Skillet Rustic Blueberry Pie
By America's Test KitchenPublished on June 30, 2009
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
Crust
1 ¼ cups (6 ¼ ounces/177 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for the work surface1 tablespoon sugar ½ teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces and chilled4 - 6 tablespoons ice waterBlueberry Filling
6 cups fresh blueberries (see note)2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons water 3 tablespoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest ¾ cup (5 ¼ ounces/149 grams) sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch salt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch piecesBefore You Begin
We prefer using fresh blueberries here, but 6 cups of frozen blueberries, thawed, can be substituted. If using frozen berries, don’t mash them in step 3. If the dough is very firm, let it sit on the counter to soften slightly for about 10 minutes before rolling out in step 5. Store-bought pie dough can be substituted for the crust if desired.
Instructions
- Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt together in a food processor to combine. Sprinkle the shortening over the top and pulse until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, about 10 pulses. Sprinkle the butter over the top and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with butter bits no larger than small peas, about 10 pulses. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.
- Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of the ice water over the mixture and fold to incorporate with a rubber spatula. Press down on the dough with the broad side of the spatula until the dough sticks together, adding the remaining 2 tablespoons ice water as needed if the dough does not come together. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and flatten into a 4-inch disk. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days.
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cook 2 cups of the berries in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat, mashing the berries with a potato masher, until the mixture is hot, thickened, and measures 1 cup, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Whisk the lemon juice, water, and cornstarch together to dissolve the cornstarch, then stir into the cooked blueberries. Stir in the remaining 4 cups blueberries, lemon zest, sugar, vanilla, and salt and sprinkle the butter over the top.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface into an 11-inch round. Following the illustrations below, loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin, then gently unroll it over the blueberry filling in the skillet. Use a sharp knife to cut six vent holes in the dough. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake the pie until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Using a potholder (the skillet handle will be hot), remove the skillet from the oven. Let the pie cool in the skillet for at least 15 minutes before serving.
for the crust
for the blueberry filling
Yield
Serves 6Ingredients
Crust
1 ¼ cups (6 ¼ ounces/177 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for the work surface
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces and chilled
4 - 6 tablespoons ice water
Blueberry Filling
6 cups fresh blueberries (see note)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
¾ cup (5 ¼ ounces/149 grams) sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Crust
1 ¼ cups (6 ¼ ounces/177 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for the work surface
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces and chilled
4 - 6 tablespoons ice water
Blueberry Filling
6 cups fresh blueberries (see note)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
¾ cup (5 ¼ ounces/149 grams) sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Crust
1 ¼ cups (6 ¼ ounces/177 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for the work surface
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces and chilled
4 - 6 tablespoons ice water
Blueberry Filling
6 cups fresh blueberries (see note)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
¾ cup (5 ¼ ounces/149 grams) sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
By cooking some of the berries on top of the stove and mixing in some raw ones before baking, we got the ideal filling texture for our skillet blueberry pie recipe. For the crust for our skillet blueberry pie recipe, we opted for a single pie crust made with both vegetable shortening and butter; using both fats yielded a tasty, flaky crust. We placed the crust directly over the filling and cut several vent holes to allow steam to escape—otherwise the crust became quite soggy. Thirty minutes in the oven produced the best crust and allowed the berries in the filling to heat through.
Before You Begin
We prefer using fresh blueberries here, but 6 cups of frozen blueberries, thawed, can be substituted. If using frozen berries, don’t mash them in step 3. If the dough is very firm, let it sit on the counter to soften slightly for about 10 minutes before rolling out in step 5. Store-bought pie dough can be substituted for the crust if desired.
Instructions
- Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt together in a food processor to combine. Sprinkle the shortening over the top and pulse until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, about 10 pulses. Sprinkle the butter over the top and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with butter bits no larger than small peas, about 10 pulses. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.
- Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of the ice water over the mixture and fold to incorporate with a rubber spatula. Press down on the dough with the broad side of the spatula until the dough sticks together, adding the remaining 2 tablespoons ice water as needed if the dough does not come together. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and flatten into a 4-inch disk. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days.
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cook 2 cups of the berries in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat, mashing the berries with a potato masher, until the mixture is hot, thickened, and measures 1 cup, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Whisk the lemon juice, water, and cornstarch together to dissolve the cornstarch, then stir into the cooked blueberries. Stir in the remaining 4 cups blueberries, lemon zest, sugar, vanilla, and salt and sprinkle the butter over the top.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface into an 11-inch round. Following the illustrations below, loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin, then gently unroll it over the blueberry filling in the skillet. Use a sharp knife to cut six vent holes in the dough. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake the pie until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Using a potholder (the skillet handle will be hot), remove the skillet from the oven. Let the pie cool in the skillet for at least 15 minutes before serving.
for the crust
for the blueberry filling
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