Sunday, February 17, 2008

Blueberry picking at Sauvie Island: 6 months later

reason #39 for picking and freezing local blueberries
If you were reading this blog in July, you may remember we did some blueberry picking. Actually, every July we go blueberry picking. (And then there's raspberry, blackberry, marionberry, but for this post, we're talking about blueberries.) This winter, blueberries have topped morning oatmeal, been folded into scones, blended with yogurt for smoothies, and as seen here, baked into a blueberry+apricot preserves+ginger dessert. In the spirit of the movie Waitress, this is called Say-Goodbye-to-Grey-Cold-February-Sky-Blueberry-Apricot-Crumble. Be forewarned, there's butter in this. Save up some calories and do a long walk on the day you bake this. But be prepared for super deliciousness and a house that smells divine.
Adapted from Real Simple, June 2006
Say-Goodbye-to-Grey-Cold-February-Sky-Blueberry-Apricot-Crumble
2 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup apricot jam or preserves
3/4 cup frozen blueberries (don't thaw)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (more if you love ginger like I do)
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking dish with non-stick spray or coat with butter. In your stand mixer and set on low, combine flour, granulated and light brown sugars, baking powder and salt. Mix on low to combine. Add the pieces of butter and mix until crumbly. Add egg yolk and vanilla and mix until it just comes together but is still very crumbly. Pour all but 1/2 cup dough into square pan. Using your fingertips, press the dough evenly into the baking dish, pushing the dough up about 1/4 inch around the edge.

Combine the jam and ginger in a small bowl. Spread the mixture evenly over the crust. Place frozen blueberries over apricot/ginger mixture. Crumble the remaining dough over the top. Bake until golden, about 35 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes before cutting.

1 comment:

Elizabeth said...

That sure looks yummy! And, I'm reminded reading this, berry picking was how I found your blog in the first place, by googling for places to go berry picking. Alas, I have no more blueberries in my freezer; my kids are much too big of berry-lovers to allow for that!