This delicious take on blueberry pie adds blueberries to the crust as well, creating a subtly purple crust after baking. This pie is vegan friendly, refined sugar free, and includes a gluten-free alternative!
I was never a big pie person before I met my hubby. Most pies are too sickeningly sweet for my taste and have “canned fruit filling” written all over them. There’s a world of difference between store-bought and homemade pie, as with most things, so I quickly learned how to make pies homemade, complete with a from-scratch crust. It may take a little longer than baking a frozen Marie Callender’s pie, but difference in taste will be your reward, I promise!
Another nice thing about making desserts homemade, is that you can adjust the sweetness level to suit your taste. Most of the recipes I find out on the internet, whether it be for chocolate chip cookies or pie, I cut back on the amount of sugar listed by at least 25 or 30 percent and it’s still plenty sweet for me. This pie is only mildly sweetened, allowing the flavor of the fresh blueberries to shine.
This pie was inspired by a photo I saw on Pinterest by the talented Linda Lomelino of purple pie crust made with blueberry powder. She somehow managed to get a very deep purple, which I could not replicate no matter how much powder I added, but this subtle lavender/magenta color isn’t bad considering it’s dyed naturally. It even gives the crust a slight berry flavor, which pairs perfectly with the delicious blueberry filling.
The color does lighten a bit after baking and I couldn’t prevent the slight browning on the edges of the crust, but I think it turned out beautifully nonetheless. And with Easter right around the corner, I imagine this would make a lovely addition to your holiday table as well!
Please let me know if you give this a try and don’t forget to tag me in any pics you post on Instagram! Enjoy and happy Pi(e) Day!
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Blueberry Pie with Purple Berry Crust
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Yield: 8–10 slices 1x
Description
This delicious take on blueberry pie adds blueberries to the crust as well, creating a subtly purple crust after baking. This pie is vegan friendly, refined sugar free, and includes a gluten-free alternative!
Ingredients
Purple Berry Crust: (gluten-free version below)
- 2 1/2 (335g) cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (6oz) all vegetable shortening
(can use half shortening and half real unsalted butter, if not dairy-free)
- 1–2 tablespoons maple syrup
or sugar
- 3–5 tablespoons powder from freeze dried blueberries
or berry puree*
- 4–6 tbsp ice cold water, or until dough comes together
Blueberry Filling:
- 6 cups (30oz) fresh blueberries
- 3/4 cup (95g) coconut sugar
or sugar
, or more to taste
- 5 tablespoons (37.5g) tapioca flour/starch
- zest and juice of 1 small lemon
- pinch of salt
Gluten-Free Purple Berry Pie Crust:
- 2 1/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour/starch
(tapioca helps with the elasticity, but can also use additional gf all-purpose flour)
- 1–2 tablespoons maple syrup
or sugar
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
(optional, but does help dough to be more flexible)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (80g) vegetable shortening
- 1/2 cup (4oz) cold butter, regular or dairy-free
- 3–5 tablespoons powder from freeze dried blueberries
or berry puree*
- 4–6 tablespoons ice cold water
Instructions
Purple Berry Crust:
- Combine flour(s), and salt (and xanthan gum if making gluten-free version) in a small bowl or food processor. Blend in shortening/butter just until crumbly and no large chunks of fat remain.
- If using freeze dried berries, combine blueberry powder and 2–3 tablespoons water in a separate bowl to make a paste.
- Add berry paste or puree to flour mixture, along with sweetener, mixing just until combined.
- Stir in cold water, one tablespoon at a time, just until flour comes together to form a ball of dough.
- Knead a few times, if needed, to get a uniform color. Shape into a flat disc, cover, and refrigerate while you make the filling.
Filling:
- Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- In a medium bowl, mash half of the blueberries to release their juices.
- Stir in sugar, tapioca starch, lemon zest and juice.
- Fold in remaining whole berries and set aside while you roll out crust.
Roll Pie Crust:
- My Pie Plate
is considred deep dish, so use a deep dish pan if you can. If not, you may have extra filling left over.
- Cut a little less than half of the dough from the disc. Shape into a circle and place between two sheets of parchment paper
to roll out.
- Roll crust into a large circle, a few inches larger than your pie plate.
- Transfer the crust to your pie plate. Use the parchment paper to invert your crust into the pan, if it’s delicate.
- Gently fit the crust into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim off any excess and add the dough to the other disc.
- Refrigerate bottom crust while you prepare the top crust.
- You can make a lattice crust or place a whole sheet of crust on top of your pie, just remember to cut a few slits for steam to escape.
- To make the crust like in the pictures, roll out the second larger disc of dough into a long oval, about the same width as your pie plate, if not larger.
- To make the twisted lattice, cut the dough widthwise into 1/4-inch strips. I used about 30 strips, but you can space them out or make the strips wider to take up more space.
- Twist two strips together and set aside. When you have your lattice strips all done, remove the bottom pie crust from the fridge and fill with blueberry filling.
- Weave the strips into a lattice pattern on top of the filling, trimming any that hang over the edge.
- Leave the edge plain, or use a cutter or hand cut leaves to decorate the edge.
- Place pie onto a baking sheet and bake for 45–60 minutes, just until crust is lightly brown and filling is bubbly. If crust edges begins to brown too much, cover the edges with tin foil halfway through baking.
- The center of the pie will be liquidy if cut right after baking. The filling begins to set as it cools. I find the pie is much better the next day.
Notes
*Measure blueberry powder after grinding. I make berry puree by cooking 1 cup frozen blueberries/blackberries with a few tablespoons water. I find frozen berries have more of a bright color than fresh ones. Cook down and mash well. Strain through a sieve to smooth.
**An egg helps crust to be more flexible when rolling, but you can also use extra water.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Category: pies, vegan, dessert