Blueberry buckle

I know, blueberries aren't exactly in season anymore...but...this will be an exercise in using your imagination. Pretend it's a lovely June day (but don't pretend you're in Texas; you'll melt. Try Indiana or Pennsylvania or somewhere up north). Clear blue skies, a few wispy clouds here and there, an occasional breeze. You're relaxing on a hammock, perhaps with a book in hand (put away your iPod; listen to those birds chirping!). Lunch was a few hours ago, and what better mid-afternoon snack than a piece of blueberry buckle (coffeecake), perhaps topped off with a dollop of whipped cream?

Sounds good, huh? Terribly sorry if this now has you longing for those relaxing summer days of yesteryear. You may not be able to lounge on a hammock right now (or at least not without a couple of blankets and a stack of [home]work), but you can still enjoy the deliciousness of this blueberry buckle recipe. You don't even have to have fresh blueberries (though fresh is always preferable); I used frozen berries when I made this, and it turned out just fine.

Blueberry buckle

For the cake:

2 cups and 1-2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (separated)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

1 pint blueberries (again, I used frozen blueberries; I let them thaw a little in the refrigerator before using)

For the topping:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (like yesterday's recipe, I keep the butter cold and then cut into recipe with a pastry blender)

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Grease an 8-inch springform pan (I just used a regular 8x8 baking dish). Set aside.

2. Sift together the 2 cups of flour, the baking soda, and the salt. Set aside.

3. In separate bowl, cream the butter and the sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk.

4. Toss the blueberries with the remaining 1-2 tablespoons of flour (to separate and scatter evenly through the batter). Fold into mixture.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Set aside.

6. Combine topping ingredients with a fork or pastry blender to make a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle over batter.

7. Bake for one hour, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Cranberry apple crisp

'Tis the season for cranberries and apples, and so I was super excited recently to come across this recipe for cranberry apple crisp. Sweet and tangy and bursting with color (I know, now I sound like a commercial), this is the perfect dessert to enjoy on a cool fall day (perhaps topped with a bit of vanilla ice cream!).

Cranberry apple crisp

3/4 cup orange juice

2 cups white sugar (the second time I made this, I reduced the amount of sugar to about 1 1/2 cups)

5 cups fresh cranberries (I think I probably only used about 4 - 4 1/2 cups)

4 Gala apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup butter (the original recipe says the butter should be softened, but personally, I think it works better if it's cold -- but that's probably because I use a pastry blender to cut it in)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x12 baking dish.

Heat the orange juice, sugar, and about half the cranberries in a saucepan over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Simmer until the cranberries pop, stirring occasionally.

Mix in the apples and the rest of the cranberries. Remove from heat, allow to cool for several minutes, and then pour into prepared baking dish.

In a bowl, mix together the pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and oats. Stir/cut in the butter until thoroughly incorporated. Pour over fruit mixture.

Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the oat topping has begun to brown.

Enjoy it warm (with vanilla ice cream!) or cold.

"Delicious Autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns!"

-- George Eliot

Homemade applesauce

Surprise, it's me! I am sooo far behind on posting, but I've been so busy recently there just hasn't been time for it. I have still been baking, though, so maybe eventually I'll get around to posting the recipes and photos from some of these ventures.

Originally I planned on doing my Vintage Recipe Thursday post today, but about two paragraphs in, I realized that I don't actually have the recipe with me...yep, that's a fail. I'm in Florida right now sibling-sitting while my dad and stepmom are out of the country, and though I considered bringing my little recipe book with me that contains all the family recipes, I ended up leaving it at home. What was I thinking? Not smart. But, nothing I can do about it tonight, so rather than posting a vintage family recipe, here's a super easy and incredibly yummy one that my brother and I used yesterday:

Homemade Applesauce

- 8 apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)

- 1 cup water

- 1/4 cup sugar (note: the original recipe called for 1/2 cup, but the apples I used were pretty sweet, so 1/4 cup was plenty)

- cinnamon to taste

James using this super cool, handy-dandy gadget that peels, cores, and slices the apples for you. Amazing.

1. Put the apples and water in a saucepan; cover and bring to a boil.

2. Let simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in sugar; let dissolve.

4. Add cinnamon.

5. Mash/blend apples to desired consistency.

6. Serve warm or cold.

So delicious!