Growing up we were fortunate to live near Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts – a living history village where you can step in and experience early New England life as they did from 1790-1840.  After spending the day there we would go to the Publick House for a traditional New England dinner which was always followed by their Blueberry Pie!

I have recently been in touch with Michael Glick the General Manager of the Publick House – and he kindly gave me the correct recipe for their Blueberry Pie.  I searched online, but wasn’t sure of the authenticity for the one I found – well he kindly gave me the real deal!

Recently I got mini tart pans – and I thought it would be great to make this Blueberry Pie into mini tarts.  It did take extra time, but they are so cute!  Along with the Publick House Blueberry Pie recipe I will show you how to lay down lattice pie top.

I par baked the tarts first:

Then I roll out the second half of dough and use a lattice cutter to make the strips. 

Then I lay down three strips in the same direction.  If you are doing a full size pie lay down more as needed.

Then I fold back the vertical middle strip, and lay down a horizontal strip, then place the vertical strip back where it was.

Then I fold down the outer two vertical strips and lay down a horizontal strip, and then replace the vertical strips. 

It takes some practice as sometimes the strips break, but it makes the pies look so cute! 

Here is the official recipe from the Publick House

PUBLICK HOUSE BLUEBERRY PIE

1 CUP SUGAR

1 1/2 TABLESPOONS CORNSTARCH

1/4 TEASPOON SALT

6 CUPS FRESH BLUEBERRIES

2 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

COMBINE SUGAR, CORNSTARCH AND SALT IN A MEDIUM SAUCEPAN.  ADD BERRIES AND MIX WELL.  COOK OVER LOW HEAT, STIRRING CONSTANTLY UNTIL MIXTURE IS THICKENED AND BUBBLY.  ADD BUTTER, MIXING WELL.  SET ASIDE AND LET COOL. 

PIE CRUST

2 CUPS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

1/2 TEASPOON SALT

3/4 CUP VEGETABLE SHORTENING

6 TABLESPOONS ICE COLD WATER

COMBINE FLOUR AND SALT IN A MIXING BOWL.  CUT IN SHORTENING WITH A PASTRY BLENDER UNTIL MIXTURE RESEMBLES COARSE MEAL.  SPRINKLE WATER OVER MIXTURE.  STIR WITH A FORK UNTIL DRY INGREDIENTS ARE MOISTENED.  DIVIDE DOUGH BALL IN HALF.

ROLL HALF  OF PASTRY TO FIT A 9” PIE PLATE.  POUR THE COOLED BERRY MIXTURE INTO THE PASTRY SHELL.  ROLL SECOND HALF OF DOUGH TO 1/8”-1/4” THICKNESS.  CUT INTO 3/4 INCH WIDE STRIPS AND ARRANGE IN A LATTICE DESIGN OVER FILLING AND TRIM THE EDGES.  SEAL.  BRUSH THE TOP WITH AN EGG WASH (1 EGG MIXED WITH 2 TABLESPOONS WATER) THEN SPRINKLE WITH COURSE SUGAR.  BAKE AT 400° FOR 20 MIN.  REDUCE HEAT TO 350° AND CONTINUE BAKING 30 MINUTES OR UNTIL THE CRUST IS LIGHT BROWN.

Notes – Ignore the urge to add liquid to the blueberry mixture – it takes about 20 min. to cook down properly, but it does start out very dry looking.  I baked the mini tarts at 375 for 35° min.

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I love going to a cute bakery and getting scones and tea.  As I have mentioned before we don’t have a lot of those cute bakery around – there is one new one in town – maybe they have scones?  Anyway I just had to try them for myself.  The best was they were yummy and so easy.  Can’t get better than that!

I never knew how scones got their shape – it was so easy!  Just rolled the dough into a circle and cut it like a pizza!  How easy is that? 

I either use my silpat or parchment paper to bake on – no sticking required!

The whole family loved them and wanted to know when I was going to make them again!!

Lemon and berry Scones
Makes 8 large or 10-12 small scones

Scones:
3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
2 large eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2/3 cup unthawed frozen mixed berries

Egg Wash:
1 egg, lightly beaten OR 1 egg mixed with 1 teaspoon milk, lightly beaten

Glaze:
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest (1/2 teaspoon if you’d like a less pronounced lemon flavor)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
a few drops of milk as needed 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place oven racks in top and bottom thirds of the oven. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and stir.

3. Cut the butter into small pieces, and add to the flour mixture. Mix with a pastry blender or fork, until a coarse meal forms with tiny pea-sized butter pieces.

4. Whisk eggs and heavy cream in a small bowl. Stir in zest and juice. Add to the flour and butter mixture. Begin to gently mix with a spatula. Add the blueberries. Mix until just combined. (It’s OK if a few berries bleed.) Do not over mix, or the dough will become leaden.

5. Using a floured surface, shape the dough into 1 large or 2 small disks, about 1/2-inch thick. With a wet knife (to make slicing easier) cut the dough into triangular shaped scones. Place scones on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Brush scones with egg wash.

7. Bake scones for 15 minutes, rotating pans mid-way through, or until puffed and golden; transfer to a rack to cool.

adapted from one of my favorite foodies:  www.foodblogga.com

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My favorite thing about Spring besides the gorgeous weather is going strawberry picking!  I am fortunate enough to live close by to three different farms to choose from to pick them.  I try to hit all three every season.  Of course that means lots of strawberries to get through, as they just don’t last like those ones you get at the supermarket that are hard as plastic.

I have made apple crisp, blueberry crisp, but hadn’t tried strawberry rhubarb crisp.

So when I had a ton of beautiful strawberries I pulled out one of my favorite baking cookbooks -   Stars Deserts by Emily Luchettti. I have had this cookbook forever, it has beautiful photos and simple – yet amazing gourmet desserts!

The tip from the farmer was to lay the strawberries flat on a cookie sheet, and place them in the fridge unwashed and enjoy!

I would never imagine that the bitter rhubarb would balance so well with the sweet strawberries.  We gave my son a taste of the rhubarb raw – now he eats everything – like raw onions and garlic, but he spit out the rhubarb!

Here is my version of Emily Luchetti’s (be sure to check out her site and I just found out she is on facbook – I am so excited!)

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp:

Serves 8

Filling:

3 1/2 cups of 1/4-inch-thick-rhubarb (about 5 stalks)

4 cups of strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/2 cup of sugar

2 tablespoons tapioca four (or corn starch if you can’t find it)

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

pinch of salt

The Topping:

1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

4 ounces (1 stick) cold sweet butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons chopped orange zest

1/2 cup of oats

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place the strawberries and rhubarb in a large mixing bowl.  In a small bowl mix the rest of the filling ingredients together.  Then take the filling ingredients and gently mix them into the fruit and place in a 1 1/2 quart ovenproof dish and set aside.

Then make the topping.  Put all the topping ingredients in a mixer fitted with the paddle blade and mix until the butter is incorporated into the mixture.  Sprinkle topping over the fruit.

Bake the crisp for 30 to 35 minutes, until the fruit is bubbly and topping is lightly browned.  Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream!

Enjoy!

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Banana Flaxseed Muffins with Cinnamon Pecan Topping

I had a ton of frozen bananas that needed to depart my freezer. I wanted to find a healthy muffin choice and did some searching.  This delicious healthy muffin will keep you and your family happy!  The crunchy pecan topping is a perfect match for the moist banana muffin.  You can easily double this recipe, as our family gobbled these up in a few days!  The muffins wrapped well in plastic wrap at room temperature up to four days. 

I put links to the gluten and flaxseed ingrediants which you can find in many grocery or health food stores.  The gluten helps the texture of the muffins – it’s a secret some bakeries use!  You can make this recipe without both of those ingrediants as well.  However, if you omit the flaxseed – just substitute that with 1/4 cup whole wheat flour.

Banana Flaxseed Muffins with Cinnamon Pecan Topping

Ingredients

Makes 12 muffins

• 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg white
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup light-brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp Vital Wheat Gluten
• 1/4 cup ground golden flaxseed (from about 2 tablespoons whole)
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
•  

Topping:

• 1/2 cup walnuts pecans coarsely chopped
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• ¼ cup oats (quick or regular)
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper baking cups and set aside.
2. Put egg and egg white in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on medium-low speed until well combined, about 2 minutes.
3. Add melted butter, sugar, vanilla, and bananas, and mix until combined.
4. Add the remaining dry ingredients, and mix on low speed until well incorporated, about 10 seconds.
5. In a separate bowl mix together the topping ingredients. 
6. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins and spoon topping on muffins.
7.  Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
8.  Let cool in pan on a wire rack.

Adapted from From Martha Stewart Living, April 2004 http://www.wholeliving.com/recipe/banana-bread-with-walnuts-and-flaxseed

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I have a problem - I’ll admit it.  I have a serious sweet tooth!  So when I first made Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting I thought it had an amazing smooth texture, but it wasn’t sweet enough for me, it tasted like butter.  So I just added some more sweetness to it at the end – it seemed to work.  If you make this recipe, try it the original way – then if you want to, go ahead and add the extra sweetness to it.  Let me know if you were like me on that sweet tooth problem!

Along with the recipe here are some tips for making the frosting look like it came from the bakery!  A small investment in some basic supplies you can get at Michale’s will save you money over the long run by not having to get beautiful cupcakes only from the bakery!   Before using this method, I just slapped on the frosting with a butter knife – it always tasted good, but definitely didn’t look as pretty as these!

I took a basic Wilton cake decorating class at Michale’s (I am not getting paid to write this) and here are some tools to make the cupcakes look the way as shown here.  They also have some great videos on the Wilton website to show you the techniques – Wilton Tips 

Tools:  16″ Featherweight bag and a 1M Swirl Tip

First you need to cut the bag to fit the 1M Swirl tip.  Open the bag and place the tip down at the narrow bottom opening.  Mark the bag 1/4″ below the top of the tip, so that there will be enough opening at the bottom, but not too much that the tip will fall out.  Remove tip and cut the bag. 

To start decorating, make your frosting – either a traditional buttercream or the Swiss Meringue one here and place a good amount of frosting in your decorating bag that has been cut and fitted for the 1M Swirl tip (I like the larger bags, as you can fold down the sides and jam a bunch of frosting in w/ out having to refill it constantly). 

Start in the center of your cupcake by making a single star drop in the center. 

Then on the outside rim make a circle to surround the star in the middle.

Then on top of that circle of frosting, make a smaller circle – sprinkle with decorative sprinkles – viola!  Bakery perfect cupcakes!

Here is the recipe:

Swiss Meringue Buttercream – Sweeter Version

Ingredients:
5 large egg whites
1  1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 lb. (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups confectioners’ sugar (optional for sweeter version)

Method:
Mix the egg whites, sugar and salt in a double boiler set over a pot of simmering water.  Heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture is hot to the touch – about 3 minutes and the sugar has dissolved.  

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 10 minutes.  

Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated.  The frosting might get to a point where it looks curdled, just beat on low speed until thick again, about 5 minutes more (be sure not to overbeat it) .  Add vanilla extract and mix until combined.  Taste the frosting – if the taste is sweet enough for you – you’re done.  If you like it sweeter, add up to 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar to sweeten.  Tint with gel icing color as desired (not liquid coloring). 

If using frosting within several hours, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature in a cool environment. Or transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator, up to 3 days. Before using, bring frosting to room temperature, and beat on the lowest speed with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 5 minutes.

Yield: about 5 cups

Adapted from Martha Stewart http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/swiss-meringue-buttercream-for-white-cupcakes

Enjoy!

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Thanks to my friend Amy – she told me how to make these great treats.  I added the frosting and nuts, as it’s one of those recipes you can play with.  Easy to make, and so yummy to eat – these cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting are a new family favorite!  They beat the kind that come out of a tube by a long shot! 

 Preparing the the dough into a log to be cut into rolls.

 Letting them rise before baking.

Fresh out of the oven – makes the whole house smell delish!

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

1 Pound of Dough (can use fresh pizza dough)

1/2 stick melted butter

1/2 cup sugar

4 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 pecans (toasted and chopped)

Method:  Grease a 9″ pie plate.  Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Lightly flour your working surface and roll out dough to 12″ x 20″ rectangle.  Brush on melted butter.  Sprinkle on sugar & cinnamon and top with raisins & nuts.  Roll dough into a log as pictured above.  Using a serrated knife, gently cut into 1″ rolls.  Place rolls cut side up into prepared pie dish.  Be  sure to pinch seams after you place them in the pan.  Let them rise about an hour in a warm place until they have doubled in size. 

Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until puffed and lighted browned.  Check in between rolls to make sure they are done before removing from oven. 

While they are baking prepare frosting:

1/2 stick  butter, room temp

8 oz cream cheese, room temp

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Cream butter and cheese together in a medium bowl and then mix in vanilla and powdered sugar – spread onto warm rolls.

They don’t store well – so be sure to eat them up!  If you do have leftovers, heat them in the microwave for 15 seconds to soften them up.

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