This blueberry pie changes the game

And shattered a decades-long family tradition.

I got my start as a food writer covering pie: bean pie, fried pie, even Iditarod pie. It became my niche, so much so that I wrote a whole book about it. The question I’ve received many times throughout my career, then, is natural: Why pie? Many of us bakers have our “baking origin story,” and mine started with the apple pie that I make for my dad every year for his birthday and Father’s Day. That recipe, which is made with Granny Smith apples, an all-butter crust, and his name carved into the top, is so important to me (and him!) that I included it in my book as “Akim’s Apple Pie.” That pie, he claims every time he eats it, is his favorite food.

Except he’s lying. Because last summer I made him this Fresh Blueberry Pie instead, and he loved it even more than that hallowed apple pie that has defined three decades of our relationship.

Have you really celebrated summer if you don’t make at least one blueberry dessert?

Developed by longtime King Arthur employee-owner (and current Substack reader) PJ Hamel, this perfect summer recipe ingeniously uses both fresh and cooked blueberries in its filling. That means you get both the intense, concentrated flavor of stewed fruit and the sharp, acidic bite of fresh berries, so that each slice has double the berry flavor. It also makes the texture of the filling more dynamic: Embedded in the sticky, jammy cooked fruit filling are pops of whole fresh blueberries that burst with each bite. And there’s an additional benefit to this unorthodox filling: It’s prepared on the stovetop. Which means that once you prebake your crust, you can turn off your oven rather than letting it heat your entire house for over an hour, like most fruit pies require.

This pie is for the blueberry lovers in your life, which is why my dad is such a fan. (He claims blueberries prevent gray hair, a little unfounded beauty tip for you.) But we also have a strawberry version, if that better fits your tastes (or your current access to fresh summer produce). Either way, I recommend a big, billowing cloud of just-barely whipped cream to top things off: It’s the perfect cooling counterpoint for these sticky days of summer.

Follow these crumbs:

• I have been daydreaming about homemade ice cream (I wonder why …) and after I finally take the plunge on an ice cream maker, I’m turning to Olga Koutseridi’s deep dive into how to achieve the creamiest consistency

• Spoiler alert: Helen Goh will be on the next season of the Things Bakers Know podcast, so I’m revisiting her fabulous cookbook Baking and the Meaning of Life. Up next: this bright green spinach (!) cake!

• The only thing my dad loves more than pie is olive oil, so I think this Olive Oil Panna Cotta that David Lebovitz recently shared will be on the menu the next time he’s in town

• Following up last week’s tomato cookie link with yet another tomato cookie. It’s that time of year!