Blueberry Pie Recipe — The Sweetness That Caps a Good-Enough Sunday

May 2026. I am 67, and spring in Memphis is arriving with its usual lack of subtlety — everything blooming at once, the dogwoods and azaleas competing for attention, the air warm enough to sit on the porch again.

Charlie and David in Nashville, their family a bridge between two cultures that share one language: love expressed through food and patience. Little Denise Mae, Charlie's daughter, carrying her aunt's name with a gravity that sometimes takes my breath away.

Ribs on the smoker — spare ribs, dry-rubbed with the sixteen-spice blend, five hours at 225. The bark cracked like the surface of a good sermon, revealing layers of flavor beneath: smoke, spice, sweetness, the particular depth that only time and fire can produce. Rosetta ate two and said nothing negative, which is her highest rating.

Sunday at Mt. Zion, the music held me the way music holds everyone: completely, without asking permission. After church, the porch, the quiet, the knowledge that the week was good enough. Good enough is everything.

When the ribs come off the smoker and the family has had their fill, the table still needs something sweet to close the evening — something that doesn’t demand much from anyone, just sits there being good. Blueberry pie is what I reach for on a Sunday like this one: it bakes while we’re still on the porch, the kitchen smells like something right is happening, and Rosetta, who gave those ribs only silence as praise, will ask for a second slice of this without being prompted. That, by any measure, is a high rating.

Blueberry Pie

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 55 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 2 prepared pie crusts (homemade or store-bought), divided
• 5 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
• 1 tablespoon coarse sugar (for topping)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat your oven to 400°F. Place a baking sheet on the lower rack to catch any drips.
2. Prepare the bottom crust. Fit one pie crust into a 9-inch pie dish, pressing gently into the bottom and sides. Trim any overhang to about 1/2 inch and refrigerate while you make the filling.
3. Make the filling. In a large bowl, combine blueberries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon, and salt. Stir gently until the berries are evenly coated.
4. Fill the pie. Pour the blueberry filling into the chilled bottom crust. Scatter the small pieces of butter evenly over the top of the filling.
5. Add the top crust. Lay the second pie crust over the filling. Trim, fold the edges under, and crimp to seal. Cut 4 to 6 small vents in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush the surface with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
6. Bake. Place the pie on the preheated baking sheet. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, until the crust is deep golden and the filling is bubbling through the vents.
7. Cool before slicing. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and allow it to cool for at least 2 hours before slicing. This lets the filling set so it won’t run.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 340 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 54g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 210mg