Blueberry Pie

Once these berries come into season there’s no excuse to not make a blueberry pie! The filling comes together in less than five minutes and the crust can be made months ahead of time and kept in the freezer.

If you’re REALLY short on time, or don’t have a pie dish, try making this as a galette; it’s basically the lovechild of a blueberry pie and a pizza and it’s ridiculously easy…

What You’ll Need for This Recipe

Flour: I use all-purpose but you can use pastry flour if preferred.

Vodka: If you don’t want to use vodka just add more ice water to the dough.

Blueberries: I use fresh berries for this recipe but you can use frozen blueberries instead. You do not need to thaw them before baking.

How to Make Blueberry Pie

1. I recommend making the pie dough in two batches. Add the pastry flour, the sugar, and salt into a food processor. Give it a few pulses.

2. Cut COLD butter into tbsp size pieces. Transfer to food processor and pulse until the butter is cut into small lentil-sized clumps. Slowly drizzle the ice water vodka mixture in while pulsing processor. If the mixture doesn’t hold together when you squeeze a clump in your hand then add a bit more water and pulse. 

3. Transfer dough onto a pastry mat or sheet of plastic wrap and knead 2-3 times just to help it come together a bit. Gently flatten into a disk, and cover in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge to chill while you work on the filling.

4. Once your pie crust is chilled, remove one of the disks from fridge and let it warm up on the counter for a few minutes, this will prevent cracking. Roll your pie crust to about 1/4 of an inch and transfer to pie pan.

5. In a large bowl mix together the blueberries, lemon juice, zest, sugar, salt, and corn starch.

6. Preheat oven to 425F. Add filling into the pie shell and smooth top. Return to refrigerator to chill while you roll out the second disk or dough.

7. Roll the second disk out to 1/4 an inch thick. Cut into strips for the lattice. The thickness is totally up to you. Thicker strips are easier to work with though.

Arrange rows of strips across the top of your pie. Fold over every other strip halfway up and place another strip of pastry across. Unfold the strips then fold over the other strips. Repeat this process until the lattice is complete.

8. Trim the excess and pinch together the edge. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Tent the edge with tin foil and bake at 425F for 20 minutes then reduce temperature to 350F and bake an additional 50 minutes or until golden and bubbling. Allow to cool and enjoy.

Pro Tips for this Recipe

• Take an extra moment to really level out your filling before adding the lattice on. Any voids might cause your pastry top to sink.
• Adding a bit of vodka helps the dough come together but doesn’t activate the flour’s gluten and it all burns off during the bake! If you don’t want to use it just increase the amount of ice water used.
• If you ever have some down time try making some disks of pastry dough and storing them (well wrapped) in the freezer. You can even roll the dough out into a pie tin, wrap and freeze so you can throw pies together in a snap. Pie dough will last up to six months in the freezer!
• Making the lattice top is the only part of this recipe that might stress you out. You can cover completely in a disk of pie crust and cut vents for an easier but still delicious alternative.
• Give that egg wash a thorough whisk, lumps of unmixed egg white will not be nice and golden, and they may have a chewy texture.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to avoid a burnt pie crust

The filling needs to be baked through but you don’t want to end up with a burnt crust! The solution is to tent your pies! Just measure enough foil to wrap around your pie plus two inches extra. Fold the foil in half and gently wrap around the pie so the edge and outer part of the top are covered. I leave the tenting on my pie for the entire bake but after 30 or so minutes of baking you can check in on it and remove the tenting if it needs to get some more color.

Can you use frozen blueberries to make this pie?

I prefer fresh berries but you can always use frozen ones. Make the pie with the same steps but increase the bake time by a couple minutes.

How do you know when the pie is done?

Your pie is done when the center is golden and the filling is bubbling up.

Do you have to refrigerate it?

Fruit pies like this one can be left out at room temperature for two days then refrigerated for two more. Always cover your pies to keep pests away and remember to refrigerate egg and dairy laden pies right away.

Do you have to thaw blueberries before making a pie?

If you’re using frozen blueberries they do not need to be thawed first. Toss the frozen berries with the lemon juice and other ingredients then fill your pie and back. If you thaw them their juices will be released and the pie will probably end up a pretty soggy affair.

Can you make the pie crust without a food processor?

Sure! Freeze the butter and grate it into the whisked up flour, sugar, salt mixture. Toss as you go so things don’t clump up then mix a bit with a fork or knife.  Drizzle ice water in and mix together then follow thee same steps above starting at step 3.

If you’ve tried this blueberry pie recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!