There’s nothing quite like a classic blueberry pie, and we’ve got some secrets up our sleeves to make the perfect slice. Our homemade crust uses a not-so-secret ingredient to create a melt-in-your-mouth crust every time. The juicy blueberry filling is the star of the show, but don’t worry, our tricks will make sure that juicy pie doesn’t get soggy. There’s no rushing the process, but trust us—the results are worth it. You’ll end up with a buttery, sweet slice of pie that’s pure heaven in every bite.
Try your hand at a cream pie with our lemon meringue pie or our delicious banana cream pie!
Why Our Recipe
- Starts with a homemade crust using a secret ingredient that guarantees a flaky crust every time.
- Juicy blueberry filling with lemon juice to make the flavor shine and just a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Built-in steps to get rid of the excess liquid. No soggy pie here!
I believe nearly every occasion calls for pie. Bad day? Pie. Celebrating a holiday? Pie. A random Tuesday? Pie (and tacos because why not?). We’ve taken steps to prevent a common pie-making frustration—soggy crust! Allowing the blueberries to sit with sugar for an hour draws out extra liquid, so your pie is perfectly sliceable and mess-free. Get ready to make a bakery-quality blueberry pie! Next thing you know, you’ll be winning a blue ribbon for it!
Ingredient Notes
- Blueberries: Make sure to use fresh blueberries for this recipe and not frozen because frozen will contain too much liquid.
- Butter: Make sure you use salted butter and make sure the butter is really cold.
- Shortening: Make sure your shortening is chilled before mixing.
- Water: Use ice-cold or chilled water.
- Vodka: Use chilled vodka as it keeps your dough flaky and easier to re-roll as needed.
- All-Purpose Flour: Use either all-purpose or pastry flour. Bread flour can also work.
- Unsalted Butter: Keep this butter cold for a flaky crust! Slice it into small cubes to make incorporating easier.
- Vegetable Shortening: Also needs to be cold.
- Ice Water: Cold water is key here to prevent the fats from melting too soon.
- Vodka: The “secret ingredient” that helps keep the crust tender! The alcohol prevents gluten development, so the crust remains tender and flaky. Don’t worry; the alcohol evaporates during baking.
- Fresh Blueberries: Fresh is best for the juiciest filling. If using frozen blueberries, don’t thaw them before adding to the sugar, but increase the cornstarch by 1 tablespoon to offset the extra moisture.
- Cornstarch: This is what thickens the filling so don’t leave it out!
- Lemon Juice: Adding this to berries helps bring out a brighter flavor in the berries. You won’t notice it’s there, but it makes a big difference.
- Egg White: Separate the yolk and lightly beat the white with a fork or a whisk.
Lattice Crusts
Using a lattice crust is more than just about making a pretty pie—it allows steam to escape, letting just the right amount of liquid evaporate. You want a juicy filling, but not too juicy that you end up with a soggy pie.
Create the Strips: After you roll your crust into a rectangle you use either a sharp knife or a pizza cutter (just watch out for your countertop!) to cut 8 even strips, about 1-inch wide. It can help to use a ruler to measure and use as a straight edge.
Keep Pie Dough Chilled: Cold dough is easier to work with which matters when creating a lattice. Pop those strips of dough into the freezer for a few minutes for easier weaving.
Weaving: Brush off your skills from kindergarten and weave away! Lay 4 strips across the filling, spacing them slightly apart. Fold back every other strip halfway, then lay a new strip perpendicular across the pie. Continue lifting and alternating strips until your lattice is complete. You’ve got this!
Seal and Crimp: Trim any excess dough around the edges and gently pinch to seal. Then use your fingers or the back of a fork to crimp the edge. It’s not just about being pretty, it also helps secure the lattice in place.
Vodka: The Secret Ingredient
Vodka is used in pie crust as it does not contribute to the formation of gluten. This creates a pie dough that is easy to roll out and re-roll if needed and still turns out perfectly soft and flaky. The alcohol quickly burns off during the baking process so there is no alcohol flavor and it’s totally safe for kids to consume. Equal parts vodka to chilled water create the best result. If you still don’t want to use vodka, simply replace it with an equal amount of additional ice water.
Chilled Ingredients Work Best
Chilled ingredients have several benefits to making the perfect flaky pie crust. For starters, chilling allows moisture to spread more evenly throughout the dough, making it smoother. It also keeps bits of butter from being absorbed by the flour making more flaky layers and allows the gluten strands to settle down making your dough easier to roll after it’s chilled.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Reheat portions in the microwave on high in 30-second increments until warmed through.
More delicious fruit pies…
Watch the video below where Caytlin will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
I love your recipes, and I want to make this for a friend’s birthday who is allergic to eggs. Normally, I substitute unsweetened applesauce in my recipes. Will that work for this, or will the extra moisture that applesauce brings be an issue?
In this recipe, the egg white is used to create a shiny finish on the pie. Instead of egg white, you can also use cream or milk for a similar effect.
Delicious, but I’m having a dilemma with the crust. Using metric measurements, whether I use a pastry cutter or the food processor, my dough never looks like cornmeal after adding the butter and the shortening. It’s always more of a clay consistency. The water and the vodka combine in, but the result is still very sticky, and it never rolls out right. Then, it burns quickly in the oven.
What am I doing wrong?
I think the most likely culprit is the fat is too soft or overmixed. For a crust that looks like coarse cornmeal, the butter and shortening need to stay cold and be cut into the flour just until you get pea-sized pieces. If you’re using a food processor, it’s really easy to go too far—just pulse a few times and stop once it looks crumbly. If it’s coming together into a paste, the fat has melted too much into the flour, and that’s what’s throwing off the texture. Try chilling the fats and maybe even the flour next time to keep everything nice and cold.
Hope that helps!
Can something be substituted for vodka?
Yes, you can replace the vodka with the same amount of additional ice water.
I would prefer not to put the vodka in. Could I substitute another quarter cup of water instead?
Yes, you can replace the vodka with the same amount of additional ice water.