Country Blueberry Pie

When given a choice between pie or cake, I always go for the cake.  But, I really wanted to try my hand at making a pie for a recent cookout for our softball team.  I saw that Costco had frozen blueberries on sale, so I grabbed some and searched the Food Network for a good recipe.  First time was a charm! 

Filling:

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup water
3 cups blueberries
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Pastry:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
1 egg
2 tablespoons water
1/2 tablespoon vinegar
Flour, for dusting
Sugar, for sprinkling on top
 
Directions:
 
Filling:
Combine the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and water. Add to a saucepan and heat rapidly until thickened. Set aside to cool as you prepare the pastry.

Note: Be careful to not overcook your filling base as it will harden as it cools.  If this happens, you will need to start over :(

Once cooled add the berries and lemon juice.

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Combine the flour, sugar and salt. Cut in the shortening. Whisk together the egg, water and vinegar. Add to the flour mixture tossing lightly with a fork. Turn out onto a lightly floured cutting board and use your hands to combine the dough. 

If you are my niece Lauren, stand on a chair to get enough height/leverage to work the dough....haha!

Separate the dough into 2 single crusts. Line the bottom of a pie plate with 1 of the crusts.

Pour the filling into the dough lined pie pan and sprinkle the lemon juice over the filling.

 

 

Adjust the top crust, cut vents and flute the rim. Sprinkle the top lightly with sugar.

Or you can go fancy with a lattice top - I have not yet attempted this on my own....this is Lauren's handiwork:

Lauren also sprinkled a crumb topping over the lattice top (once I get the recipe from her, I will post it).  Check out her finished pie at the end of the post!

Place the pie onto a baking sheet and into the oven for 20 minutes.*

Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes.

My pie:

Lauren's pie:

Allow to cool, cut and enjoy!

*As you can see in my finished pie above, the edges got a little too brown.  So I picked up a pie crust shield from Bed, Bath and Beyond for my next pie.  It is a round metal shield that only covers the pie edge to prevent over-browning.  It worked great!

This recipe is part of a blog party!  Check this recipe and many others out at Savory Sunday and A Well Seasoned Life!

Recipe from Food Network