Blackberry Pie Bars

Blackberries are in season here right now, and since I have a great hubby that works outdoors...he finds the best blackberry patches that are just there for the picking. There is just something calming to me about berry picking or any kind of picking for that matter. I could pick for hours and I did just that with these berries. It makes me happy! :)

We had a cookout with our church this past Sunday and had so much fun! I made these to take. I don't know..but when we have a get together and I need to take something, bars always come to mind. They are easy to just pick up and go.

These bars have a sweet crust with a moist, gooey filling and then the crunch on top. I will make them again and probably try different berries in them or maybe peaches!

Blackberry Pie Bars

For the dough:
1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
Zest of one lemon
Pinch of salt

1. Rub zest of lemon into sugar using the back of the spoon creating a lemon scented sugar.

2. In the bowl of your mixer, dump in flour, sugar/lemon zest mixture, butter and salt. Beat with the paddle attachment for a couple of minutes until the dough comes together in small chunks.

3. Press half of the dough into the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 pan. Set aside the remaining dough.
4. Bake the dough for 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Let cool for 10 minutes.

For the filling:
2 large eggs1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 cups blackberries (if using frozen, thaw and drain first)

1. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add sugar, sour cream and flour to the eggs. Mix well and then fold blackberries.

2. Pour blackberries over baked crust and spread evenly.

3. Sprinkle the reserved dough on top of the blackberry mixture and bake for 50-60 minutes.

4. Let cool one hour before serving.

Chocolate Butter Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream

For the past couple of days I have been craving a chocolate butter cake with vanilla bean butter cream frosting. Why? I have no earthly idea..but I am so glad that I finally caved. These cupcakes turned out just what I wanted...moist, buttery,chocolaty, light...I could go on and on. The recipe also made a ton! I ended up baking 2 dozen regular sized cupcakes and 3 dozen mini's..you know, I had to make sure that there would be enough to go around! :)

The butter cream is just a simple butter cream, and I used vanilla bean paste to get the vanilla bean flavor and the little specks in the frosting. Those little specks make me happy! I like it because you don't have to scrape the actual vanilla bean, and it is cheaper and goes a little further.

The weather here has been just plain hot! For the past 2 days the heat index has been at least 105. That is just way too hot! So, these little babies are helping me beat the heat. I mean, what can be better? Sitting in the AC, eating cupcakes? I can't think of anything better...other than maybe sitting by the ocean eating a cupcake. :)


Chocolate Butter Cupcakes:

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup boiling water
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tins with liners.

In a heatproof bowl place the chopped unsweetened chocolate and cocoa powder. Pour the boiling water over the chocolate and cocoa powder and stir until they have melted. Set aside to cool while you make the batter.

In a separate bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and melted chocolate mixture and beat to combine.

Add the milk and flour mixtures in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat only until the ingredients are incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly into lined muffin tins. Bake the regular sized cupcakes for 12 minutes and the mini's 8-10 minutes.

Vanilla Bean Butter cream:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste or one vanilla bean scraped
2 lb bag of powdered sugar
milk

Cream the butter and add the vanilla bean paste and mix until combined. Gradually add the powdered sugar and add milk as you go along to get the consistency you want.

An idea of sort......

As some of you already know, I have a huge addiction to food magazines. I can't help it, but I figure there are worse things that I could be addicted too. While I was looking through them, I had a thought and thought that I would just throw it out here and see if anyone is interested.

I am wondering if you (anyone) would be interested in doing a food magazine swap. I don't know..every month or so, we would swap 2 or 3 magazines with a partner. The only thing that you would be responsible for would be the postage. What do you think? Something you might want to do? Let me know!

So....since I haven't really been baking anything, I thought I would just pop in here and give a little update on the garden. This is my first garden and I am super excited with the produce that I have gotten from it and what I am still getting. The picture above is what I harvested today. I planted cucumbers, spinach, squash, zucchini, green beans, okra, brussel sprouts and tomatoes. The spinach didn't make it and the squash and zucchini are about done too. The okra is just now starting...and I really don't know what to expect with the brussel sprouts. I have never seen them grown, so it is a watch and see kind of thing.

I have enjoyed everything in my garden..from tilling the ground to planting the seeds. Watching them sprout and now getting to harvest. My kids have enjoyed it and it makes me happy to see that they are eating from our back yard. It is such a good feeling to know that we grew it and there was nothing harmful added to it. If you have ever watched Food Inc., then you know what I am talking about.

I am already planning next years garden and planning to expand it. I would highly suggest to anyone to is questioning the idea of a garden...do it! The benefits from it....well, it just makes you smile!

I hope everyone is having a great Summer! My kids head back to school in about 3 weeks..so we are enjoying every last minute that we can!

Happy 4th of July!

How about celebrating with this Red, White and Blue Cream Cheese Poundcake, except I used blackberries instead of blueberries. The cream cheese makes this cake dense and moist, with the tang of the cream cheese, mixed with the sweetness of the berries and you can't resist another piece! This is another link that Beth sent my way and you can find the original recipe here.

Happy 4th of July!! Have a safe and fun day celebrating our freedom!

Red, White, and Blueberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, but not quite room temperature

1 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened slightly

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

6 ounces raspberries

6 ounces fresh blueberries---I used blackberries

lemon glaze (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray, and place on a cookie sheet.

2. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese. Pour in sugar and mix until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing well until each is incorporated.

3. While ingredients are mixing, whisk together four, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Slowly add flour mixture to the wet ingredients.

4. Fold berries into batter.

5. Distribute batter evenly into pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Let cool completely. Drizzle with lemon glaze.

Lemon Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar

juice of 1 lemon

2-3 tablespoons heavy cream

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Add more juice or cream as necessary to achieve desired consistency.