Berry Heaven!

I so need a break from sugar cookies!!! If you cannot tell they are my albatrose but I am so stubborn that I have decided I am going to conquer them. My first non-sugar cookies recipe was going to be something for my mom's birthday. When I asked her what she wanted she said no chocolate and really no cake, is she trying to kill me!!! Plus this also had to be able to survive a car trip from DC to NY (O 95 how I love thee).  My mom loves pie (she originally suggested my berry bars) and my coworker told me about this pie recipe that was delicious and really it is a huge winner, not only because it is so easy (especially when you used a frozen pie crust) but it is delicious. It was a little tart but mom loved it that way!

The recipe calls for 5 cups of fresh blueberries. I used 2 of the big containers of blueberries, which I think is actually 4 cups and it was perfect!  A second time I made it I threw in 2 1/2 containers (guess the blueberries were smaller). When my coworker and I walked to the supermarket around the corner from work she said she made a pie crust from scratch........I am lazy and time crunched lately so I used a deep dish frozen pie crust and that worked perfectly! I know the pureists out there probably hate that but hey you gotta do what you gotta do :)

BLUEBERRY CRUMB PIE
(Source: Sweet Kat's Kitchen)

INGREDIENTS:

1 9-inch unbaked pie crust

FILLING:

3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/3 C. All- Purpose Flour
1 T. Cornstarch
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1 T. Lemon Juice
5 C Fresh Blueberries (2 containers can work depending on the size of the blueberries)

TOPPING:

2/3 C. Packed Light Brown Sugar
3/4 C. Quick Cooking Oats
1/2 C. All purpose flour
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp. Ground Nutmeg
6 T. Butter, melted


DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat over to 375 degrees F. Press pie crust into 9 inch pie plate
- In a large bowl, stire together the sugar, flour, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Mix in blueberries. Add lemon juice and fold gently to combine. Pour into pie crust.
- Topping: In a medium bowl, stir together the brown sugar, oats, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix in melted butter with fork or hands ntil crumbly.
- Spread evenly over the pie filling.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until top is browned.
- HARD PART: cool completely on a wire rack.

Better Late then Never.......

For Thanksgiving I made Katie's Fall Harvest Bread as part of our appetizers. It was delicious!!!! It was also perfect because I hae some little cousins and this was a hit with the 2 year old!





FALL HARVEST BREAD
(Good Things Catered)

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1/2 can (or 7.5 oz) pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. applesauce
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 medium apple (I like granny smith) peeled, cored, and diced
1 c. fresh cranberries (I used the packaged craisins)
1 c. chopped pecans (I think walnuts would also work well)

DIRECTIONS:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Prepare 9x5 loaf pan or 5 mini loaf pans(or can sub muffin pan or double recipe for cake/bundt pan).
-In large bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and whisk to combine.
-In another large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, applesauce, milk, vanilla and stir to combine well.
-Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just barely blended..
-Fold in apples, cranberries and pecans.
-Spoon batter into prepared pan (it will be all lumpy - don't worry).
-Bake for 60-70 minutes (35-40 minutes for mini loaves) or until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean.
-Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes.
-Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack completely (makes the slices much more clean.

Berrydelicious Antiques!

This recipe was a hit!!! My mom is an antique dealer and was in town last weekend doing a show. This show is particularly tough because it is 2 days of set up and 4 LONG days of the show itself. So I figured this would be a perfect time to try out a new recipe, captivated audience, and let me tell you this was a HUGE HUGE hit with the other dealers!! I really couldn't have hoped for anything better, it tasted like little mini pies!! I even added too much cornstarch (didn't read the recipe and put it in the crust at first) and it still came out perfect! My mom is not a sweets person and thought this was divine!

The originally recipe called just for raspberries but I added blackberries and used a little bit more then 4 cups of berries and a little bit more sugar in the crust. Have fun with this one!


Finished Project! YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!


Berry Layer!!


Right Before the Oven!


Right out of the oven!!!


BERRY CRUMB BARS

(Source: Allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup shortening ( I used butter)
1 egg
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground cinnamon
4 cups raspberries
1/2 cup white sugar
3 teaspoons cornstarch


DIRECTIONS

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease one 13x9 inch pan.
- Combine 1 cup of the sugar, the flour, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, shortening, and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan.
- Combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, the cornstarch and berries.
- Place mixture over dough in pan. Crumble the remaining dough over the tops of the berries.
- Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 45 minutes or until the top is slightly brown.

Guest Post: Fresh Berry Cake

This is another guest post from my cousin. Father's Day was a beautiful day here so it looks like the perfect dessert for a nice summer BBQ, I'm sorry I didn't get to try it.

For Father’s day, I wanted to make a berry cake for my husband because he prefers lighter desserts in the summer and really enjoys berries. I made the cake in a bundt pan. Rather than frosting it, I sprinkled powedered sugar on top and filled in berries in the middle and then served it with berries and whipped cream.

I got the original recipe from Good Things Catered but adapted it a bit.







Fresh Berry Cake

Ingredients:
2 c. plus 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 eggs, at room temperature
¾ c. egg beaters
2/3 c. Fage 0% fat greek yogurt
3/4 c. blueberries
3/4 c. raspberries

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a bundt pan.
-In medium bowl sift together 2 c. plus 2 Tbsp flour, baking soda and salt.
-In bowl of large stand mixer with flat beater attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5-6 minutes, scraping as needed.
-Add the vanilla and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute.
-Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
-Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the yogurt and beginning and ending with the flour.
-Beat each addition just until incorporated, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
-In the bowl the flour mixture was in, add berries and 2 Tbsp reserved flour and toss to combine.
-Using a rubber spatula, gently fold berries into batter.
-Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
-Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
-Invert cake to release from pan and let cool completely on wire rack before frosting and serving.

I made the cake in a bundt pan and then sprinkled powdered sugar on top and filed the middle with strawberries and blueberries. I served it with some whipped cream.