Blueberry Scones

I love a good scone for breakfast.  They're easy to grab as I run out the door for work in the morning, and they're delicious, too.  It had actually been a while since I've made scones, and with it being blueberry season and all, what better time??

I sure have been on a blueberry kick lately...Scones, Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes, Blueberry Muffins, a Blueberry Buckle, and even Whole Wheat Blueberry Oat Bread (coming soon to a blog near you!).  

This scone recipe from Martha Stewart is really scrumptious.  Some scones are extra dry and hard as bricks, but not these.  They come together quickly, and as they bake, the blueberries sort of burst and make these scones so pretty it's hard not to gobble one down right out of the oven (but why wait, anyway?).

These are fantastic warmed up, with a little butter melted over the top and a hot cup of coffee on the side.  That sounds like the perfect way to start the day, if you ask me.

Bon Appetit, my friends!  :)

Blueberry Scones
Adapted from:  marthastewart.com

Yield:  Makes 8

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling tops
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, picked over and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/3 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing tops
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack in center. Place a baking mat on a baking sheet, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in butter until the largest pieces are the size of peas. Stir in blueberries and zest.
3. Using a fork, whisk together cream and egg in a liquid measuring cup. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients, and pour in cream mixture. Stir lightly with fork just until dough comes together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead a few times to mix well.
4. Pat dough into a 6-inch square about 1 1/4 inches thick. Using a floured knife, cut into four 3-inch squares. Cut squares in half on the diagonal to form eight triangles. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Brush tops with cream, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer scones to wire racks to cool.
   
   
   

   
   

   
   

   

   
   

Peach-Almond Upside-Down Cake

The epitome of summertime deliciousness!

Brad recently surprised me with a subscription to Food Network Magazine, and I love it.  In their July/August 2012 issue, they featured a Farmers' Market Menu, which starred this Peach-Almond Upside-Down Cake as dessert.  All of the juicy, marvelous peaches at the farmers' market lately has had me dreaming of peachy flavored goodness, so when I saw this recipe I made a mental note to try it.

That opportunity came about a week later when Brad's parent's invited us over for a steak dinner.  Oh boy, does Brad's dad know how to make an awesome steak!  We never EVER turn down dinner at their house.  I had the baking bug that day, and the peaches were calling my name.  So, I got to work making this cake to take to dinner for everyone to enjoy.

Oh.my.gosh.  

This.cake.was.divine.

In fact, my father-in-law declared that this cake was one of his favorite desserts that I've EVER made...ever!

The cake itself is incredibly tender and moist.  Plus, yummy little pieces of almond bits add such an incredible taste and texture, making this cake one you won't soon forget.

On top of all that goodness, lies a layer of caramelized sweetness, with beautiful peach slices arranged in pretty circles.  This dessert is the absolute epitome of summertime deliciousness. 

Bon Appetit, my friends!  :)

Yes, Please!!!

Peach-Almond Upside-Down Cake

Adapted from:  Food Network magazine, July/August 2012

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 medium fresh peaches, pitted and cut into 6 wedges each
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon butter pecan or almond flavored extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
Vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9-inch-round cake pan. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp water and then add 3/4 cup sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until smooth and deep golden brown, 8 to 11 minutes. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and tilt to coat the bottom. Arrange the peach wedges snugly in the bottom of the pan in a single layer, cutting to fit if needed. 

(My Notes about the first step:  When caramelizing the sugar mixture, stir occasionally, as the recipe states.  After about 7 minutes, keep an even closer eye on the mixture.  As soon as it turns a golden brown color and is a smooth consistency, remove it from the heat and pour into the cake pan.  The mixture will burn quickly if not careful.  During the caramelization process, the sugar mixture tends to start off pretty wet but then becomes dry right before it starts to change color.  Don't be alarmed if the mixture hardens in the bottom of the cake pan.  It will become gooey again during the baking process.)

Next, combine the flour, almonds, baking powder and salt in a food processor and pulse until the almonds are finely ground. 

Beat the remaining 7 tablespoons butter and 3/4 cup sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. Beat in the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour mixture; beat in each addition until just incorporated. 

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool 30 minutes. Invert onto a plate and let cool completely. Serve with ice cream. 

Note:  This cake is best the same day it's baked, still a little warm from the oven.  Just be sure to let it cool for 30 minutes before inverting onto a plate.

A Fabulous Blueberry Buckle

We just can't get enough blueberries around here lately!  We've bought huge buckets of them at the farmer's market the past two times we've been, so I've had to come up with different ways to use the perfect little berries full of blue summer deliciousness.

I know, I know...sounds like such a terrible predicament.  ;-)

I saw a photo of a Blueberry Buckle while perusing blueberry recipes, and it made me stop in my tracks.  It sounded like perfection - A rich, moist cake batter packed full of so many blueberries that there's probably more berry than actual cake, with a streusel topping made of cinnamon, butter and light brown sugar sprinkled over the top.  Oh MY goodness, folks.

Blueberry muffins are one of my weaknesses, and this cake is so much like a huge blueberry muffin in cake form.  It's quite wonderful!

After making this dessert, I got to wondering why it's called a "buckle." As it turns out, the cake batter rises up around the blueberries as it bakes, encasing the fruit in batter and causing the streusel topping to buckle, which creates a distinctive crinkly appearance.  Other people say that it's called a "buckle" because when you see it, your knees buckle because it looks so delicious!

Either way, this recipe is a definite keeper.  

Bon Appetit, and HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY, my friends!  I hope your day today is filled with lots of great food, family, fun and fireworks! :)

Blueberry Buckle

Source:  Laura's Sweet Spot blog

Adapted from ”The New Best Recipe” By Cooks Illustrated

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

Streusel:
1/2 cup (2.5 oz) all purpose flour

1/3 cup packed (3/5 oz) light brown sugar

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces and softened 

Cake:

1 1/2 cups (7.5 oz) all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

10 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup (4 2/3 oz) granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature

20 oz (4 cups) blueberries

Directions:
For the Streusel:
Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, combine flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt on low speed until well combined and no large brown sugar clumps remain, about 45 seconds. Add butter; beat on low speed until mixture resembles wet sand and no large butter pieces remain, about 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer to bowl; set aside.

For the Cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and flour a 9″ round cake pan.

Whisk flour and baking powder together in bowl; set aside. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter, sugar, salt, and zest on med-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down bowl as necessary. Beat in vanilla until combined, about 30 seconds. With mixer on medium speed, add eggs 1 at a time; beat until partially incorporated, scrape down bowl, and continue to beat until fully incorporated (mixture will appear broken). With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture; beat until flour is almost fully incorporated, about 20 seconds. Stir batter with rubber spatula, scraping bowl, until no flour pockets remain and batter is homogeneous; batter will be very heavy and thick. Gently fold in blueberries until evenly distributed.

Transfer batter to pan. Spread batter evenly to pan edges and smooth surface. Squeeze portion of streusel in hand to form large cohesive clump; break up clump with fingers and sprinkle streusel evenly over batter. Repeat with remaining streusel.

Bake until cake is deep golden brown and toothpick comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool.

Buttermilk Peach Ice Cream with Cinnamon

Happiness comes in many forms.  Maybe its warm sun on your face and your toes in the sand, or maybe its sharing a laughter-filled conversation with your loved ones.  Maybe its the good news you've been waiting to hear.

It can be found in the smallest, simplest moments...like biting into a fresh peach that's so incredibly juicy that you have to strategically stand over the sink to eat it, while juice unavoidably runs down your arms.  And you know what?  That darn peach is so delicious that it's okay to get a little messy!

After all, it's the little moments that make life so fun.

This Buttermilk Peach Ice Cream certainly put a smile on my family's faces recently.  It's the height of peach season around here, and I couldn't help but want to break out the ice cream maker after buying these peachy beauties.  I started searching for recipe inspiration online, and I stumbled upon a recipe by one of my favorite fellow bloggers, Homesick Texan.

The ingredients intrigued me.   Buttermilk in ice cream?!?  Genius!  It sounded pretty incredible, so I got to work.  I love this recipe for its simplicity.  A lot of ice cream recipes are custard-based, which requires eggs and a lot of extra time standing over the stove.  This version comes together easily and tastes nothing short of heavenly!

The trick is allowing the peaches to macerate for a few hours along with the cinnamon, sugar and lemon juice.  This easy process really concentrates the flavors and takes it up a notch.

Plus, the buttermilk adds a great little twang to the ice cream, which is subtle yet perfect.

Bon Appetit, my friends!  Let's all find happiness in the little moments this summer...They're all around us!

Buttermilk Peach Ice Cream

Adapted from:  Homesick Texan

Ingredients:

2 cups cream
1 cup buttermilk
2 pounds (about 6) whole peaches, peeled and sliced (about 2 cups)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions: 

Toss peeled and sliced peaches with sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Cover, refrigerate and let macerate at least for a couple of hours, preferably overnight or all day.

Puree half of the peaches in a blender, and then mix puree with cream, buttermilk and vanilla.  Next, roughly mash the remaining peaches with a potato masher and then add them to the cream mixture.

Freeze according to your ice-cream maker’s instructions.

 

Notes: 

To peel the peaches, place them into a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, and then transfer them to a bowl filled with ice water to halt the cooking. The skin should rub right off after blanching. 

Drool-Worthy Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

Blueberries...

"How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways..."

So maybe Elizabeth Barrett Browning wasn't talking about blueberries when she wrote her famous poem, but she could have been.  Especially with fabulously sweet, perfectly round and beautifully blue little berries like these.

Every year, Brad and I look forward to the day when these huge buckets of blueberries are available at the farmer's market.  It's the best $20 you'll spend at the market...hands down.  Each year, we scoop up one of these buckets, and I get to work figuring out how to put them to good use.  And let me just tell you...The berries mysteriously  start disappearing handful by handful, thanks to my sneaky husband.  During blueberry season he can be found sneaking handfuls right and left, making a little game out of it.

Oh, that husband...  :)

One of our very favorite things to do on the weekend is indulge in Sunday morning pancakes.  The Sunday after our farmer's market trip, I whipped up these buttermilk pancakes and added a very generous cup of blueberries to the batter.  The results were nothing short of glorious.   Glorious, I tell you!

The buttermilk makes these pancakes extra fluffy and tender.  This weekend, pick up some berries from your local farmer's market and treat your family to these pancakes.  You'll be so glad that you did.

Bon Appetit, my friends!

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

Adapted from:  The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook by Julie Fisher Gunter

Yield:  18 (4-inch pancakes)

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 heaping cup of fresh blueberries

Maple syrup

Directions:

Combine first 5 ingredients; stir well.

Combine eggs, buttermilk, and oil in a bowl;  add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Stir in blueberries.

For each pancake, pour about 1/4 cup batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle.  Cook pancakes until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked;  Turn and cook other side.  (Store unused batter in a tightly covered container in refrigerator up to 1 week.  If refrigerated batter is too thick, add milk or water to reach desired consistency.) 

Serve pancakes warm with butter and maple syrup.