Perfect Blueberry Pie recipe. It’s sweet and  full of flavor. Perfect with your morning coffee and as an afternoon snack.Before I tell you about this scrumptious pie, let me tell you a story. Our almost 8 year old son broke his arm quite badly last week. Considering the things he does like climbing, parkour, scooter riding in a skate park, you would expect him to get hurt during his usual activities. But no, he was jumping off of a brand new rope swing my husband so proudly hung on our tree the day before and his foot got caught. He landed on a sidewalk with his left arm broken. It was around 9 pm, I was about to put this pie into the oven and we were ready to start the 4th of July weekend. Instead, after some screaming from him and then me when seeing his weird looking elbow, we all jumped into the car and went to the ER. Eventually (about 1.5 hrs later!), he was taken for an x-ray.

His left humerus, or the long bone connecting the elbow with shoulder blade, was broken. He required a surgery to place the broken bone back so we had to spend the night at the hospital. Sadly, he will be in a cast for most of the summer. His spirit isn’t tampered at all though. His birthday is a few days away and he has been asking for a bmx bike for a while. Well, that hasn’t changed. I’m not sure if I’m ready for even more crazy stuff.

About this pie…..

As I mentioned earlier, I was about to put it in the oven when we had to leave in a hurry. So, it was left on the counter… A few days later, when everything went back to normal (kinda) I made it again. It is very delicious, moist, bursting with flavor and  wonderfully crunchy. I love it with my morning coffee and as an afternoon snack. It’s very easy to make and it requires only 1 stick of butter for both, batter and topping. This recipe was originally published in a cookbook called Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Desserts in 1999. I found it through the Smitten Kitchen blog, which is awesome. The book is still available on Amazon and possibly through used bookshops. The only change I made was substituting 1/2 cup of ground flaxseed instead of 1/2 cup of flour. I try to add flaxseed to most of my baked goods since it is such an excellent source of fiber, omega-3s and it helps lower cholesterol.

This pie is easy to make. With a stand mixer, cream the butter with sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes on medium high speed. Add the lemon zest, egg and vanilla extract and beat until just incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: flour, flaxseed meal, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, stir, then add half of the milk. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture and the remaining milk. Finish with the remaining dry ingredients. The batter will be pretty thick at this point.

This pie should be bursting with the blueberry flavor so 2 cups of blueberries are required at a minimum. I like to use 2.5 cups to make it even more flavorful. Add them at the end and gently stir to incorporate. I haven’t tried making this pie with frozen berries but would suggest not defrosting them first.

To make the crumb topping, mix together flour, sugar, butter, cinnamon and salt. Use your hands, fork or pastry blender to make the crumbs. Spread all over the pie.

Bake in a 9- inch round baking pan with tall sides. To store, you can wrap it tightly and keep it at room temperature for about 3 days.

Makes: one 9 inch pie   Prep time: 20 minutes    Ready in: 80 minutes

Ingredients:

Topping:

• 5 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated or turbinado sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) unsalted cold butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

Cake:

• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1.5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed meal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk (I use 2%)
• 2.5 cups fresh blueberries
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease and dust with flour the 9-inch round baking pan.
2. In a small bowl, combine all of the topping ingredients and using a fork, your hands or pastry blender make the crumbs.
3. In a stand mixer, cream the butter with sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the lemon zest, egg and vanilla extract. Beat lightly.
4. In a medium bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flour, flaxseed meal, baking powder and salt.
5. Add 1/3 of the dry mixture into the mixing bowl and beat together. Pour in a half of the milk, beat again. Repeat with 1/3 flour mixture, all of the milk and finish with the flour mixture. The batter will be rather thick.
6. Gently fold in the blueberries. Pour into the prepared baking pan.
7. Spread the crumb topping evenly.
8. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the toothpick comes out dry. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Lightly dust with Confectioner’s sugar if desired.

Enjoy!