Blueberry Desserts

I love blueberries. When they're part of dessert, they're even better. To that end, today's post deals with Blueberry Desserts, including Double Good Blueberry Pie and Secret-Ingredient Lemon-Blueberry Pound Cake. Intrigued? Enjoy!

GINGER-LEMON-BLUEBERRY PIE

This is from Pillsbury, and begins, "Directions for this luscious pie specify cooling two hours before slicing, which gives the filling time to firm up a little for neater cutting. If you absolutely can't wait, serve the pie in shallow soup bowls and be ready with a large spoon to ladle up every last bit of the filling!"

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes; Makes 8 servings

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Crust

1 box (14.1 oz) refrigerated Pillsbury™ Pie Crusts (2 Count), softened as directed on box

6 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon half-and-half

Filling

5 cups fresh blueberries

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger

2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

Heat oven to 400°F. Remove 1 pie crust from pouch; place flat on work surface. Sprinkle top of crust with 1-1/2 teaspoons of the sugar. With rolling pin, roll crust lightly to coat with sugar. Continue to make pie crust, sugared side up, as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie using 9-inch glass pie pan.

In large bowl, mix filling ingredients. Spoon into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust. Brush top crust with half-and-half; sprinkle with remaining 4-1/2 teaspoons sugar.

Place foil or cookie sheet on oven rack below middle rack to catch any spills. Place pie on middle oven rack; bake 35 to 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. After 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Cool at least 2 hours before serving. Serve warm or cold.

SECRET-INGREDIENT LEMON-BLUEBERRY POUND CAKE

This is from Pillsbury, and begins, "We bet you’d never guess the secret ingredient in this lemon-blueberry pound cake! This genius twist on the classic dessert only takes 15 minutes to prep, and it’s all thanks to sugar cookie dough (yes, sugar cookie dough!). With just a few additional ingredients—sour cream, egg, lemon zest and fresh blueberries, to be precise—this one-bowl cake is ready for the oven. And don’t forget the sweet-tart lemon glaze—it takes this delicious treat to the next level."

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes; Makes 6 servings

To view this online, click here.<

Ingredients

1 roll (16.5 oz) refrigerated Pillsbury™ Sugar Cookie Dough

1/4 cup sour cream

1 egg

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

2/3 cup fresh or frozen (do not thaw) blueberries

1 cup powdered sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 8x4-inch loaf pan with cooking spray; lightly flour.

In large bowl, break up cookie dough. Add sour cream, egg and lemon zest. (DO NOT EAT RAW COOKIE DOUGH AFTER COMBINING WITH EGG.) Beat with electric mixer on medium-low speed 2 to 3 minutes or until smooth. Fold in blueberries. Spoon mixture evenly into pan.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Remove cake from pan; place on cooling rack.

In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice; continue adding lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until desired drizzling consistency. Spoon glaze over hot cake. Cool 45 minutes before serving.

Tips from the Pillsbury Kitchens

tip 1

If you are using frozen blueberries instead of fresh, add about 10 minutes to your bake time.

BLUEBERRY CRISP

This is from Genevieve Ko in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this recipe, Genevieve wrote, "Fragrant with the sunshine of lemon zest, the crackly almond roof of this summer-in-a-dish dessert gives way to jammy berries begging to be swirled with ice cream. To make this dead simple treat even easier, the crisp topping is simply stirred with melted butter, which binds together the dry ingredients while giving the mixture a sturdiness that holds up against the juicy fruit. Sliced almonds require no chopping and add a delicate crunch, but chopped pecans would be delicious here too, as would pinches of spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom or even black pepper. The topping can be refrigerated for up to 3 days ahead of time. Pro potluck tip: Ask the host if you can use the oven, and if you can, bring the berry mixture in the baking dish and the chilled topping in a separate container. When you arrive, scatter the crumbs over the filling and bake to perfume the house and enjoy a warm dessert."

Time: 1 hour 20 minutes; Yield: 6 to 8 servings

This was featured in "A Summer Dinner Party That’s Actually Fast and Easy", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024462-blueberry-crisp.

Ingredients

For the Topping

1 lemon

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted if you’d like

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the Filling

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1-1/2 packed tablespoons cornstarch

2 to 2-1/4 pounds blueberries

Ice cream, for serving

Preparation

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare the topping: Zest the lemon directly over the sugar in a medium bowl and mix with a fork. (Save the zested lemon for the filling.) Mix in the flour, almonds and salt.

The cooled melted butter has likely separated, so stir it until evenly pale yellow, then drizzle over the dry ingredients. Stir lightly and quickly until the mixture forms pea-sized crumbles with gravelly bits; don’t overmix. Refrigerate until ready to use. The topping can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Make the filling: Whisk the sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl to break up starchy clumps. Add the blueberries and squeeze in 1 tablespoon lemon juice from the reserved zested lemon. Toss until evenly coated, then scrape into a 1-1/2- to 2-quart casserole (such as a 9-inch square dish or deep-dish pie plate).

Spread the berry filling in an even layer, then cover with the topping, leaving no gaps. Place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips.

Bake until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling like lava, 40 to 45 minutes. You don’t want to burn your mouth eating the crisp hot, so let it cool for at least 15 minutes and preferably an hour or so because the filling firms up as it cools. It can be served warm or at room temperature, ideally with ice cream.

BLUEBERRY LATTICE PIE

This is from Molly O’Neill in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. Molly wrote, “Here's a showstopper of a summer pie if there ever was one. In this recipe that came to The Times in 1995, a generous pile of blueberries is tossed with sugar, cinnamon and orange zest then baked in a butter-shortening crust until the filling is bubbly and the crust golden brown. Don't be intimidated by the lattice top. Just take your time, and do your best. No matter what it looks like, it'll taste delicious.”

Yield: 8 servings; Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

This was featured in “On Blueberry Hill”, and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/9290-blueberry-lattice-pie.

Also, check out “How to Make a Pie Crust,” by Melissa Clark. Very helpful!

Ingredients

The Crust:

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut in small pieces

6 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening

6 to 8 tablespoons ice water

1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water

The Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

6 cups fresh blueberries, cleaned

Preparation

To make the crust, combine the flour, 2 teaspoons of sugar and salt in a large bowl. Use your fingers to rub in the butter and shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually and lightly mix in just enough ice water so the dough can be gently pressed into a ball. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To make the filling, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, flour and orange zest. Place the blueberries in a large bowl and toss with the sugar mixture.

Divide the dough in half and roll out 1 piece on a lightly floured surface and fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Place the filling in the dish. Roll out the remaining dough, cut 1/2-inch-wide strips and weave into a lattice top. Seal, trim and crimp the edges. Brush the top pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle it with the remaining sugar.

Bake for 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325 and bake until crust is browned and filling is set, about 20 minutes longer. Cool on a rack. Cut into wedges and serve.

DOUBLE GOOD BLUEBERRY PIE

This comes from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list.

Ingredients

3/4 c. sugar

3 tbsp. cornstarch

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 c. water

2 c. blueberries

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. lemon juice

2 c. blueberries

1 baked 9 inch pie shell

Sweetened whipped cream

Directions

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in saucepan. Add 2 cups blueberries and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils, thickens and is clear. Add butter and lemon juice. Cool. Place 2 cups blueberries in pie shell. Top with cooled mixture. Chill. Garnish with whipped cream.

BLUEBERRY COBBLER

This was posted on the Vegetarian Times web site on MAY 1, 2017, and is from the June 2016 issue (page 35). It begins, “You can mix and match fruits for different fillings.”

Makes 4 servings. This can be viewed online by clicking here.

Note: The website was missing part of two of the topping ingredients (the “2 Tbs. sugar, plus more for sprinkling, if desired” and “1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk, plus 2 Tbs. for brushing top”). Fortunately, I had a June 2016 issue of Vegetarian Times next to me when I pulled this up from the website.

Ingredients

Filling

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tbs. cornstarch

1/8 tsp. salt

6 cups (2 lbs.) blueberries, fresh or frozen and thawed

1 tsp. melted margarine or coconut oil, optional

Topping

1/2 cup white or brown rice flour

1/2 cup sorghum or oat flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup cornstarch or potato starch

2 Tbs. sugar, plus more for sprinkling, if desired

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk, plus 2 Tbs. for brushing top

3 Tbs. turbinado sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375˚F.

To make Filling: Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in large bowl. Add blueberries and margarine or oil, and stir to coat. Set aside.

To make Topping: Whisk together rice flour, sorghum or oat flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch or potato starch, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Stir in coconut milk. Let stand 10 minutes, until dough firms into spongy consistency.

Spread Filling in 2-1/2- to 3-quart baking dish. Scoop 1/4 -cup dollops of Topping over Filling with ice-cream scoop, leaving space between each dollop. Brush dollops with coconut milk; sprinkle Topping with turbinado sugar. Bake 1 hour, or until Filling is thick and bubbly and Topping is golden brown. Cool 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm.

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