Blueberries

I realize this is 2 posts for one day, but who knows when I will get around to posting again. I have not had a lot of time to dedicate to blogging lately. I will get right to it...blueberries have been on my mind a lot lately. They usually are on my mind about this time every year. I have a blueberry smoothie almost daily, I had to make blueberry muffins today because some left over sour cream was calling to be made into blueberry muffins, and I made a blueberry, lemon, cream cheese and white chocolate cake a few weeks ago. I think one of my favorite blueberry confections are these Blueberry Lemon Cream Tarts. Here you go:
crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 T. granulated sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
filling:
4 T. light brown sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 t. vanilla
8 oz. cream cheese
1 t. lemon zest, finely grated
a squeeze of lemon juice, or more to taste
1 1/3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
confectioners sugar to dust top

Preheat oven to 350 and set baking sheet in oven to preheat. Stir graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar together and press into mini tart pans or ramekins, whatever you have. Place pans on baking sheet and bake about 10 minutes. Then cool while making filling. If using tart pans, take crusts out of pan when completely cooled.

Whisk together brown sugar, sour cream, and vanilla in small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Beat cream cheese in small bowl, then add sour cream mixture, zest and juice until well combined. Divide filling among tarts, top with blueberries and dust with confectioners sugar. Refrigerate an hour or until ready to serve, may do overnight or just eat right away. You may also purchase the mini, pre-made graham cracker crusts to save time.

makes about 6 tarts
source Gourmet magazine July 2003, with a few adjustments

But if you don't feel like all that work, just make the smoothie...frozen, wild blueberries, vanilla yogurt, blender, buzz, buzz, pour,glass, straw, slurp...mmmm antioxidants...but don't burp...we never burp at our house...right, Robert??!!

More Peanut Butter and Chocolate

Someone had requested this peanut butter pie recipe awhile back so I will post it here. It is originally from Mrs Fields' Great American Desserts, but I have made a few changes of my own. My kids call it Spider Web Pie. It is good because it requires no baking, and with the summer heat approaching, I am all for anything that doesn't heat up the house.


Peanut Butter Mud Pie
aka Spider Web Pie
1 pre-made chocolate crust (or you can make your own, but I don't know why you would)


Filling:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cups sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 T. vanilla

Topping:
1 bag Mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
1/4 bag of Hershey's mini kisses or regular size, melted

Whip cream, set aside. In separate bowl beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy. Scrape down bowl and add peanut butter and vanilla, beat until smooth. Gently fold in half the whipped cream, then the other half until well blended. Spoon filling into crust.

Next chop up half bag or so of Mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and drop over the top of pie, completely covering it. Next pipe a bit of chocolate around and around the pie every which way until you have somewhat of a spider web. Cover and refigerate for about 2 hours or so.


Photo: Allrecipes.com