This Fresh Blueberry Pie is made from fresh blueberries and thickened with blueberry juice. Make it using my Flaky No-Fail Pie Crust recipe. Make it extra healthy and sugar-free.
Fresh Blueberry Pie. The essence of summer in a pie plate? Well, maybe not totally. But, blueberries signal that summer is officially here. My first blueberries ripen on or near the 21st of June – Hello!! – The first day of Summer! I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the start of my favorite time of year than with a Fresh Blueberry Pie.
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So let’s get cooking!!
Oh, that’s right we have to pick the blueberries before we can make a pie out of them. Or you could go to the store and buy 2 quarts of fresh organic blueberries for your pie. Either way, we are going to have a fresh blueberry pie for dessert tonight.
Next, make and prebake a single pie crust for the pie.
I’ve included a simple no-fail-flaky pie crust recipe for you to use. Or if you have a favorite pie crust recipe, by all means, use it. PLEASE DON’T use a frozen crust from the super-market!! My recipe is so simple and has a couple of unusual techniques for ensuring success.
So how do I get the blueberries to stay together when I cut the pie?
The pie has only fresh berries – that means never cooked, frozen, or smashed. I have a healthy and delicious way to keep the blueberries in the pie. I use unsweetened blueberry juice. I add a mixture of sweetener (sugar, stevia, or monk fruit) and cornstarch to the juice. Boil the mixture and pour it over the fresh blueberries. The berries and juice jell as they cool in the pre-baked pie shell.
Where do I get unsweetened blueberry juice.
I make it from my blueberries, boil the berries, extract the juice, and freeze the juice in ice cube trays. The juice is very concentrated. Before using it in a recipe, I add two cubes( 1/4 cup concentrate) to 3/4 cup of water to make one cup of juice. You can also purchase blueberry juice. I think it is sold as blueberry pomegranate juice which I have never tried to use in a pie. However, homemade blueberry juice concentrate is easy to make. An extra quart of berries will give you more than enough juice for the pie.
Fresh Blueberry Pie
Equipment
- pie plate
Ingredients
- 8 cups blueberries fresh
- 2 cups blueberry juice unsweetened
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1 pie crust see pie crust recipe for how to make a pie crust
- 1 cup sugar use 1/2 cup sugar if blueberry juice is sweetened or use equivalent stevia or monk fruit for a sugar-free pie.
Instructions
- Make and prebake the pie shell using the pie crust recipe. Let the pie shell cool completely while you make the pie.
- Combine cornstarch with the sweetener, add to a saucepan and stir to mix.
- Add 1 cup of blueberry juice and bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Stir constantly to prevent sticking and burning, until mixture thickens and turns clear.
- Remove from heat and stir in 2nd cup of juice. This will thin the mixture enough to make it easy to pour over the fresh blueberries. Stir berries until all the berries are coated.
- Pour the berries in a pre-baked pie shell and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Flaky-No-Fail Pie Crust
Equipment
- This page contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click a link, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you
- This recipe makes enough crust for a double traditional 8-inch pie plate. If you have a 10-inch pie plate or a deep-dish pie plate see recipe notes.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups pastry flour I use this pastry flour blend
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup shortening vegetable
- 10 tbsp butter cold
- 9-11 tbsp ice- water see notes
Instructions
- This page contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click a link, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
- This recipe makes 2 crusts - enough for 1 double pie or 2 single pies
- Make sure butter stays very cold. Cut cold butter into small squares about 1/2 inch size and put in the fridge.
- Weigh or measure dry ingredients and mix together.
- Add the shortening to the flour and cut it in with a pastry blender until just combined. You can also use your fingers to mix in the shortening.
- Add the butter that you cut up earlier and put in the fridge. Cut in with a pastry blender until just combined. There should be visible chunks of butter in the flour. An option for mixing in the butter is a food processor. Just pulse a few times. Don't over mix or your crust will come out tough.
- Add the butter squares to the mixture and work it roughly with your fingers or a pastry cutter. Don’t overwork, the dough should be rough with smaller and larger chunks of butter in the mixture. Working the butter in entirely will result in a tough, chewy crust. When the crust is baked, the moisture in the chunks of butter converts to steam forming little air pockets throughout the crust, giving it that ultra flakiness we all love.
- Drizzle the ice water over the flour mixture, (see notes) toss gently with a fork to combine. Add up to an additional tbsp. to make a cohesive mixture. The mixture may appear somewhat dry. The flour will continue to hydrate during the rest period in the fridge.
- Split the mixture in half. Each half should weigh about 12 ounces for 2 single-crust pies or for a double-crust pie the dough for the bottom crust should weigh 12.5 ounces and the top crust 11.5 ounces. Shape the dough into 2 disks using my 1st. secret technique!
- Refrigerate each disk for a minimum of 60 minutes or up to 3 days before using it. If not using right away make sure the disk is well wrapped so it doesn't dry out.
- Once the dough has rested and chilled roll it out between sheets of plastic wrap. Add a very small amount of flour if needed. Use the pie crust dough in your favorite pie recipes.
- To bake a pie crust for an unbaked pie. i.e. cream pie or fresh fruit pie. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Roll out the pie crust and position in your pie pan. Use a fork to make holes in the bottom and sides of the crust. Line the pie crust with some parchment or aluminum foil. Weight the crust down with pie weights or dried legumes (beans). This keeps the crust from shrinking during baking. Bake for 10 minutes and carefully remove the legumes or weights and liner. Shield the edges with a pie shield or strips of aluminum foil. Return the pie crust to the oven and bake another 10 minutes or until it is golden brown. Let the crust cool completely before filling.
Video
Notes
400 grams of all-purpose flour (3 1/3 cups)
1 1/4 tsp salt
61 grams of vegetable shortening (1/3 cup)
190 grams of cold butter (14 tbsp)
177 - 207 grams of ice water (12 - 14 tbsp)