National Blueberry Pie Day on April 28th each year ushers in blueberry pie-making season. Blueberry harvest begins in April and lasts until September giving us a long season full of blueberry enjoyment. Don’t forget to use your Georgia Grown R&S Berry Farm Blueberries
with local deliveries available for the Valdosta / Lowndes County area.
Blueberries are one of the healthiest fruits on the market, too. Full of antioxidants, these nutrient packed berries helps prevent cancer development and helps prevent urinary tract disease. *according to the University of Maryland Medical Center
Eating blueberries have also been shown to assist in maintaining healthy blood pressure, reduce blood sugar, and ease symptoms of depression.
Blueberry Pie Recipe
Prep
30 MIN
Total
2 HOURS
Servings
8
Ingredients
Pastry
Filling
Steps
- 1In medium bowl, mix 2 cups flour and the salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).
- 2Gather pastry into a ball. Divide in half; shape into 2 flattened rounds on lightly floured surface. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.
- 3Heat oven to 425°F. With floured rolling pin, roll one round into round 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.
- 4In large bowl, mix sugar, 1/2 cup flour and the cinnamon. Stir in blueberries. Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate. Sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over blueberry mixture. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over blueberries. Cover with top pastry that has slits cut in it; seal and flute. Cover edge with 2- to 3-inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning.
- 5Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking. Cool on cooling rack at least 2 hours.
Be sure to ease the pastry into the pie plate, taking care not to stretch the pastry, which causes it to shrink when baked. Place a sheet of foil on lower oven rack below pie pan in case of boil overs.
Tips
Have a foil collar or aluminum pastry shield at the ready to prevent over-browning around the top edges of the pastry. You don’t want to underbake the pie or you may have a gummy bottom crust.
No fresh blueberries left? Did you already freeze your extra R&S Berry Farm berries? No worries Substitute 6 cups of frozen blueberries, partially thawed, for a breath of summertime breezes.
For a nice, defined crimped crust, lay the top pastry over the filling and press it firmly against the overhang of the bottom crust. Fold the pastry together and over to build up an even ridge of dough. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to mark evenly spaced sections to twist with your fingers into a decorative edge.
Optional – Use Betty Crocker™ pie crust mix to take most of the elbow grease out of your prep work and cut down on time.
