Remember Joan, the pie prize winner whose daughter made a fabulous blueberry pie and won a prize at the fair, only to have it disappear before the second round of judging?  I received so many requests for the recipe after I ran Joan’s story, that I begged her to ask her daughter if she would part with it.  Graciously, she agreed.

I had lots of blueberries, so today I decided to “do a Wanda” and make the pie.  I followed the instructions with two deviations.  I used frozen crusts I already had, plus I cut the sugar in the filling to 3/4 cup.  You can see my masterpiece below. I have to say, with complete sincerity, this pie was absolutely fabulous.  Everyone at our table said so.  Without having to make crusts, it was easy, as well.  No wonder this won a prize. 

As a thank you for making the pie in the first place, Joan shared one of the prizes in her box with her daughter.  My thanks to both of them for taking the time to share the recipe and the eating pleasure.  My family thanks them, too.

Joan’s Daughter’s Wonderful Blueberry Pie

For the double crust:

3 cups flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cup shortening
Ice water

Add 3/4 cup shortening to flour and salt, and using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut until resembles coarsely ground cornmeal.

Add remaining 1/2 cup shortening and this time cut until it resembles small peas.

Add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time until dough forms a tight ball. Divide in half and chill.  Roll dough for bottom crust and fit into pie plate.

For the filling:

4 cups fresh blueberries.
1 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons of flour
2 Tablespoons of tapioca
1/2 teaspoon of lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon each of nutmeg and cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of salt

Add sugar to the blueberries, then combine flour, tapioca, lemon peel, spices and salt, and mix with blueberries.

Fill pie shell and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and dot with 1 tablespoon of butter cut into small pieces.

Roll out the other half of crust and cover pie.  Be sure to vent by cutting holes or pricking with a fork. Seal the edges.

Bake at 425 for 35 to 40 minutes.

(A printable pdf is available here.)

Joan says she makes hers with blueberries picked from Pertic’s.  Mr. Pertic was the developer of the Blue Crop blueberry, which is particularly huge and sweet.  Care to find a pick-your-own place near your house?  Double the fun of making your pie.  Be sure to bring a child or two along if you can.

We plan to eat ours with frozen vanilla yogurt made in my husband’s new ice cream maker.  How about you?

I’m sure Wanda is hovering in the wings so she can steal this recipe for Wanda’s Wonderful Pies.  BTW, if you’ve yet to buy and read Sunset Bridge, then you’re missing out on an exciting development at the pie shop–among other things.  But my lips are sealed–except when I’m eating another slice of pie.