Pecan Crumb-Top Blueberry Pie

Fresh blueberries were on sale at the local grocery store last week and so we bought several cartons. On the 4th of July I decided to use them for a pie. I merged two recipes from the fantastic cookbook Pie by Ken Haedrich (contains 300 different pie recipes). The result? One of the best pies I’ve ever had. I would put this up against any blueberry pie I’ve ever had. A few days ago we went and hand-picked blueberries with some friends. So now I have more blueberries and I definitely think it’s time to make this pie again…

A note about pie crust: If you are able to make a delicious pie crust you have my admiration. I’ve found that the pre-made, refrigerated pie crusts (from Pillsbury, for example) that you simply unroll and place in your pie pan are as good as any crust I’ve ever made myself AND SO MUCH EASIER. With a pre-made crust, this pie can be assembled in less than 15 minutes.

• One pie crust

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Filling

• 5 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (but thawed) or canned (but drained)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 T. cornstarch
• 1 T. flour
• 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 T. lemon juice

Place blueberries in large bowl. Add all other ingredients and mix well, trying not to smash the blueberries. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes while you press pie crust into pie pan.

Pour filling into pie pan and place in 400°F oven for 30 minutes.

Pecan Crumb Topping

• 6 T. butter, cold and cut into pieces
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 T. milk

While pie is baking, prepare topping by placing butter, flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Combine well with pastry cutter (a food processor can also do the job). Add pecans and milk. Continue to mix with pastry cutter (or fork) until damp and crumbly. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

After 30 minutes in oven, remove pie and reduce oven heat to 375°F. Spread crumb topping onto the pie and lightly pat them down. Return pie to oven and bake for 30-40 more minutes at 375°F until juices bubble thickly. (It is helpful to place foil under the pie to catch dripping juices. Also, if crust starts getting too dark, you can place foil loosely over top of pie for last 10-15 minutes of baking.)

Transfer hot pie to cooling rack and allow to sit for a couple of hours before serving. Enjoy with ice cream or by itself, cold or warm.

Oatmeal-Blueberry Muffins

I love blueberry muffins, but had never made them from scratch. We had some blueberries left over and I found this recipe on the Better Homes & Gardens website. Very quick and simple to make, very moist and delicious to eat.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease standard muffin pan or line with muffin bake cups.

Combine the following dry ingredients in a bowl.

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Mix the following ingredients together in a separate bowl (you can mix with a fork or whisk, an electric mixer is not necessary):

• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Pour liquid ingredient mixture into dry ingredient mixture and stir just until moistened (batter should be slightly lumpy).

• 1 cup blueberries

Fold the blueberries into the batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each ~3/4 full. (Should make 12 regular or 36 small muffins. I made 9-10 because I was fairly generous with my filling.)

Bake at 400°F for 16-18 minutes (or 10-12 minutes for small muffins), or until done (toothpick in center will come out with just a couple of crumbs on it).

Red Velvet Cake

Erin requested a red velvet cake for her birthday. I had never made one before, but I decided it would be fun to try. I found this recipe for “Southern Red Velvet Cake” on FoodNetwork.com. It is from the show Sarah’s Secrets and the recipe is presented by Cakeman Raven. It was fun to make and turned out really well. I am posting the cream cheese frosting recipe separately because it was excellent and would also be delicious for use on a carrot cake or cinnamon rolls.

Video from Sara’s Secrets on Food Network:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans (3 may be used, but I only have two—and two worked just fine).

Mix the following dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cocoa powder

In stand mixer bowl, combine the following on low speed:

• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk (preferably room temp.)
• 2 large eggs (preferably room temp.)
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce—this ended up being the entire bottle)
• 1 tsp. white distilled vinegar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients and beat on medium to medium-high speed until well combined.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake in oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs on it. Allow cakes to cool and then remove from pans. (At this point you can either proceed to frosting or store in the refrigerator until later. Cakes stored in refrigerator are much easier to frost.)

When ready to assemble cake, prepare Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe. Frost generously and then garnish with chopped pecans.

  

Happy Birthday, Erin!

Cream Cheese Frosting

This is the recipe for cream cheese frosting to go along with the Red Velvet Cake. It’s very simple and very good and would be an excellent choice for all of your cream cheese frosting needs (carrot cake, cinnamon rolls, etc.).

In a stand mixer (using paddle attachment) or a in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, combine the following on low speed:

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Beat on high speed until light and fluffy (~5 minutes), then add:

• 1 tsp. (or more) vanilla extract

Beat on high a little bit longer. You can now use it to frost your cake. Note: You can store it in the refrigerator for later use (the recipe says 3 days, but I bet it can go longer). If you want to do decorative frosting, it may be slightly more workable after being chilled for a bit.