made by Emily

I have been perfecting this pie ever since trying Mandy's Strawberry Rhubarb Bar recipe for the first time years ago.  That recipe is so good, and I make it every summer as soon as we start getting some good berries, always experimenting with it by changing the fruits (peaches, blueberries, or a combo of different berries), then one time I moved it to a pie dish, added crust and made a couple other little changes with the prep.... Suddenly I have a mean blueberry pie.  
Like the Rhubarb Bars, this too is really, really good.  If you're not afraid of making pie crust, you've got to try it.  Make the crust ahead a day or two to save time.  If you are afraid of making pie crust, or you're in a pinch for time, make it with a frozen pie crust until you are ready to take the next step.

You'll Need:
for the crust:
(makes 2 9" pie crusts)
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 egg
1/3 cup plus 2 T ice water (more if needed)
1 tsp distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into cubes
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

To make the crust: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flours, sugar & salt.  Add the shortening and the butter to the flour mixture, and using a pastry blender, cut it until the butter resembles small peas.  You can also use two knives but you will do a LOT of cutting to get to the appearance of small peas.  In a small separate bowl, beat the egg with 1/3 c of the water and the vinegar.  Add the egg mixture to the flour/butter mixture gently tossing with your hands just until it comes together in a ball.  If the dough is too dry, add another T of ice water.  Gather the dough together on a CLEAN lightly floured surface and divide evenly into 2 balls.  Flatten the balls until about 1/2" thick and then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and fridge at least 1 hr.  

If not using right away, fridge for a couple days or freeze for up to 3 wks.  If frozen, thaw for 1 day in the fridge before you roll it out to use it.

for the topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter at room temp (leave out 30 min prior)
1/8 tsp baking soda

for the blueberry filling:
4 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1 Tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbs cornstarch
1 Tbs flour

To make the pie:

Combine all topping ingredients in a mixer on medium speed until looking crumbly (see pic).  Set aside.  
On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll out the cold pie crust until it is very thin and a few inches bigger than the pie plate (so it drapes about 2 " over the edges on all sides).  Sprinkle flour on the rolling pin and on the dough as you roll it out so it doesn't get sticky.  When ready to transfer to the pie plate, put the pie plate turned upside down over the rolled-out crust, and then flip the pie plate WITH the parchment paper/crust ALL TOGETHER.  Peel off the parchment paper and let the crust sink into the pie plate carefully.  No need to trim the edges because you will fold the uneven edges all over the blueberries and then cover with crumbs so no need to be neat here.  Prick all over the dough with a fork. 

Rinse blueberries in water and drain.  Transfer to a medium bowl.  Add the lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and flour; toss until all blueberries are evenly coated and then fill the pie shell with this mixture.  
Fold the edges of the uneven crust inwards towards center of pie, and then dump crumb topping mixture in center of the pie plate on top of the blueberries and slightly on top of the crust near the edges of the pie plate.  The crumbs can cover the pie crust a little, but keep the crumb topping mostly in the center over the blueberries (see pic).  
Bake at 350' for about an hour until you can see blueberries bubbling thru the top and the crumb top is lightly browned.  Let cool before cutting and you will get pretty clean pieces of pie (see pic).  This pie will stay together once it's at room temp.  Suggest to serve with vanilla or Salted Caramel Ice Cream.   
 

made my Emily

Happy 4th of July!  This is a great summery dessert that I have been making for 5 years now.  I don't know why it wasn't one of the first things I posted, but anyway, better late than never.  I make it when we have friends over because it looks good, individual portions, and after eating and drinking a lot, it's not too too heavy in the whole spectrum of desserts.  
So, here it is:  

Step 1, fruit:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tsp real vanilla extract
4 cups of berries of your choice, washed and set aside in a bowl: raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries...
 
Combine sugar, water and vanilla in small saucepan and cook on high.  Let boil only about 2-3 minutes until sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.  Once cooled, add 1/2 amount to fruit and toss gently.  Set the rest aside to use in the parfait cream (Step 3), or another use.
***use extra syrup in your morning coffee or in whipped cream.  Keeps in fridge for about 5 days.
Step 2, oats:
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Tbs butter
2 Tbs packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt 
1/4 cup chopped nuts (I used a combo of sliced almonds and pecans, and smashed them up in a plastic bag first)
1 cup Quaker "Old Fashioned" oats (these are the big oats)

Preheat to 350'.  In a medium non-stick pan, mix all above ingredients together -EXCEPT OATS- over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon.  Once this heats up and gets bubbly, add "old fashioned oats" and toss to coat thoroughly (I use two wooden spoons to toss).  Keep tossing as it continues to cook for another 2 minutes or so.  Then remove from heat, and spread the mixture evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake for about 10 minutes at 350', just until slightly browned.  Set aside to cool.  The oat topping will get crunchy once it cools.    
Step 3, parfait cream:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tbs simple syrup (you'll make this in Step 1)
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbs acacia honey (or a good honey.  plain honey is ok too but not quite as tasty)

Whip heavy cream, simple syrup and honey in the mixer with wire whisk attachment, on highest speed, about 3 minutes, until looking solid like whipped cream.  Then add the sour cream and whip for 30 seconds more on high.  

To Assemble:
Layer oats, berries, cream in a glass of some sort to see the layers.  Eat immediately, or within a couple hrs (not to be made ahead).  Garnish with fresh mint leaves, if desired.   
 

By Rachel

One of my favorite breakfasts is a muffin, cut in half and grilled with butter like you would a grilled cheese...so crispy on the outside but soft and cake-like in the center.  I have about 30 pounds of blueberries in my freezer right now so I have been experimenting a lot with different blueberry recipes.  Last week I made a recipe from Real Simple magazine, and they were really good, but the flax seed flavor was a little too overwhelming to become a favorite.  This week I used a Martha Stewart favorite of mine and simply substituted the strawberries for blueberries.  Delicious!
You will need:

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (the original recipe calls for 1.5 cups sliced strawberries)
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar (the 1 Tbls should be course ground decorating sugar)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Toss together blueberries and 1/3 cup sugar. If you are using fresh fruit, lightly mash berries; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a glass 2-quart measuring cup or a medium bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla; whisk to combine.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk mixture and the berry mixture (with juice). Fold just until combined. 
Using an ice cream scoop, divide the batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with remaining sugar.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.
 

By Miranda

As it turns out, I AM crazy because I baked in the middle of a 90 degree summer day!!  The only reason being, I had a sweet tooth and my babies were asleep so I took the chance.  Plus, I had these delicious wild blueberries from the farmers market that were just a tad too mushy to eat plain.  Ok, so a smoothie would have probably been a more refreshing option... but these turned out delish - and then I just jumped in the lake after baking.  Problem solved!  Oh and then after dinner, I had an even worse sweet tooth and added some cream cheese frosting to them.  Yum!!  And just to make us all feel better, these were actually made with 1/2 whole wheat flour and they still turned out really good.

*Recipe and pictures below from King Arthur Flour.

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
coarse white sparkling sugar for garnish (optional)

DirectionsPreheat the oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with papers, and grease the papers.In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with a hand-held or stand mixer, until light, fluffy, and almost white in color. Start the mixer at low speed until the ingredients are incorporated, then gradually increase speed to medium-high until the desired color and texture are reached.Scrape down the bowl to make sure all the butter is incorporated, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.Add the vanilla and sour cream or yogurt, and mix until incorporated.Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until the batter is smooth. It will be thick.Fold in the berries by hand.Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups, using a heaping 1/4-cup for each. Sprinkle with regular granulated or coarse white sugar, if desired.Bake the muffins for 18 to 24 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Remove them from the oven, cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan to finish cooling on a rack.