Tag: Fruit

A bunch of blackberries on the vine features varying levels of ripeness, including seven plump, ripe black berries.

Blackberry Pie

Servings:
10 Slices

Prep Time:
15 minutes

Cook Time:
45 minutes

Blackberries are an invasive species that should never be planted in Oregon gardens. But established thickets of blackberries fill unmaintained spaces throughout Portland. Every August, white flowers give way to abundant black berries. You can make as many blackberry pies as you pick berries for.

Ingredients

  • 9″ Double Pie Crust (recommended recipe)
  • 4 – 6 Cups Fresh Blackberries
  • 1/2 Cup White Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

Directions

  1. Prepare the lower pie crust. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Mix the berries with the flour, sugar, and spices in a large bowl until evenly moistened.
  3. Place the upper crust. Solid top crusts work best for blackberry pies.
  4. Bake for 45 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
Blackberry filling oozes from a golden-brown pie crust sitting on a solid wood railing overlooking a sunny grass yard.

Ripening blueberries adorn a crisscross of branches.

Blueberry Pancakes

Servings:
20 Pancakes
(about 6 servings)

Prep Time:
15 minutes

Cook Time:
30 minutes

Fresh blueberries add a bright pop to these thick and fluffy pancakes.

Ingredients

  • 3 Cups Fresh Blueberries
  • 2 Cups AP Flour
  • 1/4 Cup White Sugar
  • 2 Tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1 Tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1/2 Tsp. Salt
  • 1 Cup Milk
  • 3/4 Cup Sour Cream
  • 2 Tbsp . White Vinegar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 Tsp. Vanilla

Note: sour cream may be substituted with additional 1/2 cup milk and 1 tbsp vinegar.

Directions

  1. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
  2. Add the vinegar to the milk and let rest for a few minutes, allowing to curdle. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla with a fork.
  3. Stir the sour cream into the milk mixture then mix into the dry ingredients. Do not overmix.
  4. Preheat a skillet to medium heat, so that butter immediately sizzles but does not brown. Coat the pan with butter before each batch. Drop the batter by large spoonfulls and cook for a few minutes on each side until golden brown.
A stack of golden-brown pancakes filled with oozing blueberries sits on a blue plate over a contoneaster-covered concrete wall.
A zigzag of leafy branches is adorned with clusters of ripe red cherries.

Fresh Cherry Pie

Servings:
12 Thin Slices

Prep Time:
90 minutes (including pitting)

Cook Time:
60 minutes

Fresh cherry pies are a delicacy that can usually only be offered once a year (unless you have more than a few productive trees). Accordingly they deserve more effort than other pies. A hint of lemon balances sweeter varieties such as Rainier. From pitting the cherries one-by-one to layering an intricate lattice crust, this pie is well worth the extra effort. And probably my favorite, but don’t tell pumpkin!

Ingredients

  • 9″ Double Pie Crust (recommended recipe)
  • 4 – 6 Cups Fresh Cherries (any variety, preferably a mix)
  • 3/4 Cup White Sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
  • Zest and Juice of One Lemon
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter
  • A few drops of almond extract

Directions

  1. Prepare the lower pie crust, allowing ample crust margins, and place in refrigerator.
  2. Pit the cherries and place in a metal saucepan. A cherry pitter is a must-have.
  3. Mix sugar and cornstarch into the cherries and let rest until juicy, about 10 minutes.
  4. Add the lemon juice to the filling and place over medium heat, stirring constantly. Allow to boil for one minute, then remove from heat, continuing to stir. Remove from heat if juices thicken completely before boiling. Note: the filling is forgiving if you cook for too long as long as you stir continuously.
  5. Mix in the lemon zest, butter, and almond extract. Allow the filling to mostly cool.
  6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. while cutting the upper crust dough into lattice strips with a serrated pastry wheel. Fill the bottom crust and layer the lattice on top.
  7. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until crust is golden brown and filling is oozing.
A cherry pie with red filling oozing through a tight diagonal lattice crust

Bright sunlight illuminates a branch of ripe plums on the tree, in front of a towering backdrop of dark-leaved oak trees.

Spiced Plum Crisp

Servings:
4 – 6 (11″ x 7″)
6 – 8 (13″ x 9″)

Prep Time:
10 minutes

Cook Time:
45 minutes

Plum tree owners face an abundance of sweet, ripe fruit in summer and early fall. This plum crisp is a flexible way to transform fresh plums into a rich dessert. Plums of any variety and state of ripeness work well.

Ingredients

  • At least 20 (up to 80) fresh plums. Use any variety available, ideally a blend.
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 4 tbsp butter

Directions

  1. Halve plums, removing pits, and place skin side down in a glass baking dish. Fill the dish in 1 – 2 layers. Either an 11″ x 7″ or 13″ x 9″ dish will work depending on the volume.
  2. Melt butter. Mix flour and spices into the melted butter. Note that added sugar is not necessary as long as the plums are ripe.
  3. Brake the crisp mixture into small pieces and sprinkle over the plums. Arrange so that the juices will partially soak into the crisp.
  4. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for around 45 minutes until all of the plum flesh has been dyed a rich red color by the skins (this requires the fruit to cook down significantly).
  5. Cool and serve slightly warm. Top with fresh honey-sweetened whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream.
Vibrant purple spiced plum crisp glistens in a glass dish over a reflective cedar deck.
Ripe red raspberries hang from a branch suspended on decorative patio string lights. Wildfire smoke tints the scene red.

Raspberry Scones

Servings:
12

Prep Time:
20 minutes

Cook Time:
15 minutes

Fresh raspberries offer a tart burst of bright flavor in every bite of these tender fluffy scones.

Ingredients

  • 3-1/2 Cups AP Flour
  • 1/2 Cup White Sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. Baking Powder
  • 1/2 Tsp. Salt
  • 1 Tsp. Ground Allspice
  • 3/4 Cups Cold Butter
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 Cup Cream
  • 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Cup Raspberries, frozen to aid handling

Directions

  1. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, allspice, and salt in a large bowl.
  2. Cut butter into 1/2″ square cubes and cut into dry ingredients with a pastry blender until most of the butter pieces have been incorporated.
  3. Whisk cream, egg, and vanilla together in a small bowl.
  4. Create a well in the pastry mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Swiftly mix until just incorporated. Limit to 15-20 stirs to avoid toughening the pastry.
  5. Briefly knead, up to 10 times, and roll out into a 1″ thick rectangle. Press the raspberries into the dough at tight spacing covering half of the dough. Fold the other half over the raspberries.
  6. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to allow the butter to harden and the raspberries to thaw. Cut the dough into 12 wedges, spread out, and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes until golden brown.
Freshly-baked raspberry scones on a sunlit stainless steel countertop.