Dessert alert! Or breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack. To wrap up one toweringly delicious, truly memorable National Blueberry Month, we’re excited to share the results of the America’s Best Blueberry Pie Contest. We received 234 blueberry pie recipes from across the country – wow! Thanks to all the incredible blueberry fans who entered and kept us craving pie nonstop.
Without further ado, the mouthwatering, $10,000-grand-prize-winning blueberry pie recipe is …
Ginger ‘n’ Spice Bubbling Blueberry Pie!
Barbara Estabrook, Wisconsin
Tieghan Gerard, our final judge and the New York Times best-selling author of two cookbooks and the Half Baked Harvest blog, said, “The minute I read “Ginger ‘n’ Spice” beside “Bubbling Blueberry Pie,” I knew I had to try it myself. This is a delicious, traditional pie with a twist! I loved the old-school way of using quick-cooking tapioca as a pie filling thickener and the combination of the spices, ginger and orange marmalade with the blueberries. This is a must-try – congratulations, Barbara!”
“Oh wow, I am so grateful. I baked a lot of blueberry pies in my day, let me tell you. I baked my very first blueberry pie when I was just 10 years old in 4-H Club. After picking all the blueberries, I still remember how proud I was to bring that pie home to my mom,” says Barbara. “I started baking this Ginger ‘n’ Spice Bubbling Blueberry Pie for the veterans at the American Legion Camps about 8 years ago. It took 1 1/2 hours to pick the 5 cups of blueberries that went into each pie – lots of work, but all worth it!”
Additionally, we selected two remarkably yummy pies as our second- and third-prize winners!
Dreamy Creamy Blueberry Slab Pie
Renata Stanko, Oregon
Honey Roasted Blueberry and Ginger Marshmallow Cream Pie
Veronica Callaghan, Connecticut
Tieghan recommends these blueberry pies to anyone looking for a tasty treat any time of day. The Dreamy Creamy Blueberry Slab Pie is simple and delicious, with a generous helping of blueberries set with a unique cream cheese filling. Even better, it’s easy enough to throw together last-minute for a backyard dinner party or picnic, yet tasty enough to satisfy your whole party!
The Honey Roasted Blueberry and Ginger Marshmallow Cream Pie is indulgent and full of Tieghan’s favorites: blueberries, marshmallows, cookies and whipping cream. The ginger cookie crust makes the fun and creative recipe stand out – and you can’t forget the melted marshmallow filling topped with honey-roasted blueberries.
Judging Process: The Sweetest Task on Earth
We took our judging responsibilities seriously – contest participants worked hard to develop and share their favorite recipes, and we brought the same energy and dedication to the judging process. (Let’s be honest, it’s never a hardship to eat more blueberries.) Here’s how judging worked:
- Initial review: Gwynn Galvin, USHBC’s culinary pro with a long career of recipe testing and development under her belt, reviewed all recipe submissions and narrowed down the written recipes to the top 10.
- First taste: Shelly Hartmann, chair of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, gathered a pastry chef team to test the top 10 pies. Shelly and Gwynn tasted and evaluated the top 10 to find the top 5.
- Final judging: Tieghan Gerard, the New York Times best-selling author of two cookbooks and the Half Baked Harvest blog, tested and tasted the top 5, selecting the three winners.
Criteria: Separating Incredibly Delicious from Prize-Winning Delicious
You might be wondering … with so many tasty, Insta-worthy contest entries, how on earth did our judges do their jobs? In each round, they focused on six criteria:
- Overall Appearance
- Overall Flavor
- Creativity/Originality
- Crust/Structure (texture, flavor, color)
- Filling (consistency, flavor, moistness, amount of berries in filling)
- Recipe Writing (concise and well written recipe, ingredients list, instructions)
While we cherished every single contest entry, these criteria helped us find the recipes with that extra, winning boost of blue.
So, which recipe are you going to try first? We’d love to see your takes on the tasty top 3! Share your pics on social media, tagging @blueberries and #boostofblue. And don’t forget to check back often for recipes, tips and hacks. We’ve always got a new boost of blue to brighten your day.