Blueberry Pie is what I imagine every cartoon pie cooling on a windowsill to taste like. It’s the exact right combination of pure, sweet berry flavour, and buttery, flaky crust that my childhood imagination conjured up and salivated over.
I was so jealous of Yogi bear for all the pies that he stole, which is weird because you wouldn’t think there’d be that many pies in a National Park, but I guess he was just lucky.
I think I’ve made my thoughts on this clear before, but I’m staunchly in the pie camp when it comes to the old ‘cake vs. pie’ debate. I love you cake, but it’s pie for me every time.
The pastry, the delicious, oozing fillings, the mandatory scoop of ice cream. Plus, there’s the fact that in my neck of the woods pies are hard to come by. More often than not, if I want to eat pie, I’ll be making it myself.
As a result, I really don’t feel all that stressed about pie-making. It’s time consuming, and a bit fiddly, but there is literally no such thing as an ugly pie. The smell is like pharamones – it blinds you to any shortcomings that might be visually obvious, because you are overwhelmed by the irresistibly tantalising aroma.
Anyway, when did we start needing everything to be perfect? I like a pie that looks a little ramshackle, and I like a cake that’s messily slathered in frosting. I want to see some greedy joy in these masterpieces.
So tell me, are you a piefectionist? Or are you scared to bake a pie because you’re worried it might be wonky? If you are, these little’uns are a great place to start. Working with smaller pieces of pastry is a lot easier than big sheets of the stuff.
But either way, I encourage you to get stuck in and make one. If anyone turns their nose up at a pie, even if it’s ugly as hell, then they just don’t deserve to eat it. More pie for us!
xx Sarah.
- 1 + ½ cups (325g) plain flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 stick (115g) butter, cut into cubes
- ⅓ cup water
- 2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
- 3 tbsp cornstarch (cornflour)
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
- juice of ½ a lemon
- Optional" 1 egg, beaten, to glaze the pie
- To make the crust, place all the ingredients into a large bowl, or a food processor or stand mixer.
- Rub the butter into the flour until most of the flour looks like breadcrumbs, with some larger flakes of butter throughout (or pulse a few times, or mix on a low speed with the paddle attachment, to achieve the same result).
- Slowly add the water, and work the mixture, just until it looks like it's about to come together. You may not need all the water. Then using your hands, shape it into a disk and wrap it in clingwrap and put it in the fridge to chill.
- To make the filling, place 1 cup of the blueberries along with the remaining ingredients into a saucepan. Bring to the boil and cook for about a minute, or until the mixture is very thick. Remove from the heat and add the remaining blueberries. Set aside to cool.
- When you're ready to bake the pies, preheat the oven to 375F/180C. Remove the pastry from the fridge, and roll it out, to about ⅛ inch (1/2 cm) thickness.
- Using your pie dish, or small pie dishes as a mold, cut pieces of pastry large enough to line the bases of your dish(es), and place the pastry into the dishes.
- Re-roll the scraps and cut out strips for the lids. Divide the filling between your lined dishes, and then decorate the tops with your leftover pastry, however you like. Glaze with the beaten egg, if using.
- Bake the pies for 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling, and then leave to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Ohhhhhh yeah, Ima making this one soon.
These look so delicious! And yes I’m definitely with you in the pie camp – what’s better than a crispy shortbread-y crust filled with sweet fruit?!
haha, love the name of this post! Annnnnd the pies themselves. Yum!
Ahhh, blueberry pie is one of my favorite desserts…ever!! I didn’t know blueberries were easy to find in Australia?
ps. i love that the pies are oval! its blowing my mind. so unique, i need to make an oval pie!
These blueberry pies look so delicious!!! I’m definitely not in the perfectionist camp either…I love pie and am not afraid to bake one, no matter what it ends up looking like :-)
Now that it’s an acceptable hour here in America….
YES YES YES.
:) I’m totes a piefectionist, but never ever make them. You’ve got me inspired now, brb gonna go tackle some pastry
I used to work as a baker in a pie shop and any that came out funny we would sell at a discount and we actually labeled them “ugly pies”. And people bought ’em up real quick!
These are the cutest!! All time favorite! :)
oh my gawd, Yogi bear . . love it! I actually started with making pastry crust for galettes and then transitioned into pies. . maybe that helped me. . I still have yet to make a pie crust with lard + butter. Definitely on my to-do list! love these pies!!!
Gorgeous looking pie!
Ohh, how lovely! I just found your blog via Nancy over at Gotta Get Baked but I’m in love already. Your writing is such fun to read–and those photos!! I’m loving every digital morsel. I’m keeping this on file for sure….and it’s so nice to meet you here!
Yes, these are totallypies to make yogi bear jealous!
I think imperfections in pie make each pie like a little snow flake.. you know? cake is a cake is a cake. But pies are always different. I’m on board with ya!
Blueberry desserts are my fav! Might have to give these a shot!
I’m on the cake side of the debate but blueberry pie might be the one exception that could convert me. Oh and these photos are you took are stunningggg! PS I always wondered that too about Yogi bear and the pies in the national park…doesn’t make sense….
I am totally not a piefectionist. I love to bake pies and tarts, and love to admire them and photograph them. I’m definitely with you regarding “ugly pies” haha there is no such thing.Today I’m baking an apple pie from an award winning recipe i found. My family and coworkers love it.