Tag Archives: Blueberry

Blueberry Oat Squares

Blueberry Pie is great and all, but so are quick, easy, berry-forward recipes that don’t require you to deal with cold butter in blazing summer heat.

Y’all, I am all about these Blueberry Oat Squares right now. The edges are crisp and buttery with plenty of chewy oats, while the centers are bursting with juicy fresh blueberry filling. They’re super summery and delicious, and a snap to make!

One simple dough doubles as both crust and topping. Just stir six ingredients together in a bowl, then firmly press about half the resulting mixture into the bottom of a square pan. Top it with a layer of simply-spiced blueberry pie filling, then press on the remaining dough. You’ll probably have a few gaps in the topping, but that’s okay—that’s where the jammy filling will peek through. Love that visual and textural diversity.

Once baked and cooled completely, Blueberry Oat Squares can be sliced and served at room temperature or cold. They’re easy to stack and transport, and don’t need to be chilled at all times—this is a perfect picnic dessert if I’ve ever seen one. If you want to get a little fancy, you could even serve them lightly warmed and topped with ice cream and fresh blueberries. But while, in most cases, I identify as “a little fancy,” I’m happy to keep things simple here. For now, at least.

Blueberry Oat Squares
makes one 8- or 9-inch pan, about 16 squares

Filling:
12 ounces fresh blueberries
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (about 1/4 medium lemon)

Dough:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled slightly

Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8- or 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil and grease with butter. Set aside.

Make the filling. Combine blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and lemon juice in a medium mixing bowl. Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to fold them all together until combined. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and oats. Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to fold in melted butter—mixture may be crumbly, but should hold together when pinched.

Firmly press half the dough (about 2 cups) into an even layer at the bottom of the prepared pan.

Give blueberry filling a stir, then scatter over packed dough (leaving behind any excess liquid), leaving a 1/2-inch border on all sides. Scatter remaining dough mixture over the top. Use the palms of your hands to gently pack it into a even layer, covering the jam.

Bake full pan for 25-27 minutes, or until golden and set on top. Let cool completely in the pan on a rack.

Slice bars with a sharp chef’s knife, wiping the blade clean between cuts. Do not try to slice bars until they are completely room temperature. Serve room temperature, cold, or warmed slightly with ice cream.

Bars will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Layer them with wax or parchment paper for best results.

Blueberry Oat Squares

Black & Blueberry Galette

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Black & Blueberry Galette While there is a time and place for a traditional crimped and latticed pie, my kitchen in the middle of a heatwave is not it. That said, there are a ton of berries at the markets right now, and it would be a real shame to miss tucking them all into a flaky shell, now wouldn’t it? Black & Blueberry Galette Galettes to the rescue! They’re pie’s no-nonsense, rustic sisters–we’re talking all the flavor and beauty of pie with less than half the work. You don’t even need a pie plate! Simply roll out some pie dough, mound a fruit filling in the middle, fold up the edges and bake ‘til golden and bubbly. Boom, done, galette. Black & Blueberry Galette I used my All-Butter Pie Dough for this glossy beauty, but I know pie dough scares the bejeezus out of some of you. Also, I can’t blame anyone for not wanting to mess with temperature-dependent dough in the middle of summer. I’ll admit that trying to keep tiny bits of butter from melting is not my favorite warm-weather activity either, but when all is said, done, sliced & served, it sure is worth the effort. Black & Blueberry Galette Generally speaking, I think baking should be an enjoyable process, so if making dough from scratch is going to ruin the fun of making a galette, by all means, take the easy way out. Use whatever pie dough you like here, even the refrigerated store-bought stuff. I am pretty sure a sheet of puff pastry would work, too. Whatever your dough of choice, just remember to keep your surfaces floured and your dough cold.

Cold dough = cold butter = super flaky crust. Black & Blueberry Galette I used blackberries and blueberries in this galette for a multitude of reasons, chief amongst them that these varieties looked the best at my local green market a few weeks ago. They also happen to remind me of Maine—I love when food and nostalgia line up. I went with a 50:50 ratio of blackberries to blueberries, but you should feel free to play around with the amounts, use all of one berry or the other, or swap in some raspberries. When it comes to galettes and summer berries, there are no bad ideas. Black & Blueberry Galette

Black & Blueberry Galette
makes 1 galette, about 8 servings

1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 recipe All-Butter Pie Dough, or other good single-crust pie dough
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon water
coarse sugar, for sprinkling
whipped cream, for serving (optional)
vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Arrange oven racks in the upper and lower positions. Preheat oven to 375F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Combine blackberries and blueberries in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, salt, and lime juice. Stir together with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon and let sit for 15 minutes at room temperature.

Flour a surface and a rolling pin. Roll pie dough out until it is 1/8-inch thick. Trim edges so that you have a 12-inch circle. Transfer to prepared pan. Mound filling in the middle of the dough, leaving at least 2 inches of excess on all sides. Fold dough over the sides of the filling to contain it. Scatter butter over exposed filling.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg and water. Brush mixture on exposed pie dough. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake galette on the upper rack for 25 minutes. Move to the lower rack. Bake for 20-25 more minutes, tenting with foil if anything begins to brown too quickly. Crust will firm up as the galette cools.

Let galette cool completely in the pan on a rack. Remove to a cutting board. Slice and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Galette will keep covered at room temperature for two days, or in the refrigerator for up to four. Black & Blueberry Galette

Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake

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Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake There is just something about bundt cakes. They’re one of my absolute favorite things to bake—they’re low-maintenance crowd pleasers *and* I get to feel like the queen of the universe every time I get one to release cleanly from the pan. That kind of glory is hard to come by these days.This Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake is utterly spectacular, if I do say so myself. Lemon-scented and studded with a bevy of blueberries, it’s the perfect summertime cake. Oh, and it’s gorgeous too.The base is a sour cream spin on my favorite bundt cake formula. While that cake batter is rich and delicious, it’s not quite thick enough to suspend whole blueberries, leaving them all to sink to the bottom of the pan/top of the baked cake. The final product still tastes right, but if you’re going to make a blueberry cake, you want the blueberries strewn throughout, ya know?

By swapping the usual milk for sour cream, the batter becomes just thick enough to support the blueberries, and you also get a super velvety crumb out of the deal. #score The blueberries are also given support via a light dusting of dry ingredients before being folded into the batter. This “trick” allows a little bit of the leavener to react directly against the blueberries, helping them to stay buoyant instead of sinking.As for the lemon portion of this Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake, it’s as simple as rubbing zest into sugar to release those good lemony oils and finishing the cake with a simple lemon icing. Easy peasy.Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake is perfect for any summer occasion, including the Fourth of July. There’s no melting frosting or chocolate to worry about, and just about everyone loves the combination of blueberries and lemon.I know a lot of us aren’t having or attending gatherings large enough to finish this cake in one go, so feel free to halve it and put it in a loaf pan. I, however, have never seen leftover cake as a problem. Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake

Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake
makes one 10-cup capacity bundt

Cake:
2 cups granulated sugar
zest of 1 medium lemon
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 pint fresh blueberries (about 12 ounces)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 16 pieces
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup full-fat sour cream, room temperature

Icing:
1 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
pinch of Kosher or sea salt

Place an oven rack in the center position. Preheat oven to 325F. Heavily grease a bundt pan with softened butter (or shortening) and dust with flour. Set aside.

Make the cake. Combine sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl and use your fingertips to rub them together. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to mix on the lowest setting for 20 seconds.

Remove 1/4 cup of the flour mixture to a small mixing bowl. Add blueberries and toss together. Set aside.

Add butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream to the flour mixture. Use an electric mixer to mix on low for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes. Batter will be thick.

Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to fold floured blueberries (including any unincorporated flour) into batter.

Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth the top with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon. Tap full pan on the counter five times to release any large air bubbles. Bake 65-75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in several places comes out clean.

Let cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a thin, flexible knife around all exposed edges. Invert cake onto a cooling rack and let cake cool completely. Cake may be made up to a day in advance; it will keep double-wrapped in plastic wrap.

Make the icing. In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together confectioners sugar, lemon juice and salt. Mixture should be very thick, but pourable. If it’s too thick, add more lemon juice by the teaspoon up to 3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon); if it’s too thin, add more confectioners sugar in 2 tablespoon increments. Pour over cake. Let sit for 20 minutes to set. Move cake to a serving plate before slicing and serving.

Leftover cake will keep covered at room temperature for up to two days or in the refrigerator for up to five. Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake