Summer is for Blueberry Pie!

I love making Blueberry Pies in the summertime! The blueberries are sweet and ripe, and usually on sale at the grocery store, so you can buy a bunch for your pies! Here are the ingredients I use for my pie, and how I make it! I also make the crust, as you can see below! First off is my crust recipe. Very VERY simple to make (the hardest part, in my opinion, is rolling the dough out).

Pie Crust:

 2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening

4 to 6 tablespoons cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time

This is the attachment I use for my pie crust dough. For bread doughs and pizza crust I usually use my dough attachment, but for my pie crusts, this attachment works the best. (I don't know what I would do without my trusty ol' mixer!) I add all the ingredients except the water. Mix your dough in the stir setting or even the #2 setting. Add your water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough sticks together and the bowl is clean. See the picture below.

 

Now your crust is done. It may look and seem a little crumbly, but you want it that way. Too moist and it will stick all over your surface and won't roll nicely. You are going to divide this dough in half. Half for the bottom crust, half for the top.

You want to roll this dough as thin as you can, WITHOUT breaking it. I put a little flour on my surface and a little flour on my rolling pin. As you roll it out, flip it (gently) a couple of times. I do this to make sure it isn't sticking to my surface. I also break off any jagged edges that are much longer and add them back to the middle of the pie crust, flip it over and roll it. Place your pie crust in your pie plate, then roll the other half of the dough out the same way. Let this dough sit on your surface, until your filling is done cooking.

Blueberry Filling:
8 cups blueberries (4 pints)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup butter (half a stick)

Take half of your blueberries and add them to a big pot with your sugar and butter. The other half you will will mash (raw) with a potato masher or fork or whatever you like. After the pie filling is done cooking, you will add the two together and stir.

When you first put your blueberry ingredients into your pot, this is what they will look like. But as the mixture gets hotter, it will all dissolve, and look like what you would find in a can of blueberry pie filling. I crush the blueberries in the pot a little as I stir.

After you've added your raw, smashed blueberries to your cooked filling, add it to your pie crust!

                                                        Doesn't that look DELISH!

After filling your pie shell, you want to add your other rolled pie crust to the top, sealing the edges together and cutting some slits in the top crust for ventilation. Be as fancy or as primitive as you wish!

You want to bake this pie at 350 degrees for between 30 and 40 minutes (until the crust is golden brown). I want to warn you, put a cookie sheet on the rack under your pie, because the filling will drip out! If you want the pie to be set and thick, make it a day ahead of time and refrigerate it. Otherwise it's runny when it's warm (but still tastes amazing!). I like to have a big ol' slice of this pie with some french vanilla ice cream! Enjoy!