Easier than Pie: Blueberry Kuchen.

Whoever came up with the idiom, "easy as pie," clearly never stepped into a kitchen. Pies are an endeavor, both in time and effort. Most often too, they're eaten in tandem with the grandest of holidays-- twenty pound turkey, ten sides dishes, and four desserts comin' right up, "easy as pie!?" This family recipe for "blueberry kuchen" slices the pie process in half and it's twice as tasty. You can make the entire pie in 10 minutes, it bakes for less than 1 hour, and it will forever be a favorite.

Seeing as it's a family recipe, I never thought to question the name, "kuchen," but I took the opportunity to look up the word before writing this post and learned it's German for "cake." Now I wouldn't classify this treat as a cake, and my family isn't even German, so you can safely assume that one of my Irish aunts likely had a good giggle (and a whisky sour in hand) when she scribbled "kuchen" on the recipe card and passed down the mistranslation to the next generation. That said, Germans are paramount in the pursuit of productivity, so in that sense this pastry is aptly named.

Pictures and recipe are below, please pass a piece of your pie over to us @nestledinnewcanaan!

Blueberry Kuchen Recipe

• 2-3 cups of blueberries

• 1 cup and 2 Tablespoons of flour

• 1 cup and 2 Tablespoons of sugar

• Pinch of salt

• 1/2 Cup unsalted butter

• 1 Taplespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

This is the full ingredient list, but please read the instructions carefully below because in the case of the blueberries, flour, and sugar we will be dividing those total amounts across the crust, filling, and topping.

Crust: Combine 1 Cup of flour, a pinch of salt, 2 Tablespoons of sugar, 1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and then cut in your 1/2 Cup of margarine until it's essentially a crumble. Spray your 8 inch round baking pan and dump the crust mixture into the middle. This crust will be just the right amount and it's quite dry, so you'll really need to work it with your hands to get the pan bottom covered and then use your thumb to press a 1 inch crust up the sides of the pan.

Filling: In a separate bowl, Combine 2 Cups of blueberries, 1 Cup sugar, 2 Tablespoons of flour, and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Stir it well so all the blueberries are well coated in the mixture.

Pour your filling mixture directly into your crust and try to spread the sugar of your filling mixture evenly over all the berries. Bake for 50 minutes at 400 degrees. I like to check on the pie a few times while it bakes and use a fork to push down any stubborn sugar clumps in the filling that may bubble up during the baking process (that way they melt into the mixture). If your filling is bubbly hot and your crust looks dark golden brown before the 50 minutes is up on the timer, feel free to take it out early. The cook time can fluctuate slightly depending on the water level within your berries.

Here's where the family is divided. You can choose to put the remaining 1 Cup of uncooked blueberries on top of the pie, which creates a nice fresh balance against the sweet filling. I opt to forgo the fresh berries on top and just keep the filling uncovered, save for a powder sugar sprinkling. Both are delicious.

This pie is just as good hot as it is cold, and I highly recommend it as a part of a heart healthy start to your day for breakfast.

Now that's easy as kuchen.

Enjoy! Share with us on Instagram at @nestledinnewcanaan

All Photos Property of Maggie Bentley