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Extra juicy and oh so doughy, Skillet Blueberry Bourbon Pandowdy…with flaky puff pastry “stars” for a festive July 4th twist. Every bite is layered with fresh blueberries, sweet cherries, and hints of warming bourbon. This classic Pandowdy pie is topped with a buttery flaky puff pastry and cream. It’s so pretty, super simple to make, and you can swap out the blueberries for any berry you love. Or simply use a mix of all your favorites. Serve with vanilla ice cream for a festive (and delicious) red, white, and blue dessert to celebrate July 4th…and any other summer occasion to follow.
Well, hey, hi, and happy Friday to you all!
It’s been such a full week of busy, non-stop days, so I’m happy that Friday is here. But honestly, it’s mostly because I’m excited to share this recipe. And to hopefully watch you make it over the weekend on Instagram. Have I mentioned to you guys that my very favorite thing about any social media platform is being able to connect with you all so closely? Watching everyone recreate recipes on their own Instagram accounts keeps me going day in and day out. I love seeing how excited you all are to recreate HBH recipes!
It’s so much fun, and definitely the best part of my job. So thank you all for being so awesome!
My hope is that you all bake this one up over the weekend in preparation for July 4th next Saturday. We all need to “test” our recipes, so this is the weekend to do it! And you guys…this blueberry bourbon pandowdy? It’s truly one of my favorite recipes. I love a pandowdy more than any other pie or cobbler…which a pandowdy is basically a cross between. But a pandowdy has the most delicious and unique crust. I have a peach pandowdy in the HBH Super Simple Cookbook, but this is my first berry pandowdy…and it’s now my favorite.
Oh so GOOD…and very festive!
For those of you who don’t know what a pandowdy is, let me tell you.
To put it simply, traditionally it’s an apple-filled pie, baked in a skillet with cut up pieces of dough over top of the apples, instead of one whole pie crust. The idea is that the dough sinks into the apples while baking and in turn becomes very “doughy”. Think of a pandowdy as an apple pie, but with a lot more sauce (that’s sweet and caramelized, almost caramel-like) and a crust that is beyond perfect.
It. Is. Incredible.
Me being me, I switched things up a bit, swapping out the apples for summer blueberries and sweet July cherries.
Start with the crust. It’s traditional to use regular pie dough, but I wanted to keep this simple as can be, so I used puff pastry. I love puff pastry more than you know. I’ve said this before, but I always keep puff pastry in my freezer. Always. It lasts forever and can be used in both savory and sweet recipes. It’s one of my favorite “freezer staples” along with frozen berries.
Roll the pastry out and cut it into stars. You can do two to three different size stars, as I’ve done, or you can simply use regular-size star cutouts. Either works great and will give you a very festive July 4th pandowdy.
Alternately, if you don’t want to make stars, you can just cut the dough into large squares. That’s great too!
Now place the cut-outs in the freezer to stay chilled.
Next, in a cast iron skillet, toss together the filling. It’s a simple mix of blueberries, cherries, cornstarch, bourbon, and lemon. I used honey for sweetness and also threw in a little lemon thyme from the garden…because I am obsessed with the combination of lemon thyme and blueberries.
If you don’t have a skillet, use a rectangle baking dish or a deep pie plate of similar size.
At this point, layer the chilled stars over the filling, leaving a few gaps so that the berries and cherries are peaking out. Brush the top with a beaten egg and sprinkle with a little coarse sugar.
Again, be sure to leave those gaps between the stars and the filling. The gaps between the stars will help to create a sweet sauce that slowly seeps up and over some of the pastry, which in turn causes parts of the pastry to caramelize while other parts remain softer and “doughier”.
And now you bake.
The final step of this recipe is to spoon cream over top of the pandowdy just before it’s done baking. This creates more of a custard-like pie and makes this recipe better than any other pandowdy. I learned about this method from Food 52 and will never make a pandowdy any other way.
The cream topping is KEY and essential.
The directions might sound kind of odd, and you might even be a little confused. But just follow them. Even if you start to wonder if you’re really doing it right…and all will be good.
So, pour the cream over the stars and then bake another few minutes to “set” the cream.
When the pandowdy comes out of the oven, the sauce will be bubbling up over the crust. The smell is going to make you want to dig right in…and you should! But with ice cream, of course.
And be sure to spoon that dark red-purple sauce that’s left in the skillet over top. So. Very. Good. Every bite is bursting with sweet blueberries, juicy cherries, and hinted with bourbon + lemon thyme.
One, there is a LOT of sauce. This is not your average pie with very little sauce. This pandowdy is saucy – and that’s the best part. It’s looser than a caramel, but yet it’s caramelized, sweet, and so full of wonderful flavors. If you would like a slightly thicker sauce, you can use more cornstarch to thicken it up.
And two, you might need to cover the pandowdy with foil towards the end of baking to prevent the pastry from burning. You want the top of the pandowdy to get pretty dark golden brown. But during the last fifteen minutes, I found I needed to cover the edges to stop it from turning black all over. Just be sure to keep an eye on it while baking!
So, who’s making this sweet skillet blueberry bourbon pandowdy with me this weekend?? I’m ready…and the ice cream is in the freezer!
Looking for other 4th Of July dessert recipes? Here are some favorites:
Fudgy Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pretzel Cake
Browned Butter Grilled Peaches
Strawberry Bourbon Cobbler with Layered cream Cheese Biscuits
Lastly, if you make this skillet blueberry bourbon pandowdy, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
I made this for dessert and it was fantastic. Used sour cherries, added some blackberries with the blueberries and sweetened with just a bit of regular sugar. It was a huge hit!
Love to hear that!! Thank you so much Darla! xTieghan
I am halving the recipe- are the cook times the same?
Hi Courtney,
I would reduce the baking by 10 minutes. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I made this tonight and it tastes really great. I tried to make my puff pastry like a check pattern but the dough still looks doughy. I’m going to let it bake for a few minutes longer. Also the blueberry sauce is pretty runny. Does it need to cool in order to set??
Hi Heather,
Thanks for trying the recipe, so sorry you are having issues! The sauce should thicken up while baking and same with the puff pastry. I am wondering if you adjusted the recipe at all? Please let me know if I can help! xTieghan
Hi there! Excited to try this tomorrow for Canada Day. But can you clarify what you mean by spooning the heavy cream in? Do I need to whip the cream first? I can’t find heavy cream in my grocery store can I just whip up some whipping cream instead?
Hi Joyce,
You can just use heavy cream and I recommend slowing pouring or spooning the cream around the pandowdy. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I love this. Would it be possible to make it in an 8 inch cast iron instead of 10-11 inch? We plan on making it this Saturday!
Hi Kristin,
That will work, just be careful not to overfill, you might have a little extra filling. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Could I use pie dough instead of puff pastry?
Thanks!
Hi Charity,
You can use pie dough but it will not yield the same puffy results as the puff pastry gives. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I used frozen blueberries and there wasn’t a strong blueberry flavor. It was pretty though!
Thank you Donna! xTieghan
Too expensive ingredients and frankly,the taste left me underwhelmed. Looked good and not too fussy to make.. I would rather make a crisp or pie.
Hi Margaret! I am sorry to hear that! If there is anything. I can do to help, please let me know! xTieghan
This looks amazing! Could I use pie crust instead of puff pastry?
Hi Katie,
Pie crust will work, it just won’t puff up as much and yield the same results. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Made for tonight’s dinner here in New Zealand and was well received by the family! In fact when I was buying a jar of pitted cherries yesterday as it is Winter here, a fellow cook asked what I was doing and showed her the recipe on my phone and she made for her dinner party. She text me to say everyone enjoyed too!
Will definitely make this one again!
Aw sounds amazing! I am really happy to hear that, Jane! xTieghan
If I use frozen fruit does it need to be thawed first?
Hi Tammie,
No need to thaw the fruit. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Would this work with peaches?
Hey Melissa,
Yes, peaches would be great! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This looks wonderful. One question – the ingredients say one large egg, yolk separated from the whites. Do we only use the egg yolk on the pastry? What happens to the egg white? Or should the directions just say one large egg, use yolk only? Thanks.
Hi Adrienne,
Sorry for the confusion, just use the entire egg. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I think I might change out the stars for maple leafs since Canada Day is next Wednesday! It looks so delicious I can’t wait to try it!
Thank you Ashley!! I hope you love this one! xTieghan
Sorry a bit confused. for the 8 serving it is 3 cups each of blue and cherries. For 4 servings..it is 1-5 cups each ? Thanks much
Hi Leslie,
For 8 servings it is 5 cups of blueberries and 3 cups of cherries. For 4 servings it is 2.5 cups of blueberries and 1.5 cups of cherries. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan