SweetBakedLove: Wild Blueberry Pie

Even though fall is here my countdown of summer berries isn't over yet. The berry list so far is:

Raspberries
Red Currants
Black Currants

I will give you a hint about the fourth berry on the list. They're round, they're blue, they're delicious...if you guess blueberries you'd be right. I love blueberries and nothing beat wild blueberries. Each year we head out into the bush to stock up on firewood for the winter and one year I hit jackpot....wild blueberries.

The wild blueberry patch I found!

Okay I admit wild blueberry picking comes with it's own set of dangerous, like bears picking with you in your patch. But my oh my you haven't had blueberry pie until you had wild blueberry pie. It is so good that it makes the bear scare total worth it!!! Next year I'm buy bear mace....

Wild blueberries are nature's antioxidant super fruit. With twice the antioxidant capacity of ordinary blueberries.They have cancer fighting and other disease benefits. Have cholesterol lowering properties and promote heart health. They have been called "brain food" and can help with Alzheimer's prevention. Are an excellent anti-diabetes food, both in prevention and control of the disease. In short they taste fabulous and are good for you.

Fresh blueberries are the best for you but unfortunately they are usually only in season during summer months here. You can still find them in store at other times but they're just not the same. The next best choice is frozen, usually available year-round and I have even found frozen wild blueberries.

I love using wild blueberries when I'm baking.

You get twice the amount of blueberries when you use wild ones which means your baked goods have more berries in every bite. The wild one have more skin and less water so your berries bleed less, don't make your muffins/pies/scones soggy and pack more "blueberry punch." I say they next time your buying blueberry try the smaller wild variety you'll be hooked for life :)

My favorite thing to make with wild blueberries is....Wild Blueberry Pie. I use my adapt version of No Fail Pie Dough. I love this pie crust recipe because it absolutely NEVER fails!! Try my version or the original Tenderflake No Fail Pie Crust recipe found here. Either way you will not be disappointed, it is the best pie crust recipe out there :)

~Wild Blueberry Pie~

5 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 lb chilled butter, cut into cubes
1 egg
1 tablespoon cold lemon juice
1 cup cold water

Stir the flour and salt together. Cut in the chilled butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the butter is in pea size pieces.
In a small bowl combine egg, and lemon juice. Whisk the egg and lemon juice together, add the cold water.

Stir the liquid into the flour mixture. Stir with wooden spoon until all ingredients are thoroughly combine and you have a soft dough. Gather the dough into a ball and cut dough (like a cake) into 6 portions.

Cover and refrigerate for one hour. You can chill the dough overnight but bring it to room temperature approx 15-20 min. before rolling out.

You can roll out the dough by lightly flouring work surface and rolling into circle. I always use my "up-cycled" cereal bags for this part, click here.

Lightly flour two clean, wash cereal bags and roll the dough out between the bags. The dough rolls out easily, doesn't stick and you can use the bag to transfer and flip the rolled out pie crust right into the pie pan.

~Blueberry Pie Filling~

3 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Combine the blueberries, sugar and cornstarch in a pot.

Simmer on low heat until the blueberries, sugar and corn starch mixture starts to melt and the berry release their nature juices.

Add lemon juice.

Cook, while stirring, over medium heat until mixture comes to a full boil and is thick, approx. 5. Allow the filling to cool completely before adding to pie crust.

You can use this filling for tarts, cake filling or cheesecake topping. I never add any extra water when I make this filling, just the juice from the berry so the filling is full of flavour.

See how many more blueberries you get when you use wild blueberries.

Add top crust and brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with raw sugar or turbino sugar if desired. I love the added crunchy texture the sugar adds so I always sprinkle the top crust with sugar.

Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 40 minutes, check halfway through and turn the pie to bake evenly if needed. Cover the edges with a strip of foil if edges are getting too brown.

Delicious Wild Blueberry Pie!

Don't you wanna piece now?

Look how flaky and golden the crust is, it always works out perfectly.

Blueberry pie is just one of the many ways you can enjoy these delicious sweet little berries. Actual I made a batch of Blueberry Streusel Muffins recently and I used the Raspberry Almond Streusel Muffin recipe I posted earlier. You can find the muffin recipe here.