It’s an extra day off here in the U.S. (it’s a bank holiday, President’s Day) so without anything planned for the day, I decided to 1. clean out the freezer and 2. bake something. The freezer has been needing some organization anyway, and I have a whole pile of frozen blueberries headed my way, so I decided to take the last of the ones already in my freezer and bake a mini-pie. Did you know that I have almost 20 *different* blueberry pie recipes on this here CSPS website? And this one is new too. Instead of any sugar whatsoever, I replaced it with maple syrup. Tastes a little like blueberry pancakes. Nom nom nom.
Ingredients
for the pastry:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, diced
6 tablespoons (or more) ice water
for the filling
2 pounds fresh blueberries (if using frozen, do not thaw)
1/4 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup corn starch
zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
for the egg wash
1 tablespoon milk
1 egg yolk
2-3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Directions
Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening and cut in using pulse function until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 6 tablespoons ice water and process until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather into ball; divide into 2 pieces. Flatten each into disk. Wrap each in plastic; chill 2 hours. This can be done up to a few days ahead.
In a work bowl, gently toss together the blueberries, corn starch, lemon zest, vanilla extract and salt (do not add the maple syrup yet, you’ll pour it over once the blueberries are in the pie). Combine egg yolk and milk in a small bowl to make an egg wash.
Preheat oven to 400F.
Roll out one dough disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter pie dish or tart pan. Fold edge under, forming high-standing rim; crimp. Add blueberry filling and pour over the maple syrup. Roll out second dough disk on floured surface. Cut out long thin strips for your lattice top. Make a lattice top, brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with the granulated sugar.
Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet (to catch any juices if the pie overflows) and place in oven and bake pie 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375F. Continue baking until juices bubble thickly between the top rounds and crust is deep golden, covering edges with foil if browning too quickly, about 1 hour. Let pie cool a minimum of 2 hours before cutting. This is important as the pie filling will be pretty loose. If you want to serve warm pie, reheat pieces individually.
