Last weekend the family and I drove three hours to pick blueberries in Edum, Texas. Two hours of picking resulted in approximately 1926341 pounds of blueberries - blueberries I had to figure out how to cook with. Now, let it be known that I am not much of a cook. I do not partake in the culinary arts. I am exceptionally good at ordering take-out, and stocking my pantry with a multitude of delectable sugary cereals. I can even scramble an egg, if it's required. So you understand my perplexity regarding what to do with all these damm blueberries.
Well, I cooked. I made blueberry pancakes, and blueberry smoothies (which I KNOW isn't exactly cooking but as far as I'm concerns it counts) and blueberry fruit salad (which again, requires no actually cooking, but includes chopping and dicing and impressive knife skills.)
By the end of the week I hadn't made much of a dent in our blueberry hoard. I knew drastic measures had to be taken. I said a quick prayer, fired up the laptop, and found a recipe for blueberry cobbler bars that didn't seem overly complicated. And I got to work. I documented this experience a la The Pioneer Woman, though with far less impressive photography skills.
I mixed together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Then I used my hands and blended in two sticks of cold butter and an egg. The recipe said to use a fork or pastry cutter, but my hands seemed to work more effectively. I ain't gonna lie - that part was icky. But kind of fun.
I pressed half the mixture into a greased 9x13 Pyrex dish.
The next step involved mixing four cups of blueberries with more sugar, cornstarch and the juice from two lemons...
...which I poured over the mixture in the baking dish.
At this point in the process, The Pioneer Woman usually inserts some kind of random witty banter. Or odd photo. So let's take a look at the mess this project has resulted in so far:
Okay. Moving on.
I covered the blueberries with the other half of the crumb mixture, stuck it into a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes, and let it bake. In the meantime, I cleaned flour off the counters, floor, back of my skirt and front of my blouse. Oh, I also peered excitedly into the little window of my oven every 45 seconds.
Finally the blueberry bars were done. And they looked like this:
(Okay...this isn't my photo. This is the photo that accompanies the recipe on the internet. I used this photo because I neglected to take a pic of the cobbler bars when they were finished baking. And by the time I remembered to grab my camera, my children, husband and I had wolfed down half the pan. But trust me, it looked great. And tasted even better. Yummo.)
Here's the recipe, in case you have 1926341 pounds of blueberries lying around. Or just feel like baking something fabulous.
Yield: I cut these into 36 smallish rectangles
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.
3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
Now it's your turn: What are some things that made you smile this week? Grab my button (created by Kate of Divergent Musings - HUGE THANKS to Kate!) and blog about your Sunday smiles; share your weekly smiles in the comments; or smile just because it makes you feels good.
As I'm nibbling on remainder of my cobbler bars, here's what went down on Dress With Courage this week:
By the end of the week I hadn't made much of a dent in our blueberry hoard. I knew drastic measures had to be taken. I said a quick prayer, fired up the laptop, and found a recipe for blueberry cobbler bars that didn't seem overly complicated. And I got to work. I documented this experience a la The Pioneer Woman, though with far less impressive photography skills.
I mixed together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Then I used my hands and blended in two sticks of cold butter and an egg. The recipe said to use a fork or pastry cutter, but my hands seemed to work more effectively. I ain't gonna lie - that part was icky. But kind of fun.
I pressed half the mixture into a greased 9x13 Pyrex dish.
The next step involved mixing four cups of blueberries with more sugar, cornstarch and the juice from two lemons...
...which I poured over the mixture in the baking dish.
At this point in the process, The Pioneer Woman usually inserts some kind of random witty banter. Or odd photo. So let's take a look at the mess this project has resulted in so far:
Finally the blueberry bars were done. And they looked like this:
(Okay...this isn't my photo. This is the photo that accompanies the recipe on the internet. I used this photo because I neglected to take a pic of the cobbler bars when they were finished baking. And by the time I remembered to grab my camera, my children, husband and I had wolfed down half the pan. But trust me, it looked great. And tasted even better. Yummo.)
Here's the recipe, in case you have 1926341 pounds of blueberries lying around. Or just feel like baking something fabulous.
Yield: I cut these into 36 smallish rectangles
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.
3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
Now it's your turn: What are some things that made you smile this week? Grab my button (created by Kate of Divergent Musings - HUGE THANKS to Kate!) and blog about your Sunday smiles; share your weekly smiles in the comments; or smile just because it makes you feels good.
As I'm nibbling on remainder of my cobbler bars, here's what went down on Dress With Courage this week:
- I rattled off six times I've cried in a dressing room, and explained why I'm over it;
- Examined the role of guilt in my life and discussed why women are more susceptible to guilty feelings;
- Professed my love for winter clothes (though not for winter itself) and asked if you shop more in the warmer or colder months;
- Continued my Thrifting 101 series with a post listing my favorite books regarding vintage clothing.
- I also announced the winner of my TIKKR watch giveaway. Congrats to Mel of Doctorly Fashion!
Thank you for supporting me by following my blog, continuing to leave thoughtful and introspective comments, and dropping by every day. I am so appreciative that you all are here.
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