Wild blueberry pie with an oatmeal-pecan crust

I was just down at Glacier Bay National Park visiting my friend Nina.  There were these ginormous wild blueberries EVERYWHERE.  As an avid berry picker, I could not resist.

 

I never make pies out of the wild blueberries I pick in Fairbanks.  Our blueberries, Vaccinium uliginosum, are small berries that grow on low shrubs, and they have a really concentrated tangy flavor.  I use them much more sparingly... mostly on my oatmeal, in pancakes, or for smoothies.

The blueberries around Glacier Bay, Vaccinium alaskaense, are much bigger and grow on taller bushes.  I was amazed at how quickly my bowl filled up!

I was planning on picking berries on this hill, but these guys beat me to it.  They are the locals, so obviously the get first dibs on berry patches... 

Glacier Bay is right next to Gustavus.  Gustavus is a small town of only ~ 430 people accessible only by boat or plane, but it's surprisingly friendly to those on a gluten-free diet.  The coffee shop serves gluten-free (and dairy-free) baked goods, and there's also the Sunnyside Market which sells all sorts of good things including the brown rice flour that I needed for my pie crust.

Ingredients:

Crust:
3/4 c brown rice flour
3/4 c oats
3/4 c brown sugar; packed
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 c butter
1/2 c pecans, chopped
~ 2 tbsp cold water

 

Filling:
2 cups wild blueberries
1/3 c white sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

 

Before the butter softens, chop it into little pieces.

Mix together the brown rice flour, oats, brown sugar, and baking powder.

Once the butter is a bit soft, add it to the mixture and use your hands to incorporate it in so that there are no chunks of butter remaining.

Add the chopped pecans.

Add ~ 2 tbsp of cold water (by drizzling it in and mixing well) so that the mixture holds together when pinched.

Press into a greased pie pan and bake at 350° F for 10 minutes.

In a bowl, mix together the wild blueberries, sugar, and cinnamon so that the sugar and cinnamon coat the berries.

Pour into the crust and bake at 350° F for 20 more minutes.  

 

The pie goes especially well with a bit of vanilla ice cream!