Recently I bought a load of blueberries because they were on sale (Fairway: $1.00 per pint carton!) and I couldn't resist.
So then of course I had to use them.
Pie came to mind first. It's always pie first for me.
My mother, who was a master pie baker, never baked blueberry pie because she said the insides were either too thick and gloppy or too runny. I experimented with the fruit, sweetener and thickening agent a few times before the filling consistency was right.
Here it is:
Blueberry Crumb Pie
Crumb crust:
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons butter, margarine, shortening, coconut oil or a mixture
Combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter in chunks and work it into the dry ingredients with fingertips or a pastry blender until the mixture looks like coarse meal. If you use a food processor, add the ingredients to the work bowl and mix using 18-24 quick, short pulses (enough for the mixture to resemble coarse meal). Set aside.
Filling:
- 6 cups blueberries
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 unbaked pie crust bottom
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the blueberries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and lemon juice in a large bowl. Pour the filling into the pie crust. Cover the top with the crumbs. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.
Note: you can use almost 3 “1-pint” boxes of blueberries. Although a liquid pint equals 2 cups, a dry pint of blueberries from most markets is about 2-1/2 cups.
Makes 8 servings