It’s blueberry season! It’s also hot and humid as Hades outside, so I’m in no mood to bake and heat up the house. Luckily, I am in possession of a fabulous no-bake pie recipe that I look forward to making every year when fresh blueberries are abundant and affordable.
And, wow, are they abundant and affordable right now. The kids and I went blueberry picking on Monday at our friend’s farm Hillberry. If you’ve never gone blueberry picking, you should totally try it. They’re actually my favorite berries to pick because they come off the stem into your hand sooooooo easily, and there’s no bending or squatting involved (for those of us with problematic backs). There are also no prickers to avoid, so it’s a kid-friendly venture as well.
We spent about an hour and a half on this gorgeous hill in the morning sunshine, picking our hearts out, and came home with 20 lbs of berries…mostly destined to become future pies. We are a pie-loving family (apple walnut crumb, apple crumble, pumpkin, black raspberry, peach, lime…we’re not picky, we love them ALL), and so we stock our freezer with blueberries and black raspberries during the summer. Our blueberries are more heavily stocked this year because, thanks to this fabulous rhubarb crisp recipe, I’ve discovered a new favorite fruit combination—blueberry rhubarb. I’ve made it as the aforementioned crisp and as pie, substituting blueberries and rhubarb for the fruit, and oh my god…SO freaking delicious.
We also love muffins, and I have no doubt some of these berries will end up as Blueberry Muffins. Or in pancakes. Or a quick bread. Or a coffee cake. Or…or….or…. SO many things we could do with them!
But back to THIS pie.
I came across this recipe YEARS ago in a magazine, and ripped it out to give it a try. Which magazine it came from, I have no idea because I no longer have that torn-out page. A quick internet search didn’t help me find the source, either. So I sadly can’t tell you where this is from, nor give credit where credit it due. But I will tell you it is PERFECTION.
This fresh blueberry pie requires that your berries are, well, FRESH. You can’t use frozen in this recipe, because the berries aren’t getting baked. Frozen berries would end up in a wet, mushy mess. But fresh berries give this pie a fabulous pop and flavor that I absolutely LOVE. In fact, this may be my favorite pie. It’s the perfect blend of sweet and tart, poured into a cookie or graham cracker crust, and set in the fridge to chill. Serve with a little dollop of whipped cream or eat it plain—it’s perfection either way.
You can even buy one of those premade graham cracker crusts at the store, if you don’t want to make the crust yourself. Though the crust is SUPER easy, it does require you bake it for about 8 minutes…so there’s a little baking involved, a little heating up the kitchen, but I can live with that. It’s the hour-long baking that seems to overheat my house in this weather, and I do everything I can to avoid that.
But after a quick little stint in the oven for the crust, you’ll cook some of the berries on the stovetop, creating a berry sauce, then cover the rest of the berries with the sauce. Let it chill, and voila! You have fresh berry pie!
I hope you all are keeping cool in this weather. If you’re in need of more no-bake summer treats, don’t miss our Buttermilk Ice Cream, Charoset Ice Cream, and the stellar, holy-crow-I-need-to-make-this-today Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream. And, hey, if you’ve been enjoying our blog and feel so inclined, we’d love it if you’d nominate us for Best Baking & Sweets Blog.
Happy baking (or no baking, in this case), my friends!
Ingredients
Crust
- 3 cups vanilla cookies OR 9 full size graham crackers
- 6 Tablespoons melted butter
Filling
- 6 cups fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- water
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 F/177 C.
- Crush the vanilla cookies or graham crackers (run through a food processor or put them in a gallon zip-top bag and roll over them with a rolling pin). Mix crumbs with melted butter, then press tightly into a pie pan.
- Bake for 8 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.
Filling
- Combine 2 cups of berries with 1/2 cup sugar and 2 Tablespoons of water in a sauce pan on the stove. Bring to a full boil.
- Dissolve cornstarch in 1/4 cup water and add to the sauce pan. Mixing constantly, return mixture to a full boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat, add butter, lemon juice, and remaining berries. Mix until well combined, then spoon into crust.
- Let stand or chill for 3 hours, until set.