Blueberry Pie

For the crust:
Mix flour, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Add butter and rub the cold chunks between your fingertips, smearing the butter into the flour until a coarse meal forms. Drizzle 4 tablespoons of ice water over the flour mixture. Stir with a fork or your hands, adding more water 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture forms a shaggy dough that’s moist enough to hold together when pressed between your fingers.

Divide the dough in half, and with well-floured hands, gently gather one half of the dough and press it together, forming it into a disk with smooth edges. Repeat with the other dough half. Separately wrap the two disks of dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 F and take the chilled dough out of the fridge to sit at room temperature to soften slightly (about 5 to 15 minutes). It should be cold and firm but not rock hard.

For the filling:
Over medium heat, melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the cornstarch and cook for about 1 minute. Add half of the blueberries and the sugar into the pot and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the sugar dissolves and the mixture has thickened. Add the remaining half of the blueberries and the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and stir to combine. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook for another minute, then remove from the heat and set aside. Let the filling cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, roll out your dough by lightly flouring your work surface and rolling one section of dough until it is 13 to 14 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick. Gently transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie plate. Trim the overhanging dough to 1 inch from the edge of the pan and crimp the edges with your fingers. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork and place in the fridge until the filling is done and cooled.

Take the bottom pie crust out of the fridge and fill it with the cooled blueberry filling. Roll out the top pie crust and either add the whole crust to the top of the pie and crimp the edges together (remembering to add slits in the top) or prepare a lattice crust. See related blog post for a tutorial on making a lattice crust.

Evenly brush the edges and top of the crust with heavy cream and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for about 50-60 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

When baked, take pie out of the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

This pie is best enjoyed with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Notes:
1. Recipe adapted from Little B Cooks recipe for blueberry pie.
2. Pie can be stored in the fridge, well wrapped, for up to five days.