Blueberry Pie

I've always had fun going blueberry picking and found it to be one of my summer rituals.  The only problem with this blueberry picking was that I didn't like to eat the blueberries, just liked to pluck them off the bush.  When I was a senior in high school, I did the pie eating contest for my class- it was blueberry pie, and I actually realized that I liked blueberry pie.  I've only made a couple in my life, but I've always enjoyed them.

My sister, on the other hand, LOVES blueberry pie and in fact, for her birthday a few years ago, my mom made her a blueberry pie and now every year, she asks for another.  Her birthday was a week ago and I know she won't get to eat this pie that I made, but I wanted to make her the blueberry pie that she wanted for her birthday.  This pie is so good, I can say that I LOVE it too.  The crust is what makes this pie.  Take anything you hate or love and roll it up in this crust and it's like a little piece of heaven in your mouth- seriously!  Even though my sister can't have a slice of my pie, she can use the recipe to make her own and be assured it's dangerously good!

Top it with some homemade ice cream, and just try to eat one slice, just try!

Blueberry pie:

Oven:  425'

Crust:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups crisco (use crisco not butter)
1 egg
1 TBSP white vinegar
5 TBSP cold water
1 tsp salt

Filling:
2 pints blueberries
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 TBSP lemon juice

1) For the crust, using a pastry blender if you have it (or if you're kind of lazy like me, your kitchen aid with the dough hook attached), cut the crisco into the flour until it is crumbly like sand.

2) Crack the egg into a bowl, whisk it, then add it to the flour mix until it is incorporated and mixture is clumpy.  Slowly add the 5 TBSP of cold water, the white vinegar, and the salt and mix until incorporated and dough forms a sticky ball.

3) Divide dough into 3 equal sized balls.  Place each ball on a piece of plastic wrap, flatten into a small disk, wrap in the plastic, and freeze for 15 minutes.  If you forget and leave it in longer, just let it thaw on the counter for a few minutes.

4) Lightly flour the counter and rolling pin.  Gently roll the dough into a round that is slightly wider than your pie pan- flip and reflour frequently so dough does not stick to counter.  Using the rolling pin, transfer the dough into the pie pan.

5) Prepare the filling:  Rinse the berries in a colander.  In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and lemon juice.  Add the blueberries in and stir until coated.  Pour the filling into the pie pan.

6) Roll out the top crust- if you want to do a lattice like I did, lay out a piece of parchment paper, cut out the strips of dough with a pastry cutter, or a crinkle cutter, or just a pizza cutter for a straight edge.  Then weave the strips in and out of each other on the parchment paper.  If you are patient, refrigerate it for about 10 minutes to solidify the lattice- or if you are like me and not patient, just quickly flip the parchment paper with the lattice on top of the filled pie to transfer the lattice on.  Press the edges together and roll the excess under to give a nice high crust.

7) Bake the pie for 20-30 minutes until crust is golden- at this point, you can put foil around the edges to prevent burning, then cook an additional 15-20 minutes until filling is bubbly. (40-50 minutes total cook time)

8) Let cool before cutting and serving.

Source:
Filling:  Fine cooking magazine June/July 2012
Pie Crust:  Pioneer Woman