Honey-Crust Blueberry Pie with Goat Cheese

Ingredients

Crust

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons lard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 6 to 8 tablespoons ice water

Filling

• 2 pints fresh blueberries
• c. 1 cup sugar
• Juice and zest of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• c. 2 tablespoons flour and water, to thicken

Glaze

• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons warm honey

Goat cheese

Preheat oven to 425° F

Crust Method
Mix Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add butter and lard and blend with pastry blender or hands, until mixture is a loose crumb, with pea size pieces of butter. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to hold together. (You can do this whole process with a food processor, if preferred.)

Set Remove dough from bowl and place in a mound on a clean, floured surface. Gently fold in two teaspoons honey, then shape the dough mixture into two disks. Work the dough just enough to form the disks, do not over-knead. You should be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. (These small chunks of butter are what will allow the resulting crust to be flaky.) Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Roll Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle. Carefully place onto a 9-inch pie plate. Gently press the pie dough down so that it lines the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Trim the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the pie dish and flute as desired.

Blueberry Filling
In a small saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and zest, and cinnamon over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then simmer, stirring occasionally until thickened. (Add flour/water as necessary to thicken.) Leave it be for a few minutes to cool, then pour into prepared crust.

Crust and Glaze
Roll out second disk of dough, cut into 1 inch wide strips and weave lattice, over and under. Press the edges of the crust to seal, then brush with beaten egg yolk and warm honey to glaze.

Bake in 425° oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove to cool when crust is golden brown.

Serve warm, topped with goat cheese.

Connor is a writer and editor, living in Northwest Indiana and Boston, Massachusetts. Follow him on Twitter @keepthemuse for topics like flour, flirting, fanfiction, and the process of becoming a literary highwayman in real time.