Huckleberry Pie

This recipe for huckleberry pie is a family favorite passed on to me from my mom. The original recipe is actually for blueberry pie, but since we have huckleberries growing wild here in Montana instead of blueberries we changed the recipe to be huckleberry pie. This pie is a delicious treat on a hot summer day, and I especially love that I don’t have to use the oven to bake it! I do whatever I can to avoid using the oven in the summer since it heats up the house so this recipe is perfect.

Normally our secret huckleberry spot in the mountains is ready to pick the end of July. We’ve had an unusually warm spring and summer so the huckleberries are ready to pick early this year. We actually picked huckleberries the end of June this year, a full month earlier than usual!! I read an article recently that said this year’s huckleberries were expected to be smaller and fewer than normal due to the dry conditions. After reading that, we were shocked to find the mountainsides covered in huckleberry bushes hanging full of large, dark purple huckleberries!

Every summer we pick as many huckleberries as we can and preserve them to eat throughout the year. We love to eat them in pancakes, smoothies, and of course this yummy huckleberry pie! Last summer I shared this post on how we harvest and preserve huckleberries. This is the third year we’ve had a couple of these handy gadgets to maximize our berry harvest and they were well worth the investment!

Huckleberry Pie Ingredients:

-1 prepared 9″ graham cracker pie crust OR make your own with 1/2 cup butter and 9 full size graham crackers

-3 cups huckleberries 

-juice of one lemon

-3/4 cup unrefined sugar or honey

-1 cup water

-1 heaping TBS arrowroot powder (you can find arrowroot powder here) 

-1/4 cup cold water

-1/2 pint heavy whipping cream

–  up to 1/4 cup  unrefined sugar

Huckleberry Pie Directions:

1.To make the graham cracker pie crust, smash the graham crackers into crumbs. Melt the 1/2 cup butter. Mix the butter and graham cracker crumbs. Spread evenly over a 9″ pie plate. Refrigerate. 

2.In a saucepan on the stove, place 1 cup of huckleberries, lemon juice, 1/2 cup sugar or honey and 1 cup of water. Heat to boiling. 

3. While the huckleberry mixture is heating, in a small bowl mix the 1 heaping TBS of arrowroot powder and 1/4 cup cold water. 

4. Once the huckleberry mixture starts to boil, stir and let it boil for three minutes. Then slowly pour in the arrowroot mixture and continue to stir. The sauce will thicken quickly. Turn the heat off on the stove. 

5. Set aside 1/4 cup of huckleberries from the remaining two cups of huckleberries. Stir the rest into the huckleberry sauce. 

6. Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator and pour in the pie filling. Smooth the top so it is spread evenly. Return the pie to the refrigerator. 

7. To make the whipped cream, place a mixing bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes. This ensures you will have a nice cold bowl to mix the cream and help it turn to whipped cream more quickly. Pour the whipping cream into the chilled bowl. Whip the cream with a mixer on med/high speed until the cream starts to thicken and form peaks. Sprinkle in sugar about 1 TBS at a time, to desired sweetness.

8. When the whipped cream is finished, remove the huckleberry pie from the refrigerator. Spread the whipped cream evenly over top the pie. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of remaining huckleberries on top to garnish. 

Serve immediately or keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve. 

What’s your favorite way to use huckleberries?