Blueberry Pie - it's what's for dinner!

Well, ok. It's not really for dinner - it's for dessert. But you know what I mean. ::grin:: And it's - pardon the expression - easy as pie to make! It took me all of 10 minutes to whip together, and that included washing the berries and crumbing the topping.

Here's the recipe, for you adventurous souls!

Filling Ingredients
1 graham cracker pie crust
4 c fresh or frozen blueberries (fresh are better!!!)
1/3 c sugar
1/3 c granulated Splenda (not the packets, but the stuff found in the baking aisle)
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t allspice
7 T corn starch
3 T water
2 T lemon juice

Topping Ingredients
1/4 c granulated Splenda
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/4 c butter or smart balance margarine

As Alton Brown would say, let's assemble the hardware and software.

For the filling:
1. Place the blueberries (washed and drained, mind you) in the pie crust
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the liquids and mix well.
3. Pour over the berries.

For the topping:
1. Mix the dry ingredients and cut in the butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs.
2. Sprinkle over the pie, covering evenly as possible (yes, some blueberries will peek through and that's OK)

Bake at 375 for 1 hour. (You may want to put a cookie sheet underneath to prevent any possible bubble-overage.)

Here's the really, really, really important part. You Must Let It Cool Completely Before Slicing. I mean it. No, I really MEAN IT. Cool it on the counter for a bit, then cover it with foil and stick it in the fridge. Forget it's there for an hour or two. When it is COMPLETE COOL, then you can slice. If you do not follow this step, your pie filling will ooze out all over the place and the center will squish down because the filling is oozing into the space vacated by the illegal piece you just cut and it will be a disaster of epic proportions! So ... Don't Do It.

I would also think this would work in a regular pie crust. The filling is pretty tart, though, and the extra sweetness provided by the graham cracker crust and the crumb topping are a beautiful counterpoint.

Nota bene
Now, if you're really against sugar substitutes, you can of course use sugar in the same amount in place of the Splenda. I can't vouch for the tastiness because I do use Splenda and it is a raving success. And, if you use Splenda, then you've only got about a tablespoon of "real" sugar in each serving, which is quite diabetic-friendly in moderate amounts. And you get the added bonus of blueberries - the superfruit!