Fresh Blueberry Pie

I wanted to make a pie for Jer for father's day, and we had blueberries in the house, so I decided to go with a fresh blueberry pie.  This is my Gramma's recipe.

Fresh Blueberry Pie

1 cup sugar
3 T cornstarch
1 T lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1 T butter
4 cup blueberries
1 pie crust - baked

Bake single pie crust according to box directions.  In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and water. Smash 1 cup of the blueberries into the sauce and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and clear  Add 1 T of butter and stir until it melts in. Fold in remaining blueberries, pour into pie crust, and refrigerate to set.

Pumpkin Pie

I decided to try out a new pumpkin pie recipe this year.  I found it on Sally's Baking Addiction.

Pumpkin Pie

1 pie crust
15 oz can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
1 T cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp black pepper

Bake pie crust according to box directions.  In a large bowl, beat together pumpkin, eggs, and brown sugar. Add the cream and milk and mix.  Add the cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and pepper. Beat well, then pour into pie crust.  Bake at 375°  for 50-60 minutes or until the center is almost set.

Baked Blueberry Pie

It is Jeremy's birthday today, and his favorite dessert is pie.  I gave him the option of fresh strawberry, fresh blueberry, or baked blueberry and he chose baked blueberry.  I didn't have a premade pie crust in the house, so I decided to try to make one from scratch by Ina Garten.  I used Sally's Baking Addiction's recipe for the filling (mostly).

Baked Blueberry Pie

2 pie crust (see recipe below)
6 cup blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 T butter - cubed

Place bottom pie crust in pie pan.  Mix blueberries with sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon.  Spoon blueberry mixture into pie, leaving any extra liquid behind.  Dot with butter, then cut second crust into 1" strips and weave them over the top of the pie.  Crimp edges to seal and place on a baking sheet.  Bake at 400° for 20 minutes, then turn oven down to 350°.  Bake 10 minutes then cover with tin foil so that the crust does not burn and bake for another 10-15 minutes.  Let cool 3 hours for liquid to set.  Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Pie Crust

3 cup flour
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 stick butter
1/3 cup shortening
4 oz ice cold water

Measure shortening and place in plastic wrap, then cut butter into cubes and place both in freezer for at least 15 minutes.  Place flour, sugar, and salt in food processor and pulse a few times to mix.  Add butter and shortening to processor and blend until the butter is the size of peas.  Add cold water and process until dough forms.  Turn out on floured surface and press dough a few times, then form a ball.  Wrap with plastic and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.  Set out for 5 minutes, then cut in half.  Roll out dough into 12" circle for crust.

Pumpkin Pie

I searched online for pumpkin pie recipes and decided on this one from Paula Deen.  This makes a TON of filling.  Unless you have a really deep pie plate, you will have extra to throw away or you can make two thinner pies.  The first time I made this I made one and threw some away, the second time, I made two pies. 

Pumpkin Pie

8 oz cream cheese - softened
2 cup pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
2 egg yolks
1 cup half and half
1/2 stick butter - melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1-2 pie crust
whipped cream

Place pie crust in a 9" pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color.  Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, egg yolks, half and half, and melted butter.  Pour into pumpkin mixture and beat until combined. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice and beat until incorporated.  Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake at 350° for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature.  Store in the refrigerator, serve with whipped cream.

Banana Split Pie

My gramma always used to make this pie.  It is delicious, but this is the first time that I have made it - the raw eggs always made me hesitate before.  I just made sure to keep it super cold all of the time!

Banana Split Pie

1 stick butter
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 bananas - sliced
1 T lemon juice
1-2 square german sweet chocolate (green foil) - shaved
1/4 cup walnuts - chopped
1 pie crust - baked

Bake single pie crust according to box directions.  Beat butter and powdered sugar together in a bowl. Add one egg at a time, beating for 3 minutes after each addition. Stir in vanilla.  Slice the bananas and sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent browning. Stir in all but 12 slices. Stir in shaved chocolate and pour into pie shell. Garnish with walnuts and two banana slices per slice of pie. Refrigerate at least 2-3 hours. Best if eaten the same day.

Strawberry Pie

I forgot to take a picture of the pie before we devoured it.  It is so delicious!!  I had to make it again so that I could take a picture.  It was just as good as the first time.

Strawberry Pie

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 T cornstarch
1/4 cup strawberry jello (1/2 small package)
1 quart strawberries - sliced
1 pie crust

Bake pie crust at 425° for 12-14 minutes.  Dissolve cornstarch in water, stir in sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Cook and stir until it looks clear.  Stir in strawberry jello.  Place pie filling in fridge to thicken.  Stir in strawberries and refrigerate until mostly thickened.  Pour into pie crust and refrigerate to set.  Top with cool whip or whipped cream and serve.

Whipped Cream

1 pint whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Freeze a metal bowl for 1 hour, then pour cold whipping cream into it.  Beat and mix in vanilla and powdered sugar (or more to taste).  Beat until stiff peaks form.

Apple Pie

I had never made an apple pie before, I am not sure how this happened since pies are Jer's favorite desserts, but since we went apple picking I decided to give it a go.  My mom has told me that it is not worth the effort to make a home made crust, so I took her word for it and went with premade refrigerated pie crusts.  They worked great.  I searched the internet and found a recipe on Betty Crocker that I thought looked good, making a couple of tweaks based on what I saw in other recipes.  I used cortland apples because that is what my mom uses.  I saw quite a few suggestions for granny smith, but basically it is supposed to be any type of apple that will hold its shape.  Also I saw quite a few recipes with the number of apples to use (usually 6-8), I appreciated that this one had a measurement, since I picked some really big apples and I only needed 4.

Apple Pie

2 refrigerated pie crusts
6 cups apples - peeled, cored, & thinly sliced
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
5 shakes nutmeg
dash salt
1/2 stick butter - cold - cut into pea sized chunks
1 T water
1 T sugar


Place one crust in the bottom of the pie plate.  In a large bowl, mix flour, 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.  Toss with butter and apple slices to coat.  Spoon into pie plate.  Cut steam vents into second crust and cover apples.  Tuck edges in and brush with water.  Sprinkle with sugar and bake at 425° for 40 minutes.  Cool for 1-2 hours before serving.