Blueberry Lavender Scones

Earlier this month, I discussed my new obsession with adding dried lavender to my treats. Well that obsession had my oven preheating at 7:30 this morning. Shortly after opening my eyes, I thought about the fresh, local blueberries in the refrigerator and how nice they would be paired with lavender in scones. This isn't a far stretch from the lavender blueberry pancakes I've been making all summer but scones are different than pancakes, that's a fact. Scones pair well with coffee or tea, and are a perfect match for my yogurt and granola breakfast. Scones are also good for traveling if you eat breakfast on the run.

The base for this recipe is from my standard scone which I shared last September. This recipe has yielded the most consistent results and held up with a few changes today. Early morning baking is typically unplanned baking; inevitably I'm short on at least one ingredient. This morning it was the buttermilk. It's always the buttermilk. A simple substitution of milk and white vinegar works just fine and I've also used soy milk successfully. Of course, neither of these were in the fridge this morning. It's been an all-almond milk summer. We also didn't have white vinegar. I worried for a minute as I looked at the almond milk and apple cider vinegar, hoping there wouldn't be a trace of either flavor in the final product. When I'm standing at the oven in pajamas and slippers, however, I work with what I've got. I'll post the recipe below using buttermilk but if you're stuck like me use the following substitution:

1 tablespoon white vinegar + almost 1 cup milk = 1 cup buttermilk

this morning's substitution: 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar + almost 1 cup almond milk

Marionberry Crumb Muffins

Spending my summer in Oregon means heaping amounts of berries around the clock. It also means the curious marionberry, Oregon's famed berry. The marionberry is the 'Marion' cultivar of blackberry, developed by the USDA and Oregon State University and tested in Marion County, OR. One can find marionberry pie, muffins, scones, jams, etc. in every market and bakery around. It was my duty to get these berries into at least one of my treats this summer.

I adapted my recipe for orange blueberry poppy seed muffins that I posted last December. I realize that most of you reading do not have access to marionberries, so swap them for blackberries! Or at the very least, make the original blueberry muffins. The crumb topping is too delicious to pass up!

Mixed Berry Mini Pies

It's been awhile, I know, but I've got mixed berry pie! These pies happen to be adorable (coming in at 5 inches a piece), sweet but tart, and a perfect way to use up the summer's best berries. I've been on a mini dessert kick for a few months. It's a bit more work to make four separate pies but the works pays off in the end when you can claim a pie all to yourself.

Notes on the recipe:

I use a total of five cups of fresh berries in this recipe: blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. Feel free to adjust those amounts and even swap in some strawberries if you like, but keep it to five cups.  

Lemon juice and zest can easily be added in if you prefer a citrus-y flavor to your berry pies. I like the flavor of the berries all their own, with just a bit of added sugar. 

December Baking

December is a busy month in the kitchen. Between Christmas cookies and homemade gifts, my sink is always full of measuring cups, spatulas, and cookie sheets. Short, dark, cold days left me yearning for the tastes of summer at the beginning of the month. I broke into my frozen blueberry stash from July to make a batch of orange blueberry poppy seed muffins on December 8th. 

These muffins are a twist on Joy the Baker's lemon blueberry poppy seed muffins. I swapped the whole milk in Joy's recipe for soy and the lemon zest for orange. These muffins are moist and full of blueberries. If your blueberries are frozen to start, toss them with 1-2 tablespoons of flour in a bowl. This will help prevent your batter from turning blue.

When you begin to sprinkle the crumb topping over your muffin cups, you will be hesitant to use all the topping. Don't stop sprinkling! I was hesitant too, but I was so very happy I used it all.

Mixed Berry Bars

What better way to enjoy summer berries than to sandwich them between a sweet, buttery crust? These mixed berry bars (raspberry, blueberry, blackberry) are sweet but tart, and delicious chilled.

Unfortunately, the busy first few weeks of school have kept me away from the blogging world and this recipe is coming to you in the early days of autumn. But if you're like me, you have bags of berries that you picked all summer in your freezer, just waiting for an opportunity to be showcased. Frozen berries from the supermarket will also work or you can simply daydream about making berry bars until next summer.

My boyfriend loves mixed berry pie, so when he hosted a bbq in late August, we couldn't think of a better dessert. With little time to perfect a pie crust and filling, however, I decided that bars would be quick to make and easy to enjoy (no plate or fork needed!). I searched and searched the baking blog world and found several recipes for berry bars before settling on smitten kitchen's blueberry crumb bar recipe. Many bakers whip up similar desserts with a granola crust in an attempt to make a breakfast-worthy bar. I was searching for that berry pie taste and had faith that Deb's buttery crust would be a success.

Maple Blueberry Coffee Cake

I know it may be a little late for a blueberry post, but forgive me -- the summer heat has kept me out of the kitchen, daydreaming about crisp autumn days and apple pies.

Beea-utiful Berries

7.7 pounds of fresh picked blueberries

I spent July 4th with my friends Dawn and Erin in the fields at Emery's Blueberry Farm in New Egypt, NJ picking pounds of fresh, organic berries. We were in the middle of a heat wave in the mid-Atlantic but my seven-plus pounds of berries were worth the sun and sweat. One of the many blueberry recipes I had lined up for the coming weeks and months is this maple blueberry coffee cake.

Here's what I like about this cake: 

1. Maple syrup -- Sweeten your baked goods with maple syrup. Period.

2. Whole wheat flour and flax meal -- Both give the cake a tougher texture, placing this cake in the breakfast category instead of dessert. I know you love streusel. Butter, sugar, cinnamon. Seriously, there is nothing wrong about that trio. And although I love super sweet, cinnamon coffee cakes, the absence of streusel here makes it easier to justify eating this cake for breakfast.