Blueberry Pie, two ways

(One from the Ladies Home Journal and one from Yankee Magazine)

Makes one 9” pie

The Classic Lattice Pie boasts little more than:

Dough for one double crust pie (preferably pate brisée)

6 generous cups of fresh blueberries, lightly rinsed, patted dry, stems removed
¾ cup granulated sugar (you can add up to ¼ cup more if the berries are tart)
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon lemon zest
 ½ teaspoon cinnamon

egg wash made with 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of water
sugar for sprinkling
In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and cinnamon. Set aside. Roll one half of the pate brisée on lightly floured parchment paper to about 12” round and about 1/8” thick. Place the dough into a 9” pie plate, trim the edge, tuck it under itself and crimp. Chill. Roll out remaining half of pate brisée, cut into wide strips and keep chilled while assembling the pie.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Reserve one cup of the blueberries and set aside. Toss the sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and cinnamon mixture over the remaining berries until they are well coated. I break up a portion of the berries with a rubber spatula to draw out the juices a bit. Fill the prepared pie plate with the blueberry mixture. Spread it evenly and then add the reserved cup of blueberries on top. (The reasoning behind this is so you have blue berries peeking through the lattice and not sugar/cornstarch coated berries which have a white cast to them.) Remove your lattice strips from the refrigerator, weave them on top of the pie, tuck the edges underneath, sealing the bottom crust with the lattice. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for approx. 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 45 minutes or maybe a bit more, until the juices are bubbling thickly. If the crust is getting too dark, cover the edges with foil strips.  Let the pie sit for several hours before slicing.

Blueberry Pie with Maple Walnut Crumble

Follow the directions as above, using one half portion of dough to line the pie plate, saving the other half for another time. I like to add several tablespoons of maple syrup to the berries (make sure it’s good quality, not faux maple.) Prepare a crumble using the following:

2 cups chopped walnuts
½ cup white whole wheat flour
¾ cup dark brown sugar
1 ½  teaspoons cinnamon
2 oz. of cold butter, cut into small pieces (half of a stick of butter = 4 Tablespoons)
1 Tablespoon pure Maple syrup

You can prepare this in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse the mixture just until crumbly- or you can make it by combining the ingredients in a bowl and working the butter into the mixture until coarse and crumbly. Then drizzle in the maple syrup and sprinkle the crumb topping over the blueberry pie filling. Bake this pie in a pre-heated 375 degree oven (to prevent the crumble from getting too brown) for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 50 minutes, covering the pie with foil or parchment if it is getting dark. The berries should bubble around the edges and the center of the pie should be hot to the touch when you test it with a small paring knife.  Set aside to cool for several hours before slicing.

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