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- 1
Make the dough
In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, 1 3/4 cups flour, the 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt. Slice the 6 ounces of cold butter into pats and chop the 4 ounces of cold cream cheese into chunks, then cut both into the flour with a pastry cutter until you have pea-sized bits. Beat the egg, and stir half of it (about 2 tablespoons) together with the 1/4 cup ice water. Add that to the flour and mix with a spatula, then knead gently by hand just until the dough comes together, adding ice water 1 teaspoon at a time only if it's dry. Split into two discs, wrap, and chill at least 30 minutes. Save the other half of the beaten egg for brushing. Keeping the butter and cream cheese cold and stopping the moment the dough holds together is what gives you a flaky, tender crust instead of a tough one.
- 2
Puree some of the berries
Add about 2 to 2 1/2 cups of the blueberries to a blender and blend until liquified. You want roughly 1 3/4 cups of puree. No blender? Crush the berries with a potato masher in a glass measuring cup.
- 3
Cook the filling
In a 3-quart saucepan, whisk the 1 3/4 cups blueberry puree with the 1 cup granulated sugar, the cornstarch, 2 tablespoons flour, cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until there are no lumps of powder. Cook over medium heat, whisking often, for 3 to 5 minutes until it comes to a light boil and thickens, then pull it off the heat. Cooking the filling on the stove first is the whole secret: the cornstarch thickens now, so the pie sets up sliceable instead of soupy.
- 4
Finish and chill the filling
Stir the 5 cups of whole blueberries into the pot along with the lemon zest and lemon juice. Give it a taste and adjust with a little more sugar if it's tart. Then let the filling cool completely; chilling it in the fridge speeds this up. Pouring hot filling into raw crust makes a gummy bottom, so don't skip this.
- 5
Roll the bottom crust
On a well-floured surface, roll out one chilled disc and settle it into a 9-inch pie pan, letting the edges hang over. If the dough has warmed up, chill the whole pan 15 minutes. Cold dough is essential for flakiness.
- 6
Fill and top
Pour the cooled filling into the crust, mounded slightly in the middle. Roll out the second disc and lay it on top as one piece (cut a few vents with a sharp knife) or weave it into a lattice. Trim the overhang to about an inch, fold it under, and crimp the edges to seal.
- 7
Chill the pie and preheat
Place a baking sheet on the center rack and preheat the oven to 425F, letting it heat a full 20 to 25 minutes. Meanwhile, freeze the whole assembled pie for 20 minutes. A cold pie sliding into a hot oven is the trick to a super-flaky crust.
- 8
Brush and bake hot
Right before baking, brush the crust all over with the 1 tablespoon milk (or milk beaten with your reserved egg) and sprinkle with the raw sugar. Set the pie on the hot baking sheet and bake at 425F for 15 minutes, until the edges start to turn light brown.
- 9
Shield and finish baking
Reduce the oven to 350F. Cover just the crust edges with a ring of foil so they don't burn, leaving the center exposed, and bake 40 to 50 minutes more until the edges are brown and the center of the crust is light golden.
- 10
Cool completely, then serve
Let the pie cool on a wire rack for about 4 hours before slicing. I know it's hard, but cutting in early gives you lava-hot, runny filling, and the wait is what sets it. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
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Summer Blueberry Pie with a Cornmeal Crust
Created by: SugarAndButter
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 6 oz butter
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup water
- 7 1/2 cup blueberries
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp raw sugar
Instructions
- Make the doughIn a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, 1 3/4 cups flour, the 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt. Slice the 6 ounces of cold butter into pats and chop the 4 ounces of cold cream cheese into chunks, then cut both into the flour with a pastry cutter until you have pea-sized bits. Beat the egg, and stir half of it (about 2 tablespoons) together with the 1/4 cup ice water. Add that to the flour and mix with a spatula, then knead gently by hand just until the dough comes together, adding ice water 1 teaspoon at a time only if it's dry. Split into two discs, wrap, and chill at least 30 minutes. Save the other half of the beaten egg for brushing. Keeping the butter and cream cheese cold and stopping the moment the dough holds together is what gives you a flaky, tender crust instead of a tough one.
- Puree some of the berriesAdd about 2 to 2 1/2 cups of the blueberries to a blender and blend until liquified. You want roughly 1 3/4 cups of puree. No blender? Crush the berries with a potato masher in a glass measuring cup.
- Cook the fillingIn a 3-quart saucepan, whisk the 1 3/4 cups blueberry puree with the 1 cup granulated sugar, the cornstarch, 2 tablespoons flour, cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until there are no lumps of powder. Cook over medium heat, whisking often, for 3 to 5 minutes until it comes to a light boil and thickens, then pull it off the heat. Cooking the filling on the stove first is the whole secret: the cornstarch thickens now, so the pie sets up sliceable instead of soupy.
- Finish and chill the fillingStir the 5 cups of whole blueberries into the pot along with the lemon zest and lemon juice. Give it a taste and adjust with a little more sugar if it's tart. Then let the filling cool completely; chilling it in the fridge speeds this up. Pouring hot filling into raw crust makes a gummy bottom, so don't skip this.
- Roll the bottom crustOn a well-floured surface, roll out one chilled disc and settle it into a 9-inch pie pan, letting the edges hang over. If the dough has warmed up, chill the whole pan 15 minutes. Cold dough is essential for flakiness.
- Fill and topPour the cooled filling into the crust, mounded slightly in the middle. Roll out the second disc and lay it on top as one piece (cut a few vents with a sharp knife) or weave it into a lattice. Trim the overhang to about an inch, fold it under, and crimp the edges to seal.
- Chill the pie and preheatPlace a baking sheet on the center rack and preheat the oven to 425F, letting it heat a full 20 to 25 minutes. Meanwhile, freeze the whole assembled pie for 20 minutes. A cold pie sliding into a hot oven is the trick to a super-flaky crust.
- Brush and bake hotRight before baking, brush the crust all over with the 1 tablespoon milk (or milk beaten with your reserved egg) and sprinkle with the raw sugar. Set the pie on the hot baking sheet and bake at 425F for 15 minutes, until the edges start to turn light brown.
- Shield and finish bakingReduce the oven to 350F. Cover just the crust edges with a ring of foil so they don't burn, leaving the center exposed, and bake 40 to 50 minutes more until the edges are brown and the center of the crust is light golden.
- Cool completely, then serveLet the pie cool on a wire rack for about 4 hours before slicing. I know it's hard, but cutting in early gives you lava-hot, runny filling, and the wait is what sets it. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.