YOU GUYS.
I’m not even kidding when I say this is the best pie I’ve ever made. That’s not me bragging, I’m as surprised as anyone. From the beautifully flaky crust to the flavorful, non-runny filling… this pie was pure perfection. I could barely contain my excitement when I pulled them out of the oven, and when I sliced into it I was literally grinning from ear to ear (if only for about 1.5 seconds before I started stuffing my face).
This is about as classic as blueberry pie gets, with one notable exception: almond, by way of a splash of almond extract in the filling and a few tablespoons of almond flour in the crust. That subtle almond flavor just takes this pie from damn good to freaking amazing.
If you know me, you know I have issues with pie crust. We are not friends. It is pretty much assumed that there will be a pie crust ‘incident’ every Thanksgiving. I’ve even managed to screw up a graham cracker crust before, if you can believe it.
So when I told told Taylor I was attempting a double-crusted fruit pie, the fear in his eyes was palpable (let’s just say I’m not the most pleasant person to be around when such ‘incidents’ occur). I think he was worried that I’d bite his head off before the pies were out of the oven. So we were both pretty happy when the crust cooperated. Drama-free pie for all.
Short side note since we’re talking about blueberries… I originally posted this spontaneous blueberry art on Instagram, where it promptly became my most-liked photo EVER. I started to think how lovely this would look framed on the wall, and as a result am excited to announce I’ve opened up a small Society6 shop. Currently you can buy this image (and a horizontal version) as an art print, stretched canvas, iphone cases and more. Pretty cool! The plan is to add more of my favorite images to the shop in the coming months (and I’m happy to take requests if there’s an image you’d love to have on your wall!)
</end shameless self promotion>
But, back to pie.
I used this easy pie crust recipe from Serious Eats. The theory being that the flakiness doesn’t require visible chunks of butter, but rather creating a paste of butter and flour first creates a beautifully flaky crust that is much easier to work with. Which is very true, to the extent I thought that I f*cked up and added way too much water because the dough was so smooth and pliable (spoiler alert: I didn’t. It’s supposed to be that way.)
A 9-inch pie is a lot of pie, especially for two people. Instead, I used two small pie tins (about 4-inches) across. Turns out that in terms of straight volume, one of these tins is almost exactly 1/4 of a 9-inch pie. So half a normal pie recipe yields two mini pies, which is pretty perfect for two people.
Pie math is the best kind of math.
I’m not usually one for fruit desserts, but this pie was divine; I didn’t miss the chocolate at all. So good, in fact, that wish I had made a big one, or at least four little ones instead of two.
I guess that means we’ll just have to go back and pick some more blueberries before the season is over… as if the 8 pounds we already picked wasn’t enough.
Fresh Blueberry Pie
Fresh blueberry pie recipe with a hint of almond and an ultra-flaky crust. Make one standard size pie, two 7-inch pies, or four mini 4-inch pies!)
Ingredients:
For Crust:
- 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup (2.5 ounces) almond flour or almond meal
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/2 sticks (20 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pats
- 6 tablespoons cold water
For Filling:
- 6 cups (about 2 pounds) fresh blueberries, rinsed and stems removed
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
For Wash:
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
- turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
Directions:
- Prepare the crust. Combine 1 1/2 cups of flour, almond flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to incorporate. Drop butter chunks evenly over surface. Pulse until no dry flour remains and dough just begins to collect in pasty clumps, about 25 short pulses. Redistribute the dough evenly around the bowl of the food processor and sprinkle with remaining flour. Pulse until dough just begins to break apart, about 5 short pulses. Transfer dough to a large bowl.
- Sprinkle with water and fold and press with a rubber spatula until dough comes together into a ball. Split in half and form into disks. Wrap each disk tightly in two layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight (at this point dough can also be frozen for up to 1 month).
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out half of the dough to a circle about 13 inches in diameter. Gently ease the dough into a 9-inch pie pan. Trim edges to a 1/2 inch overhang. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes until ready to use.
- To prepare the filling, fold blueberries together with lemon juice and almond extract in a large bowl. Sprinkle with sugar and flour and toss to coat. Transfer to chilled pie crust, berries should mound higher in the center (they will shrink when baked). Roll out remaining dough to the same size and thickness as the first. Gently place on top of the berry filling and trim. (Alternatively, you can cut the crust into strips and weave together to form a lattice top). Tuck edge of top piece over and under the edge of the bottom crust and crimp. Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk egg and milk together to make an egg wash. Brush the top of crust with egg wash and sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar. If making a solid-top pie, cut a few slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape while baking. This is not necessary for lattice-tops. Place the pie on a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet (to catch any overflow) in the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 30 to 40 minutes more or until crust is golden brown and filling is thick and bubbly. (For 6-inch pies, bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat and bake for 25 to 35 minutes.) Place on a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
Crust adapted from Serious Eats, filling from Simply Recipes.
All images and text ©Lindsay Landis / Love & Olive OilDid you make this recipe?
Let us know what you think!
Leave a Comment below or share a photo and tag me on Instagram with the hashtag #loveandoliveoil.
want a reciepe for one 6inch blueberry pie,the filling.giving reciepe for large pie not what i want.so please forward what im asking for
The recipe above will give you 2 approximately 7-inch pies. Halve it if you just want one!
Next time I am going to try this recipe for filling http://www.food.com/recipe/perfect-blueberry-pie-filling-228641
Hello,
I just finished making your blueberry pie recipe! I always make Ina Garten’s recipe and as much as I love her, it’s just not enough berries! It always slumps a little in the middle and drowns my lattice crust! I was on a search for a recipe that had a mound of berries and almond extract and ta-dah! Pinned your recipe.
Some issues I had with the filling were that the (1) flour was clumpy. I let it sit on the counter for 30 min before I poured it into the crust but blueberries don’t make liquid until cooked, so the flour never really settles. Also, (2) the mound of berries at the peak never broke and started bubbling like the rest of the pie. I’ll be posting today’s kitchen adventure on my blog later this evening or tomorrow if you are interested. https://happyhousewife2016.wordpress.com
Earlier this year I made a variation of your tart cherry pie and the recipe came out PERFECT. I tweaked my sugar to cherry ratio just right and it was just the right amount of runny. This post is also on my blog. https://happyhousewife2016.wordpress.com
Thanks for the inspiration and keep up the good works!
XO -Jenn
The pies look incredible, love the flavour combination of blueberries and almond.
These pies look gorgeous! I’m particularly impressed that the all-butter dough didn’t shrink much, something I’ve always struggled with when using an all-butter recipe.
Could you taste the almond flour in the dough?
I made this to meet my boyfriend’s extended family for the first time. I was extremely nervous since I don’t own a food processor and had to make this crust by hand. Since there’s no instruction in terms of temp of butter, I just knew I’d either over or under worked the dough or destroyed it in some other way. However, I got SO many compliments on this pie. It turned out GORGEOUS, and tasted so very delicious. The crust was even flaky and buttery delicious. Make this pie! My only change would be to use more flour in the berry mixture next time since it didn’t hold it’s shape very well when warmed and sliced. Thanks, Love and Olive Oil!
My 8 year old daughter and I made this over the weekend and it is AMAZING!! So yummy and very easy to make. Thank you for sharing this recipe! Love your blog!
My goodness, these pies are absolutely gorgeous. I don’t think I have ever seen pies as pretty as these!
I made this yesterday … OUTSTANDING!!!! The pie crust is to die for!
OMG! So , when it comes to fruit I’m totally obsessed with blueberries and it just so happens I have a one pound tub that I just bought from TJ’s. So, I’m so looking forward to making this delicious pie this weekend.
Question: Is it necessary to use almond meal or almond flour? Are there any substitutions? I really am refraining from having to make another trip to TJ’s or Whole Foods. Thanks in advance.
I am craving these, they are beautiful!
I’ve been throwing blueberries into everything lately! I both picked them and recieved a huge container from my uncle’s mom’s farm in Georgia. Best blueberries ever. And I’m very much with you on adding almond. Almond goes well with practically everything.
Also, I purchased a blueberry gradient iPhone case! Wahoo!
So beautiful! The pie and the blueberry print!
I love love love berry pies! I bet the subtle almond flavor is absolutely fantastic! I’m totally going to try it with raspberry pie too :-)
I am ashamed to admit I have never baked a pie! But this looks so easy and delicious…I will finally give it a try
I love blueberry season! And your pies look stunning and delicious. I can imagine the subtle taste of the almond meal and extract and think it is a lovely addition. Looking forward to trying this recipe! Oh – yes, your blueberry evolution photo…. it’s an ODE to the blueberry! Beautiful! Pinned!
Craving this now!
Yay, pie! Pie pie pie pie pie. :) I rarely manage not to eat all the berries before I get it together enough to make them into a pie, but this may get me to exert my force of will! And that print is definitely something special. Yay!
loving that blueberry print! and this pie!! YUM!
Oh, I’m so excited to try this. I’m the worst with pie crust, and if this comes out right, I swear I’ll do a back flip. I’ve had more than my share of incidents. Your pictures are so enticing and beautiful!
This recipe looks amazing! And I LOVE the blueberry gradient print! :D
I love blueberries and the addition of almond flavor to this pie! Looks so yummy!
Ooh this looks delicious, I’ve never tried making a fruit pie, only a crumble.
Yummy!
If math always involved pie, I’m sure I would have gotten MUCH higher grades in school, haha. These little pies are gorgeous, and I will definitely be checking out this pie crust recipe the next time I attempt to make one since I’ve had some “incidents” with them as well. Beautiful blueberry print too! :)
Glad you had good luck with the pie crust finally! Yeah! These photos are stunning….as usual :-)
That ombré blueberry photo is stunning! Despite living in Brooklyn, where there is an abundance of crazy (and delicious) flavors of pie, blueberry will always be my favorite :)
These blueberry pies look amazing!!! I can almost taste it through the screen. I’m also in love with your ombre blueberry photo. Great capture!
I love blueberry pie, and yours are just beautiful!
I really like berries of all kinds, and your enthusiasm for this pie just placed it on my list of “make soon.” Lovely post. Lovely photo.
Love that blueberry photo! Seriously. Gorgeous. And I’m so excited about your Society6 store! That is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while–I think I’m going to look into it.
Blueberry pie is my fave!
My husband should be glad to know he isn’t the only one who has to duck and cover during a cooking mishap! Seriously, though, looks divine and can’t wait to check out what prints you will have for sale. Food art is the best art!
Those are perfectly gorgeous pies!
First: gorgeous pie, yes! But second!! I’m SO GLAD you’re selling your food photos! I would love to have some on my wall! yay! I’m off to check it out! You posted a photo of a sandwich with potato chips recently that took my breath away. I have a private board on pinterest of food photos that inspire the heck outta me, and I think I looked at that photo over and over for weeks!
This looks fantastic. And a fellow pastry-phobic cook is sending you praise and congrats hugs across the internet for this!!
As I was scrolling down this post, the blueberry gradient photo immediately caught my eye and — no joke — my first thought was, “I wonder if I can commission an art print of that photo?” And then I read the next paragraph. So I think I have to order it now! Also, count me as someone who would love to see more of your prints for sale.
I love the look of this pie! I definitely need to try your version of “the best”! Looks great!
No matter how fancy pants I try to get with desserts, you simply can’t beat blueberry pie in the summer! Love this classic (and congrats on the crust. It’s a beauty!)
I am not surprised this pie is the best Lindsay! I am a sucker for blueberry pie.
Looking at these pies, it is hard to believe you’ve ever had incidents with pie. gorgeous! Almond extract is so intoxicating of a smell…it makes everything better!
That pie crust looks so good!
It’s beautiful and that’s awesome it’s your best-ever! It looks picture-perfect and I love blueberry pie and I love almond extract even more! Delish. Pinned!