Blueberry Crumble Pie

On our way back from my sister’s surprise birthday party, Ron and I pulled over to a roadside stand in Tweed to buy some fresh picked wild blueberries.  Normally blueberries are not ready for picking in this area until August but with the extremely hot and dry summer we’ve had they were not only ready but the roadside vendor told us that they were almost done for the season!

The basket of blueberries was full of the cleanest picked berries I’ve ever had.  When washing them there were minimal stems left to pick off and no leaves at all.  Best of all, every blueberry was intact, not one squished berry in the entire lot!

I made Ron’s favourite pie first and then a few blueberry pie patties…

 and with the remaining berries and pie crust I decided to make this blueberry crumble pie.

Out of all three desserts made from that one basket of wild blueberries, mine and everyone’s favourite was this crumble.  My daughter-in-law Jen normally only eats blueberries when they are baked in muffins but while she was here with us for a few days, she surprised herself by how much she enjoyed a few slices of this.  Even Ron said that he liked this blueberry crumble pie more than his favourite blueberry pie.

I  didn’t have enough crust left over to fill my large pie plate so I just baked this crumble in an 8-inch round cake pan.  Once baked and cooled, it lifted easily out of the pan.

Recipe for this Blueberry Crumble Pie

For the Crust (this makes enough for a double crust pie.  You won’t use all of it for this pie crumble but it does freeze well)

1/4 cup of cold water

1 egg

1 teaspoon of vinegar

2 cups of unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/4 cup of cold butter

1/4 cup of cold shortening

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Whisk the cold water, egg and vinegar together in a small bowl.  Set aside.  In a larger bowl add the flour, salt and cinnamon.  Cut in the cold butter and shortening using a pastry blender or a knife and fork until just combined and comes to a pea-like consistency.

Blend in the liquid (I added it in thirds) mixing with a fork after each addition until dough attains a coarse meal texture. Divide the dough into two.  Place on a lightly floured surface (I use a sheet of parchment paper dusted with flour) and roll to at least a 12″ round. (For the blueberry pie crumble, roll out your dough to a 10″ circle)

Lifting your dough by the parchment paper, slid the palm of your hand underneath to the center of the crust and then flip it into your waiting pie plate (in this case, the waiting 8″ cake pan).  Peel away the parchment paper and carefully arrange your crust so it overlaps the entire pie plate (pan) and settles to the bottom of the plate (pan).  Pierce the bottom crust with a fork a few times.  Cut away any overlapping crust then pinch top of crust together with your fingers.

For the Pie Filling

1/2 cup of white sugar

2 tablespoons of flour

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

3 teaspoons of lemon juice

1 teaspoon of Angostura Bitters (flavour enhancer)

3-4 cups of fresh wild blueberries

Mix flour, sugar and spices together.  In a large bowl add your blueberries and sprinkle dry ingredients over them, then toss gently to  mix.  Sprinkle lemon juice and Angostura Bitters over berries.  Place in bottom pie crust.

For the Crumble Topping

5 tablespoons of butter

1/2 cup of flour

6 tablespoons of white sugar

1/2 cup of Turbinado sugar

1/2 cup of Large Flaked Rolled Oats

Cut butter into flour, add white sugar and Turbinado sugar and whisk together.  Add oats and stir to combine.  Sprinkle over blueberries.  Fold your pie crust edges against the crumble topping.

Bake at 425° for 15-20 minutes, lower heat to 350° and continue baking until crust is golden and berry juice is bubbling over.

Serve warm or cold, either way it’s very good!

 

 

 

Tagged as: Blueberry Pie Crumble, Blueberry Pie Patties