Mixed Berry and Pecan Cobbler

Nothing speaks more of summer than a fruit cobbler. Love this dessert’s versatility because you can pretty much use your favorite summer berry or fruit with it. While it does require some baking, when you top it with pouring cream or ice cream, it certainly becomes a deliciously refreshing summer dessert.

Strawberry and Almond Clafoutis

Dear readers, there are certain desserts that need no further ado. Just one look and you'll know it's going to be fabulous and delicious. This Strawberry and Almond Clafoutis is certainly one of those. Can you see yummi-ness all over?

Fluffy Pancakes with Blueberries and Walnuts

 

I go nuts over nuts! I just love them on everything! They add texture, crunch and a lot more flavor for sure! I have never tried them on pancakes though so one day I thought I'd give it a try. I still had some blueberries so I thought, why not combine them with the pancake batter. The blueberries will add some soft texture and sweetness while the walnuts will provide the crunch and extra flavor! Oh wow, a match made in heaven. The addition of nuts and berries really made these fluffy lovely pancakes so extra special!

 

Enjoy this nutty, fruity and oh so yummy Fluffy Pancakes with Blueberries and Walnuts! Have a great day!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk (less if you want thicker pancakes)
1 egg
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup Blueberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts 

Procedure

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center, place the egg in, then pour in the milk and the melted butter. With a whisk, mix until the batter is free from big lumps or until relatively smooth. Fold in the nuts and berries and gently mix them in.

Heat a griddle or frying pan (some pans need to be greased a bit beforehand) over medium high heat. (I use a non-stick griddle so there’s no need to grease it all). When the pan or griddle is hot enough, scoop the batter onto the griddle/pan using a small measuring cup (1/4-1/3 cup size). Cook until bubbly approximately – 1 to 2 minutes.

Flip and brown the other side. Just cook until it's fully set, approximately 1-2 minutes.

Spread some butter on the pancakes and serve with warm maple syrup or your preferred sweetener.

 

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Red and Blue Berry Pie Bars

First, I need to warn you all that this kind of treat is not for the faint-hearted! :-) Three sticks of butter in one recipe? Is this for real? Yes, that was my initial reaction when I first read this recipe. I immediately thought of reducing the butter/fat content in half - but then I had second thoughts - how can I adjust a recipe I haven't even tried? So, I set on doing it as faithfully as I can based on the original recipe. I thought to myself, I'd adjust, if necessary, after I have given it at least one chance to prove itself worthy of all the calories loaded in it!

The Verdict! It was worth every single drop of butter in it! Honestly, this is one of the most delicious dessert recipe I have ever tried. Pie in a bar form? How can you ever go wrong? Besides, more or less 20 people agreed when I brought this yummy dessert to a friend's birthday party! It was gone like the wind. I thought that would be the ultimate test and it passed on all levels by a 100 %.

The major plus in this super-delicious dessert is its fruit content - forget the butter - it's all about the fruits now! Nearly 2 lbs of fresh fruits (about 6 cups) - mega-foods blueberries and raspberries! I won't got into the details of  how nutritious berries are, for you already know that, don't you? You see, I made this in the summer when these fruits were in season in Michigan, hence, relatively cheaper than when they are out of season. Of course, if you cannot find the fresh ones or they are too expensive (especially during winter time) then it is fine to use the frozen ones (just thaw them and drain well before using). Shall we say then that the fat content is balanced by a tremendous amount of fruits used in making this? I leave it to you my dear friends to decide!

All I'm saying is, do not be turned off by the amount of butter here! As with anything the key to perfect enjoyment is moderation! If you do so, you'll enjoy the food and not feel guilty afterwards. Will you promise to eat just one serving of this? :-)

Now, let's go to the recipe itself.

The recipe is adapted from Joy the Baker (so glad to have found this!) and it was based upon the recipe in the book - The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather. Wow, it has really come a long way, and has now reached the Philippine Islands via Manila Spoon! Blackberries were used for the original recipe but when I went to our local grocery what I found were lots of blueberries and raspberries so I used them instead. I opted for the multi-colored effect - Red raspberries and Blueberries. I thought it would look lovelier than a monochromatic approach. See the effect below on our finished product!

I will note below what my observations were when I made these. So when you make this yourself - you'll know more or less what to expect. Overall, I think it's a great recipe and I will make it again for our Summer entertainment with noting the adjustments I need to make. Enjoy!

Ingredients

For the Crust/Topping

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar (I used white)
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted chilled/cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch-cubes
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest of 2 Lemons*

*I didn't have any Lemons the first time I made this but it still came out good so it's up to you if you wish to add these, too. Am sure they will add some extra tangy yumminess. :-)

For the Filling



4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream (ok you can go low-fat on this! I used the light one)
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 (16 oz.) packages frozen berries (raspberries and/or blueberries or a combo), thawed and drained*

*I used fresh berries - if you want to use fresh berries use about 6 cups in total of either or both berries.

Procedure

For the Crust/Topping:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9×13-inch pan or baking dish with butter or cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine the flour and sugar in a bowl. A stand mixer with a paddle attachment would be handy for this. Add the chilled butter cubes and beat on medium speed until the butter is evenly distributed and the mixture is crumbly.

Since I didn't have a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, I used a pastry blender to incorporate the cold butter with the flour and sugar mixture. It was not a problem at all!

Mixture should look crumbly like this. 



Set aside about 1-1/2  cups of the mixture for the topping. Press the rest into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake the crust for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Note: Mine never really turned golden brown despite the extended cooking (up to 20 minutes). My suggestion would be to not obsess about not having a truly golden brown crust, like I did! The filling will go on top of it anyway and if you already overcook the crust at this point - note that it will be baked again for another hour or so in the oven - it would harden, and though no one complained, I wasn't very keen on it. Just bake it between 12-15 minutes but don't expect it to be golden brown as the recipe stated. It would still look pale but hopefully, it won't harden too much when you re-bake it with the filling on top.

Remove from the oven and cool for about 10-15 minutes.

For the Filling:

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl.  Add in the sugar, sour cream, flour, and salt and combine. Gently fold in the berries.

Carefully pour the mixture over the crust. Distribute the berries evenly on top.



Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture on top of the filling. Distribute well.

Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. Mine needed about a little over an hour. Oven temperature and heating capacity vary so adjust accordingly. One of our readers noted that the berries bubbled over - because the fruits are fresh and juicy this may happen so you can prevent this by using a cookie sheet for any spill-over.

I wanted a crumblier and crunchier crust so I placed it under the broiler for 1-2 minutes to achieve this. Watch out so that the top doesn't burn!

  

Cool for least 2-3 hours before cutting into bars. Wait until it's fully set so when you cut it it doesn't drip unless you can't wait and don't mind that it crumbles - and that's perfectly understandable! I actually imagined this more as a fruity crumble  (rather than a Bar cookie) reminiscent of the ones I had in England. So if you wish, you can serve it warm with ice cream on top!  Pure dessert heaven! Can anything be better than this as a summer dessert? I would have to think hard 'cause for now this is on top of my list!

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Blueberry Muffins

Oh summer...why are you saying goodbye? I miss you already! I feel the fall chill each morning when I wake up but I am still holding out for an Indian summer.

I read in Facebook or was it Pinterest, I don't know...one of those. It said that we should arrest summer for speeding! I say yeah, lock it up, throw the keys away so summer stays forever. Sorry, am speaking as a Manilena here - from the Philippines - where it seems to be summer all through the year.

For my homage to summer, here's my tot's favorite - blueberry muffins. I essentially used my from scratch blueberry cake batter here. What came out is a really moist, cakey and delicious muffin with a little crunch on top. This is why I wish summer won't leave us. Oh well, I can still eat my muffins.... Let me go grab one!




Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups sugar (you can use either white or brown or a mix of the two)*
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz sour cream
1/2 cup olive oil (light or the fruity version or plain vegetable oil)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups fresh blueberries (sometimes I add a little more if I have a lot of berries)


Procedure

Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Line your muffin pan with paper cups.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Set aside. In another bowl, mix all the wet ingredients (eggs, sour cream, oil and vanilla).

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix. I use a spatula to fold in the flour and mix everything together but you can also use a whisk. The batter should be thick.

Fold in the berries.

Divide evenly among the 12 muffin cups. I use a large ice cream scooper for this. So handy! A full scoop per cup is about right. There is enough batter (nearly full) for each cup, sufficient to give your muffin a nice dome.

Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven and after about 8-10 minutes (when it's cool enough to handle) transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Some tips:

*I suggest using either all brown sugar or 1 cup brown and half cup white sugar. It will make the batter look brownish but you have a nicer looking muffin. If you use all white sugar, the muffins will look rather pale. The brown sugar gives the muffins a better color. See below the color of the muffin when you use more brown sugar than white. Lovely, isn't it?

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Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)