Blueberry Crumb Pie

The perfect dessert for Father’s Day. Add a little dollop of sour cream or whipped creme fraiche to tame it down. Yep, it’s a dessert for those with a sweet tooth. Most dads I know love pie and my dad was no different. Use frozen blueberries if you can’t find fresh. I find frozen berries so much easier when baking. This recipe is so easy! So good!

Recipe

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Basic pie crust:

1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour-more for rolling pin and rolling surface
1/4 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup vegetable shortening
1/4 Cup ice water

Whisk salt into flour.

Cut shortening (with a fork) into flour until crumbly.

Add water a little at a time until dough follows your fork around the bowl.

Form a ball with your hands and remove dough onto a floured surface.

Roll out dough to desired size to fit your pie dish, usually 2-3 inches larger than upper diameter of pie dish … may be larger for deep dish.

Fold dough in half and carefully lift to pie dish. If the dough is hanging over the edge of pie dish trim leaving about an inch excess. Fold the inch excess under and crimp edge. I like using the side of my thumb and forefinger for an easy crimp. If you are new to pie crust and need a quick fix for the edge just use the tines of a fork around the edge … Or, for a rustic look leave the edge purposely ragged.

Lightly prick the interior of the crust with a fork.

Bake in preheated oven until beginning to brown. Remove and cool to room temperature.

Filling:

3 Cups of frozen recipe ready blueberries (no rinse) or freshly washed fresh blueberries
1/2 (for tart) to 2/3 Cup sugar
1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon
Dash salt
1/2 Teaspoon lemon zest + 1 Teaspoon lemon juice (optional for a bit of tart)

Topping:

3/4 Cup all purpose flour
1/4 Cup + 2 tablespoons sugar-brown sugar can be used
1/4 Cup + 2 tablespoons firm cold butter
Dash of salt

Whisk salt into flour and sugar.

Cut butter into mixture until crumbly.

Putting it together:

Place lightly mixed filling into cooled pie crust.

Sprinkle with topping.

Bake for 45 minutes. Fresh berries may take less baking time.