Photograph by Terry Ross
The aptly named Laura Baker won the Youth division (and second place overall) of a summer-long pie bake-off at Cherokee Fresh Market, Waleska Farmers Market at Reinhardt University and Woodstock Farmers Market with this recipe. The sliced almonds and almond extract were the surprise ingredients that made everything come together.
Ingredients
Cheese filling:
16 oz cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons lime zest
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 teaspoon almond extract
Blueberry filling:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 cups fresh blueberries
2 tablespoon corn starch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest
Dough for 1 single-layer pie crust
1/3 cup coarsely chopped sliced almonds
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, lime zest, lime juice, and almond extract until creamy. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture for the top of the pie.
2. To prepare the blueberry filling, in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together the blueberries, sugar, corn starch, and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and zest.
3. Line a 9-inch, deep dish pie pan with crust. Scatter the chopped almonds over the crust bottom. Spread the cheese mixture over the almonds. Pour the blueberry mixture over the cheese layer. Drop the reserved 1 cup cheese filling by spoonfuls onto top of pie. Swirl with knife for a pretty design.
Bake for 15 minutes; then reduce heat to 375 degrees until filling is just set and the crust is golden, 15-20 minutes. Let cool on wire rack to room temperature, then refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving.
