Blueberry Sheet Pie

 It's mid August already, but I'm still taking advantage of all things summer. One summer treat is stopping by the local market each week and finding bins filled with fresh picked fruits and vegetables.
 Summer also brought company, and we had the rare treat of having my brother Wes and sister in law Kim from Kiev, along with local family over for Sunday lunch. Blueberries were just ready and so I decided that a Blueberry Sheet Pie would be our dessert. Using this dough recipe you can pretty much use any fruit you want. I've used apples, peaches and blackberries and they are all really wonderful! 

Have you noticed the new video clip here on the blog? You can find it on the upper right side bar. Hear Lovella share where all our book royalties go. Wes and Kim are working with Music Mission Kiev and there are a few photos in the video of the people they help. We are able to partner with them through our Celebrations Cookbook sales. 100% of the Royalties from that book go to help those less fortunate in the Ukraine. Listen to hear about our other project as well. Thank you for continuing to support our projects when you purchase one of our 3 cookbooks. 

This recipe is for a pan measuring 13"x18"

Pastry:

• 3 3/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups cold butter, cubed
• 3 egg yolks, plus enough milk to measure 1 1/3 cups

1. In a mixing bowl combine flour and salt.
2. Using a pastry cutter (or I use a cheese grater) cut or grate cold butter into flour mixture until very fine.
3. Divide egg yolks and whites. Place egg yolks into a measuring cup and add cold milk to measure 1 1/3 cups. (save whites for topping-see instructions below) Whisk together until yolks are broken up. Add this mixture to the flour and butter mixture.
4. Stir with a fork to combine. 
5. Turn mixture out onto a lightly floured counter and knead until dough comes together into a nice smooth ball. Flatten and wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator while you prepare fruit.

Fruit:

• 9 cups fresh (or frozen) blueberries 
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch **if using frozen berries stir in 2 tablespoons cornstarch**
• 1 scant cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups crushed Cornflakes or Special K cereal

1. Gently stir corn starch and sugar into the berries. Set aside.

Assembling Pie:

1. Take dough out of refrigerator and divide in half.
2. Roll first piece of dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is very thin and fits your pan size. ** A tip for pie dough is to roll the rolled out dough around your rolling pin. Place over your pan or pie plate and gently unroll the dough to fit your pan.**
3. Sprinkle the bottom crust with the crushed cereal.
4. Top with the prepared fruit.
5. Roll out second piece of dough and using the same method, roll onto your rolling pin and unroll over the fruit. Don't worry if it tears a little or does not quite fit right to the edges. 
6. If you have any dough hanging over the pan cut it off. You can even use it to 'patch' the top if need be. If you can you can now pinch the top crust to the bottom one, but if for some reason your crusts don't come together it's all fine. It will still bake up beautifully. Randomly prick the top crust with a fork.
7. Now take the egg whites that you saved when making the dough. Beat until soft peaks form.
8. Spread the beaten egg whites over the top crust using your hands or the back of a spoon. 
9. Bake in 375º F oven for 35-45 minutes. The egg whites will turn a nice golden brown and become slightly crusty. This is what really takes this pie to another level. 
10. As soon as the pie comes out of the oven drizzle it with a simple icing of approximately 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 3-4 tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir these 3 ingredients together and just drizzle over hot pie.

This is best eaten on the day it's baked as you want the texture of the egg whites to remain crusty. 

Share this post