Bon Appetit Desserts (65 page)

FILLING:
Place baking sheet in bottom of oven and position rack in center; preheat to 375°F. Combine blueberries, maple syrup, flour, tapioca, and lemon juice in medium bowl; toss to blend. Let stand 15 minutes.

Roll out larger dough disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Pour filling into crust. Roll out smaller dough disk on floured surface to 12-inch round; arrange over filling. Press top and bottom crusts together at edge of dish to seal. Trim dough overhang to ¾ inch; fold under and crimp edge decoratively. Using small sharp knife, cut several slits in top crust to allow steam to escape during baking.

Bake pie until juices bubble thickly and crust is golden, about 1 hour. Cool pie completely on rack. Serve at room temperature.

Lattice-Topped Blueberry Pie

In this pie, the blueberries are cooked separately to ensure that the filling has the perfect consistency.
8 servings

32 ounces frozen wild blueberries or regular blueberries (unthawed) or 7 cups fresh wild blueberries or regular blueberries

1 cup sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

2 Best-Ever Pie Crust dough disks (see recipe on page 224)

Heavy whipping cream

Vanilla ice cream

Combine blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and lemon peel in heavy large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and bubbles, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Continue to cook 1 minute longer, stirring constantly. Cool until warm.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim dough overhang to 1 inch. Spoon filling into crust. Roll out remaining dough disk to 13×10-inch rectangle; cut into ¾-inch-wide strips. Arrange half of dough strips atop filling, spacing evenly. Arrange remaining dough strips at right angle atop first strips, weaving if desired, to form lattice. Brush crust edge with cream and press strips to adhere. Trim dough strips even with overhang on lower crust. Fold edge of crust up over strips, pressing gently to seal. Crimp edges decoratively. Brush lattice and edges lightly with cream.

Place pie on baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden, about 1 hour. Cool pie on rack at least 1 hour.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Serve pie warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

Wild Blueberry Pie with Almond Crumble Topping

Wild blueberries are small and flavorful. They can be found fresh at farmers’ markets and frozen at supermarkets and specialty foods stores. If you can’t find wild blueberries, regular fresh or frozen blueberries make a fine substitute. The little bit of marzipan or almond paste in the topping amps up the flavor of the berries.
8 servings

1 Best-Ever Pie Crust dough disk (see recipe on page 224)

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (or more) sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

7 cups fresh wild blueberries or regular blueberries (about 32 ounces) or 32 ounces frozen wild blueberries or regular blueberries (unthawed)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

⅔ cup unbleached all purpose flour

4 ounces marzipan or almond paste, broken into ⅓-inch pieces (about ¾ cup loosely packed)

¼ cup (½ stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

½ teaspoon salt

Whipped cream or ice cream

Roll out pie dough disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Turn crust edges under and crimp decoratively, forming crust edge ¼ inch above sides of pie dish. Refrigerate while preparing filling and topping.

Whisk ¾ 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.

Combine flour, marzipan, butter, and salt in processor; blend until mixture begins to clump together. Transfer topping to small bowl; chill 30 minutes.

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

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Serve at room temperature with whipped cream or ice cream.

Blueberry-Sour Cream Pie

A bit of almond extract gives the blueberry filling a subtle flavor. The crunchy pecan streusel provides a nice contrast to the custardy filling.
8 servings

1¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour

½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch of salt

3 tablespoons (or more) ice water

1 cup sour cream

¾ cup sugar

2½ tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour

1 egg, beaten to blend

¾ teaspoon almond extract

¼ teaspoon salt

2½ cups fresh blueberries

6 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour

¼ cup (½ stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

⅓ cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons sugar

CRUST:
Blend flour, butter, sugar, and salt in processor until coarse meal forms. Using on/off turns, add 3 tablespoons ice water and blend until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out dough disk on floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim dough overhang to ½ inch. Fold edge under and crimp decoratively. Freeze 10 minutes. Line crust with foil; fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until sides are set, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans.

FILLING:
Whisk sour cream, sugar, flour, egg, almond extract, and salt in medium bowl. Mix in blueberries. Spoon filling into warm crust. Bake pie until filling is just set, about 25 minutes.

TOPPING:
Using fingertips, mix flour and butter in medium bowl until small clumps form. Mix in pecans and sugar. Sprinkle topping over pie. Bake until topping is lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Cool pie completely on rack. Serve at room temperature.

Blueberry Pie with Cornmeal Crust and Lemon Curd

Rolling the pie dough between two sheets of floured parchment paper gives maximum maneuverability. By handling the parchment (not the dough), it’s easy to flip the dough frequently, which helps with rolling an even round. The top crust is sprinkled with raw sugar, creating a sparkling effect.
8 servings

2½ cups unbleached all purpose flour

¼ cup cornmeal (preferably stone-ground, medium grind)

3 tablespoons sugar

¾ teaspoon salt

14 tablespoons (1¾ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

¼ cup non-hydrogenated solid vegetable shortening, frozen, cut into ½-inch pieces

4 tablespoons (or more) ice water

5 cups fresh blueberries (about 27 ounces)

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon water

Milk

1½ tablespoons raw sugar

Lemon Curd (see recipe)

CRUST:
Blend flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening; using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 4 tablespoons ice water; blend just until moist clumps begin to form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; divide in half. Flatten each half into disk. Wrap separately in plastic and chill at least 1 hour.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Soften dough 10 minutes at room temperature before rolling out.

FILLING:
Combine blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon water in large bowl; toss to blend. Let stand at room temperature until juices begin to form, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place rimmed baking sheet in bottom of oven. Roll out 1 dough disk between 2 sheets of generously floured parchment paper to 12-inch round. Peel off top parchment sheet; invert dough into 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Carefully peel off second parchment sheet. Gently press dough into pie dish, pressing any cracks together as needed to seal and leaving dough overhang. Spoon filling into crust.

Roll out second dough disk between 2 sheets of generously floured parchment paper to 12-inch round. Peel off top parchment sheet. Carefully invert dough evenly atop filling. Peel off second parchment sheet. Trim overhang of both crusts to 1 inch. Fold overhang under and press to seal. Crimp edges decoratively. Cut five 2-inch-long slits in top crust of pie to allow steam to escape during baking. Lightly brush top crust (not edges) with milk. Sprinkle with raw sugar.