Blueberry Pie - Pie Plate with Blackbird

My friend Lynne gave me this great pie plate
for Christmas because she knows that I
enjoying cooking and baking.

This beautiful pie plate comes with
a blackbird. The blackbird goes inside
the pie to disperse excess steam keeeping
the filling fresh and stopping it from
spilling over in your oven - so cool!

Blueberry Pie Recipe
adapted from Simply recipes

2 pie crusts

Filling ingredients:

6 cups of fresh (or frozen) blueberries, rinsed and stems removed (if using frozen, defrost and drain first)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (for thickening)
1 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter (unsalted), cut into small pieces

Egg wash ingredients:

1 egg
1 tablespoon milk

Method
1 Prepare the crust. Roll out half of the dough to 1/8-inch-thick circle on a lightly floured work surface, about 13 inches in diameter. Fit the dough over a 9-inch pie pan, and trim the edges to a 1/2 inch over the edge all around the pan. Put into the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.

2 Gently mix the blueberries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Transfer them to the chilled bottom crust of the pie pan. Dot with butter pieces. Roll out remaining dough to the same size and thickness as the first. Place on top of the berry filling. Tuck the top dough over and under the edge of the bottom dough, and crimp the edges with your fingers. Transfer the pie to the refrigerator to chill until the dough is firm, about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 425°F.

3 Whisk egg and milk together to make an egg wash.

4 Remove the unbaked pie from refrigerator. Brush the top with egg wash. Score the pie on the top with 4 cuts (so steam can escape while cooking - but if you have a "blackbird" you don't have to do this part). Place the pie on the middle rack of the oven with a parchment paper or Silpat lined baking pan positioned on the lower rack to catch any filling that may bubble over. Bake for 25 minutes at 400°. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake for about 5 -10. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Let cool completely before serving.

Blueberry Pie - yum!