The Pioneer Woman's Blueberry Cobbler

My family picked blueberries for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and we all enjoyed it (including my 15-month-old nephew, who liked picking up rocks from the gravel road a bit more than picking blueberries).  We couldn't wait to try this cobbler recipe from the Pioneer Woman.  She used blackberries in her recipe, but I think any fruit can be used; my mom has used peaches and gotten great results, too.  It is SO delicious!  I loved it, and I hope you'll try it!

The Pioneer Woman's Blueberry Cobbler

1 stick butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup milk
2 cups blueberries (or any frozen or fresh fruit)

Preheat oven to 350.  Melt the stick of butter in a microwaveable dish.  Pour one cup of sugar and flour into a mixing bowl, whisking in milk.  Mix well.  Pour in melted butter, and whisk it all well together.  Butter a baking dish.

Rinse and pat dry the blueberries.  Pour the batter into the buttered baking dish, and sprinkle berries over the top ofhe batter, distributing evenly.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar over the top. 

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until golden and bubbly.  If you desire, sprinkle an additional teaspoon of sugar over the cobbler 10 minutes before it's done.

Lemon Blueberry Drop Scones

Try looking at that picture and not wanting to take a bite.  Yum.

I just can't get enough of blueberries and their antioxidant-providing goodness!  Every time I take a bite of something with a blueberry, I'm always surprised at how delicious they are!  If you have too many to handle, I've heard that it's best to freeze them before you wash them, and then wash them whenever you take them out of the freezer to use them. 

Scones are not something that I've ever made before, but I think this is a nice introduction to them, since you don't have to use a pastry blender or roll out dough or anything.  It's just like making drop cookies.  The original recipe is a Taste of Home recipe from AllRecipes.  This was an easy and tasty breakfast (or anytime) treat!

Lemon Blueberry Drop Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup lemon yogurt
1 egg
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries  (If using frozen, do not thaw before adding to batter.)

Glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel

Preheat oven to 400.  In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients.  In another bowl, combine the yogurt, egg, and butter.  Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.  Fold in blueberries.  Drop in heaping tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake for 15-18 minutes or until slightly browned.  Combine glaze ingredients, and drizzle over warm scones.

Blueberry Drop Cookies

This is a very yummy summer treat.  These cookies have a buttery-tasting dough that is just wonderful with juicy blueberries and a hint of lemon (which I thought was the best part).  I definitely prefer making drop cookies to roll-into-a-log-and-slice cookies, too, so these were nice and quick. 

As with other cookie recipes, the original recipe, this time from AllRecipes, called for shortening instead of butter, but I don't like cooking with shortening (not that butter is better for you or anything, but I can justify it based on taste).  Also, if you don't have almond extract, just use all vanilla.  (Isn't vanilla extract one of your favorite smells in the world?)  The recipe also says to refrigerate the dough for four hours, and while I'm sure that makes it easier to work with, I only chilled mine for about two hours.  If you don't have the time, it will still be fine. 

When you're scooping up the dough to put on the baking sheet, make sure you get a few blueberries in each cookie.  They are so delicious to bite into.  Enjoy!

Blueberry Drop Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup white sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 cup extra blueberries

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar.  Add the egg, milk, vanilla and almond extract, and lemon zest, mixing well after adding each ingredient.  In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; blend into the sugar mixture.  Fold in the blueberries.  Cover the dough, and refrigerate it for four hours. 

Preheat oven to 375.  Drop dough by teaspoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake for 12-15 minutes.  Allow to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Blueberry Cream Muffins

My favorite part about these muffins is how the blueberries kind of explode in the oven and bleed their goodness everywhere.  Definitely use muffin cups for these; I did, and I still had clean up the blueberry juice from the muffin tin, so I can only imagine the cleanup you'd have to do if you didn't use the paper cups.  They're not exactly the healthiest blueberry muffins you'll ever have, but I made them a little bit better by substituting applesauce for vegetable oil.  I'm sure you could go even healthier and use yogurt instead of sour cream, but let's face it: I'm more likely to have sour cream in my fridge than plain yogurt.  I got 30 muffins out of the recipe, which I adapted from All Recipes.

Blueberry Cream Muffins

4 eggs
1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup applesauce

1 tsp vanilla

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda
2 cups sour cream

3 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 400.  Line muffin ins with liners or grease with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, beat eggs.  Gradually add sugars while beating, and continue beating while adding applesauce.  Stir in vanilla.  In a separate bowl, stir together four, salt, and baking soda.  Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with sour cream.  Gently fold in blueberries.  Scoop into prepared muffin cups.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Apple Enchiladas

Mmmm...these are good. I was looking for a dessert recipe with apples since we were cooking for Bizzuck's mom for Mother's Day, and she likes apples. I adapted this recipe from one on AllRecipes. It was fast and easy, and it makes a lot. You could easily split the enchiladas in half and have enough dessert for twelve people instead of six. Serving it with ice cream also stretches the recipe (and makes it more delicious). I didn't have any pecans or walnuts, but I bet they'd be great sprinkled in the enchiladas or on top.

(Before and after baking)

Apple Enchiladas

2 (20-oz) cans apple pie filling (I got the no-sugar added kind and gave it a rough chop)

6 flour tortillas

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 (8oz) container of whipped cream cheese

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup (5 Tbsp) butter

1/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl, mix the two cans of apple pie filling with the cinnamon and nutmeg. In another bowl, mix the powdered sugar with the cream cheese. Spread some of the cream cheese mixture on each tortilla, and spoon the apple filling on top. Roll up tortillas and place seam-side-down on a lightly greased 8x8" baking pan. (I had leftovers of the cream cheese mixture and the apple filling, so I put what I had left on top of the tortillas.)

In a sauce pan, bring the butter, white and brown sugars, and water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for three minutes. Pour sauce over the tortillas. Bake for about 40 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.