Award Winning Maple Blueberry Pie Recipes

BLUEBERRY PIE

Steps:

• Simmer 3 cups blueberries with 1/2 cup maple syrup until the mixture reduces by half, about 20 minutes. Pour into a bowl; stir in 4 cups blueberries, 1/2 cup maple syrup, 3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca, 1 tablespoon,lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cool completely, then pour into pie shell; dot with 4 tablespoons butter.
• Perfect All-Butter Piecrust
• Pulse 3 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor. Add 1 diced stick cold butter; process until combined. Add 2 more diced sticks cold butter; pulse three times, or until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar. Gradually pour in 1/3 cup ice water, pulsing about four times until combined. Turn out onto a clean surface and press into a cohesive dough without overworking (you should see bits of butter). Wrap in plastic wrap and press into a 1-inch-thick disk; refrigerate at least 1 hour before rolling out.
• How to Make a Pie
• Divide the chilled dough in half; roll 1 piece into a 12-inch, 1/8-inch-thick circle on a lightly floured surface (refrigerate the other piece).
• Roll the dough onto a rolling pin, then unroll it into a 9-inch glass pie plate, letting it hang over the edge; add filling.
• Roll out the other piece of dough and place over the filling; press the crust edges together and trim, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Roll up or pinch the overhang to seal.
• Place a foil-lined baking sheet on a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 450 degrees. Wrap an oiled, wide band of foil around the pie edge to protect the crust. Make slashes in the top of the crust; chill for 30 minutes.
• Reduce the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the pie for 30 minutes. Remove the foil band, brush the crust with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes; cool before slicing.

CONTEST-WINNING FRESH BLUEBERRY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. On a floured surface, roll dough to fit a 9-in. pie plate. Trim and flute edge. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Line crust with a double thickness of foil. Fill with pie weights. Bake on a lower oven rack until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake until bottom is golden brown, 3-6 minutes. Cool on a wire rack., In a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and water until smooth. Add 3 cups blueberries. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly., Remove from the heat. Add butter, lemon juice and remaining berries; stir until butter is melted. Cool. Pour into crust. Refrigerate until serving.

MAPLE WILD BLUEBERRY PIE

Steps:

• To prepare crust: Mix whole-wheat flour, 1 cup all-purpose flour and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl or food processor. Work in butter using a pastry blender or two knives or by pulsing in the food processor until it's pebble-sized. Add oil and mix (or pulse) until combined. Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing (or pulsing) until the dough is evenly moist (but not wet) and is just starting to clump together, being careful not to overmix. Divide the dough into 2 pieces and pat each into a 5-inch disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator; let stand for 10 minutes to warm up slightly (20 minutes if chilled more than 1 hour).
• Meanwhile, position a rack in center of oven and place a foil-lined baking sheet on the rack below; preheat to 425 degrees F.
• Roll one portion of dough between sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper into a 12- to 14-inch circle. Peel off the top sheet and invert the dough into a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan. Peel off the remaining sheet. Moisten the outer edge of the dough with water.
• To prepare filling: Whisk maple syrup, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Add blueberries; toss to combine. Spoon the filling into the crust.
• To prepare lattice top: Roll the remaining dough between sheets of parchment or wax paper into a 12-inch circle. Peel off the top sheet. Cut the dough into about twelve 1-inch strips using a pastry wheel or knife. Lift off every other strip and lay them on top of the pie, leaving about a 1-inch gap between strips. Use the shorter strips for the edges and the longer ones for the middle of the pie. (You may not need to use the outermost strips.) To weave the lattice, fold the first, third and fifth strips back to the edge of the pie. Place a shorter strip of dough across the second and fourth strips, about 1 inch from the edge. Unfold the folded strips over the crosswise strip. Fold back the second and fourth strips over the first crosswise strip. Place another strip crosswise, about 1 inch from the first. Unfold the strips over the second crosswise strip. Continue folding back alternating strips and placing crosswise strips until the top is covered with woven strips. Trim any uneven edges and tuck the overhanging crust under the bottom crust; crimp or pinch the outer edge to seal the top and bottom crusts together. Brush just the lattice top (not the outer edge) with the egg white-maple mixture.
• Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate 180 degrees.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees . Continue baking until the crust is golden and the filling is beginning to bubble, 50 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes more. (If you used fresh berries, the pie will be done sooner than if made with frozen berries.) Check the crust toward the end; if it looks too dark, tent the top and edges with foil to prevent overbrowning. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before serving.

AWARD-WINNING MAPLE BLUEBERRY PIE

Steps:

• Make the dough: In the bowl of a food processor, mix the flour, cinnamon, maple sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the shortening and process until well incorporated. Add the butter and pulse until pea-size nuggets of butter remain. Add the vinegar and water, and pulse until dough is just holding together. Divide into 2 disks. Wrap in plastic and chill in refrigerator overnight.
• Make the filling: If using a sous-vide machine, place the blueberries into a vacuum-sealable bag. (If not, see Step 4.) Peel and core the apple and grate with a box grater. Squeeze the grated apple to remove the juice. Disperse the grated apple among the blueberries in the bag.
• In the bowl of a food processor, grind the tapioca, salt, cinnamon and sugar until the tapioca is fine. Then add to the bag. Stir the maple syrup, maple extract and lemon juice together and pour into the bag. Seal the vacuum bag. Cook in water bath at 150 degrees for 1 hour. Remove and cool on the countertop for 5 minutes.
• If using a stovetop, prepare the ingredients in the same way as the sous-vide method, but place all the ingredients in a saucepan with a lid, and stir well to combine. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring gently and occasionally, just until the berries soften and begin to give off their juice, about 20 minutes. Remove and cool on the countertop for 5 minutes.
• Assemble the pie: Roll out one of the dough disks on a lightly floured surface to make a top crust, and cut into 4 large strips. Press the dough into a wood-grain impression silicone mat and freeze for about 15 minutes. Or, simply place the 4 strips on a baking sheet lined with parchment and freeze.
• Roll out the second dough disk and place in a 9-inch pie plate. Pour maple blueberry filling into it. Place 4 crust strips on top of pie, slipping one end under another to form an attractive pattern. Trim and crimp edges.
• Chill pie in the freezer while heating oven to 425 degrees. Stir the egg yolk and heavy cream together and brush over the top-crust strips. Place the pie in the oven on the bottom rack and immediately reduce heat to 400 degrees. After 15 minutes, rotate pie and cover edge with a pie ring or strips of foil to prevent the edges from overbrowning. Bake for an additional 40 minutes. Let pie cool slightly before slicing.