Yes! Last night I received this recipe from Cindy Dobrez, librarian extraordinaire, who has encouraged me to keep up with my blueberry recipe streak. I haven't tried this yet but am planning on doing it over the weekend. It sounds like the perfect complement to your family's Independence Day feastivities. Thanks, Cindy!

Cindy's Cooked Blueberry Pie Thing

INGREDIENTS

Cookie Crumb Shell*

1 1/3 cup finely crushed vanilla wafer cookies
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon good vanilla
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Blueberry Filling*

4 cups blueberries (fresh would work best), divided
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1 teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh grated lemon zest (optional)
1 8 oz. package of regular cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioner's (powdered) sugar

PREPARATION

Cookie Crumb Shell

Adjust oven rack to center and preheat to 350 F.

Butter the inside bottom ONLY of a 9-inch pie pan (do not butter the sides or the shell will slump).

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, sugar, and vanilla. Add the butter and toss until the crumbs are evenly coated.

Turn the mixture into the prepared pie pan. Scatter the crumbs so that they are evenly distributed and press onto bottom and up sides to make an even shell. Bake for 8 minutes, or until set and just barely beginning to brown. Cool to room temperature on a rack.

Blueberry Filling

In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, cook 2 cups of the berries with the sugar, water, corn starch, and salt over medium heat. Cook until thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from stove, stir in remaining uncooked blueberries, and, if desired, the cinnamon and lemon juice or zest (but not both!). Let mixture cool slightly.

While the blueberry mixture is cooling, mix softened cream cheese with confectioner's sugar until well incorporated (a hand or stand mixer would be really helpful here). Spread this over the bottom of the cookie crumb shell. Make sure shell has cooled enough, or this will be quite difficult!

Pour blueberry mixture over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until ready to serve!


* Crust recipe from Jim Fobel's OLD-FASHIONED BAKING BOOK, which Cindy says is "so worth buying ... it has family photos and great anecdotes in addition to fab recipes that use butter - gasp! - and no low-fat products. If you're going to eat dessert, by God, eat DESSERT!"

** Filling recipe from Cindy's blueberry farmer neighbor, Deb Madl

[NOTE FROM CINDY: This is probably my favorite pie. ... I usually make this with a glazed strawberry pie (also in the Fobel cookbook) for a red, white, and blue holiday dessert table. Enjoy!]

[NOTE FROM LARA: As I said, I haven't made this yet, but I would think about adding a heavy pinch of salt to both the crust and the filling. Salt tends to bring out the sweetness in desserts, even if that sounds counter-intuitive. Also, I'd definitely opt for the zest over the juice - just from making my baked blueberry French toast I can tell you that the zest melts into the mixture in such a way that you can't even notice it - as Joe says, it adds this bit of "brightness" that you can't quite put your finger on until you taste it without that ingredient.]