It’s another snow stormy day in upstate New York with raging winds, blowing snow, limited visibility, and bone chilling temperatures. A perfect day to talk about pie!
This past week I needed to make a pie for something special (there will be a fun post about that coming soon). I’d been researching winter pie recipes for a while and came upon many that were unique and that I’m eager to try, but this one was intriguing to me for this particular event: a winter spiced blueberry mulled wine pie. The idea came from King Arthur’s Blueberry Pie with a Twist, but as I almost always do, I used this as a template and then diverged to add my own twist with a few additions that felt complimentary and inspiring. This resulted in the following:
Base (Blueberries, mulled local blueberry wine)
Spices (cinnamon, clove, allspice, nutmeg, vanilla bean)
Acids (orange bitters, lemon zest, limoncello)
Thickeners (butter, flour, instant tapioca granules)
Sugars (confectioners, light brown)
Crust (sweet cream, demerera sugar)
What I like most about this pie is that it’s a winter version of a blueberry pie with rich, warm, comforting winter spices to suit the season. I was generous with the spices and added them both to the simmering pot of blueberries and wine, and to the pie compote itself before baking. The mulled blueberry wine enhances the blueberry taste and adds a nice depth to the flavor without overwhelming the pie or taking away from the key ingredient. The orange bitters and limoncello brighten it up, and overall, it’s not too sweet or too tart – just right. The texture was also excellent; it held together nicely without crossing into soupy or gelatinous territories. The crust, though, really elevated the pie because it’s extra sweet with a very generous handful of coarse demerera sugar layered atop a wash of sweet cream milk & cream liquid coffee creamer (the only ingredients in the one I used are milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla) – and that sugary sweetness paired remarkably well with a thin, flaky, and buttery crust, not-to-sweet blueberries, and warm spices.
I ended up making two pies – the test one to try it all out and make sure everything developed into the flavor and texture I was aiming for, and the second one to give away. As I look out the window and see that it’s a complete whiteout of nothing but incessant gusts of blowing snow out there, I’m pretty thankful to have this winter blueberry mulled wine pie for an afternoon snack.
Here’s a number of other pie recipes I found that sounded absolutely fantastic and am looking forward to trying at some point:
- Sausage apple pie in cheddar crust
- Blueberry limoncello pie with sourdough crust
- Passion fruit tart
- Banana custard tart with meringue and chocolate crust
- Cranberry orange meringue pie with ginger cookie crust
- Cranberry curd meringue pie with mulled wine
- Poached pear & berry pie
- Pear and sour cherry pie
- Earl gray and lemon poached pear pie
- Black bottom chocolate and blood orange pie
- Blackberry meringue pie
- Poached pear brownie tart
- Gingered plum streusel pie
- Cranberry fudge pie
- Bourbon ginger pecan pie
- If you haven’t tried this Finger Lakes, NY classic, you’re in for a treat!: Concord grape pie
And, while these are not pies, don’t they sound incredible?
- Chocolate amaretto Alaskan yule log
- Chocolate orange cheesecake buche de noel
- Blood orange and earl gray cardamom bun
- Pear cranberry gingersnap crumble
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