In most of North America, blueberries are in abundance in July, but some regions are able to produce blueberries as late as November. Since these flavorful little berries freeze well, it's easy to enjoy them all year long.
Containing only 70 calories per cup, blueberries are a great dessert fruit. They can be eaten alone, used to top cereal or yogurt, or included in a variety of baked goods. Two crowd pleasers are blueberry pie and blueberry coffeecake.
Blueberry Pie Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 5 cups blueberries divided (If using frozen berries, do not thaw before measuring.)
- 1 Tablespoon butter or margarine
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 pastry shell (9 inches), baked
Directions:
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, cornstarch, salt and water until smooth.
- Add 3 cups of blueberries. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for two minutes or until thickened and bubbly.
- Remove from heat. Add butter, lemon juice and the remaining berries. Stir until the butter is melted.
- Cool and pour into the prepared pastry shell.
- refrigerate until time to serve.
Yields 6-8 servings.
Blueberry Coffee Cake
This cake has a sweet crumb topping. Unlike many other coffee cakes which use sour cream, this one gets a moisture boost from cream cheese.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (if using frozen blueberries, do not thaw before adding to the batter.)
- 1 (3 ounce) package of cream cheese, cubed
Topping Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cold butter or margarine
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- For batter, cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat in the egg.
- In a smaller bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, the baking powder and salt.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternating this with the milk. Stir after each addition.
- Toss the blueberries with the remaining flour. Stir blueberries and the cubed cream cheese into the creamed mixture. (The batter will be thick.)
- Transfer to a greased 8 inch square baking dish.
- For the topping, combine flour and sugar in a small bowl.
- Cut in butter until crumbly.
- Sprinkle over batter and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack.
Yields 6-8 servings.
Unlike many other fruits, blueberries will not ripen further once they are picked. If refrigerated immediately, they should keep well for 10 days. If unused berries remain after that time, simply freeze for later use.
