TWD: Double Crusted Blueberry Pie -- and a bonus!,

I have to admit that I was never a big fan of blueberry pie.  Apple?  Delicious.  Key lime?  Love it.  Banana Cream?  Heavenly.  Blueberry?  Meh.

Boy o boy am I singing a different tune!  I loved this pie.  Amy of South In Your Mouth, thank you!  

The crust came together very easily.  I made it the night before our Independence Day barbecue.  I had all the ingredients on hand for the crust, which made it that much easier.  The tiny bit of prep that I did early in the day was to cut the butter and shortening and put it in the freezer.  I did mine in the food processor.  I always leave it a tiny bit crumbly.  I figure that I can add more water if I need it.  The disks went into the fridge for the actual pie day.

I did have a little adventure with the crust.  I bought one of those "rolling bags" that Dorie talks about.  It's a zippered clear plastic bag that is about 11" in diameter.  It was a learning experience.  At 11" with the amount of dough that I had, it was pretty thick.  It's an easy fix for next time.  Don't use as much dough.  I also like a little more overhang, but for a standard 9" pie pan it would have been fine.  Did I mention that I had a little extra dough?  The crust went into the fridge, and I made the filling.

The filling posed no problems.  Though, next time, I would do the steps a little differently.  I would rub the lemon zest and sugar together and toss the berries with the lemon juice.  I dumped in the lemon components with the sugar and flour per the instructions.  There was an occasional pocket of lemon sugar.  Live and learn.  I also forgot to use the bread crumbs, but it didn't seem to make a difference.

I filled the crust, put on the top crust, and sealed the edges with a fork.  Then I got creative.  Instead of a hole in the center, I would do a star!  It is the 4th after all!

Ok, star, scottie dog, whatever.  

Here's the finished version.  Yum!  The crust baked up golden and flaky.  The blueberry filling was nicely jelled without being gummy.  

I have no photos of a sliced pie because it disappeared so quickly.  Once it landed on the dessert table at the party, it was like there was a locust invasion.  I grabbed a piece for myself and got out of the way.  Yes, I'm bragging.  It was that good!

Here's the bonus:  Remember when I said there was leftover dough?  It was enough for a strawberry galette.  I took a couple of Dorie's recipes and combined them.  I rolled out the dough, spread it with rhubarb ginger jam, and then layered on strawberries that I had tossed with brown sugar.  I folded up the dough into pleats and popped it into the oven.  It was amazing as well.  I'll be sure to make the full dough recipe next time I make a pie so that I will have leftovers.

Not sure of next week's recipe.  I'm making peach honey ice cream from the book for my husband's ice cream choice.  Check back soon, and I'll have the update!

Edited to add:  Melissa from It's Melissa's Kitchen has chosen chocolate pudding.  Mmmmm.