Fresh Blueberry Pie
I know, every homemade pie is fresh--but in this one, the fruit stays fresh, too. Yes, that’s right! In this pie, there are five cups of blueberries, and only one cup of them are actually cooked. What you’re left with is a blueberry pie that is just bursting with fresh, juicy berries! It’s like eating a slice of fresh blueberries packed onto a delicious crust. Like…a slice of deep dish pizza, but with pie crust and fat, sweet blueberries. It’s my favorite pie ever. It’s also easy as “you know what” to make.
I love pie, but I hardly ever make it because it’s so intimidating to me. I’ve got the fillings down just fine, but it’s the crust part that makes my knees shake. It’s easy enough to make the crust--but it’s the rolling and shaping of it that give me trouble. I can’t make it round. It’s more like the shape of a state or country. I’ve come to realize, though, that as long as something tastes good and makes your family and friends happy, then it’s ok if it’s not the most beautiful thing in the world. For this pie, I was in a hurry and frazzled, so I went (at the last minute) with a frozen pie crust from Trader Joe’s. And you know what? It tasted great but didn’t make it any prettier, so why bother? Unless, like I said, you’re extremely short on time. Which I was. We had a crew coming in the next day to install new windows, so lots of stuff had to be moved out of the way for them. Or I totally would have made a homemade crust! And I will, too. I’ll get over my crust issues, I promise!
I originally found the recipe here quite a few years ago. It was an instant favorite! I changed it somewhat, but not drastically. I added one extra cup of berries, and I made that one cup a frozen berry mix to add some extra berry “oomph.” You can use all blueberries, if you wish. You won’t believe how easy this is. The one cup of fruit that’s cooked will become a pretty, glossy gel that will be the glue to hold the rest of the berries together.
I baked this for the Pie Party, in honor of Pie Day on July 5th.
Fresh Blueberry Pie
Makes one 9" deep dish pie
Adapted from this recipe
Dough for a one crust pie
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 cup frozen berry blend (any blend you like-mine has blue, black and raspberries, and cherries)
4 cups blueberries, rinsed and dried
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp plus 1 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp plus 1 tsp water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp lime or lemon juice
1 pinch salt
dried beans for weighing down pie crust
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line the pie pan with the crust dough, and then cover with a piece of parchment paper. Fill the bottom of the parchment with the dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven, then remove the parchment and beans. Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork, brush with the egg white, and then bake the crust until golden brown, about 5-8 minutes. Set on a rack to cool.
While the crust is baking and then cooling, prepare the filling. In a small saucepan, heat the 1 cup of frozen berries, and the 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a boil.
While that's coming to a boil, whisk the cornstarch and remaining (2 tbsp plus 1 tsp) water in a small bowl. Stir well and set aside. When the fruit and water come to a boil, turn it down to a simmer and stir for 3 to 4 minutes. After stirring, whisk in the cornstarch mixture, sugar, lime juice and salt. As you whisk it, the fruit mixture will become a gorgeous glossy fruity gel.
Remove from the heat and in a large bowl, stir the gel into the remaining fresh berries. Spoon into the baked crust, then let it sit for at least 2 hours before cutting into it.
Store any leftovers in the fridge!
- Note--the frozen berry mix contains berries that will leave some seeds. If you completely detest them, don’t use those berries. I think that trying to remove the seeds from the gel will be a pain and take away from the simple prep of this pie. I don’t mind them and leave them in--it’s really not that much, anyway.
- Serve with fresh whipped cream or good old vanilla ice cream. Perfect!
- Bring this to your next cookout and everyone will want to know what your pie recipe is. They won’t believe how simple it is, either!
Elle | Print Article | Share Article | Email Article | 26 Comments tagged berry blend, bluberries, dessert, fresh, new england, pie, pie crust, pie day, pie party, recipe, snack, uncooked berries
Reader Comments (26)
This looks so delicious!
This is so similar to a strawberry pie I make that has hands down been a family favorite for...well, EVER!. The berries are the star and at the height of summer...why mess with something so fabulous right?
You know...I love pies but have had my own crust issues...so know exactly where you are coming from. Have to say...yours look pretty stupendous!
Wow, those blueberries almost look like jewels on your pie. Fabulous. I have a sweet treat linky party going on at my blog till Monday and I'd love it if you'd come by and link your pie up. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2011/07/sweets-for-saturday-25.html
Elle the pie looks delicious!!!! I have piecrust phobia too. My grandmother was the queen of piecrust and as many times as she showed me how she did it, mine never seems to be as good as the memory of hers. I think she could have made them blindfolded and always had a "stash" of pies ready in the freezer. I've found that the Pate Brisee from Martha Stewart works well and is easy enough to do in the food processor. I used it last weekend and ended up putting in too much ice water but it still came out ok even though it was a bit sticky to work with. Dont worry how it looks when you roll it out, trim & crimp to make it pretty (no one is ever going to know how it looked when you rolled it out!). I've found the most important keys are the ice water (ice cubes & water in the pyrex measuring cup and measure the Tbsps of water out of that - grandma drilled at least that into my memory!) , the resting /chilling of the dough (before rolling and before baking) and baking on the bottom shelf. & I also use the storebought pie crust in a pinch too but now that I have a food processor again I think I'll be making it from scratch more often...
This looks divine!! And I love that the berries (majority of them) stay fresh and uncooked!! That's always my biggest problem with berry pies! Now I can have my pies, and my berries too! ;)
Ohhh blueberry has to be my favorite pie & that one looks luscious!
Just pass me a fork so I can dig in! That looks like so appetizing and I love that the blueberries are still whole. It looks delicious.
What a fantastically great idea - use mostly fresh berries! I love it! Looks so pretty too! I love your blog's new look too!
That is so cool! What an awesome idea. I have to try this very soon. It looks delicious :D
Oh Elle, I am here totally captivated by that pie. Mercy!
This just looks silly delicious! Loving those glossy and gorgeous berries!
New to your blog; happy I found you!
Mary xo
Delightful Bitefuls
That pie looks delish!
Wow, those blueberries are gorgeous! Now that is a pie I would be very proud to serve my family.
Swoon! Thump! That pie looks positively magical! And blueberry is my all-time favorite berry. This seems almost too easy. :-)
omg this looks amazing!
I LOVE this idea! I always worry that cooking fruit destroys all the beneficial enzymes, so I look for raw recipes quite a bit. This is perfect! Thanks so much :)
WOW - those are just about the juiciest berries I've ever seen. Looks sensational.
this is WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!! and i have a 5lb box of fresh blueberries in my fridge right now . . . some will be jam but some is going into PIE!!!
Those blueberries look like jewels on your pie. Fabulous!
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adding extra "oomph" any way you can is always a good thing! more berries please! Those pics look computer edible... :)
OMG!!! That blueberry pie looks soooooooo delicious!
I've been dying to make a glossy fresh berry pie.....
I sooo love blueberry pie!! I like the fresh berries in this pie! yummm
as easy as you know what to make. ha. this is gorgeous, elle--blueberries are the most photogenic fruit, and that's that.
Gorgeous pie Elle! I won a pie contest yesterday using a variation of the recipe..
Thanks!
Lisa ;)
Great pics! Blueberry pie is the best!!
Oh I love this! Thank you for feeding me right now .... I need to make this, and soon!