Blueberry Cream Pie

When we first moved to Georgia, back in 2005, I had the brilliant idea to pack up my two young children one June morning and drive them to the local blueberry farm to pick buckets of the fresh, ripe fruit.  I can assure you that the idealistic vision that  had played out in my head was entirely different from how our blueberry picking experience actually went down . 😅  Here's what I learned about blueberry picking that day:
1.  Blueberry bushes are great habitats for bugs -  Big bugs, flying bugs, crawling bugs, bugs that bite and sting - all the bugs.  🪲
2.  It takes A LOT of tiny blueberries and A LOT of time to fill a bucket.  🪣
​3. The blueberries at the bottom of the bushes - ie. the ones the kids can reach - get picked first - so if you want to find more berries, you have to bring a ladder or be willing to hoist kids up in the air for long periods of time.  🪜 
4. Blueberries ripen in the hottest months of the summer and waking up early to stand outside in buggy blueberry bushes all morning, makes kids grumpy.  😅

Despite our unpleasant inaugural blueberry picking experience - I haven't give up on the dream of fresh picked Georgia blueberries.  In my little corner of the world, blueberries, blackberries and peaches are all ripe and ready for picking this week. 🫐 ​And as luck would have it, my 23 year old has no memory of the fateful day that I dragged her to the blueberry farm as an innocent 6 year old.   So I decided it would be best if I didn't bring it up before I asked if she would go with me to pick blueberries this week, either. 😅 (Yet another reason that I'm thankful for my kids repressed childhood memories.🤣)  So with fresh perspective, and a healthy slathering of bug repellent, we headed to the farm - bright and early, to fill our buckets with fresh, summer fruit.  

We ended up coming home with a decent supply of fresh blueberries.  It was definitely hot and just as buggy as I remembered but still worth it.  And now I get to decide how to best enjoy all our fresh blueberries.  Pies, cakes, shortcakes, cobblers, ice cream - so many blueberry possibilities. 🤣 

My better half is a big fan of all things fruit so it's not hard to find a sweet, fruity treat that he will enjoy.  The hardest decision is choosing which blueberry themed treat to make first.  After some thoughtful planning, I decided to plan a full day of blueberry  indulgence in honor of Father's Day.  A batch of blueberry pancakes to kick off the day and a Blueberry Cream Pie to finish off the day.  

Blueberry Cream Pie
Crust
12 whole graham crackers
2 Tablespoons sugar
pinch salt
6 Tablespoons butter, melted

Filling
1/2 cup sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Topping
8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup heavy cream

Process graham crackers, sugar and salt in food processor until finely ground.

Add melted butter and pulse until crumbly. 

Press into bottom and up sides of a 9" pie plate.  ​Bake 16-18 minutes at 325.

Whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt in saucepan for filling.  

Process 2 cups blueberries in food processor until smooth.  

Strain into saucepan with sugar.  

Bring to a simmer and cook until whisk leaves a trail that slowly fills in.  

Remove from heat.  Whisk in lemon juice. 

Stir remaining blueberries into puree.  

Spread filling over pie crust.  

Whip cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth.  

Slowly add cream and whisk until stiff peaks form.  

​Fill a pastry bag with cream topping.  

Fill bag with cream and pipe rosettes over pie. 

Freshly picked blueberries are not a requirement for this recipe.  Really, you don't even need fresh berries at all - you can always substitute frozen berries if that's what's available to you.  Happy summer.

​Ciao!

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