There’s a brief window in the summer when the little wild blueberries appear at the market and that’s when I crave blueberry pie. When Jason asked me to make some pie dough yesterday I hoped that’s what was in store. I don’t use shortening anymore which makes it hard to do a nice pie dough as the butter tastes lovely but makes for a crumbly dough. This is one of my more successful attempts.

Blueberry Pie with almond crust

For the crust:
2 2/1 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup sliced almonds
ice water

Combine all ingredients except water in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade and pulse until mixture is crumbly and butter pieces are no larger than a pea. With the processor running, drizzle in ice water a tablespoon at a time until the dough just comes together in ball. Remove slightly more than half of the dough and form into a little flattened disk, wrap in cling film. Repeat with remaining dough. Chill for an hour. Use the larger disk to roll out the bottom crust of the pie on a lightly floured board, transfer to the pie plate squidging a little extra dough down the sides to help prevent shrinkage. Let any excess just hang out over the sides. Roll out the remaining dough and cut into strips about an inch wide. Chill crust and strips a further 30 minutes. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 375 F.

For the filling:
1 quart wild blueberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes

Stir together all ingredients and fill pie evenly then weave dough strips across the top. Roll in any excess dough from the bottom crust  to form a little ridge around the edge of the pie. Brush pie crust with a lightly beaten egg and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Place pie on a baking sheet to catch any drips and bake at 375 until filling is bubbly, about an hour.