If you follow along on Facebook {which you totally should} or Instagram {I’m @theartoflivingproject} you probably saw that I made one of my favorite summer desserts for a 4th of July get-together yesterday. Today I’m sharing the recipe.
And here’s the big secret. It’s not some family secret, it’s not complicated, it’s not even a recipe I wrote myself. It’s just a recipe, from my all-time favorite, go-to cookbook. The Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. It’s simply the best. If you don’t own a copy, you should invest in one.
Enough of that. Please allow me to move to a different tangent. I hate recipe format. My memory is so short term when it comes to reading and recipes are really a challenge. How they list the ingredients at the start, then they just reference them through the instructions. Like I memorized each ingredient amount? Nah. Maybe they are designed for people who measure everything out before hand, then just dump it in and the instructions call for it. But I’ve never known anyone {except hosts of cooking shows} to bake like that.
So I type my recipes up a little different. They way I’d like all recipes to be. And here’s one for the Blueberry Buckle that I simply love to make in the summer. {One last side note. I actually didn’t actually do much of the baking yesterday. Since I’m still very deep in recovery mode, Derek did most of the bowl lifting, ingredient getting and putting the pan in and out of the oven. I was more of a mixer-supervisor.}
This is a two bowl recipe. Right off the bat, get out two big/medium bowls.
Next get out a pan to bake it in. You can use an 8×8, 9×9…or a deep quiche dish {that’s what mine was in yesterday…but the baking time will be a little longer.} Spray your pan with cooking oil.
Preheat your oven to 350˚
In one bowl mix together:
- 2 cups of flour
- 2.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
In the other bowl mix together:
- 1/2 cup shortening {I use a liquid oil}
- 3/4 cup sugar
Mix those two things for a few minutes. Until the oil has some air in it and it starts to thicken up. Then add:
- 1 egg…mix it for about two minutes until the mixture is pretty thick
Now grab your bowl of flour, a 1/3 cup measuring cup and 1/2 cup of milk.
Alternate mixing 1/3 cup of flour into the eggy bowl…and a little bit of the milk. Go back and forth until both are all used up. Then pour the batter into your pan.
Sprinkle 2 cups of blueberries {frozen or fresh} on top.
Now make the topping. This is where I vary from the original recipe. Get your empty flour bowl and add the following things:
- 1/2 cup of butter, sliced up
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Use a pastry blender {highly recommended} or two knives to cut the butter into the flour and sugar until it’s crumbly. Then pour it on top of the blueberries.
Bake it uncovered for 50-60 minutes. Test the center with a knife to be sure it is cooked all the way through.
The cookbook also has an alternate option for a raspberry buckle. If that’s more your game just sub in 2 cups of raspberries for the blueberries.
Enjoy!
Amy
