Simple Blueberry Pie

Happy (almost) Fourth of July!

Today I’m sharing with you an easy recipe for blueberry pie. It’s a holiday weekend, so rather than putting all of your energy into a complex dessert, I say throw together something simple and delicious like this pie and call it a day! This weekend should be all about spending time with friends and family, not toiling away in the kitchen.

I love pie. And I’ve shared a lot of pie recipes with you over the years, with the highlights including Black Bottom Oatmeal, Salted Caramel Apple, that glorious Fruit Tart with Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream, the Lemon Amaretti Meringue Tarts, and those mini Strawberry Rhubarb Galettes! Many of those recipes were adapted from one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, The Four &Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book. If you’re in to baking, dessert, or anything pie-related, go check it out. You can thank me later.

Because this pie is so simple in its ingredients, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to work on my lattice game. I’d always seen photos of gorgeous crusts floating around Instagram, so it was fun to use those as inspiration and make my own take on them. Oh, and I also made a little video of my latticing adventures for you guys to check out!

Simple Blueberry Pie

from crumbsandnibbles.com, adapted from The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book

Makes 1 9-inch pie

Ingredients:

• 1 pastry-lined pie pan plus enough dough for the top of the pie, chilled
• 5 heaping cups fresh blueberries
• 3-4 tablespoons granulated sugar (depending on the sweetness of the berries)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Pinch of lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 teaspoon water and a pinch of salt)
• Demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack.
2. Roll out the extra pie dough to a 1/8″ thick round and cut into strips for the lattice. You can cut them all uniformly, or cut different widths. If you’d like to make a braid, cut 3 thin strips of dough and braid together. Place the lattice strips in the fridge while you make the filling.
3. In a large bowl, combine the berries, sugar, lemon zest and juice, spices, and salt. Pour into the chilled pastry-lined pie pan. Top with the lattice: place strips going one direction, spacing them evenly, then weave strips in the other direction. Tuck any overhang of bottom crust or lattice between the crust and the pie pan, pressing into place. Crimp if desired, then refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.
4. Brush the pie with egg wash and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is beginning to brown and has set. Lower the temperature to 375 F and bake another 30-35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the juices are bubbling. Cool on a wire rack until slightly warm, then serve with vanilla ice cream!

Happy nibbling!