Fluffy Sour Cream Pancakes

    I adore sitting around the house on Saturday mornings making pancakes and watching TV. I got a good deal on blueberries this week, so I've been using them in everything! These fluffy pancakes are fantastic! You'd never guess that they were made with sour cream.

Fluffy Sour Cream Pancakes

Ingredients:
- 1 and 1/2 cup of flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 2 tablespoons of melted butter
- 1 and 1/4 cup of milk
- 1/2 cup of sour cream
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- blueberries, chocolate chips, or desired toppings
    In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. In a separate bowl, mix together the butter, milk, sour cream, egg, sugar, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Heat a non-stick griddle over medium heat, spray with non-stick cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto heated griddle, top with blueberries and cook until golden brown. Repeat with all of the batter. Serve warm with maple syrup.

Blueberry Curd

    This was a divine filling for a coconut cake that I made for my friend Lynda's birthday! We also spread it with cream cheese on our bagels and last weekend I used it to top some challah french toast! It's spreadable blueberry!

Blueberry Curd

Ingredients:

- 2 cups frozen blueberries

- 1 tablespoon of water 

- 1 cup of sugar

- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of butter

- 1 teaspoon of lime zest

- 2 eggs, beaten

    In a saucepan heat the blueberries and water for about 10 minutes. Let it come to a boil and mash them in the pan while they cook. Remove the berry juice from the heat and pour through a mesh strainer. Squish all of the juice out of the berries. You want to end up with 3/4 cup of juice. Now, over a double boiler, whisk together the blueberry juice, eggs, sugar, and zest. Whisk constantly, until mixture is very warm. Melt the butter, one tablespoon at a time into the mixture. Once the butter is completely melted and combined, the mixture should be thickening. Remove from the heat and chill until ready to use. 

Blueberry Croissant Bake

    Today was a really icky rainy Florida morning. Don't get me wrong, it was in the 60's and it's mid-February so, I'm not complaining too much. But, I decided to make breakfast before embarking on my double shift at the Olive Garden. I love this recipe. French style croissants, creamy custard-like filling, and blueberries make the perfect breakfast, or dessert even! It kind of reminds me of the baked french toast that I made for Christmas, but better. My mom snuck a piece before I rushed out the door and when I got to work, I shared with a couple of co-workers. It definitely brightened our otherwise dreary, rainy day. 

 

Blueberry Croissant Bake

Ingredients:

- 4 or 5 medium sized french style croissants, cubed (5-5 1/2 cups) found in the bakery section of your supermarket

- 1 and 1/2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries

- 1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened

- 2 eggs

- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

- 1 cup of milk

- confectioners sugar for dusting

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Evenly distribute the croissant pieces in the baking dish and spread the blueberries on top. In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Gradually add in the milk and then pour mixture over the croissants and blueberries. Let sit for about 15 minutes and then bake for about 35- 40 minutes. Bake until golden brown and the center has set. Dust with confectioners sugar. I served it warm out of the oven, I'm sure it is great served chilled as well. 

Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie

    While visiting my family in Massachusetts last summer, my Aunt Denise and I went blueberry picking. There's really nothing like fresh picked blueberries! Coming back home that summer was a little bitter sweet but the blueberries that I brought home with me definitely weren't. This recipe is one of the many that I made that summer and probably my favorite!

Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie

Ingredients:

- 1 refrigerated prepared pie crust, or your favorite pie crust recipe

- milk 

- sugar for dusting

 Filling:

- 3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons of sugar

- 2 tablespoons of cornstarch

- 1/8 teaspoon of salt

- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

- 3 cups of fresh blueberries

- 2 tablespoons of butter

 Cheese layer:

- 1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese

- 2 tablespoons of sugar

- 1/4 cup of sour cream

- 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest

    Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Press half of pie crust into a 9 inch pie pan, perforate and bake until golden brown, and cool completely. Roll the remaining dough and cut out flowers, brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake the flowers until golden brown, set aside and let cool completely. For the blueberry filing, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the lemon juice and 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries. Cook and stir on medium heat, until mixture comes to a boil. Simmer, stirring often, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat, stir in butter and fold in the remaining 1 and 1/2 cups of blueberries. Save a few berries for decorating. For the cheese layer, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, and lemon zest in a small bowl. Spread the cheese filling into the bottom of the prepared pie crust. Spoon the blueberry filling on top of the cheese layer. Decorate the top of the pie with the flower cut-outs and any remaining blueberries.