blueberry recipe

Blueberry Bread Recipe

/ sandramervillehart

I go through seasonal cycles in cooking. Right now, I’m looking for recipes with blueberries. I’ve made this delicious blueberry bread with a couple of modifications from a 1950 Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book many times.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a bread baking pan with cooking spray.

Rinse and drain 1 cup of fresh blueberries on a paper towel. Gently pat them dry.

Sift 2 cups of all-purpose flour into a medium mixing bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, and ½ teaspoon of salt and stir. Set aside.

Hint: Add blueberries to the flour. A gentle toss coats the fruit with flour. Remove the berries from the flour with your clean hands or a slotted spoon and set aside for a moment. This coating will prevent the fruit from all settling at the bottom of the batter during baking.

In a separate bowl thoroughly blend 2/3 cup sugar and ¼ cup butter until all the sugar is incorporated into the butter. Pastry blenders work well for this. (The recipe calls for 1/3 cup of shortening—I always substitute butter for the shortening. 1/4 cup of butter instead of 1/3 works well.) Beat 2 eggs and stir into the creamed mixture.

Optional: Add the zest of one lemon and ½ teaspoon of lemon extract to the batter for a light lemony flavor.

Gently fold in prepared blueberries to the batter and 4 tablespoons of milk.  

Stir dry ingredients into the sugar mixture. Another tablespoon of milk will probably be needed to make thick batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes.

Many people prefer to eat a slice of this delicious bread with cream cheese. It’s also good without it.

I substitute other fruits for the blueberries, such as apples, bananas, pumpkin, blackberries, and cranberries. You can also substitute orange zest and orange extract for the lemon—or leave it out altogether.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book, Macmillan and General Mills, Inc, 1950.

 

 

Iced Blueberries Recipe from 1877

/ sandramervillehart / 2 Comments

Flipping through the fruit section of a cookbook from 1877, I found a recipe for Iced Currants. The cook suggested that cherries and grapes can be substituted for currants.

So why not try blueberries this way?

Wash and drain ½ cup of blueberries on a paper towel.

Separate 3 egg whites into a mixing bowl. Beat them. I used a hand mixer for this easy recipe.

The cook suggests using a sieve for the next part, which I don’t own. I used a baking rack covered with paper towels.

Dip each blueberry into the beaten egg white mixture and set on the baking rack so that the fruit doesn’t touch. Sift a thick layer of powdered sugar over them. The cook didn’t mention waiting for the berries to set so the blueberries still had a frothy coating from the egg whites when I covered them. The froth kept the sugar from sticking.

I tried again, this time giving the berries an hour to set before sprinkling on powdered sugar. Still too frothy to hold the sugar coating.

What do they say about third time is the charm? The next time I dipped a batch of blueberries individually into the egg whites, I stayed away from the frothy part. I rolled the blueberries in powdered sugar to achieve an even coat. Perfect!

Tip: Don’t beat the egg whites. Give them a little whisk. Don’t sprinkle but roll the fruit in powdered sugar.

Delicious! A light, sweet healthy snack in about five minutes.

I’d try this with blackberries and raspberries as well.

I’d love to hear if you try this recipe with other fruits.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Compiled from Original Recipes. Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Applewood Books, 1877.

 

 

 

Blueberry Buckle Recipe

/ sandramervillehart / 2 Comments

I go through seasonal cycles in cooking. Right now, I’m looking for recipes with blueberries. I’ve made this delicious blueberry buckle coffee cake from a 1950 Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book several times but it’s been a while.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare an 8 x 8 baking pan with cooking spray.

Rinse and drain 2 cups of fresh blueberries on a paper towel. Gently pat them dry.

Sift 2 cups of all-purpose flour into a medium mixing bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of baking powder and ½ teaspoon of salt and stir. Set aside.

In a separate bowl thoroughly blend ¾ cup sugar and ¼ cup butter until all the sugar is incorporated into the butter. Pastry blenders work well for this. (The recipe calls for ¼ cup of shortening—I always substitute butter for the shortening.) Add 1 egg, ½ cup milk, and stir. Set aside.

Hint: Add blueberries to the flour. A gentle toss coats the fruit with flour. Remove the berries from the flour with your clean hands or a slotted spoon and set aside for a moment. This coating will prevent the fruit from all settling at the bottom of the batter during baking.

Stir dry ingredients into the sugar mixture. Once combined, gently fold in the prepared blueberries. Pour the thick batter into the prepared baking pan.

Next, prepare a crumb mixture as a topping. Mix together ½ cup sugar, 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. (The recipe calls for ½ teaspoon cinnamon—I’m always generous with this spice.) Then thoroughly blend in ¼ cup of butter with a pastry blender. Sprinkle this crumb mixture over the batter.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes. Enjoy!

This is a delicious blueberry coffeecake for breakfast or brunch.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book, Macmillan and General Mills, Inc, 1950.