Our Blueberry Pie Recipe Rivals Bakery Quality

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For a comforting dessert, it’s hard to beat a well-made pie — the flaky crust and indulgent filling combination is especially appreciated. As popular as pie is, many are intimidated by the baking process to make their own and would opt for store-bought instead. However, nothing beats a fresh fruit pie straight out of the oven, so developer Julie Kinnaird created this bakery-worthy blueberry pie recipe for you to master at home. It starts with a no-fail pie dough that produces a bottom crust and top lattice to encase a fresh blueberry filling with hints of citrus, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 

Kinnaird admits that pie making requires a bit of patience in the beginning, at least until you become adept at working with the dough. Once you get the hang of rolling and cutting the dough, the fun and artistry begin! After you learn the lattice technique, you can get adventurous with your top crust design to produce a pie worthy of a bakery showcase. The fresh blueberry filling can also include other berries, such as raspberries or blackberries, or stone fruits, like peaches or plums. You could further upgrade your pie with other warming spices like cardamom, cloves, or ginger to enhance the sweetness of the fruit.

To make the pie crust, you will need both unsalted butter and vegetable shortening. Kinnaird says that she likes to use a combination of the two fats because the butter contributes to the crust’s flavor and flakiness, while the vegetable shortening keeps the dough’s shape and makes it easier to handle. All-purpose flour, salt, an egg, and white vinegar are also necessary to make the pie crust. The egg binds the dough, and the vinegar prevents too much gluten from developing, keeping the dough tender. Have a bowl of ice water ready to add to the dough by the tablespoon.

For the filling, you will want fresh ripe blueberries, granulated sugar, orange and lemon for zest and lemon juice, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cornstarch to thicken the juices released by the berries. To finish the pie, you will need water, another egg to make an egg wash for the crust, and some turbinado sugar for sparkle and a bit of crunch. Kinnaird uses a deep 9-inch ceramic pie pan that leaves plenty of room for the blueberry filling.

To make the crust, combine 3 cups of flour and salt in a large bowl. Using your hands or a tool like a pastry cutter, cut in the vegetable shortening and butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Mix in the beaten egg, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of ice water at a time until the dough starts to come together.

Gather the dough and transfer the dough to a clean surface.

Divide the dough in half with a pastry cutter or knife.

Shape each chunk of dough into a disk.

Cover the disks with food wrap.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Once the dough has rested, transfer 1 disk onto a clean work surface, dusted with some of the remaining flour.

Roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle, turning the dough by a quarter after each roll.

Gently lift one side of the dough over the rolling pin and transfer into a 9×2-inch deep pie plate.

Press the crust lightly against the sides of the plate.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat an oven to 425 F.

Line a large baking sheet with foil and place on the bottom rack of the oven.

To start the filling, in a large bowl, combine the blueberries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, lemon and orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix well until the blueberries are completely coated. Set aside.

Before rolling out the second dough disk, add more flour to the work surface if needed. Roll it out into another 12-inch circle.

Use a pastry or pizza wheel to evenly cut the dough into 12 vertical strips. Set aside.

Pour the filling into the chilled pie crust.

Begin forming the lattice pie crust by placing 6 vertical dough strips on top of the filling, parallely spaced out and with the longer strips closer to the center.

Pull back every other strip of dough to the edge, then lay 1 strip of dough perpendicular to the vertical dough strips.

Place the pulled-back vertical dough strips over the top of the horizontal piece.

Repeat the process by peeling back 3 vertical strips, alternating which strips you lift each time and perpendicularly placing another strip until the remaining dough is used up.

Once the lattice is complete, fold and crimp the extra dough around the edges to make a decorative crust edge.

Whisk the remaining egg with water. Brush a thin coat of the egg wash on top of the lattice strips and crust edge.

Sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the top of the pie.

Place the pie in the oven on the preheated baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375 F.

Make a crust guard by folding a 12-inch square foil in half and cutting a semi-circle in the center.

Place the foil over the crust to cover the edges.

Bake the pie for an additional hour until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.

Allow the pie to cool for about 3 hours, allowing the filling to set.

Slice and serve the pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side, if desired.

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Kinnaird emphasizes that the biggest key to making the pie crust is to keep everything as chilled as possible. The butter, water, and egg should be ice cold. If you have a marble or stainless steel rolling pin, chill that. Doing so will help keep the butter from melting when working with the crust. It’ll also allow the finished dough to have small bits of butter that will melt while baking, producing steam and creating air pockets and layers to yield a flaky crust. To prevent the fat from melting too quickly and seeping out of the crust, always chill the crust before adding the filling so the dough is cold going into the oven.

You also want the dough to be cold when rolling it out. Though that can make it harder to roll, gently massaging the dough disk while still wrapped will create the right amount of give. When rolling out the dough, Kinnaird says to work outward from the center of the disk and give the dough a quarter turn after each roll. 

Be careful handling the dough; make sure there is enough flour on the work surface and rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking to either. When transferring the dough to the pie pan, allow it to gently fall in rather than stretching it. If cracks develop in the dough, dip your fingers in ice water and gently pinch the dough together. 

If you are craving blueberry pie out of season, don’t fret! Frozen blueberries work very well as pie filling as long as you take a couple of important steps. First, keep the blueberries frozen until you are ready to mix the filling. Thawed berries will release quite a bit of juice, which can make your filling runny. Second, add an extra tablespoon of cornstarch to the filling to absorb the juices. The cornstarch will help to create a jammy texture in the filling and make the pie more sliceable. 

The main difference between using fresh and frozen berries is the texture. Fresh blueberries have more of a bite, which holds up in baking, whereas frozen berries soften after freezing. The flavor of your filling should not be affected too much, as most blueberries are flash-frozen when ripe and will retain the lovely sweetness of the fresh berries. Kinnaird points out that blueberries tend to become bitter when cooked, so making sure your filling recipe has enough sugar and lemon juice will help tame any astringency that develops.

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