Blueberry Pie

I haven't been the biggest fan of pies.  I think its because you really have to make a whole one for it to be worth it, and two people + one pie = too much eating.  But... I was feeling adventurous (and hungry), and we had a TON of blueberries that were about to go bad, so one Sunday afternoon, I made a delicious blueberry pie with an almond crumble topping. 

Can you see it there underneath all that cool whip?  This is (surprise) Patrick's piece - I'm not sure which he likes better - the pie or cool whip.

The hardest thing about pies are getting the crust perfect, but I sort of cheated (ok, I actually cheated) and used Betty Crocker instant pie crust mix. (just add water! - literally.) Since I'm not the biggest fan of so much crust covering my fruit, the almond crumble topping really made it for me, and you'll probably see it in other recipes!

Next time, I would probably use less sugar in the filling.  Since my blueberries were not "wild," but rather "from Harris Teeter," they were much sweeter than the tart wild ones. 

Recipe: 

Wild Blueberry Pie with Almond Crumble Topping

adapted from epicurious.com

Filling

• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 7 cups fresh wild or regular blueberries
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Topping

• 2/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 4 ounces marzipan or almond paste, broken into 1/3-inch pieces (about 3/4 cup loosely packed)
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 
  

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F.

For Pie Crust:  Follow instructions on package, roll into a 12-in round circle.  Transfer to a 9-in pie dish.  Turn edges under to hide and crimp decoratively (or have a pie place that has crimps on its edges so you don't have to!). Refrigerate while preparing filling. 

For filling:
Whisk 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and cornstarch in heavy large saucepan to blend. Stir in blueberries and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until mixture bubbles and thickens, frequently stirring gently, about 13 minutes. Chill filling until cool, about 1 hour. If more sweetness is desired, stir in sugar by tablespoonfuls.

For topping:
Combine first 4 ingredients in processor or bowl; blend until mixture begins to clump together.  Chill 30 minutes. Spread blueberry filling evenly in unbaked crust. Sprinkle topping evenly over. Place pie on rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust and topping are golden and filling bubbles thickly, about 50 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely. 

Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, or cool whip!