Pillsbury Pie Crusts

Surely you’ve all heard of them, EXCEPT MY GOOD FRIEND JEANINE! LOL  I just had to laugh Saturday night when I decided to make a blueberry pie and remembered J saying she had never heard of them. “Do you live under a rock?” is what comes to mind!

See, this is what they look like except 2 rolls of dough come in the box. {I already used the other one.}

All you do is open the pie crust package and unroll the crust into your pie plate. Then you do you edges all fancy except I don’t know how to do that very well so do it however you do it.

Then, because you saved so much time on your pie crust, you can move on to other things like making the part that really matters, the filling!

In this case the topping is also very important since it’s a Blueberry Crumble Pie. It’s really good, I’d recommend making it. Another friend, Alaina, so kindly passed this recipe on a while back. Thanks, it’s a keeper!

Blueberry Crumble Pie

A crisp and crunchy crumb topping is the perfect match for a juicy berry pie filling. You can substitute fresh, wild blueberries for the more standard, domestic cultivated berries in this pie. These intensely flavored wild berries are usually available during the heat of summer.

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe Basic Pie Dough (see related recipe at
    left)
• 3/4 cup plus 5 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup plus 1 Tbs. granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 3/4-
  inch pieces
• 5 cups blueberries

Directions:

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 400°F.
Roll out the dough and transfer to a 9-inch pie dish. Refrigerate until firm. Line the chilled piecrust with a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Fill with dried beans, uncooked rice or pie weights. Bake until the crust dries out, about 15 minutes; to check, lift an edge of the foil. Carefully remove the weights and foil. Reduce the heat to 350°F. Continue to bake until the crust is lightly browned on the edges and dry-looking on the bottom, about 5 minutes more. Transfer the crust to a wire rack.
Increase the heat to 375°F.
In a large bowl, stir together the 3/4 cup flour, 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, the 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1 tsp. of the cinnamon and the salt. Scatter the butter pieces on top and toss with a fork or your fingers to coat with the flour mixture. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, work the ingredients together until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs the size of large peas. Set the topping aside.
In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, the remaining 1/3 cup brown sugar, the remaining 1 tsp. cinnamon and 4 Tbs. of the flour. Stir gently to coat the blueberries evenly. Sprinkle the remaining 1 Tbs. flour and the 1 Tbs. granulated sugar over the bottom of the prebaked crust. Pour the filling into the crust, spreading it evenly.
Sprinkle the topping evenly over the blueberry filling. Bake the pie until the topping is golden brown and the blueberry filling just begins to bubble, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Serve at room temperature. The pie is best served the day it is baked. Makes one 9-inch pie.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma, Essentials of Baking, by Cathy Burgett, Elinor Klivans & Lou Seibert Pappas (Oxmoor House, 2003).

See how that ready made pie crust simplified things? {Maybe I shouldn’t give away all my secrets…}  I’ve made pie crusts many times and it’s not really all that hard but believe me, this is easier. Just had to give you a hard time Jeanine! 

*The 2nd time I made this pie I used a lot less {about half} butter, whew that’s a lot.