True blue and delicious

Recipes bursting with the sweetness of the season

Best of the Best Blueberry Muffins Ingredients

• ½ cup unsalted butter

• 1 ¼ cups white sugar

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 2 eggs

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• ½ cup buttermilk

• 1 pint fresh blueberries - rinsed, drained and patted dry

• 2 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

1. Position rack in the middle of oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray the top of a muffin pan with non-stick coating, and line with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, 1 1/4 cups sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix together 1 3/4 cup of the flour and baking powder. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing just until incorporated. Crush 1/4 of the blueberries, and stir into the batter. Mix the rest of the whole blueberries with the remaining 1/4 cup of the flour, and fold into the batter. Scoop into muffin cups. Sprinkle tops lightly with sugar.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown, and tops spring back when lightly tapped.

Individual Blueberry Crumble Ingredients Filling:

• 2 cups blueberries

• ¼ cup white sugar

• 2 teaspoons almond extract

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (Optional)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

• ½ cup all-purpose flour

• 1/8 cup brown sugar

• 1/8 cup white sugar

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• ½ stick cold butter, cubed

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. Toss blueberries, sugar, almond extract, lemon juice, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Pour into two 6- ounce ramekins.

3. Mix flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in another medium bowl. Cut in butter with 2 knives or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle evenly over the blueberry mixture.

4. Bake in the preheated oven until topping is golden brown and blueberries are bubbling, about 25 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Blueberry-Thyme Jam Ingredients

• 3 pounds fresh blueberries, crushed

• 1 lemon, zested and juiced

• 4 cups white sugar

• 3 tablespoons fruit pectin

• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Directions

1. Submerge 6 empty half-pint jars on a rack in a large pot of water. Cover and bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to low to keep jars warm until ready to fill.

2. Tumble blueberries and lemon zest and juice into a wide, nonreactive 8- quart pot. Whisk together sugar and pectin in a small bowl, then stir into pot until combined.

3. Bring to a vigorous boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high; cook, stirring frequently and adjusting heat as needed to maintain a gentle boil, until volume has reduced by at least 1/3, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in thyme after 18 minutes of cooking. Remove pot from heat and check for set.

4. Working with one jar at a time, remove empty jars from canning pot. Using a wide-mouth funnel, carefully ladle jam into jars, leaving 1/2 inch for headspace. Use a clean wooden chopstick to work air bubbles out of jars. Check headspace again and add more jam if necessary to bring to 1/2 inch from the top.

5. Wipe jar rims, apply lids and bands (not too tightly), and return jars to canning pot; cover pot and return water to a rolling boil. Process for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, remove pot lid, and let jars stand in the cooling water 5 minutes to help ensure a good vacuum seal.

6. Move jars to a folded kitchen towel or wooden cutting board to cool completely before checking seals. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and eaten promptly. Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place. They are shelf-stable at least 1 year.

Cook’s Notes:

Do not use low-sugar pectin.

Tips

Jams thicken as they cool, so they need to come off the heat when they’re still a little runny. But to set up properly, they also need to cook long enough to reduce the fruit’s water content, which concentrates the sugar and allows it to gel and bond with the pectin. Check for set with the saucer test: Tuck a few saucers into the freezer before you start cooking. When your jam smells sweet and looks glossy and thick and nearly molten, take it off the heat. Spoon a little onto a chilled saucer, freeze it for 1 minute, then nudge the jam with your fingertip. If it has formed a skin on the surface that wrinkles when you push it, the jam is ready. If your finger slides right through, it needs another 1 to 2 minutes of boiling.