Blueberry Streusel Pie

My favorite summertime pie, blueberry streusel pie, is probably also my favorite blueberry recipe. Fresh, summer blueberries cook down to a gorgeous purple, jammy confection, studded with a generous amount of cinnamon-sugar streusel and balanced by a buttery, flaky crust. Soooooo good! 

My grandma Tina spent a large portion of her childhood growing up in Maine. She used to describe the distinctive flavor of a Maine wild blueberry. “They’re smaller, and more intense in flavor,” she would tell us. Settling in Colorado, she resorted to frozen wild blueberries. Her favorite: Wyman’s. I’ve since discovered Trader Joe’s carries a delicious frozen wild variety too.

When I was in college, I had the chance to visit Stonington, Maine, my Grandma Tina’s special place, with my Dad and Grandma. It was full of all her favorites, which soon became mine: roadside lupine sightings, lobster rolls, quaint bed and breakfasts, Nervous Nellie’s Jams & Jellies, and… BLUEBERRY PIE!

Plain blueberries were never at the top of my list, as a kid, although I probably never admitted that to my Grandma. They were inconsistent in flavor, I thought. Some were sweet, some just predominately mushy, with little flavor. I don’t think I ever really knew what a blueberry was supposed to taste like. It wasn’t until I moved to Oregon and was doing my share of berry picking (oh how I miss the chance to do that every summer!) that I discovered my love for blueberries. There was no turning back after that. These days, I put them on and in everything. 

For this pie, you’ll need 5 cups of fresh blueberries. Of course, if you’re lucky enough to live in a place with wild blueberries, use those! But, the plain old, regular ones are delicious in this recipe too, spiked with lemon zest and juice and just the right amount of thickener to ensure it sets up well. If you’re tempted to dig into the pie straight out of the oven, I get it, but I urge you to wait 3-4 hours after it comes out of the oven so it’s easy and pretty to slice. This one keeps very well overnight too (it may even be better on day two!) so feel free to make this a day ahead.  

The most important thing to get right with this pie is the baking time. If you under-bake it, the blueberries will be too liquidy and won’t break down to their desired, jammy texture. You want to leave this in the oven for as long as you can, while trying to keep the top streusel and crust from over-browning. I place a thin strip of foil around the edges of the crust for the last 30 minutes or so, or, you can use the fancy pie shields if you have them. If the top streusel is browning too fast, you can set a loose piece of foil on top as well.  

You’ll also want to make sure you refrigerate the streusel mixture (or throw it in the freezer if you’re in a hurry) until it’s nice and cold, so it holds up well in the oven. It’s the easiest streusel you’ll ever make because you melt the butter before mixing it with the brown sugar, white sugar, flour and cinnamon… no cutting it in required! Once it’s nice and firmed up in the fridge, it crumbles beautifully. 

The filling is very straightforward. I like my blueberry filling on the less-sweet side, especially with the sugary streusel crumb topping, and, often, topped with ice cream too, but you can add up to a ½ cup more sugar if you want yours sweeter or if your blueberries are particularly tart. 

Blueberry Streusel Pie

1 recipe all-butter (pâte brisée) pie dough
1 recipe crumb streusel topping (recipe below)
5 cups fresh blueberries
juice and zest from 1 lemon
½ cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup flour
pinch of salt

Streusel Crumb Topping

1 cup (4 oz.) all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar (4 oz.)
¾ cup brown sugar (4 oz.)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
½ cup unsalted butter (4 oz.), melted

Make the pie dough

Find recipe here. Chill dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes while you make the streusel crumb topping and the filling.

Make the crumb topping

Make the crumb topping: stir together the flour, both sugars, cinnamon, and salt in a medium mixing bowl, and then add the melted butter and stir to fully combine. Pop into the fridge to chill while you assemble the filling and prepare the crust. 

Make the filling

In a large mixing bowl, gently stir together the blueberries, lemon zest & juice, sugar, pinch of salt, cornstarch and flour. Let that sit for a few minutes at room temperature to release some juices. 

**Set rack of oven to the lower-third and preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit**

Form the crust

Roll out your pie dough with a rolling pin on a lightly-floured work surface until it’s a large enough circle (about 12 inches in diameter) to fit into a 9-inch pie pan. Roll the dough up loosely around a rolling pin and unroll into pan. Press dough firmly into sides and corners of pie pan and trim excess dough around the edges to about 1-inch past the edge of the pan. Tuck the overhanging dough under itself, so the dough lines up with the edge of the pan. Flute with your fingers or use the tines of a fork to make a triangle pattern as pictured below.  For more detail on how to roll out pie crust, see this tutorial.

Assemble & bake the pie

Pour off any accumulated liquid from the filling and then pour the filling into the prepared piecrust.  Using your hands, crumble the chilled streusel on top of the blueberries. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 30-40 minutes longer. Keep on eye on things. If the crust or topping starts getting too dark, remove from the oven and place a thin strip of foil around the edges of the crust and/or a big piece of foil loosely over the topping, before placing it back in the oven to finish cooking. You’ll know it’s done when the filling is bubbling and creeping out around the sides of the pie, into the crumble topping. Resist your instinct to under-bake, as you want the filling to fully set!

Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack for 3-4 hours before serving, or up to 24 hours. It’s delicious on it’s own and even better with a scoop of ice cream or homemade whipped cream.

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Blueberry Streusel Pie

Fresh blueberries + lemon zest + cinnamon-sugar streusel. My favorite summertime pie!

Prep Time45 mins

Cook Time1 hr 10 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: blueberry crumble pie, blueberry pie, blueberry streusel pie, homemade pie

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 recipe all-butter pâte brisée pie dough

Streusel Crumb Topping

• 1 cup all-purpose flour 4 oz.
• 1/2 cup sugar 4 oz.
• 3/4 cup brown sugar 4 oz.
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted

Filling

• 5 cups fresh blueberries use wild if you can find them!
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 lemon zested and juiced
• 1/4 cup flour

Instructions

• Make and chill the pie dough for at least 30 minutes while you make the streusel crumb topping and the filling.
• Make the crumb topping: stir together the flour, both sugars, cinnamon, and salt in a medium mixing bowl, and then add the melted butter and stir to fully combine. Pop into the fridge to chill while you assemble the filling and prepare the crust. 
• Make the filling: in a large mixing bowl, gently stir together the blueberries, lemon zest & juice, sugar, pinch of salt, cornstarch and flour. Let that sit for a few minutes at room temperature to release some juices. 
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. 
• Form the crust: roll out your pie dough with a rolling pin on a lightly-floured work surface until it’s a large enough circle (about 12 inches in diameter) to fit into a 9-inch pie pan. Roll the dough up loosely around a rolling pin and unroll into pan. Press dough firmly into sides and corners of pie pan and trim excess dough around the edges to about 1-inch past the edge of the pan. Tuck the overhanging dough under itself, so the dough lines up with the edge of the pan. Flute with your fingers or use the tines of a fork to make a triangle pattern. 
• Assemble and bake the pie: pour off any accumulated liquid from the filling and then pour the filling into the prepared pie crust.  Using your hands, crumble the chilled streusel on top of the blueberries. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees farenheit and bake for 30-40 minutes longer. Keep on eye on things. If the crust or topping starts getting too dark, remove from the oven and place a thin strip of foil around the edges of the crust and/or a big piece of foil loosely over the topping, before placing it back in the oven to finish cooking. You’ll know it’s done when the filling is bubbling and creeping out around the sides of the pie, into the crumble topping. Resist the urge to under-bake as you want the filling to fully set!
• Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack for 3-4 hours before serving, or up to 24 hours. It’s delicious on its own and even better with a scoop of ice cream or homemade whipped cream. 

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

All-Butter Pie Dough

Elevate your favorite pie or quiche recipe with this all-butter French pie dough recipe!

Prep Time15 mins

Time to Chill1 hr

Total Time1 hr 15 mins

Course: brunch

Cuisine: French

Keyword: all butter pie crust, all-butter pie dough, pie crust, pie dough

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 8 ounces all-purpose flour (1 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon)
• 3 1/2 ounces unsalted butter, cut into cubes 7 tablespoons
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup ice-cold water mix in a few drops of lemon juice for 1/3 cup total of liquid

Instructions

• Add flour and salt to a food processor and pulse 2-3 times to combine.
• Add butter and pulse 7-8 times, until butter is starting to be incorporated and is about the size of peas.
• Slowly add lemon juice/water combination through pour spout while pulsing.  You want the dough to look a little dry but it should be wet enough to hold shape between two fingers when you press it.  You may not need all the water/lemon juice mixture!
• Dump slightly crumbly dough onto piece of plastic/silicon wrap and pull corners of wrap around dough, pushing dough together until you can form a 6-inch disk.  Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours, until firm.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and let it sit on the counter until it’s soft enough to roll out, but still cold.
• Roll out the disc of dough on floured counter into desired shape.
• Roll dough up around rolling pin loosely, and gently center it in pie plate.
• Press dough firmly into corners and up the sides of pan.  Trim dough around the top, with up to 1 inch of overhang.  Use extra dough to patch any holes or cracks. 
• Chill prepared dough in fridge until ready to blind-bake or fill.

Notes

*it’s quick and easy to measure out the ingredients with a kitchen scale. 

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Homemade Whipped Cream

Nothing beats the real, homemade version!

Prep Time5 mins

Total Time5 mins

Course: Dessert

Keyword: homemade whipped cream, whipped cream

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream chilled
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl, with a whisk or a whisk attachment, beat whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until you form soft peaks. 
• Serve immediately or chill in refrigerator for a few hours, until ready to serve.