Blueberry Cream Pie

The other day I stopped by a Trader Joe's store on my road trip home.  If you've never been to one, I highly suggest stopping at one.  We don't have one locally, so I love to stop and get some unique things for the pantry and freezer.  I sure wish they would get on the ball and build one closer to me!!

How does this bring me to blueberry pie?  Well, my husband LOVES blueberries - more specifically the wild variety that are small and tart (vs. the giant store bought monsters from California).  Trader Joe's just happens to have some awesome bags of frozen wild blueberries for sale!  My intention was to just make a standard blueberry pie, but then I started looking around on Pinterest where I had pinned this recipe and I decided to whip it up instead!  Let me tell you, this pie did NOT disappoint!  We weren't able to wait for it to completely cool and man was it good and even better as a cold slice out of the fridge the next day!

Pie.  It's what's for breakfast dessert!

I used a pre-made pie crust (from Trader Joe's), but your standard shortning crust recipe (right off the Crisco can) would work great for this pie!

Enjoy!

Blueberry Cream Pie

1 Pie Crust
1 egg + 1 Tbsp Cold Water

Filling:
3 Cups Blueberries
1 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Flour
2 Large Eggs, at room temperature
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Tsp Vanilla

Crumb Topping:
2 1/2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
Pinch of Nutmeg
1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, melted
2/3 Cup Flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lay crust in 9" pie plate and crimp edges - place in refrigerator while making filling.  For the filling; mix together sugar and flour, add eggs one at a time, then add sour cream and vanilla - beating until smooth.  Take crust out of the fridge, spread blueberries in bottom and pour filling evenly over the top and set aside while making crumb topping.  In small bowl, mix together brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg with a fork - add melted butter until mixed and then add flour, stirring until crumbly.  With fingers, crumble topping over blueberries and filling.  Whisk together 1 egg and 1 Tbsp cold water, then brush over exposed edge of pie crust.  Bake for 50-55 minutes.  Let cool before slicing and serving!

Tip:  If using frozen blueberries, let thaw completely before using.  I set mine on top of a few folded paper towels in a bowl to soak up some of the extra juice before using. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Can we all say... "mmmmmmmmm!"

My rhubarb grows and grows and grows!  I'm always trying to use up its delicious goodness and this pie is one of the perfect ways.  I hope to get a few more rhubarb recipes up, but we'll see how busy the kids keep me around here! :)  This recipe makes 1 pie - serves 8 or maybe more if you share better than I do!

Enjoy!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Pie Crust:
1/2 Cup (1 Stick) VERY Cold Butter
1 Cup Flour
1/8 Cup Sugar
1/8 Tsp Salt
1/8 Cup Cold Water, plus additional Tbsp or so if needed

Filling:
2 3/4 Cups Rhubarb, Sliced (about 5-6 stalks)
2 Cups Sliced Strawberries
2/3 Cup Sugar

3 Tbsp Corn Starch

Streusel Topping:
1 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Cold Butter

Crust: In a food processor or in a large bowl, if mixing the dough by hand, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Mix for a second or two to blend. Add the butter and, on low speed or by hand with two knives or a pastry cutter, work the mixture until it is crumbly and the largest pieces of butter are no bigger than a pea. The butter should remain cold and firm. If the butter is becoming too soft, refrigerate the mixture for a 10-15 before continuing. Once the butter/flour mixture resembles large coarse crumbs, on low speed or tossing with a fork, if mixing by hand, sprinkle the cold water evenly over the flour mixture, and mix just until it pulls together in a shaggy mass. Add a tablespoon of cold water additionally at a time if the dough isn’t pulling together well. The object isn’t to have a smooth, tight ball of dough – the dough should still have loose pieces of flour here and there but should just start coming together when the water is mixed in.  Dump the dough out onto a work surface. Using your hands, pull the dough together and gently press it into a large ball. It should start joining more cohesively and forming more of a dough-like consistency.  Using a lightly floured work surface, begin rolling from the center of the dough outward. Stop the pressure 1/4 inch from the edge of the dough. Lift the dough and turn by a quarter and repeat the rolling until the dough is at least 12 inches in diameter. The lifting and turning is important because this will let you know if the dough is sticking and if more flour is needed on your work surface.  Carefully fold the dough into quarters and place in the pie dish.  Ease the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pie dish without stretching (if the dough is stretched to fit the pie plate, it will shrink while baking). Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, trim the excess dough around the edge of the pie plate so that there is still about 1/4 to 1/2-inch hanging over the edge of the pie plate. Fold this excess under the edge of the pie to form an extra thick edge on top of the pie plate rim. Flute the edges with your fingers. Cover the pie plate loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to overnight before filling and baking.

Filling:  In a medium-large bowl, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar and cornstarch. Mix well. The mixture should be thick and syrupy after being stirred well.  Pour the strawberry/rhubarb mixture in the crust, using a large spoon to fill evenly. 

Streusel:  In a small bowl, combine the flour and brown sugar. Cut the butter into pieces and using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in the butter to the flour/sugar mixture until it has the consistency of coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the top of the pie.

Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 50-55 minutes, covering the pie crust edges halfway with foil to prevent over-browning.

Let the pie cool completely before cutting into pieces. Serve with a dollop of freshly whipped cream, if desired.

Summer = Pie!

My husband and I went out to Perkin's for dinner a few weeks back - exciting date nights around here, let me tell you! ;)  Their promotion at the time was "Lemon Days" and it included this wonderfully, scrumptious looking Lemon Ice Box Pie!  If my computer wasn't so cranky, I'd have a picture from Perkin's themselves of the pie.(to compare, of course!)  Alas, my computer is cranky and Perkin's is onto another promotion.  I ate every last morsel and then decided I had to recreate it in my kitchen.  Oh and is it ever wonderful!  This recipe could easily be simplified by buying a can of lemon filling for the middle layer and using cool whip for the top - essentially the only thing you would be making by hand would be the first layer.  Because the fillings I made were recipes for one pie all by themselves, this recipe makes two pies with the multiple fillings.  FYI: If you go the fresh squeezed route, you're going to need about 6 lemons for these beauties!

Enjoy!

Lemon Ice Box Pie

2 Graham Cracker Crusts (I'm lazy, I buy the pre-made crusts - for under $2 a piece this saves lot of my sanity!)

Layer 1:
1 - 8 oz Package Cream Cheese, room temperature
1 - 14 oz Can Sweet-Condensed Milk
1/2 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Lemon Zest
1 Tsp Vanilla

Mix all ingredients on medium speed until smooth.  Pour half into each pie crust and put in refrigerator.

Layer 2:
2 Cups Water
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Cornstarch
5 Egg Yolks, beaten
1/4 Cup Butter
3/4 Cup Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Lemon Zest
1 Tsp Vanilla

Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan.  Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes.  Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together.  Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated.  Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil.  The mixture will be very thick (almost instantaneously).  Add about a cup of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth.  Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil.  Remove from heat and stir in butter until incorporated.  Add lemon juice, zest, and vanilla - stirring until combined.  Cool filling for 15-20 minutes or more - cover with plastic wrap to keep skin from forming.  Once almost room temperature or only slightly warm, spoon half over first layer and smooth out. 

Put in refrigerator overnight to completely set.

Layer 3:
1 Pint Whipping Cream, very cold

Whip cream, adding sugar and vanilla to taste, until semi-hard peaks form.  Spoon over pies generously!