Blueberry Pie - Jan 25, 2011

Blueberry Pie

I baked this last weekend because it's high time to start using up some of the fruit I picked over the summer. We don't have a deep freezer, so I start to worry about the quality of our frozen items after six months or so. Also, it's a fun trick to pull out summer berries to bake a pie on one of the coldest days of the winter. It's quite satisfying to be able to one-up Mother Nature every once in awhile.

I used a recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens Baking Book. I did change up the crust recipe a bit, using a combination of butter and lard instead of the shortening called for. My shortening was dated 'best by' sometime in 2006, so I thought it best to toss it and use something else. The crust ended up far exceeding my expectations. It was relatively flaky, not tough, and stayed crusty for the next few days. I despise a mushy crust. It totally ruins it for me. The filling was excellent as well. I worried that it wouldn't be sweet enough because the berries were pretty tart, but it ended up being just perfect and not overly sweet like some diner pies can be. The hints of lemon zest and juice come through nicely and it set up firmly after it cooled, so again my finicky texture palate was satisfied. Nick was of course, in pie heaven.