Blueberry Pie with Almond Crumble Topping

My aunt mentioned this this pie recipe from the July 2007 Bon Appetit was to die for, so how could I resist trying it? It was really my first attempt at actually making a pie crust (I was really close to just buying one premade), but it wasn’t that hard and turned out pretty darn good! If it wasn’t for the outrageous price of blueberries (I almost went into sticker shock and I was buying frozen ones!) this pie might just be perfect. I mean, almond crumble topping? That’d make ANY pie perfect.

Blueberry Pie with Almond Crumble Topping

Makes 1 9-inch pie. Recipe from Bon Appetit.

INGREDIENTS
Crust
1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup chilled lard or frozen nonhydrogenated solid vegetable shortening (aka Crisco), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2-3 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Filling
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (or more) sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
7 cups fresh wild or regular blueberries (32 ounces) or 32 ounces frozen wild or regular blueberries (do not thaw)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Topping
2/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour
4 ounces marzipan or almond paste, broken into 1/3-inch pieces (about 3/4 cup loosely packed)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt
Whipped cream or ice cream

DIRECTIONS
For crust:
Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and lard; using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Add ice water and mix with fork until dough begins to clump together, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough together; flatten into disk. Wrap disk in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. If necessary, soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

Roll out pie crust disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Turn crust edges under and crimp decoratively, forming crust edge 1/4 inch above sides of pie dish. Refrigerate while preparing filling and topping.

For filling:
Whisk 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and cornstarch in heavy large saucepan to blend. Stir in blueberries and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until mixture bubbles and thickens, frequently stirring gently, about 13 minutes. Chill filling until cool, about 1 hour. If more sweetness is desired, stir in sugar by tablespoonfuls.

For topping:
Combine first 4 ingredients in processor; blend until mixture begins to clump together. Transfer to bowl; chill 30 minutes. Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Spread blueberry filling evenly in unbaked crust. Sprinkle topping evenly over. Place pie on rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust and topping are golden and filling bubbles thickly, about 50 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely. Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Serve pie with whipped cream or ice cream.