Fresh Blueberry Pie

Plump blueberries nestled into a tender crust and topped with brown sugar, almond streusel.

Fresh Blueberry Pie

For the crust

•  2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 10 tbsp butter, chilled and diced
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, chilled and diced
• 1/4 cup cream cheese, chilled and diced
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 4-6 tbsp ice water
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp sliced almonds

For the filling

• 4 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 egg, beaten

To prepare the crust, add the flour and salt to a food processor. Pulse once or twice. Add the butter, shortening, and cream cheese. Pulse until the mixture resembles course sand. Add the vanilla, almond extract, and the water one tablespoon at a time. Pulse until the mixture begins to clump. Turn the dough out onto the counter. Place about 1/3 of the dough into a bowl. Form a disk with the remaining dough, and wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Sprinkle the brown sugar and 1 tbsp of flour over the reserved dough. Using a pastry cutter, work the sugar and flour into the dough and break into crumbles. Be careful not to overwork. Chill until ready to prepare the pie.

To prepare the filling, combine blueberries, sugar, lemon zest and juice in large bowl. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes. Add the flour. Stir to combine.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Grease your pie dish. Remove dough disk from the fridge and place on a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out into a 1/4in thick round. Gently transfer the dough from the counter to the pie dish. Spoon the blueberries into the pie dish. Trim the dough so that there is about a 1/2 inch overhang. Fold the overhang under on the lip of the pie dish. Crimp the edges using your fingers. Sprinkle the crumble over the top of the blueberries. Sprinkle the top with the almond slices. Brush the pie with the beaten egg. Place the pie on a baking sheet.

Bake for about 1 hour. If the crust is browning too quickly, cover pie with aluminum foil. Cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Notes from the Chef:
-Allow the pie to chill in the fridge for several hours to make for more intact slices
-Zap in the microwave for a few seconds and serve with vanilla ice cream