thanks for following my blog and trying my recipes. Glad you’ve been enjoying them. 🙂
you can never go wrong with a classic blueberry pie.. craving a slice right now! looks delicious!
I’ve never heard of apples thickening up a blueberry pic; what a GREAT tip! I’ll have to try it out 🙂 Does this work with other fruit pies as well?
Well, it doesn’t thicken it completely. I still have the cornstarch in there and the longer you let the pie sit after cooking the thicker the juices get but supposedly the pectin in the apple is supposed to help do the trick. I haven’t done a side by side comparison but I feel like it helps. I would think it would do the same in any fruit pie. Try throwing one into a recipe you already have and see if it helps… and then let me know. 🙂
I love that you added apple as a thickener! Looks beautiful!
Can you use frozen blueberries? This pie recipe looks the delicious!!
Yes! I’ve made it a few times using frozen blueberries. You might be able to find fresh ones for cheaper though at this time of year.
Does it need to be a granny smith apple, or would another apple work as well?
Any apple will work.