As you may know, I love pie.  You also may know that I am not a pie maker.  Even though I try.  I have to admit I am getting progressively better at pies.  Still my pies are nothing to write home about.  Until now.  Yes, I now consider myself a mistress of pies.  I can make a crust to die for and I can make the blueberry filling hold together without running all over the plate but not taste “thick.”  You know what I mean about “thick?”  Kinda like an icky thickish jelloish type of tapioca gross thing?  Like that. 

And how did I accomplish this you may ask?  Well, it is all down to vodka.  If you drink a ton of vodka before you eat my pie, you will think it is terrific.  You think I kid?    What makes the crust so easy to work with is vodka. 

You use cold water and cold vodka when making the crust.  The dough appears to have too much liquid which can spook you a little, but using so much liquid makes it super easy to work with, but turns out a non tough flaky dough.  The alcohol in the vodka disappears when baking, resulting in a perfect dough.  Seriously, it is perfect.

The Recipe:

Blueberry Pie adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

Makes one 9-inch pie

Foolproof Pie Dough

2 1/2 cups unbleached flour, plus more for work surface

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4 inch slices

1/2 cup vegetable shortening, cold, cut into 4 pieces

1/4 cup cold water

1/4 cup cold vodka

Blueberry Filling

6 cups fresh or frozen blueberries 

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated on large holes of box grater

2 teaspoons grated zest and 2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon

3/4 cup sugar 

2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca ground in a spice mill

Pinch salt 

2 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1. For The Pie Dough: Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about two 1-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds; dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.

2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. (I didn’t have enough plain vodka, about an 1/8 of a cup, don’t ask me why there was only a dribble in the bottle, so I used the vodka I had on hand, orange vodka.  Worked great!) With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into 2 even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

3. Remove 1 disk of dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang on each side. Working around circumference, ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Leave dough that overhangs plate in place; refrigerate while preparing filling until dough is firm, about 30 minutes.

4. For The Filling: Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place 3 cups berries in medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Using potato masher, mash berries several times to release juices. Continue to cook, stirring frequently and mashing occasionally, until about half of berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes. Let cool slightly.

6. Roll out second disk of dough on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 11-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Using 1 1/4-inch round biscuit cutter, cut round from center of dough. Cut another 6 rounds from dough, 1 1/2 inches from edge of center hole and equally spaced around center hole. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll over pie, leaving at least 1/2-inch overhang on each side.

7. Using kitchen shears, trim bottom layer of overhanging dough, leaving 1/2-inch overhang. Fold dough under itself so that edge of fold is flush with outer rim of pie plate. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Brush top and edges of pie with egg mixture. If dough is very soft, chill in freezer for 10 minutes.

8. 8.Place pie on heated baking sheet and bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. Cut into wedges and serve.       
   

Final Thoughts:

Okay, except for the super brown edges, this pie was perfect in every way. The crust was light and flaky, the filling was yummy without being gummy.  Just look at this pie:

I am now going to use this pie dough as my go to dough.  The most difficult thing I find with my pie dough is that it is too dry and difficult to work with.  I try to add as little water as possible because I don’t want a tough dough, but, with the addition of the vodka, you get a soft pliable dough which when baked turns into a flaky tasty treat.

I just need to work on getting an even browning on the top crust.  I do use tin foil but, this time things just got screwy.  I am thinking of investing in one of those pie crust guards that goes around the edge of the pie plate to see if that will take care of my too dark crusts.  Since   I see visions of endless pie baking in my future it most likely will be a worthwhile investment.

Make this pie, you will love it.  Oh, I forgot, I bought my frozen wild blueberries, where else, but at Costco. Enjoy!