Blueberry Pie Recipe and Tips

I am house sitting at Marilyn's and she's got a 2 freezers packed full with blueberries picked this summer from the orchard on The Farm.

To make my first pie ever, I used The New Moosewood Cookbook, by Mollie Katzen. It has both a recipe for crust as well as blueberry pie. It took only about a half hour to make and the pie is in the oven right now.

The recipe calls for a 9-inch pie pan, I had to modify the recipe a bit because I didn't have enough butter. I used a small cast iron, about 5 inches wide, so I cut the recipe in half.

For a small pie (about 5 inches across):

CRUST
6 Tbs butter or margarine cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups flour (I used a mixture of pastry flour and a light wheat flour)

I used 2 forks to cut the butter and flour together, though a pastry cutter or food processor is easier. Cut together butter and flour until the mixture is uniformly blended and resembles coarse cornmeal.

Add just enough liquid (about 4 Tbs. of cold water, milk or buttermilk) to hold the dough together. Mix the water into the flour with your hands.

(If the crust comes out too tough, you are either using either too much water or too little shortening, or you failed to cut the shortening into the flour thoroughly before water was added, or you handled the dough too much after the water was added... from GRANDMOTHER IN THE KITCHEN, by HELEN LYON ADAMSON. Another tip is to use ice water instead of just cold water.)

Divide the dough into 2 pieces, one larger than the other. Lightly sprinkle a clean table with flour and roll out the larger piece, with a roller to make a thin, round crust. Using your fingers will work if you don't have a roller, but will make the crust tough. Fit it into the pan, building it up slightly at the edges. (Pie pans with small holes at the bottom improve crispness of undercrust.)

Now roll out the smaller piece to a thin circle. Cut it into narrow strips, about 1/4 inch wide, and set aside. These will be used to criss-cross on top of the pie.

Put about 3 cups of berries (fresh, frozen or defrosted) into a bowl, sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar, and 3 Tbs. flour. You can add about a Tbs of fresh lemon juice. Toss gently until all the berries are evenly coated.

Pour the berry mixture into the crust. (It is a good idea to fill the pie shell slightly higher in the center than the edge, because the top crust must rest on a solid base.) There will be some flour and sugar mixture left over in the bowl. Decorate the top with the strips of dough in a criss-cross pattern.

For a crispy brown top crust, brush with slightly beaten egg whites.

if you are using a pie pan, place on a tray and bake at the bottom half of the oven for 45 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly around the edges and the crust is lightly browned. I just took my pie out, about 20 minutes early, it was slightly burning on top and the filling was bubbling at the edges.

Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. I think it tastes best after overnight refrigeration.

It smells so good.....