Fourth of July Blueberry Pie
A Fourth of July Blueberry Pie is right around the corner…or maybe that should be just inside the curve of the pie pan. Blueberries have been my favorites since I was a little girl. I remember summer evenings with my mom, dad, and brother when we would walk up to McConnell’s Ice Cream at its original spot on the corner of State and Mission Streets in Santa Barbara. The walk was less than five minutes from our house. My dad would get a scoop of rocky road, my mom had a scoop of dark double Dutch chocolate, my brother had macadamia nut, and I always asked for blueberry which was more than just a few whole blueberries mixed in with vanilla ice cream. This blueberry ice cream was totally dark purple, stained your tongue the same color, and was so good I can still remember the feel of the butter fat that coated the roof of my mouth! We walked back home licking the cold creamy treats and crunching on the sugar cones.
July 4th was too early for the blueberry harvest when I lived on a blueberry u-pick farm in the mid 90’s. The early crop came on towards the end of the month. But by July 4th, the weather had usually warmed up enough that we would set our sleeping bags between the west and north fields near the fire pit, and look up at the stars and tell stories until we fell asleep.
If blueberries are ripe where you are, here’s my recipe for Fourth of July Blueberry Pie. You can use frozen berries, too. Don’t defrost them but pop them into the filling frozen and just make the pie. It turns out just fine and you can enjoy it all year long. Add a few strawberries under the crust for a red, white, and blue delight!
Fourth of July Blueberry Pie
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Art of the Pie Dough double crust pie dough
- 6 cups sweet blueberries fresh or frozen
- 3/4 cups sugar plus 1-2 teaspoons more for sprinkling the top
- small pinch of ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon orange liqueur like Cointreau or zest of one small organic orange optional
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon quick cooking tapioca
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
- 1 egg white mixed with 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Put blueberries, sugar, nutmeg, salt, optional orange liqueur or citrus zest, flour, and quick cooking tapioca in a big bowl, and mix lightly until the fruit is coated.
- Roll out the bottom dough and place in your pie pan.
- Add the blueberry filling and dot with little pieces of butter...if you remember. (I always seem to forget the butter!)
- Roll out remaining dough, lay over the fruit, and cut 5 to 6 vents on top, or cut strips and make a lattice top.
- Trim excess dough from edges and crimp.
- Brush crust with some egg white wash and sprinkle evenly and lightly with 1-2 teaspoons of sugar.
- If it's a hot day, place pie in refrigerator to chill while oven is preheating to 425°F.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 425F. Reduce heat to 350F and bake for 35-40 minutes more.
- Look for the steady bubbling of the fruit filling through the vents or lattice work to make sure the filling is fully cooked.
Notes
That pie is just gorgeous! And I love that you added just a touch of orange! I’ll be getting blueberries from our local producer for jams very soon…. maybe I’ll smuggle some into a pie….
It makes total sense you would love the orange, Jamie! P.S. I can’t wait to get my hands on your new cookbook Orange Appeal.
What a great post. Thank you. Your class a few weeks ago was a major highlight of my year . The whole adventure was the best.
Thank you
Marilyn- It was great to have you here and I’m delighted that you enjoyed it so much. I did too!
I participated in your pie class/workshop at my friend Maren’s house and loved your approach to pie baking. My mom was a great pie baker so I had the basics, but your relaxed and joyful love of pies and the pleasure they give was infectious. I bought The Art of the Pie and have given it to my daughters and recommend it to anyone who loves pies!
Thank you so much for checking in. Our workshop at Maren’s was wonderful and I remember it well! How lovely your daughters will be carrying on the tradition of pie making.
After buying the Art of Pie book, I made this pie immediately and it was good…extremely good! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I followed the recipe exactly, did a lattice top and it was such a hit.
I am delighted to hear this, Maria, and I hope you will enjoy many more blueberry pies and others from Art of the Pie!
I have never been successful at making a pie until I tried Kate’s basic pie dough and this recipe. I used frozen blueberries and had to substitute cornstarch for the tapioca. It was delicious and even the first slice came out perfect!
Congratulations and Pie On!
Kate – your fruit pie recipes are absolutely spot-on and marvelous with our PNW fruit. I have been making pie crust with my family for decades, and your method produces superior flakiness by far. Food processor crust is ok in a pinch, but it can be hit or miss and requires a certain finesse. The end result can be more “shortbread” than your spectacular, laminated crust. Clearly doing it by hand and chilling EVERYTHING makes all the difference. Your writing style is a pleasure to read as well – you make the process fun and approachable! My sister has your marvelous Art of the Pie cookbook, and now that I have been returning to your website regularly and consulting with my sister, I am (finally!) purchasing your book. It is about time!
Renata, Thank you for your very kind words. I’m so happy you are making pie and will be getting you own copy of Art of the Pie. More recipes and techniques will be in my newest book Pie Camp: The Skills You Need to Make Any Pie You Want , too. It will be released Oct 6, 2020. Be Happy, Stay Home, Make Pie!