Winning blueberry recipes

For those of you who have been with me for the last year, you know that I love blueberry-picking season. We have the best blueberry farm within 10 minutes of our home. Besides being the easiest berry to pick – no bending over or prickly vines (for the most part) – blueberries also last the longest and are the simplest berry to freeze. Every year I search out and make new blueberry delights. Besides the recipes I have on repeat, this year I made a blueberry-ginger salsa served on halibut, blueberry-mint Arnold Palmers, blueberry cheesecake ice cream, blueberry Dutch babies, a blueberry cocoa crumble and a new take on blueberry scones.

Bybee Nims, a 42-acre blueberry farm that has been in the same family since 1946, boasts Mount Si as its majestic backdrop - making it the ultimate setting to fill your bucket. The day we chose to pick blueberries ended up being a scorcher by Pacific Northwest standards. Our friends drove out from Seattle making the fun of our tradition outweigh the sweat factor. Every year without fail I enter a row and my first thought is, “Oh no, where are all the berries?” But within a matter of seconds, I find them. Phew. They’re everywhere! This year my strategy was to find a spot that wasn’t directly staring into the sun, and then have my strapping husband pull back the branches to expose the beautiful blue bounty. I dove in and furiously picked berries with both hands. I picked an entire bucketful without having to move more than about five feet. I may have resembled a mad woman hyperventilating at the sight of so many berries, but thankfully no one could see me through the thick bushes.

On the other hand, voices travel really well throughout the fields. I love listening to the conversations among pickers of all ages. On this trip, I overheard a young female voice say, “I need some blueberry recipes.” To which her friend responded, “My mom makes a blueberry buckle.” To this, a group of young adults laughingly said in unison, “What the heck is a buckle?” I wanted to shout the answer across the rows but resisted. A buckle is somewhere between a cake and a cobbler. The buckle’s charm comes not only from the alliteration in its name, but also from the fact that it’s an old-fashioned throwback dessert. It’s typically a single-layer cake that rises around the fruit-filled center, making it buckle in the middle. I figure it wouldn’t be blueberry season without a buckle, cobbler, crisp, crumble or pandowdy. (No, I’ve never made a pandowdy.) Keep reading to the end for the crumble I chose this year.

Let me start at the beginning of my 2021 blueberry journey.

Salsa time: Grilled halibut with blueberry ginger salsa

After about an hour in the heat, we had procured close to six pounds between each couple. We packed up and headed back to our house happy with the fruits of our labor. For dinner we grilled fresh halibut served with blueberry ginger salsa from the Oregon Farm Table Cookbook. The salsa comprises blueberries, a small shallot, fresh ginger, squeeze of lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper and lots of fresh mint from my patio. The halibut was a little plain for my taste, yet at the same time you are able to really savor the salsa. I actually was having so much fun that I didn’t get a photo of the salsa. I’m going to make it again soon and will share a pic. I think I’ll try marinating the halibut in a ginger-cilantro mixture to up the flavor a bit. Stay tuned.

Drink your blues away: Blueberry-mint Arnold Palmers

I’m always looking for something refreshing that’s non-alcoholic. I’m not a huge tea drinker but do enjoy iced tea. I made a pitcher of Arnold Palmers using mint iced tea and blueberry lemonade. I debated calling them Blue Arnold Palminters. Whaddyathink? Anyhow, I brewed a sachet of Mediterranean Mint Iced Tea from Portland-based Steven Smith Teamaker. Set aside to cool.

For the blueberry lemonade, start by making a blueberry simple syrup. In a saucepan. over medium-high heat, add 1 cup each of sugar and water and 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries. Bring to a boil and then turn to low. Let simmer for about 10 minutes until most of the berries have burst, mashing them a bit as they cook. Once the simple syrup is cool, strain through a fine mesh strainer and dispose of any skins. In a large pitcher, mix the blueberry simple syrup, 3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice and 4 cups of cold water. 

From here, I added the tea into the lemonade and gave it a good stir. Serve over ice with a slice of lemon, fresh blueberries and a handful of mint. Please don’t forget to slap your mint.

Mandatory: Blueberry ice cream treats

I basically love ice cream. I’d eat it every day; winter, spring, summer and fall. So it goes without saying that I do something with blueberries and ice cream every year. (Last year’s winner was blueberry cream popsicles from NYT Cooking.) 

For this year’s summer treats, I didn’t really have the patience to get out my ice cream maker, so I used store bought vanilla ice cream (Haagen Dazs to be exact). Directions: Let 2 quarts vanilla ice cream soften. Mix together ½ cup sour cream, ½ cup softened cream cheese and 1 Tbs. vanilla. Fold your blueberries into this mixture and then fold all of it into the softened ice cream. Then add crushed-up Grandma’s Iced Oatmeal Cookies. You could use graham crackers or another type of cookie, but you want something to add crunch and act as the crust component of a cheesecake. I poured the mixture into popsicle molds and froze the rest to enjoy in a dish or cone.

Breakfast: Dutch babies and almond-flour blueberry scones

I’ve made more blueberry pancakes than I can count over the years, so I decided to switch it up a little and made blueberry Dutch babies from Martha Stewart. Because yes, I wanted to use my cute Hearth & Hand mini cast iron pans.

For just two of us, I halved the recipe and blended in a personal-sized Nutri Bullet. I warmed up two mini skillets in a 400 degree oven, melted butter in each, then poured in the batter and put back in the oven. Check at 12 min but mine took closer to 15. Serve with powdered sugar and maple syrup, few more berries.

I’ve also made my fair share of scones and am partial to Ina Garten’s various recipes. However, the Almond Blueberry Scones from @buttermilkbysam kept calling my name. It’s all about the glaze.

She says to use blueberry juice from the fresh berries to color the glaze, but this did not work for me. There was no way I could get enough juice out of those little berries. So, my glaze got its gorgeous hue with blueberry powder from Bow Hill. I think you can find freeze-dried blueberries at your grocery store and try those as well. What makes these scones unique is the almond flour and low protein AP flour that result in a softer, more moist internal consistency than typical scones — yet the outside is still a bit crunchy. These are the scones for you if your pastry-preference leans more towards a muffin than a scone.

For the chocolate lover: Blueberry cocoa crumble 

When I saw Sohla El-Waylly's Blueberry Cocoa Crumble on the Food52 site, I knew I had to make it. I was excited to see chocolate used with blueberries in this dessert creation, but really; she had me at black cocoa powder. I love black cocoa powder and I’m always looking for an excuse to use it. It gives your dessert a taste reminiscent of Oreo cookies. This dessert is labeled a crumble, although depending on who you ask, a crumble may or may not include oatmeal. So maybe this is a cocoa crisp?  

I love that the ingredients are in grams so it was easy to scale. I halved the recipe and used individual baking dishes. Also, it can be made with fresh or frozen blueberries. Sohla says to thaw the berries first; I did not, and it was totally fine. The only other ingredients are honey, little cornstarch for thickener, lemon juice and a little salt. The recipe calls for rose or orange blossom flower, which I don’t keep on hand, so I used trusty vanilla. No one ever went wrong with vanilla. The topping is flour, sugar, oats, cocoa, salt and baking powder clumped together with butter and scattered on top of the fruit. While you can use any cocoa powder, the better the quality of your cocoa powder, the better the result will taste. Serve the crumble slightly warm with vanilla ice cream. It’s a bit unexpected, but I loved it! And I noticed that my husband kept walking by the kitchen for a spoonful. 

So many blueberry recipes …

If you’re looking for more blueberry recipes, check out my post from last year, which includes a yummy-nummy pizza who’s description bears repeating: Fig jam spread on a thin homemade pizza crust (or naan). Topping of fresh mozzarella and thinly sliced prosciutto. Baked or grilled at a high temperature until crust is crisp. Finished with thinly sliced peaches, blueberries and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, handful of basil, a drizzle of honey and freshly shaved parmesan. My own creation. Simply irresistible.

Luckily, you don’t have to rush and make all blueberry recipes (although I try) during blueberry season since they freeze so well. Our first picking is almost depleted and I still have blueberry concoctions to make! It was only in the 70s yesterday so we decided it was a perfect day for picking (7.5 pounds to be exact); so I’ll be ready. I’m definitely making the pizza. Maybe I’ll make this Blueberry Sour Cream Pie that I clipped from Bon Appétit magazine in 1995. And I’ve been dying to make this Blueberry Swamp Pie – which I’ll be sure to share when I do! 

Let me know in the comments what you make with your blueberries!