Blueberry Pie with an Almond Crumble

I finally managed to break the dessert moratorium this weekend under the guise of preparing for our upcoming July 4th barbecue.  Ordinarily I don't prepare for parties this far in advance, but all of A's college roommates are descending on us for the 4th with expectations of a feast, and we will be out of town the weekend before. After racking our brains for a theme, we have settled on traditional American (yeah, creative I know) and plan to serve bacon cheeseburgers with homemade buns, grilled corn, and a number of other goodies. In a few weeks I will try to get a post up featuring the entire menu with prep instructions. 

On top of all that, I have an entire dessert buffet to pull together. Red velvet cupcakes and macarons are on request, but will need to be prepared just before the event. I am concerned about running out of time, so I have decided to pull together some blueberry pies just in case. Fruit pies are great for events like this where you are concerned about prep time, as they can be prepared weeks in advance and then frozen unbaked. Then you just pull them out and bake them when you need them. I have used the pre-made frozen fruit pies for Thanksgiving for years. It is the only way to serve a wide variety of pie when a multi-course family feast is on order. 

The frozen mini-pie method is particularly well suited to bakers who love having homemade desserts on hand but don't have tons of people to feed. With the mini-pies, you can bake your pie one serving at a time. 

After putting together all of the mini-pies, I had enough pie dough and filling left-over for a three inch version. Thank god, because wouldn't it have been tragic if I had to prep all of those pies and then had nothing to enjoy once finished? Needless to say, the "bonus" pie didn't last more than an hour. A and I devoured it... and the fatwah on desserts was over for one weekend. Though it was back in effect on Sunday, I do have the rest of the prep for the barbecue to look forward. Is it possible that me, the hater of winter and all things cold and snowy, might actually be looking forward to the holiday season? 

Recipe after the jump!

Easy Weekend Breakfast: Cinnamon & Oatmeal Scones

There are few things I love more than lazy weekends at home with nothing to do but relax on the couch and enjoy the break from work. These are the days that I would love nothing more than to indulge in a home-cooking breakfast with fresh-out-of-the-oven baked goods. Of course, who wants to wake up in the morning and pull out the mixer first thing? Ok, me on occasion, but not usually. The answer - baked goods that can be prepared in advance and go straight from freezer to oven. To avoid giving in to an unsatisfying but effortless bowl of cereal, I like to keep my freezer stocked for bouts of laziness or mornings where lingering over coffee isn't really an option.


Scones are the perfect answer when I can't be bothered to cook a real breakfast or brunch but still want something a little more gourmet than cereal. The dough freezes beautifully, and frozen scones can be popped directly in the oven from the freezer. A few times a year, I like to mix up giant batches of dough so that I always have some on hand. I cut the dough into mini-scones and freeze it in zip-lock bags. When it is time for breakfast, I pull out what I want and put them on a cookie sheet into a pre-heated oven for about 20-25 minutes. A spot of jam, and voila, breakfast! 

The secret to this recipe is the cinnamon chips. I used to think that a chip is a chip is a chip... boy was I wrong. A few years ago my mother-in-law introduced me to Wilbur Chocolate and their wide array of chips or "buds", ranging in flavor from milk chocolate to butterscotch. I picked some up and started baking with them, using them as a substitute for Nestle, my previous go-to brand. While there was a noticeable improvement in the flavor of the stuff I baked, I did not realize just how much better the Wilbur buds were until I ran out and had to temporarily switch back to Nestle. A and I, spoiled, found the Nestle version nearly inedible. Now I order the Wilbur buds in bulk to ensure that I always have some on hand. 


There are several recipes for scones that I rotate through, but I think this one is my favorite. These pair well with blueberry jam and a hot cup of coffee. Brushing the tops with buttermilk and sprinkling them with a little demerara sugar will give the scones the slightest crunch - just like the scones from your favorite bakery.
 The recipe is pretty simple - mix all of the dry ingredients together in a food processor...

Add the oats and pulse a few more times. Then add the butter and pulse until you have a fine meal. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and mix in the buttermilk and cinnamon chips. Mix until  the dough begins to come together. Turn out onto a floured surface and pat the dough into a large rectangle. Cut dough into desired size and shape. For this recipe, I like to cut bite-sized triangles.

Brush the tops of the scones with buttermilk and sprinkle them with demerara sugar. At this point you can either freeze the scones to eat later or bake them to enjoy immediately. Frozen scones will keep for months. I think I have cooked scones that have been frozen for up to two months with no deterioration in quality. If you plan to bake them immediately, stick them in a 425 degree pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden.

If you have a sil-pat, I recommend using it to line the baking sheet while the scones cook. I have noticed that the cinnamon chips have a tendency to cook quickly, and occasionally burn if the scones are cooked on parchment paper or directly on the baking sheet.

Cinnamon & Oatmeal Scones
Adapted from Gourmet


8 oz all-purpose flour
3 oz brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 oz old-fashioned oats (not instant)
6 oz butter
2/3 cup well shaken buttermilk (plus extra for brushing)
6 oz mini cinnamon chips


See above for baking instructions.