Pie season is upon us! Bust out your pie tins and bake yourself some ginger blueberry pie. This flavorful twist on a classic pie combines sweet blueberries with a zesty kick from fresh ginger.
The other week, I had a tasty blueberry rhubarb pie from The Pie Hole. The “bluebarb” pie I had was excellent. I loved the sweet blueberries mixed with the tart freshness of the rhubarb.
After I devoured the slice, I immediately wanted to create something similar. Rhubarb season may be over… but I can still make a blueberry pie variation!
Blueberry pie is the easiest fruit pie to make. No peeling involved, no seeds to discard. It’s a classic pie made from simple ingredients: blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Cornstarch is mixed into the filling to create an easily sliceable pie.
Pie Crust
Pies are so much prettier before baking. It’s always a surprise to see how the pie designs will hold up during baking! I used a variety of leaf designs to line the perimeter of the pie and used a simple lattice for the middle.
This new pie crust dough is a winner. The finished pie turned out perfectly. I’d definitely give it an A+.I adapted my usual go-to pie crust. Instead of adding egg yolks for additional fat, I used vegetable shortening.
While I root for all-butter crusts, shortening does wonders for pie dough. It adds fat without additional moisture making for a flakier crust.
Of course, if you are pressed for time, go ahead and use your favorite store-bought pie dough.
BAKING BASICS: How to Make Pie Dough using two different techniques. Choose the method that works best for you!
Helpful Tips
- Simply omit ginger to make a classic blueberry pie.
- This recipe works best with fresh blueberries. Frozen blueberries will expel more moisture during cooking. Additional cornstarch is needed to adjust to the liquid.
- If you don’t have enough blueberries, mix in your choice of fresh raspberries or blackberries.
- Use grated fresh ginger. Fresh ginger tastes bright, slightly sweet, with a vibrant spicy kick. In contrast, ground ginger has a more earthy, warm flavor. I don’t recommend ground ginger for this recipe.
Serving Suggestions
One word of caution: cool the pie to room temperature before serving! Hot fruit pies mean disaster. It will be very difficult to slice and serve.
Practice patience. Allow the ginger blueberry pie to completely cool to room temperature. Alternatively, slightly cool the pie at room temperature. Then, transfer the pie to the fridge to speed up the cooling process.
The completed pie will still have several blueberries intact! The sweet and tangy bursting blueberries pair well with the tender, flakey pie crust. This pie is best served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of fresh whipped cream.
Store leftovers in a covered container in the fridge for up to three days. The filling mixture will eventually seep and separate over time. Highly recommend enjoying the pie within two days of baking.
More Fruit Pie Recipes
- No bake blueberry icebox pie features a blueberry cream cheese filling in a gingersnap cookie crust.
- Persimmon cranberry pie is topped with a sweet, crunchy pecan crumble.
- From scratch strawberry pie uses a two crust pie dough and fresh strawberries.
Ginger Blueberry Pie
Ingredients
Pie Dough:
- 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, (293 g)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup granulated sugar, (50 g)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, (227 g), cut into tablespoons, cold
- 2 Tablespoon vegetable shortening*, (25 g)
- 3 Tablespoons ice water,, or more if needed
Ginger Blueberry Filling:
- 5 cups fresh blueberries*, (800 g), rinsed and pat dry
- 5 Tablespoons granulated sugar, (63 g)
- 1 ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 Tablespoon cornstarch, (20 g)
Egg Wash and Topping:
- 1 large egg
- pinch of fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoon water
- turbinado sugar, as needed to sprinkle
Instructions
Pie Dough:
- In a food processor, pulse together flour, salt, and sugar. Add cold butter one tablespoon at a time with the food processor running. Stop the machine once the mixture is crumbly and like coarse sand in texture.
- Transfer mixture to a bowl. Add shortening and 3 Tbsp of water. Fold to combine until dry ingredients are moistened. Dump shaggy dough onto a clean surface. Knead dough until it comes together. If necessary, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water if dough is too dry.
- Divide dough into two equal parts. Flatten into disks and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Filling and Assembly:
- Roll one dough on a lightly floured work surface. If dough is too hard or too cold, let it rest a few minutes until it is pliable. Roll dough to about 10-inches in diameter and about 1/4-inch in thickness. Place pie plate upside down over the rolled dough to make sure it is the correct size.
- Generously butter the pie plate. Move dough into the prepared pie plate and firmly press it into the bottom and sides of pie plate. Trim excess dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge.
- Roll out the dough dough to 10-inches in diameter. Slice into strips. Punch out leaf shapes using cutters. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, toss blueberries with sugar, grated ginger, salt, and cornstarch.
- Pour blueberries in the chilled pie crust. Arrange chilled dough strips over the blueberry filling. Press the ends of the strips into the edges of pie crust. Arrange chilled leaf shapes as desired. Cover pie with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the fridge while oven preheats.
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- Egg Wash: whisk together egg, salt, and water until smooth.
- Brush pie with egg wash. Sprinkle turbinado sugar, if desired.
- Place an aluminum foil tent over pie. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 25-30 minutes until pie is golden brown and berry filling is bubbling. Cool to room temperature before slicing.
Notes
- I used these pie dough cutters
- I tested this recipe using fresh blueberries. Frozen blueberries will not yield the same results.
- For clean slices, chill pie in the fridge until cold.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
