The Extra Ingredient That Will Make Your Blueberry Pie A Fall Favorite

Nothing screams fall quite like a freshly baked pie. While apple and pumpkin varieties might get the most attention, berries deserve their fair share of love, too. Blueberries, in particular, make a delicious, juicy pie you'll want to enjoy all season long. Similarly, vanilla extract is often called for in baking, but there's another flavoring that will take your dessert to a whole new autumnal level, and it's actually made from almonds. By adding a small splash of almond extract, your next classic blueberry pie recipe could quickly become your new favorite for fall.

Maybe you're on the fence about giving blueberry pie another chance after having it turn out lackluster in the past. Perhaps it just wasn't as mouthwatering as your usual apple pie. In that case, it's time to give this secret ingredient the chance to show you what was missing. Want more proof? Heed the advice of the flavor analysts over at Foodpairing, who point to "the herbal notes of a blueberry's peel," including a certain maltiness that is an excellent match for almonds.

If you're expecting almond extract to give your blueberry pie an intense roasted almond flavor, think again. While natural almond extract is often made from cold-pressing real almonds, it doesn't have a very strong nut flavor whatsoever. Instead, it comes with a sweeter flavor that is more reminiscent of cherries than it is of actual almonds. This could be because almonds aren't nuts, they're fruit. Think of Amaretto liqueur or the hint of nutty cherries in homemade Irish Cream for a good idea of the extract's flavor profile — which is precisely what makes it so perfect to pair with blueberries.

Alternatively, almond extract can also be made from cold-pressing stone fruit pits. Fortunately, you'll still get the same sweet flavor and strong cherry aroma, whichever way your extract is made. And it doesn't take very much at all to have a powerful impact, so you'll want to be conservative with the stuff when adding it to your blueberry pie filling. The good news is that there will be plenty left over for the rest of your fall baking. From blueberry muffins to scones to plenty more blueberry pie, a bottle of pure almond extract will stretch a very long way.

While almond extract can be substituted for the vanilla stuff, they can also be used together in the same pie. Another extra ingredient that you might want to add to really enhance your dessert is citrus — which will draw out similar bright notes from your berries. Lemon juice and lemon zest are often used, and both work well. But so will orange juice, orange extract, and orange zest. Or consider using a combination of both citruses. Just be sure not to combine too many extracts in one pie. After all, it's possible to have too much of a good thing.

If you're all out of almond extract, you can also give Amaretto a try, but it will take significantly more of the liqueur since it's less concentrated. Whichever way you go about it, your pie will certainly get a nutty, fruity boost. Just be sure to try real almond extract in your blueberry pie at least once. Once you do, you might not want to make it any other way.