Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Baking with Blueberries

I've been baking a lot. With blueberries.
Without further ado...the recipes:




Blueberry Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones
1 cup fresh blueberries
Lemon Glaze:
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 lemon, zest finely grated
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough.Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream.Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.Technically you should make this simple lemon glaze in a double boiler (i.e. over a pot of simmering water with a heatproof bowl set on top) but it's even simpler to zap it in the microwave. Mix the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon zest and butter. Nuke it for 30 seconds on high. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving.













Blueberry Pie

3/4 cup white sugar - or less depending on the sweetness of your berries
4-5 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a dash of lemon juice
5 cups fresh blueberries
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1 tablespoon butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon, and sprinkle over blueberries.
Line pie dish with one pie crust. Pour berry mixture into the crust, and dot with butter. Cut remaining pastry into 1/2 - 3/4 inch wide strips, and make lattice top. Crimp and flute edges.
Put tin foil around edges of crust.Bake pie on lower shelf of oven for about 50 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
SadlyTheBlueberriesDontCancelOutTheButter,

1 comment:

Katie Allegretti said...

I want to be your next door neighbor. Assuming you'd share with me. :)