Blueberry Pie

For the past - I honestly can't remember how long - fourteen year old Boy 2 has been  hounding me asking me to pretty please bake him a blueberry pie. Every few days for months (I'm not kidding) he'll make a comment about a blueberry pie.  

Me: "What are you going to do today, Boy 2?"


Boy 2: "Well, if my wonderful Mom would bake me a blueberry pie I would be eating it and having a great day.  Otherwise, I don't know."

He's a smooth one, that boy. With this blueberry pie fixation he was like a hound on a scent.  He just wouldn't give up.  If only he had such dedication and tunnel vision about cleaning his room.

I'm not sure why he has this love of blueberry pie but what I do know is that while he has a mother who loves to bake she does not love to bake pies.  Surprising?  Not really if you've seen what my pie crusts look like.

Try as I might I cannot get pie crust to look pretty.  They taste good but pretty isn't an adjective I'd use to describe my crusts. Sad and homely are more apt.  But I love Boy 2 more than my anal tendencies so I decided on a whim to bake him a blueberry pie last week.  Not only will I get bonus Mom Points but I'll get him off my back.  Tis a win-win for this Mama.

I found this recipe on the net because I couldn't find a recipe in my cookbooks that used frozen blueberries (of which I had a tonne) that also didn't use tapioca flour for thickening.  I searched for this mysterious flour but couldn't find it - and I wanted an easier to find ingredient anyway - so I opted for this recipe. {Bulk places are a definite no-no because of a serious food allergy in the family.}

Yum-o!!  This pie was so delicious that even this 'non lover of fruit pies unless it's apple or pumpkin' loved it.  Oh yes, it was a good day to be my belly. And the icing on the proverbial cake is that Boy 2 was happy as a clam.  Hats of to the people at Wyman's of Maine!  This is a great recipe.

Yield: one 9-inch pie

pastry for one double (9") pie crust (homemade or store-bought)
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
5 cups frozen blueberries
2 tbsp. drained blueberry juice
white sugar

Preheat oven to 450F.

Prepare your pastry and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, flour and cinnamon.  Set aside.

Place frozen blueberries in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on HIGH until blueberries have thawed (I did it in 30 second increments and it took about 1 1/2 minutes but the time may vary).

Strain the thawed blueberries in a large colander making sure to reserve 2 tbsp. of the liquid.

Place blueberries back into the bowl and pour sugar mixture over them.  Gently combine berries with sugar mixture. Pour blueberry mixture into your prepared crust. 

Top with remaining pastry dough, crimp edges and poke with a fork a couple of times in the centre to allow steam to escape.

Brush top of pie pastry lightly with water and sprinkle with white sugar (don't skip this step - it's awesome!).  Place pie onto a cookie sheet (in case of overspill) and bake for 40-50 minutes or until filling begins to bubble. {Note: I had to use a pie crust shield about 20 minutes into the baking time because my crust was starting to brown too quickly.}

Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.

Source: Inspired by Wyman's Wild Blueberry Pie