Blueberry season may be the best time to date. Last year when I was drowning in 5 lbs. of wild blueberries from Josh Pond Farms in Maine, I made a blueberry pie and posted it to Instagram and Facebook. I didn't think much of it. But the response was overwhelming. Men that I knew well, men who I had gone on dates with, exes, total strangers, everyone was messaging me that they needed that pie right now and would do whatever it takes to get it. It was shocking. I post a lot of food photos, but out of all the 'grams this was the one that got the most incredible response from men. So yeah, I went on a few dates as a result of this pie, and had a few "blueberry pie and chill" situations when they wanted to bring ice cream over afterward.
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
I knew that my pie was good—and we'll get to the recipe in a minute—but I didn’t get why blueberry pie was such a thing. Some people swear they're a natural aphrodisiac for men specifically (citing something about the antioxidants), and I noticed that mostly guys crowded around the pie in the test kitchen. One food stylist's boyfriend even said he'd leave his girlfriend for this pie. [Editor's note: Fact-checking, there is no concrete blueberry science here.] So it's circumstantial! Whatever. I have since experimented and literally eaten two pints of blueberries in one sitting and didn’t experience anything except happiness.
But I'm not the first person to experience the man-attracting powers of a blueberry recipe. A teenager from Chicago, Renny Powell, won the 1954 Pillsbury Bake-Off with “Blueberry Boy Bait,” which is basically a blueberry coffee cake. Now, 60-something years later, I am also enjoying the benefits of blueberry desserts.
I'm sure you're ready to make BA's Best Blueberry Pie now, and there are a few steps to ensure it's perfect.
1. You Need to Go Deep-Dish
This pie is alllll about the ratio of blueberries to crust. My feeling is generally in the case of summer fruit pies, if things are in season and at their peak bounty, why be skimpy? If you're going to eat a slice of blueberry pie, it should punch you in the face with super ripe fruit flavor. You should be completely satisfied with one slice of pie, and it should taste like summertime. That's why you have to make this pie in a deep-dish pan. In a regular pan, you'll get a thin layer of blueberries and mostly crust. You're not here to eat crust—you're here to eat blueberries.
2. Smash Your Butter for Flakier Layers
The one important step in the crust is smashing the butter into thin, flat sheets so it creates super flaky layers. You do this by pressing and smearing butter and flour between your palms to flatten it. To ensure even more flakiness, I use Claire Safftiz's dough stacking technique (from her incredible buttermilk biscuits): Cut the dough into four pieces, stack, and then roll out again. You can use a food processor to save time, but you may lose some of the awesome flaky layers you get from smashing the butter in your hands. With the butter-smashing method (patent pending), when your pastry is done, the top dough puffs out and is almost like puff pastry. The vodka in the dough also helps this, because you have a workable, wetter dough to start with, but when the alcohol evaporates, the crust dries and gets even flakier.
3. Chill Your Dough and Crank Up the Oven
Another way to ensure a perfect crust is by preheating a sheet pan in the oven at 425° and putting your freezer-chilled unbaked pie on top of it. That way the crust sets immediately. The cold butter will hold its shape (and not melt), while the hot oven will instantaneously cook the surface of the crust. Since you're not pre-baking this dough, you need that insurance to make sure the blueberry juice doesn't make the crust soggy. (Nobody likes a soggy bottom!) The filling is easy—and yes, it does need all 8 cups of blueberries!—but also customizable. Raid your spice cabinet and add 1 tsp. of dried ground ginger and ½ a tsp. of cardamom if you have them on hand. Ginger gives a little heat on the back of your tastebuds for a slightly spicy finish, and cardamom helps enhance the fruitiness of the blueberries.
4. Wait to Cut Into It!
After everything is baked, it's time for the most important part of this pie recipe: wait to cut into it. Everybody loves warm pie, but this one will be ruined if you cut into it immediately. If you try slice the beautiful lattice crust you spent so much time on too soon, it will break apart and crumble. When you try to pull a piece out, you’ll have a tidal wave of blueberries and syrup that pours out. You’ll have to eat your pie with a spoon. Now, if you wait at least 5-6 hours, it'll be slightly warmer than room temp, but cool enough to have set. To speed up the cooling process, set it on a cooling rack so air can circulate. If you can stand to wait, leave it overnight—there's nothing better than pie for breakfast. And it's even better if you have company.
