Blueberry Pie

Happy Birthday, America!….This one’s for you.

This was perfect for an Independence Day cookout but will also work for all types of gatherings in the Summer. You can decorate using any type of pie/cookie cutters that you can find (or keep it simple with a traditional pie crust).

Pie Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 cup butter, chilled and cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons half & half or cream

Pie Filling:

• 4 cups fresh blueberries, washed and with stems removed
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest

Directions:

1. FOR CRUST: In a food processor, blend the flour, salt and sugar.  Add butter and process until it’s a coarsely mixed.  Pour in the water and process for another 30 seconds.
2. Take the dough out and put it onto a floured surface.  Form dough into two, equal sized disks.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
3. After an hour, remove and put one disk on a floured surface.  Roll the pastry into a 12 inch circle (roll from the center out to create a circle).  Place dough into pie dish.  Put this back into the refrigerator.
4. Take out the second disk and roll it out into another 12 inch circle.  Using pie cutters, cut out shapes for the top of the pie.  Transfer the cut out shapes to a sheet of wax paper and put back in the refrigerator.
5. FOR THE FILLING: In a bowl, mix together the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and zest.
6. PIE ASSEMBLY: Pour this mixture into the prepared pie shell.
7. In a small bowl, mix together the egg yolk and cream.
8. Brush the rim of the pie shell with the yolk mixture.
9. Cover the top of the pie with your crust cut outs.
10. Brush these with the remaining yolk mixture.
11. Put the pie back in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes.
12. COOKING THE PIE: Preheat the oven to 400F.  Place the pie on a baking sheet.  Bake the pie for 20 minutes at 400F.  After 20 minutes, reduce temperature to 350F and cook for another 40 minutes (or until the crust is browned and the juices are bubbling)
13. Allow the pie to cool for 1-2 hours before cutting then…ENJOY! 🙂

Apple Pie

This is not a pie.  THIS is a work of art.

I wish I could take credit for this one but this delicious apple pie is the work of Jenn Brady and Amanda Massey. Well done, Ladies. WELL DONE.

 

I know that pies can be intimidating.  They’re more time-consuming than cookies and require a bit more skill when it comes to assembly BUT there’s nothing like a homemade pie.  I’d recommend recruiting a few extra hands in the kitchen and making it an event if you’re nervous to tackle this feat alone.  This recipe came from Jen’s mom but because they were pressed for time they used a store-bought crust.   If you want to try making your own crust, consider trying my Boozy Pie Crust recipe that I posted a while back.

I had a piece…ehh two pieces…of this pie last night and it was delicious. Thanks girls…keep it coming.

Ingredients

• Frozen pie crust OR follow Boozy Pie Crust recipe
• 2 lbs apples, peeled, cored & sliced (about 8 large to medium apples) Mix apple types for best flavor. (honey crisp, fuji, gala)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1-2 tbsp butter

Directions

1. Line pan with 1/2 the dough

2. In bowl mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg & flour

3. Wash, peel, & core apples. Cut pieces into three slices.

4. Add the sliced apples & mix together. Stir until apples are well coated and there is no more dry mixture. Should be syrupy

5. Place apple slices in the pie pan layering slices first along the outside and then working toward the center. Create second layer repeating process until all apples are used.

6. Sprinkle apples with lemon peel and juice, dot with butter.

7. Dip fingers in water and, moisten edges of pie crust – tuck cover dough under the bottom dough, push edges firmly. Slash vents and cook 375 degrees 30-40 minutes (usually takes about an hour) until apples are tender and crust crisp.

8. For a golden crust, take pie out in the last 2o minutes and half way through and paint dough with an egg white wash and drizzle butter over it.

9. When decorating pie crust with dough designs, cook the pie half way or 20 mins, take out and paint crust with an egg white wash, stick on dough designs and egg wash again to prevent designs from rolling.

**You can decorate your cake with these AWESOME fall cutouts by purchasing simple pie crust cutters.  Williams-Sonoma has great ones that you can buy here**