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Blueberry Pie with Lemon Pastry Crust

This pie is my daughter’s very favorite, and since she’s coming home this week for a visit, I’ll be making one for her. I’m also offering Blueberry Pie with Lemon Pastry Crust as Pie of the Week.

When I first heard of this pie crust, I knew I had to try it. Within 24 hours, my family was sampling the finished pie. They adored the Lemon Pastry Crust, claiming it was good enough to eat on its own. (I’m known to bake crust scraps, should there be any, as instant cookies to snack on!)

The recipe is no more difficult than any pie crust.

Blueberry Pie with Lemon Pastry Crust

Ingredients:

For the Pastry:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
4.5 ounces of butter, cut into cubes
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
1 egg, beaten (reserve 1 Tbsp)

For the Pie Filling:
4 cups (about 1 pound) blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp cornstarch

Method:
To make the pastry, combine the flour and powdered sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and lemon zest, and cut in with a pastry cutter to make a fine crumbly mixture.

Drizzle in the beaten egg (reserve 1 Tbsp) and about 1 tablespoon of cold water, then gently work together with a fork until you have a ball of dough. If you have time, you can wrap and chill the dough for about 30 minutes.

Then roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to line the pie pan and another to form the top crust.

Fill the bottom crust with the blueberry filling and then top with the remaining pastry.

Brush over the surface of the pie with the reserved egg. Make several slits in the top crust to vent. Then place the pie in the preheated 400F oven for about 30-35 minutes, or until the top is golden and crispy.

Discovering the Secrets of Shortbread Crust

Peach Shortbread Pie. Photography by Diane and Doug Russell.

The first time I read the ingredients and instructions for making shortbread crust for a pie, I had serious doubts about its possible success. Like most pie crust recipes, the shortbread crust recipe has just a few ingredients, five to be exact: flour, sugar, salt, butter, and egg yolk. The proportions did not seem to be very “wet” at all; what would make this crust stick together?

Shortbread crust was a different type of pie crust from the “regular” recipe I usually make. The ingredients mix up sort of powdery. It doesn’t form a ball; it’s not really a dough. It is not rolled out, but instead the mixture is gently pressed into place in the pie pan.

The recipe calls for setting aside 1/4 of the crumbles for topping the pie. That’s also a very nice feature on a finished pie.

Like all pie pastry, this recipe requires patience, and, in this case, a bit of adventure when dealing with the unexpected. The technique is really not all that difficult, and the resulting pie crust is wonderful.

My adaptation of the recipe is a little bit wetter and a little bit easier to handle. Plus it makes enough shortbread crust for 2 pies.

Shortbread Crust

2.5 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 salt
1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
3 egg yolks, beaten to blend

Blend flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add butter pieces and cut in with pastry cutter until a coarse mixture forms. Drizzle yolks over surface and mix with a fork until crumbs form. Do not form into a ball. Pat 3/4 of the mixture over the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie pie. You could use a tart pan; I never do.

My two favorite fillings so far are apples or peaches. Watch for both of those recipes to come.