Blueberry Cobbler

I recently was looking for a quick and easy dessert recipe and stumbled upon this one. With only four ingredients, and two of them sugar and butter how can this be bad? The homemade flavor is terrific, and it can bake while you're eating dinner.

I would recommend using a 1 1/2 quart baking dish instead of a 2 quart. I think the 2 quart dish spreads the top crust too thin, causing the blueberry filling to bubble through the top excessively.

Make sure you serve this warm, and top it off with a dollop of whipped cream.


Ingredients
3 cups fresh blueberries
1 plus 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup self-rising flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Pour the blueberries into a 2-quart baking dish and sprinkle 1/2 cup of the sugar over them.
2. In another bowl combine the melted butter, the remaining 1 cup of sugar, and the flour. Mix well to form a pastry. Pour this over the blueberries and bake for 45 minutes.

Yields 8 servings

from "The Blue Willow Inn Bible of Southern Cooking"

Chocolate Bourbon Cookies

This past Sunday we attended the annual Nottingham Gate Subdivision cookie exchange. For the very first time in the 7 years we have lived in the neighborhood, we enthusiastically RSVPed "yes" and attended. Prior years required each person to bring a whopping 6 dozen cookies. I don't think we ever had 6 dozen cookies in our house at one time ever! Really, what would we do with so many cookies? This year the rules were modified and inclusion in the exchange only required 3 1/2 dozen home baked, from scratch cookies. The rules strictly forbid anything store bought.

I attended with Julie, and predictably other than the host's husband, I was the only man in attendance. No matter, I had a good time conversing, and sampling the cookies.

We picked this recipe for one reason; it has bourbon! Surprisingly these cookies didn't have a boozy taste. The bourbon flavors married quite nicely with the chocolate.

Yields 50 cookies

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tbs cocoa powder unsweetened
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, firm pack
1/2 cup bourbon (Woodford Reserve)
1 cup mini chocolate chips, semi-sweet
2 egg whites
2 tbs water
3 cups pecans, finely chopped

1. Combine the flour and cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside
2. Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until creamy and sooth. Beat in bourbon until well blended.
3. Gradually add dry ingredients to butter mixture, beating well after each addition. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
   
4. When ready to bake cookies, preheat oven to 350 F. Grease w large cookie sheets. Beat together egg whites and water and set aside. Using 1 level tablespoon, shape dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Roll each ball first in the egg whites then in the chopped nuts. Arrange the balls 1/2 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets. If the dough gets to soft, periodically return the dough to the refrigerator.
   
5. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until they are still soft but have a light crackled crust. Cool cookies on the cookie sheets for 2-5 minutes. Carefully remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
   

Apple Bread Pudding

When I make this for parties, I never have to worry about bringing home leftovers. There has never been any left. For an extra treat, top your bread pudding with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The recipe says it serves 12, but they must have been feeding an NFL football team. Realistically you'll get 15-18 servings, so you have plenty for friends and family. The bread pudding will also keep nicely in the freezer.

Ingredients:

8 ounces unsliced rich egg bread, such as challah, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
3 Tbs. butter
6 large Golden Delicious apples (3lbs), peeled, cored, and sliced
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup plus 2/3 cup plus 1 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs cornstarch
5 cups milk
5 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spread bread cubes on cooking sheet; bake 15 to 20 minutes until lightly toasted. Meanwhile, in 12-in skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Stir in, apples and 1/2 tsp cinnamon; cover and cook 10 minutes. Uncover; stir in 1/2 cup sugar. Cook, stirring often 5 to 10 minutes; until apples are lightly caramelized. In cup, mix cornstarch and 1/2 cup milk until smooth; stir into apples. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
2. Place half of bread in 13" by 9" glass baking dish. Spoon apple mixture over bread; top with remaining bread. In large bowl, with wire whisk or fork, mix eggs, vanilla, 2/3 cup sugar, and remaining 4 1/2 cups milk until well blended; pour over bread. Let stand 10 minutes, pressing bread into liquid. In cup, combine remaining 1 tablespoon sugar with remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; sprinkle over bread.
3. Place baking dish in a larger roasting pan. Carefully pour boiling water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of dish. Bake 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack 30 minutes. Serve warm.

From the Gook House Keeping Step-by-Step Cookbook