Blueberry Crumble Pie

McKenna Schonbrun, JMU student, did not expect to win the Harvest Fest pie contest when she baked her very first pie. Ever. Among beautifully spiced pumpkin pies, a maple custard, and banana cream, Schonbrun’s blueberry crumble pie shined with a fruity brightness and crisp sourdough crust. Just like Schonbrun surprised us, consider surprising your family with a blueberry pie this Thanksgiving.

Ingredients

Sourdough Pie Crust:

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 1 stick cold unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

• 1/2 cup cold sourdough discard (straight from the fridge)

• 1 egg, cold and separated

• 1 teaspoon vinegar

• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon sugar

Filling:

• 5 cups of blueberries (maybe you froze some summer Market berries!*)

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 teaspoons lemon zest

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

  Crumble Topping:

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour

• 1/2 cup rolled oats

• 1/3 cup light brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 stick slightly softened unsalted butter, 1 in slices

*These ingredients can be found at the Harrisonburg Farmers Market

Method

1. To make crust, add 1 cup flour and 1 stick of butter to a food processor (or blender), pulse until butter and flour form pea sized chunks.

2. Add cold cubed butter to a bowl with flour and cut in with a pastry blender (or forks). To the food processor (or blender), add cold sourdough discard, cold egg yolk, salt, sugar, and vinegar. Pulse until just combined.

3. Turn dough over on floured surface and flatten into a round disc. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

4. When ready to use dough, place on lightly floured surface and roll until crust is 1/4 in thick. Roll until it covers the pie dish with a big of overhang.

5. In a large bowl, toss blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, zest, cinnamon, flour, and cornstarch.

6. In a separate bowl, make the topping: whisk together flour, oats, brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon. Add butter slices and use a pastry cutter (or forks) to mix butter into dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly.

7. Transfer berry mixture into crust. Sprinkle crumble topping over the berries and pat down gently.

8. Place pie on middle rack in oven with a large baking sheet on lower rack below. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, then decrease heat to 375 for 30-40 minutes. After 20 minutes, begin checking the pie crust and crumble. If it’s golden, place aluminum foil over it.

9. Allow pie to cool for 3 hours.