Fresh Blueberry Pie

Last week blueberries on sale for 99 cents a pint!  (They are typically $4.99 a pint at our store). So, I bought 4 pints to use and freeze! My dad suggested that I make a pie with a "criss-cross top," which I thought was a fantastic idea considering I've never made a lattice topped pie before but have always wanted to.  This pie was delicious! It was a little less sweet than the Mixed Berry Pie, which was almost like a jam . . . mmm jam. This pie was perfect paired with whipped cream!

Fresh Blueberry Pie

Ingredients:

Pie crust for a 2-crust 9-inch pie

4 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons lemon juice (~1 medium lemon)

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (I used all of the zest of the medium lemon)

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

dash of salt

milk to brush on crust and sugar to sprinkle on top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F.

1. Prepare crust. Press the bottom crust in a pie plate. 

2. In a large bowl, add sugar, lemon juice and zest, cornstarch, and salt. Mix well. Add fresh berries and stir to coat evenly. Transfer berries to pie plate containing the bottom crust.

3. Roll top crust out into a large oval (~10 inches x 8 inches). Using a clear plastic ruler and a knife or pizza cutter, cut strips of desired width (mine were 1-inch).  Lay parallel strips across the berries, all in one direction.  Fold back every other strip and then lay a strip perpendicularly across berries (to make lattice). Continue to do this by alternating which strips are folded back. You may leave as much space as you desire between the strips - you can even leave no space at all, which simply makes a solid top crust with a beautiful design, but in this case you might want to roll the dough thinner otherwise the top crust will be a double layer (and you would run out of dough!)

4. If desired, brush top crust with milk (I used skim), then sprinkle with sugar.

5. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until crust is golden. You may need to cover the edges with aluminum foil after 10-20 minutes to prevent them from over-browning.

6. After baking, let pie cool at least a few hours before slicing. Enjoy with some whipped cream!!! 

Source: Adapted from the Pie and Pastry Bible