$500 Blueberry Pie

No, this pie doesn't cost $500. (Well, for for the winning bidder it did). It earned $500 at a charity just a few weeks ago! The Whitesville Lion's club threw a Pie Auction and Chili Supper (old article, sorry) to earn funds for the Wendell Foster's Center, here in Owensboro. I made this same pie for it, fancy crust design and all.

John's dad, (Judge, we shall call him), apparently goes to this every year and buys a pie. He mentioned it to me at dinner (knowing I make and bake), and naturally I wanted to donate one. Wound up being the second highest earner, largely thanks to the Judge. He LOVES this pie, and advertised heavily how good it was. Some smart person then snatched it up!

I have several fruit pie-making secrets. Tired of runny pies? Want your pie to gel like Grandma's? Cook part of the fruit insides first! Cook ONLY PART. Leave some out, to maintain that crunchiness of whole fruit pieces. Otherwise it'll be like the cheap fruit pies y'all buy at Wal-mart. *shudder* There are a few pies I keep as exceptions to this rule, such as apple. I just added the hot blueberry sauce to the dry, in this picture.

The second secret, and I advise this for most pies, is a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. Combining a touch of spice with sugar does amazing things. It'll make you fall in love with pie again, I promise you that!

For the crust, which I call sunburst, make your bottom half like you were doing a single pie crust only. Then, take the second, and set it on a large cutting board. Use a small mouthed cup to cut out the center, set aside. Then, using a pizza cutter, cut the crust into small strips of varying sizes. Start arranging them around the edge, doing the long pieces first, then short, layering them until beautiful. (Easier said than done.) This pie turned out a little lop-sided, but once you've got a strip down, its DOWN. Don't pick it back up, especially with blueberries. The dark juice stains terribly. Wet the back of the circle-center, and gently set it down on the petals, pressing slightly to make sure it sticks firmly.

This pie was a gift for the Judge, cause he deserved one. (Funny, it's Mother's day and I made a pie for John's dad....) This pie is a great Mother's day recipe, however. Blueberries are coming into season, and little baskets are everywhere. Use 4 small boxes, or 2 big boxes, for Blueberry pie. Strawberries can easily be substituted.

Cover this pie after 15 minutes in the oven with aluminum foil. Otherwise, it will over darken. 

I was glad to donate something to a cause as good as Wendell Foster's. Next year I will do it again. And again. And again.

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$500 Blueberry Pie

by Katie Tillwick May-11-2013

A good old fashioned blueberry pie. A touch of cinnamon makes it stand out.

Ingredients

• 2 9" unbaked pie crusts
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 cups fresh blueberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degree Fahrenheit. Place one crust in a 9" pie pan.2. Mix together blueberries, flour, sugar and cinnamon, mixing well. Allow to rest a bit so mixture sticks to berries. 3. Split berry mixture in half. Place one half in sauce pot on stove, cook until almost boiling. Stir constantly to prevent burning on bottom.4. Return cooked half to uncooked, mixing together. Place in pie crust. Layer other pie crust on top, making sure there are vents on top. Or do a fancy-pants pattern, like Katie.3. Bake for 35 minutes in oven, covering gently with aluminum foil after 15 minutes.