blueberry galette: happy fourth of july!

Happy Fourth of July everyone! I want to keep this post short and sweet, and let the dessert do most of the talking. I’m so incredibly pleased with how this galette turned out. You see, I’ve always been so wary to attempt a pie of any name – traditional pie, hand pie, galette, tart, pie pops – they all intimidated me. In fact, I didn’t even consider myself a pie-lover until as recently as a few weeks ago. But after trying two wonderful berry pies from local bakeries, I’ve officially joined the rest of the country and hopped on the pie bandwagon… just in time for America’s birthday! This free-form tart is humble and rustic and everything I had hoped for when imagining my first very first galette. It is a small tart, perfect for an after-dinner dessert with family, without leftovers. And make sure to serve each slice with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream! If you wanted a larger galette for a crowd, I’m sure you could double both components of this recipe, but I haven’t tried it myself. Have a happy and safe Independence Day, let’s get ready to party like it’s 1776!

blueberry galette
adapted from spoon fork bacon and dinner, a love story

for the cream cheese pie dough:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
• 1/4 cup (4 ounces) cream cheese, cold and cut into small cubes
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 teaspoons ice cold water

for the blueberry filling:

• 2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and patted dry
• scant 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• generous pinch of cinnamon
• juice of half a lemon

for the assembly:

• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• coarse sugar, such as turbinado, for sprinkling

directions:

make the pie dough: in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the butter and cream cheese to the flour mixture. Working quickly, cut the butter and cream cheese into the flour mixture with your fingertips or a pastry blender. The resulting mixture should have pieces ranging from coarse crumbs to the size of small peas. Drizzle the apple cider vinegar and 1 teaspoon of cold water over the flour mixture, and mix with a fork until the dough just holds together. If the dough seems too dry, add the second teaspoon of cold water, but only if necessary. Turn out the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a disc. Cover the dough disc with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.

make the filling: In a mixing bowl, gently toss the blueberries with the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and lemon juice.

for assembly: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place the dough disc on a piece of parchment paper. Roll out the dough so that it is approximately 1/8-inch thick and still maintains it’s circular shape. Pile the blueberry filling into the center of the dough, spreading it out and leaving a 2-inch border. Trim the perimeter of the dough to get rid of jagged edges. Working in a circle, fold the crust in overlapping pieces over the berries. Using a pastry brush, brush the crust with the beaten egg. Sprinkle the crust with turbinado sugar as desired. Transfer parchment paper to a baking sheet and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the berries are bubbling. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.