Blueberry Buckle...and a Giveaway!!

It's really looking like winter in the Pacific Northwest around here now.  The wind starts blowing; the rain starts spitting; the skies take on more shades of grey than I knew even existed.  It's on those days that I need a little pick me up; something that reminds me of the warm, lovely summer days that will come around again before I know it.  That's usually when I grab some of the berries we froze the past summer and find something warm and tasty to bake.

This time, it's blueberry buckle.  Blueberry buckle is kind of  a joke in my family; my husband loved it when he was little and when my sons were small, I'd have to make sure to buy extra jars of Gerber Blueberry Buckle baby food because I knew he would want to share.  I found this recipe for Blueberry Buckle in a great cookbook I'll tell you about at the end of this post.  My family took out a whole pan of this in no time, and has asked that it become a regular staple in our home.  It's really that yummy...and it uses ingredients you probably have hanging around your house already.

Here's the skinny on what you need:

Gather up flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, butter, egg, milk, lemon juice, and blueberries.

First toss your butter and sugar into your mixer bowl.

Give it a good beating to get it all creamed together.

Once that's well blended, throw your egg into the mix.

Whip it up until the mixture turns a light yellow and is nice and fluffy.

In another bowl, give your flour, baking powder and salt a quick mix.

Add the flour mix, milk, and lemon juice to the creamed mixture. 

Mix until well combined.

With your hands, gently fold in blueberries.

Spread batter into a greased 9x9 pan.

In the bowl you stirred your dry ingredients in, mix together the sugar, flour and cinnamon for the topping.

Using your fingers, cut in the butter until the mixture looks like crumbs.

Sprinkle the topping mixture over the batter to cover.


Pop this bad boy in the oven at 375 for about 45 minutes until it looks like this:

The smell.  Oh the smell.  The topping turns into a nice crispy cover for the warm, tender cake hiding underneath.  Perfection in a pan.

This is very much like a coffee cake and is so good in the morning with a nice cup of coffee or hot tea. It's also good as a mid afternoon snack with a tall glass of milk.  Reheated or cold, it really doesn't matter.  Just make this.

I got this recipe from The Flying Biscuit Cafe cookbook.  It's a well known and well loved restaurant in Atlanta serving way more than just biscuits and breakfast.  If I ever get to Atlanta, this will be the first place that I go to.

Because I think this cookbook is SO cool, and because I love that people actually read my blog occasionally in spite of my lapses between posts, I'm giving one of these cookbooks away.  You can keep it, give it to your mom/sister/secret pal, or donate it to your local library if you decide it's not your thing.  Either way, someone is bound to love this little gem.

To enter to win this cookbook (and let me just say that The Flying Biscuit Cafe doesn't know me from Adam...and may never know of my devotion to their cookbook until I actually make it to Atlanta someday) leave me a comment and tell me what YOUR favorite cookbook is.  Is it the classic Better Homes and Garden Red book?  Maybe Julia Child's fare is your taste.  Whatever it is, let me in on your secret so I can check it out too.  One can never see too many cookbooks!  If you don't have a favorite cookbook, just shout out your favorite thing to eat.  This contest will be open through Friday evening (December 10) at midnight P.S.T.  Winner will be posted on Saturday, December 11.  Tell your girlfriends/moms/dads/uncles/ex-boyfriend's cousins to get over here and enter the contest.  They'll thank you---and I will too...I LOVE getting new cookbook ideas!


Blueberry Buckle

For the buckle:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

For the Crumble:
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons butter

To make buckle:
Sift flour, baking powder and salt into bowl; set aside.  In another mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the egg to butter mixture and whip until light and fluffy.  Add flour mixture, milk, and juice to the creamed mixture.  Use your hands to gently fold in blueberries.  Place in greased 9x9 pan.

To make crumble:
In a bowl, mix sugar, flour, and cinnamon together.  Cut in butter with hands until crumbly.  Sprinkle over batter.  Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minute.