Fresh Blueberry Pie {Gluten Free}

My family and I picked 14 pints of blueberries the other day. That was a lot of berries! Muffins, pies, smoothies, and jam were spinning around in my head as we picked.  I made 15 jars of jam, froze several cups of berries, we ate on them, and then for the finale I made a fresh blueberry pie. My husband and I are the only ones that will eat the pie. We may or may not have eaten the entire pie in less than 24 hours.

I've tried a few different gluten free pie crusts. Some have been premade and some I made from scratch. Let me tell you.... Gluten free pie crusts are HARD to work with. I've had them crumble, fall completely apart, slide right out of my hands from too much fat. We all want a flakey, buttery crust, right?  And really....when eating a homemade pie, isn't it all about the crust anyway?   For this pie I tried a recipe from America's Test Kitchen.  If you don't have their gluten free cookbook then I recommend you get it as soon as you can.  (I am not affiliated with America's Test Kitchen in any way, but I do think highly of them) We have tried many recipes in the book and so far none have disappointed us.  While they do have a blueberry pie recipe in their cookbook, I only used their crust recipe. 

Fresh Blueberry Pie --- Gluten Free

One Double Crust pie crust recipe

4 full cups of fresh blueberries, rinsed and stems removed

1/2 cup of sugar

2 Tbsp corn starch

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Place oven rack on lowest position. Preheat oven to 375°.  Line a cookie sheet with foil and place on lowest rack. 

Fill a deep dish pie plate with one crust.

Pour blueberries into a medium saucepan.  Add the sugar and gently toss the berries with the sugar.  In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and lemon juice.  On medium heat, add the cornstarch mixture to berries and gently stir until combined and the sugar has begun to dissolve.  The berries shouldn't really lose their shape. Once heated through (2-3 minutes), pour filling into pie crust.  Top filling with second crust. You may want to make it a lattice top or keep it plain. Either way is OK. I do recommend, if you keep it plain, to cut a few tiny slices throughout the top of crust though. 

Brush pie crust with an egg white, if desired.

Place pie plate onto the foil lined cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes to one hour...until crust is golden and filling is bubbling.

The most difficult part is waiting for the pie to cool enough to slice. We didn't as you can tell in the following picture. That vanilla ice cream just couldn't wait any longer ;).

Happy Baking!

Pecan-Topped Pumpkin Pie

It seems I have an obsession with pies lately. Maybe this will be my last pie post for a while..bare with me, but I had to try this pie. It looked so good in the cookbook! I sliced the pie while it was still a bit warm, topped it with cool whip and dug in. It didn't knock my socks off initially, but the second day it was so much better. I just have to learn to be patient and actually wait for certain dishes to chill before I can partake. The cookbook I took it from is Better Homes and Garden. This is a great addition to any cookbook collection. So, give it a try..it gets better the next day! The pecan and brown sugar topping gives it a yummy crunch.



Pecan-Topped Pumpkin Pie

1 recipe for a deep dish pie crust, or use refrigerated pie crust
1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 15 oz. can pumpkin (about 1 3/4 cups)
1 1/2 cups half and half or light cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare pie crust and place in pie plate. In a small bowl, combine pecans and brown sugar. Spread 3/4 cup pecan mixture in the bottom of the pie crust lined pie plate; reserve remaining pecan mixture. For filling, combine pumpkin, half and half, sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; mix well.

Place the pie plate on the oven rack (or a pizza pan). Carefully pour filling onto pecan mixture in pie plate. Bake about 50 minutes or just until set in center. Stir melted butter into remaining pecan mixture. Sprinkle pecan mixture over pie filling; bake for 10 minutes more or until topping is bubbly around edges. Cool on wire rack. Cover and chill within 2 hours.

German Chocolate Pecan Pie

It appears I've got pie on my mind again! This recipe is just sinfully rich..but ohhh so good! I took this recipe from this month's issue of Southern Lady, well just the filling part. My pictures aren't that great this time...you'll just have to make your own to get a better look!

German Chocolate Pecan Pie

Use a crust for a 9 inch deep dish. You can use a store bought crust or use the recipe here.

Filling:
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups pecan halves
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Put crust in deep dish pie plate, trim edges, fold under and crimp. Bake for 8 minutes and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar and corn syrups. Add melted butter, eggs, vanilla and salt. Whisk until well combined. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle chocolate chips on the bottom of crust, evenly. Then sprinkle coconut on top of chocolate chips. Pour pecan mixture on top of coconut. Bake for 1 hour or until center is set. Cover w/ foil last 10 minutes if needed to prevent excess browning. Cool completely before serving (this is the hardest part!).

Apple Pie

We have apple trees in our back yard. This year we had the most apples we've ever had. Each fall I make apple pies. I've had to freeze apples too because we've had so many. To me, the best part of an apple pie is the homemade flaky crust! I like to use Granny Smith apples, but any apple will work fine..you just might need to adjust the amount of sugar used.

So, are ya ready? Here it is...

APPLE PIE

Pie Crust
2 cups flour
1/2 Tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 small egg, beaten
1/2 Tbsp. vinegar
5 Tbsp. cold water

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar and salt. With a pastry blender (or two knives), cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix together egg, vinegar and water, then add to flour mixture. Mix until dough is moist enough to form a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes. Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll one half into a 12 inch circle. Press dough into pie plate (I like to use deep dish). Crimp edges or use a fork to make a decorative border, then prick bottom with a fork. Put the plate in the freezer while preparing the pie filling. The other half of crust will be used on top.

Apple Pie Filling:

5 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples
4 Tbsp. flour
1 1/3 cup sugar (remember I use granny smith apples, you may want to decrease the amount of sugar if using a sweeter apple)
1 tsp. cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix apples, flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir gently. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Dab with butter and pour milk over filling. Roll top crust same as bottom and lift onto filled pie. Crimp edges again and cut an X in the center of pie w/ sharp knife..pull the edges at the center of the X back some to open the center of the pie a little. You can also make a woven lattice top with the top pie crust. Bake for 40-45 minutes.