PIE-A-DAY #37
From Magnolia Bakery owner Tyra Abrams
When I think of pie, summer comes to mind first. I have so many memories of all the incredible pies I had the good fortune of eating during the summer on the East End of Long Island. I love flaky buttery crusts and being able to really taste the fruit’s flavor, both sweet and tart.
I picture a local farmer’s wife who just took a fresh blueberry pie out of the oven. It’s still a bit hot so I have to wait a bit to eat it. But when I have my first bite….. Heaven. That’s the experience we want our customer to have when they sit down to a slice of Magnolia pie.
Pie Dough
2 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar, granulated
2 sticks or 8 oz Butter, cold
1/3 cup +1 Tablespoon Ice water
Filling ingredients:
6 cups Blueberries, fresh, rinsed w/ stems removed
½ tsp Lemon Zest
¼ cup Corn Starch
½ cup Sugar, granulated
¼ tsp Cinnamon, ground
2 Tablespoon Butter
Egg wash ingredients
1 Whole egg white (no yolk)
1 Tablespoon Heavy Cream
2 Pinches Sugar, granulated (for garnish)
To prepare the crust, mix flour, salt and sugar together in a bowl and set aside. Get a cup filled with ice water and set aside. Chop butter into ½” cubes. Mix flour and butter together until mixture looks like cornmeal. For this process you can use a food processor with the plastic dough blade or you can use your hands. If you use your hands, make sure that your butter is cold and that you work fast so that the heat from your hands does not melt the butter. Add water and mix by hand. Divide pie dough into two even disks of dough or if you have a scale, weigh out 12 oz balls of dough, wrap and refrigerate until needed. Next, measure and prepare the ingredients for your blueberry filling.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one of the disks of dough in a circle about 11 inches in diameter and about 1/8-inch-thick. Fit the dough over a 9-inch pie pan. Put into the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes while you make your filling.
Using your hand, gently mix the blueberries, sugar, corn starch, cinnamon, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Transfer them to the chilled bottom crust of the pie pan. Dot filling with butter pieces. Roll out remaining dough to the same size and thickness as the first. Place on top of the berry filling. Tuck the top dough over and under the edge of the bottom dough, and crimp the edges with your fingers. Transfer the pie to the refrigerator to chill until the dough is firm, about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 425°F.
Whisk egg and heavy cream together to make an egg wash.
Remove the unbaked pie from refrigerator. Brush the top with egg wash. Score the pie on the top with 4 to 6 decorative cuts (so steam can escape while cooking).
Place the pie on the middle rack of the oven on a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 425°. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake for 30 to 40 minutes more or until juices are bubbling and have thickened.
If crust begins to darken too fast, cover the top with foil and continue baking.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Let cool completely before serving.
*Note: Makes one nine inch pie or 3 six inch pies