Blueberry Pie

3 to 4 cups of Blueberries - fresh or frozen (without syrup) (3 cups if you like a thin pie, 4 cups if you like it a little higher!)

One 9 inch deep-dish Pie Plate

7 Tablespoons corn starch. You may also use an equivalent amount of tapioca instead.

3 Tablespoons water (or grape juice)

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

One 9 inch pie crust

1 teaspoon Cinnamon or 1/4 teaspoon allspice

2/3 cup granulated Sugar or 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup Splenda (Splenda works in pie recipes, but not by itself. The pie turns out heavy and with much less flavor).

Crumb topping:
1/4 cup sugar (OR 1/8 cup sugar and 1/8 cup Splenda)
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter or margarine

Prep the pie crust.

Prep the blueberries -- de-stem, wash

Dry stuff: Combine the 2/3 cup sugar (or sugar/Splenda blend), 7 Tablespoons of corn starch, and spices in a bowl and mix well! Some people like 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and/or 1/4 teaspoon of allspice

Wet stuff: Add the 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice, and 3 Tablespoons of water (or grape juice) and stir it up. If you use Splenda, it will be pretty gloppy, rather than drier crumbs, but it still works the same!

Add the blueberries to the pie crust. Just pour them in! There's lots of air space and it will cook down, so don't worry if they mound up about an inch (2.5 cm) above the edge of the plate.

Just pour the mixture of sugar, juice, etc. into the pie all over the blueberries. . If it is a gloppy liquid, don’t worry, just pour it somewhat evenly over the top. But it doesn’t take perfection; it will smooth itself out in the oven.

If you want the crumb topping, just mix

* 1/4 cup sugar (OR 1/8 cup sugar and 1/8 cup Splenda)
* 1/2 cup flour
* 1/4 butter or margarine

together in a small bowl and sprinkle it over the pie.

If you want to the dough topping instead, roll out a circular section of dough that you made in step 1, to 1/8 inch thick, then place it over the pie. Seal it against the edges with the pie crust, and make decorative slits with a knife.

Cook the pie at 375 F (or 190 Celsius) for 1 hour.