I grew up in the burbs of Chicago… a pretty big suburb, to be honest. Although, as a child, it didn’t feel that big. It felt stifling and way too small. But, that’s neither here nor there. The Midwest. It’s generally pretty stereotyped and dismissed by people that don’t know a thing about the Midwest or its people!
But, I think for many Midwesterners who are generational Midwesterners, we either all have a common history of farming or we have a common history of immigrant grandparents or great-grandparents… or both. My grandparents both grew up on farms in Iowa. My grandma was a first generation Norwegian who started speaking Norwegian again in her old age… long term memory and all! And I feel that there is an inherent strength in both farming families in the Midwest and immigrant families in the Midwest. It’s a strength that runs in our blood. And please don’t mistake me for saying anything disparaging for people not with these backgrounds! I can only speak of my own lived experience and what we feel!
And as part of that farming history, there is a culture of Midwestern food. Again, an area that is widely made fun of outside of the Midwest. And I get it. I mean, Midwestern food is generally pretty fattening, high in carbs, often in casserole format. I personally joke that if you go to a buffet (as that can sometimes be the only option for eating out!) in the Midwest and want vegetables, expect them to be fresh from a can and with bacon. Always bacon! I had numerous business trips to a power plant in southern Illinois and all I craved by the time I got home was fresh vegetables! But that’s not to say that many of those casseroles are frickin’ delicious!
The other thing I often joke about it “salad.” You want a salad in the Midwest, expect it to be canned fruit with a bunch of Cool Whip mixed in. Or, expect a jello salad, maybe with some canned fruit, maybe with some sherbet, probably also with some Cool Whip on top!
And even though those jokes, tongue in cheek, have some truths to them, they also miss the mark on the many delicious recipes the Midwest does have to offer. The best place to get a hot dog is in the Chicagoland area. Deep dish pizza is definitely a treasured staple in the Chicagoland area. And, in my hometown, pie. Not pizza pie. Real fruit pie.
There was a restaurant in town that was like a slightly nicer version of a Denny’s or iHOP. Maybe more comparable to a Houlihan’s? But where you are just as happy going for your morning eggs as you are for dinner? Again, that’s neither here nor there. The restaurant, Baker’s Square, was really known for all of their pies. You may be thinking Waitress, but Baker’s Square was nothing like the pie restaurant in Waitress.
They had a huge pie display in the front of the store and they always had about 20 different pies on offer. They sold them whole or by the slice. And they had everything. The ones that stuck with me, because they were my favorites, of course, were the banana cream pie, strawberry rhubarb, and a strawberry pie with whipped cream topping. I couldn’t tell you what else they had because I wasn’t interested in what else they had! But, they had a whole separate menu for their pies, and there were a ton of options!
So, I have been making some version of this pie for almost twenty years. I think it started as a raspberry pie way back when. Maybe it was strawberry. But, basically, it all started about when I wanted a delicious pie similar to what I used to have from Baker’s Square. So, I knew the pie needed to be centered on a fruit filling. But then, I had a hankering to add a cream cheese base. And not a cheesecake base. Just a sweetened cream cheese base. All topped with, you nailed it, a Cool Whip topping!
So, this year, I heard about a blueberry pie contest going on, and I said, sure, let’s give that a go! I mean, I love this pie and it’s super easy to swap out the fruit for different berries! Now, soooo many people add lemon juice, and sometimes even lemon zest, to their blueberry pies. I don’t know. Yes, I acknowledge that lemons go nicely with blueberries, but I argue that limes go better. Way better! And if you’ve never tried a blueberry pie with lime juice and zest, you’re missing out and you need to start making this pie STAT.
Sometimes I’m lazy and buy a pre-made cookie crust. But usually, I prefer to make it myself because the store-bought version are generally very shallow, which is just not sufficient for having a proper, fully loaded pie! Now, a lot of people buy shortbread cookies and crush them to make a shortbread crust, but let me warn you: THAT IS A WASTE OF MONEY! Shortbread cookies are expensive!!! And all you need to make shortbread cookies is, well, flour and butter! And to make this pie crust extra delicious, I also added in some crushed walnuts! Super yummy! And so easy to make!
What’s great is that this pie only requires the crust to be baked. After that, it’s bakeless! So for these hot summer days, that’s pretty great! Enjoy!
What’s your favorite summertime pie?
Blueberry Lime Pie with Honey Cream Cheese & Homemade Cool Whip in a Shortbread Walnut Crust
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cool / Chill Time: 5 hours
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
- Category: Baking, Desserts, Summer
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
Shortbread Walnut Crust
12 TBs butter, melted (¾ cup)
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup walnuts, pulverized
½ cup granulated sugar
Honey Cream Cheese
12 oz low fat cream cheese
1 TB vanilla extract
6 TBs honey
Blueberry Lime Filling
4 cups frozen wild blueberries
3 cups fresh blueberries
3 limes, zested & juiced
3 TBs fresh mint, roughly chopped
⅔ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
Homemade Cool Whip
2 cups heavy cream
½ cup granulated sugar
1 TB vanilla extract
2 TBs water
2 tsps unflavored powder gelatin
Instructions
Make the Crust
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, walnuts, and sugar. Pour the melted butter over the top and mix together until thoroughly combined and all the flour is wetted. Scoop the mixture into a deep pie dish. Using the back of a spoon, press the mixture into the pie dish, starting in the middle and pushing it up the sides and slightly over the rims. The crust will shrink back when it bakes, so give it a slightly overhang. Using the spoon, smooth over any areas and close up any cracks or gaps.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Let sit on a rack to cool completely. Carefully cut off any overhang with a serrated bread knife.
Make the Honey Cream Cheese
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk together the cream cheese, vanilla extract, and honey. Spoon into the bottom of the pie and smooth evenly across. Place in the refrigerator while you make the blueberry lime filling.
Make the Blueberry Lime Filling
Add the frozen wild blueberries, lime zest, lime juice, sugar, and cornstarch to a medium pot. Stir to combine and thoroughly wet the cornstarch. Heat over medium, stirring often, until thickened ~ about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add in the fresh blueberries and mint. Stir to thoroughly combine. Set aside to cool, stirring periodically.
Once the blueberries have cooled to room temperature, scoop them on top of the honey cream cheese. Return the dish to the refrigerator to cool while you make the cool whip.
Make the Cool Whip
In a small dish, stir together the gelatin and water. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Place the dish of gelatin water in the microwave and microwave for 5 seconds. Stir and microwave for an additional 5 seconds. Stir. At this point, the consistency should be liquidy/free flowing. If it’s not, microwave again for 3 to 5 seconds. Scoop 2 tsps of the heavy cream into the dish and stir to help cool the gelatin down slightly.
Turn the whisk of the stand mixer to medium low. As the cream starts to froth, increase the speed to medium high. Once the consistency starts to thicken, pour in the gelatin mixture and turn the speed to high. Whisk until thick peaks form ~ I like to whisk it another minute or two further.
Using a rubber spatula, spoon the mixture over the blueberries and gently smooth evenly over the top. Place in the freezer for 1 hour or the refrigerator for 4 hours, or until thoroughly chilled.
Slice and serve! Enjoy!
Keywords: blueberry pie, homemade blueberry pie, blueberry pie with fresh blueberries, blueberry pie with frozen blueberries, blueberry pie with cool whip, cream cheese blueberry pie, blueberry pie cheesecake, blueberry cheesecake, shortbread crust, shortbread crust from scratch
