Blueberry Custard Pie with Pecan Struesel

Where does the time go?  It's been an unbelievably busy summer as evidenced by my lack of blogging since...April.  Wow.  Now we're in September and life still shows no signs of slowing down.  C'est la vie. 

 My husband just asked, "when did you even make that pie?  Did you make it this year?"

Yes.  But to be fair I can't remember when. 

The lack of blogging is due to being busy outside of the kitchen...but also due to the fact that summer cooking is just different.  There is more grilling, less fancy dishes, more "let's just eat so we can get back outside and get on with our day" type of meals. 

I do still have a handful of photos and recipes that I'll have to gradually put on here...and I promise to share the good ones.  This is one of them.  This pie is easy and delicious so naturally, it was a good fit for me and my love/hate relationship with pie making.  Enjoy!

Blueberry Custard Pie with Pecan Struesel 
Makes one 9-inch pie

Ingredients

1 cup (8 ounces) yogurt (or sour cream)

¾ cup sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons flour (white or whole wheat)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

2½ cups fresh blueberries

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Streusel Topping:

½ cup brown sugar

⅓ cup flour

¼ cup butter, softened

½ cup chopped pecans

Directions 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix the yogurt, ¾ cup sugar, egg, 2 tablespoons flour, vanilla extract and salt with a spoon until smooth. Gently fold the blueberries into the custard mixture. Spoon the filling into the unbaked pie crust.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.

While the filling is baking, prepare the streusel topping: In a medium bowl combine the brown sugar and flour. Mix the butter in until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Fold in the chopped pecans. After the filling has baked 25 minutes, sprinkle the streusel crunch topping over the top of the pie. 

Bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until filling is set and topping is brown.

Watch so your crust doesn't burn. Either use a crust shield or make a loose foil tent towards the end of baking if it starts to look too brown/burnt.

Remove from oven and let pie sit for at least 10-15 minutes. Serve pie warm or chill it and serve cold.

Apple Cinnamon Galette

As briefly alluded to in an earlier post, I have a love/hate relationship with making pies.  However, I think I found a solution.  Pies are not my thing, I can accept that.  But I think galettes are my new thing…and I’m perfectly happy with the compromise.  

Once you learn the concept of a galette (basically a pastry tart with hand-folded edges), the possibilities are endless.  Sweet fillings could include in-season fruits at any time of year.  Savory fillings could include vegetables, seeds, nuts, and cheeses.  I love that galettes allow you to be creative and give you the freedom to call imperfections “rustic” - the foodie artist’s version of abstract art. 

If you want to experiment with different fillings – I highly recommend reading the suggestions and tips found here.  

Apple Cinnamon Galette

Ingredients:

5-6 small-medium apples (I used organic gala)

1 ½ sticks cold butter

2 cups flour

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon sugar

Ice cold water

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup sugar (plus more for sprinkling)

1 tablespoon whole milk (or cream) 

Directions:

1) Heat the oven to 400° F (if you have one, place a pizza stone on a low rack). Cut cold, cubed butter into your flour using a pastry cutter, two knives, or your fingers until the largest pieces of butter are about the size of a pea.

2)  Sprinkle ice cold water across the dough and shake the bowl to distribute. Use your hands to mix in the driest patches.  I would start with about ¼ cup water and work your way up until most of the dough is moist but not too much – you will want to be able to roll it out easily.  You can always add a little more flour if needed.

3) Press the dough into a flat, round disc, cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes or so. 

 4) While the dough is chilling, prep the fruit.  I used an apple peeler/corer which I highly recommend but you could also just peel the apples and slice by hand.  Try not to cut the apples too far in advance since they will brown and oxidize as they sit.  Sprinkle a little lemon juice on the slices to help prevent this.  Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on the apples and mix well. 

 5) Roll out your dough until it’s about 12-inches in diameter and about 1/8-inch thick (don’t worry about it being a perfect circle – remember, “rustic” is beautiful :))  Try not to roll too much, since those butter pieces need to remain intact in order for the dough to stay light and flaky. 

 6) Arrange the fruit on top, leaving about 1 1/2 inches clear around the edge of the dough. To fold the edges, fold the edge nearest to you toward the center. Rotate the galette and lift the adjacent piece of edge, and fold toward the center. The important part is really that there are no cracks where the juices will leak out during baking.  

7)  Brush milk on the crust edges. Sprinkle sugar on the edge. Place in middle rack for about 45-55 minutes, possibly more depending on how caramelized you want things. You can rotate halfway through; keep an eye on it to see how it's going. 

When it's done, lift the parchment paper with the galette onto a cooling rack. Wiggle the galette loose from the paper and gently pull parchment paper out while sliding galette to stay on cooling rack. This is important because it helps air out the underside, which can get soggy. Wait as long as you can until cutting the first slice, and enjoy!

It should stay good for a few days in the fridge and is delicious when warmed up a little bit.  A dollop of vanilla ice cream would add a nice touch but it’s great on its own as well.

I hope you try some different variations of galettes and please share your ideas with me! :)

Maple Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie

Pies scare me a little bit. 

Maybe "scare" is the wrong word - but they definitely seem "touchy" and I'm not super confident that they will always turn out.  Is the crust done?  Overdone? Underdone?  Will I cut into it and will it be complete mush?  With the filling run out all over the place?  So many questions when you make a pie!! I just don't feel that I've mastered the art of pie.  Every attempt is a gamble.  

Then I go and make a pecan pie (my husband's favorite)...and I'm thinking it turned out great.  But I should have known that my husband would consider the addition of chocolate to pecan pie "ruining it."  Whoops.  I think the chocolate was a delicious addition - but if you share my husband's feelings about pecan pie - feel free to omit it. :) 

It didn't stop him from eating half of it...so it couldn't have been that bad, right? :) 

How do you feel about making pies?  Are you a pro?  Feel free to share your tips with me!

Maple Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie
Makes one 9”pie

For the crust, combine the following and press into a 9 inch pie dish:

1 1/4 C graham cracker crumbs

1/4 C butter, melted

Add to the bottom of the crust:

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

2 C whole, raw, unsalted pecans

For the pie filling, mix together:

1/2 C butter, melted and cooled slightly

1/2 C light brown sugar, packed

½ cup sugar in the raw

½ cup pure maple syrup

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons Maple Bourbon (or regular bourbon – or if you’re not into adding alcohol, use vanilla)

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Pour the egg and sugar mix over the nuts and chocolate in the prepared pan.

Place the pie dish on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes until it is puffed and golden, still slightly jiggly but cooked through.

Allow to cool (may need to put in the fridge for a while) to set fully before slicing and serving.

Recipe adapted from Feast for all Seasons