Monday, July 19, 2021

Blueberry Toddler - YUM!

From the “isn’t-that-cute-but-also-horrifying” archive of Things Kids Say When They’re Three comes the following:

Always with the white clothes in blueberry season...

“What would you like to eat for lunch today?”

“Toddler.”

“What’s a toddler?”

“It was yummy.”

“A toddler was yummy?”

<Nods>

“A toddler is a little kid, like you.”

<Nods> “But I’m big.” <cries>

“OK, yes, you’re big. But I don’t think you ate a toddler.”

“I did!” <cries>

“When did you eat a toddler?”

“When you cooked it.”

“Honey, Mama wouldn’t cook a toddler.”

<Tearfully> “You did, Mama! I ate it!”

After I went over the prior week’s grocery list and mentally reconsidered our plans for preschool, I figured out that he wanted COBBLER. Of course he did – this is a perfect cobbler recipe, and we should throw temperance out the window whenever any kind of fruit comes into season and eat this for breakfast and also have it for dessert every single night and get into fights about the last serving.

It scales up (and down) beautifully and there’s not a single fruit I can think of that wouldn’t be delicious in this recipe (OK, maybe bananas. Or kiwi). There are no difficult ingredients and it’s easy to make gluten- and dairy-free. It’s so rich that it’s almost impossible to overcook, even if you’re drunk around a campfire with your friends by the time it goes in the oven; your beer-soaked future self will be grateful. But do please taste your fruit, because the only way to make this slightly less than totally perfect is to over-sweeten it.

From How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman.

Blueberry Toddler

4-6 cups blueberries or other fruit, washed and picked over
1 cup sugar
8 Tbsp butter, cold, cut into bits
½ cup flour
½ tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla extract

 Preheat the oven to 375. Toss the fruit with half the sugar and set aside. IMPORTANT: If you are using a sweeter fruit – for example, the most perfectly ripe peaches ever – use less sugar so your filling isn’t too sweet. Put the fruit in a lightly buttered 8-inch baking pan or a round cake pan.

Combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and process for 10 seconds, until mixture is well blended. Add the egg and vanilla and pulse to combine.

 Drop the dough by tablespoons onto the fruit (don’t spread it out evenly). Bake until golden yellow and just starting to brown, 35-45 minutes.

 

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