This is not, however, just blueberry pie.  The filling is made of sour cream, eggs, sugar, flour and blueberries.  And the fun doesn’t end there.  On top of this pie is a streusel type topping made of butter, sugar and flour.  This pie has no other option than to be delicious.

On allrecipes.com, this pie is called Creamy Blueberry Pie.  Here is the link.  It calls for a 9 inch deep dish pie crust, but I decided to make my own crust.  This is not something I do very often.  I like the convenience of a store bought crust, and they usually taste great.  The Pillsbury kind that you roll out on your own are the best.  I’ve found that the frozen kind already in the pan have a tendency to crack, and the edge of the crust looks like it came out of a machine…because it did.  So, if you do use a store crust, go with the one that at least looks like it’s homemade!

Most pie crust recipes are quite similar.  All use flour, sugar, salt, some kind of fat, and some kind of liquid.  Having your ingredients chilled is considered to be a must in pie crust making.  It is also important not to overwork the dough.  You can mix the dough by hand, or in a food processor.  When you mix the dough, make sure that you can still see bits of the fat in the finished product.  This ensures a tender, flaky crust.

The differences arise when it comes to your choices of fat and liquid.  Fat options include butter, shortening, lard, or a combination.  Liquid options are ice water, vodka, lemon juice, vinegar, and I’m sure others as well that I haven’t seen.

The recipes I have always liked the most have used equal amounts of butter and shortening.  Butter gives a great flavor, and the shortening creates a more stable crust.  Ice cold water has also been my liquid of choice.  It doesn’t alter the flavor, and I always have some in my kitchen!  Here is the recipe I used, Best-Ever Pie Crust from epicurious.com.

Now to the pie.

After putting your pie dough into a deep dish pie pan, in go the lovely blueberries.

On top of the layer of fruit goes the custard mixture.

Sprinkle the crumble topping over all of this and it bakes for about an hour…I baked mine for 55 minutes.

I would have liked a browner crumb topping, but the bottom crust was getting a bit dark.

After taking the pie out of the oven, let it sit at room temperature for about 1 hour.  You can either serve the pie warm, or chill it in the fridge for another hour or two.  This allows the custard layer to get nice and firm.

When you cut into this pie, you can see the layer of tender, buttery crust on the bottom.  Above the crust is the creamy custard , and the tart blueberries that make this pie so incredibly delicious.  Atop all of this is the sweet, crunchy crumbly topping that balances out everything.

I served the pie with vanilla ice cream, but it would be fine alone.  This is a pie that can definitely be served in the heat of summer and will have a prime spot in my recipe collection as something I will definitely make again.

Creamy Blueberry Crumble Pie

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter

Directions

1. Combine 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, and salt. Add eggs and sour cream, stirring until blended.
2. Place blueberries in pastry shell, and spoon sour cream mixture over berries.
3. In another bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour. Cut in butter or margarine with pastry blender until mixture resembles course meal. Sprinkle this mixture over sour cream mixture and berries in the pie shell.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 to 55 minutes, or until lightly browned.

This last recipe that I tried from her cookbook was no exception to the rule of deliciousness.  Buttermilk Pecan Pie.  I love pecan pie.  My grandma June’s is by far my favorite.  Grandma June’s pie is a classic pecan pie with the corn syrup and yummy gooey center.  Rather’s buttermilk pie is creamier, with just a bit of gooey going on.  I am one who likes the gooey-ness, but some people are averse to pecan pie goo.  Crazy, I know.  So this would be a good alternative for those crazy goo hating people who like pecans and pie.

I did not make my own pie crust.  I am so very sorry.  I had a Pillsbury one in the freezer and was short on time, so I gave in and took a shortcut.  One day I will have the time to make everything from scratch all the time, but at this point in my life I do not have that kind of time!

Serve this pie with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Buttermilk Pecan Pie

Courtesy of The Pastry Queen cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 ½  cup whole pecans or pecan pieces
• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1 ¼  cups granulated sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons flour
• ¼  teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 un-baked pie crust

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place pecans on a cookie sheet and toast for 8-10 minutes or until aromatic. Let cool, then chop if using whole pecans.
2. Reduce oven heat to 300 degrees F.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and both sugars. Beat in vanilla and then eggs, one at a time.
4. Stir in flour and salt. Add buttermilk and stir until fully incorporated. Stir in pecans.
5. Pour into pie shell.
6. Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes, then let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.  This pie may also be chilled.

Dessert is a favorite part of the meal.  Pies are the traditional Thanksgiving dessert in our family.  This year we had apple streusel, pumpkin, and cinnamon custard pies, a gingerbread pear tart, and a chocolate chip pumpkin bundt cake.  We did not make a pecan pie for Thanksgiving day, but I just couldn’t stand not having a piece this year.  So we made one after Thanksgiving…not that we really needed any more pie, but a little extra pie never really hurt anyone.

This is the recipe that my Grandma June always made, and it is the best pecan pie ever.  I use whole pecans because it looks prettier and I like getting a big pecan in a bite instead of some chopped up pieces.  This does make the pie incredibly difficult to cut a pretty piece from.  But it looks beautiful on a holiday table and by the time people start devouring it, no one cares what it looks like.

Grandma June’s Pecan Pie

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs beaten
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 cups whole pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 steaspoon vanilla
• 1 unbaked pie shell

1. Beat butter and brown sugar until creamy.
2. Mix in eggs, corn syrup, salt and vanilla.
3. Put pecans into pie shell, then pour filling on top.
4. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
5. Let cool before cutting.
6. Serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

I have to admit something.  I don’t like drinking eggnog.  It makes me feel like I’m drinking melted ice cream.  A little too thick for my taste.  However, I do like things that are eggnog flavored.  I like eggnog ice cream.  While visiting my sister in New York one Christmas we went to Jacques Torres shop and I bought a box of holiday truffles.  The white chocolate eggnog truffle was spectacular.  If you’re in NYC this season you should stop by and get one…or more than one.  The gingerbread truffle was also very good.  Oh, and you have to buy the chocolate covered Cherrio’s that they sell!  I’m getting carried away now.

Anyway, I won’t drink a cup of eggnog, but I will eat something that takes like it.  It’s a texture thing I suppose.  I guess I am my mother’s daughter.  I’m not sure if this is acceptable or not, but I felt I should admit this character flaw to you.

I added some rum and nutmeg to the base of this pie.  I contemplated adding cinnamon, but ended up deciding against it.  Maybe I will try it next time.  I used a store bought pie crust to save some time.  I’ve tried my hand at making scratch pie crust before, and I don’t think it’s too terribly hard to make something edible, but achieving a perfect, buttery, flaky crust is no simple task.  It is also a rather time consuming process and makes a mess of your kitchen.  A weeknight dessert should not require a lot of cleaning up.  The refrigerated crusts taste pretty good, so I am OK using them every now and then.

I liked the flavor, and found it pretty similar to eggnog.  The crust had a good crunch, and the filling was smooth and creamy.  I served this with simple sweetened whipped cream (you can use cool whip in a time crunch).  A simple and easy pie.  It may not make you fall over and cry with delight, but it it good.  Try it without the nutmeg and rum for a simple buttermilk pie.

Eggnog Pie

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons rum
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 unbaked pastry shell

1. Combine sugar and flour in a large bowl.
2. Mix in eggs, buttermilk, butter, vanilla, rum and nutmeg.
3. Pour into pie shell.
4. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes.
5. Turn oven temperature down to 350° and bake for 30 minutes more.
6. Let cool; serve with whipped cream.

This budget cookbook has some good tips on freezing cookies and cakes.  There are also some great recipes for meals that use some very budget friendly ingredients.  I cannot wait to try them!

Here is the recipe from the cookbook.  I omitted the dates and added about 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut to the pie.  I topped the cooled pie with whipped cream, toasted coconut and almonds.

This is a rich and sweet pie.  I loved the flavor and texture.  The coconut makes the pie more like a macaroon in flavor.  The texture is already very macaroon-like with a crunchy exterior and almost gooey interior.  This a great use for your broken saltine crackers, leftover nuts and egg whites.

Any nut would work.  I think pecans would be great, but would probably use vanilla extract instead of almond.  I saw another recipe similar to this one on allrecipes.com that uses this pie as a crust and then tops the pie with a fruit filling.  Here is the recipe if you are interested.