Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake Bars

 

This is a delicious recipe featuring our very own Raspberry Jam! The almond flavor pairs perfectly with the sweet raspberries. Recipe adapted from Lovely Little Kitchen.

 Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons raspberry preserves (we used our homemade raspberry jam - available in our market.)

Streusel Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter, chilled and cubed
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 pan with baking spray and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together on medium speed. Add eggs, one at a time. Add almond extract and mix.

On low speed, gradually add flour and salt until just incorporated. Batter will be very sticky!

Spread batter into the prepared pan. Drop 6 tablespoons of raspberry jam evenly over the top of the batter and swirl each one with a butter knife into the batter.

Make streusel: In a smaller bowl, add butter, sugar, flour, and almonds. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour, sugar, and almonds until you have pea-sized clumps. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the batter.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.

Berry Pizzookie

Here is a sweet treat that is easy for kids to help make! You can choose to make everything from scratch or just buy a few items at the store to make this fun pizza-cookie.

Sugar Cookie Dough (or buy from the store) recipe from Our Best Bites.
1 cup real butter - room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 C flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy- about 2 minutes. Add in egg and extract and mix to incorporate.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.  A very important note: It’s important to correctly measure your flour or you will end up with a dry, crumbly dough. Never, ever use your measuring cup to scoop up the flour.  Use a regular sized spoon and spoon the flour into the cup and then level it off with a knife.

Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix until completely combined.

Chill dough if fridge for at least one hour.

Cream Cheese Frosting (or buy from the store) recipe also from Our Best Bites.
1 8-oz. package cream cheese - room temperature
1/4 cup salted butter - room temperature
1 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip together the cream cheese, butter, and extract until light and fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar and whip until smooth and fully incorporated.  Refrigerate any leftovers

Assembling your pizzookie:
Roll out half your cookie dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Place on large cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees 8-12 minutes or until edge is golden and center is baked through.

Allow to cool completely before spreading the cream cheese frosting over the giant cookie. Decorate with your favorite Columbia Farms berries.

Be sure to cut small pieces because this pizzookie is very sweet!

 

  

Raspberry Blueberry Lemon Bars

U-pick raspberries and blueberries are in full swing on our farm! The weather has also been perfect for berry picking.

Here is a fun way to snazz up your favorite lemon bar recipe: add blueberries or raspberries or both! This recipe is adapted from All Recipes.

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Two lemons juiced (1/2 cup lemon juice)
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
Zest of two lemons
Raspberries or blueberries (or both!)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium bowl, blend butter, 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 8x11 pan.

Bake for 20(ish) minutes until firm and golden. In a clean bowl, whisk together the remaining sugar and flour. Whisk in the eggs, lemon juice, and lemon extract. Pour over baked crust. Sprinkle berries over the top of the lemon mixture.

Bake for an additional 20 - 25 minutes. Allow to cool for one hour and then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before slicing. Dust with powdered sugar if desired. 

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

Strawberry season is about to wind down... Just in time for raspberries and blueberries! Our raspberries and blueberries are the earliest we have ever seen them. We expect those fields to be open for the first picking this weekend. Price for U-pick is $2.10/pound.

Before we run out of strawberries, we made a delicious batch of strawberry ice cream to remind us of the May harvest long after it's gone. This recipe comes from one of our favorite books, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream & Dessert Book. Buy this book now if you don't have it. Trust me.

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 1/3 cup sugar
- Juice of 1/2 lemon

- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 cups heavy or whipping cream
- 1 cup milk

Combine the strawberries, 1/3 cup sugar, and lemon juice in a bowl. Store in refrigerator for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.

Whisk eggs in mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Whisk in sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended. Pour in the cream and milk, whisk to blend.

Mash your berries/sugar/lemon juice combo with a potato masher. Stir into your cream mixture.

Pour berries and cream into your ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's directions. 

YUM. 

Strawberry Mojito

After a long day of picking strawberries with your kids, you deserve an adult beverage! Look no further than this Strawberry Mojito. It's minty, refreshing, and - of course - delicious. If you want to up your "buy local" game, swing by Blue Heron Herbary on your way home from our berry fields to pick up a mint plant. Trust me. The herbary will not disappoint.

I found this recipe on the blog White On Rice Couple. Their pretty pictures inspired me!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1.5 ounces simple syrup
3 fresh strawberries
4-5 mint sprigs (I sliced mine into smaller pieces)
soda water
1/2 lime
2 ounces light rum

Directions:

In a glass, muddle the simple syrup, strawberries and mint leaves together. Crush everything well.

Squeeze lime juice into the glass, add rum, and stir well. Fill glass with ice and top off with soda water.

Garnish with mint sprigs or strawberry slices. (I did both!)

Fresh Strawberry Pie

Happy Spring! Our U-pick market will be opening on May 22, 2015 for strawberry season. U-pick strawberries are $1.60/pound and pre-picked strawberries are $2.40/pound. We can’t wait to see you on the farm!

 
Nothing is sweeter than a fresh, Oregon strawberry. They are only available for about 3 weeks each year so make sure you take advantage before they are gone! This fresh strawberry pie is a crowd-pleaser  and is guaranteed to make friends at the next summer BBQ.

Pie Crust
Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients

1 8oz block of cream cheese (room temperature)

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4-5 cups fresh strawberries

Glaze

1 cup crushed strawberries

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons corn starch

1/2 cup water

First, prepare and bake your crust. Allow to cool completely.

Beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Spread evenly over the cooled crust.

Make glaze: in a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, crushed berries and water. Stir constantly over medium heat; bring to boil. Keep stirring until the mixture is thick. Remove from stove and let cool.

Slice your strawberries and place in your pie crust. Spoon cooled glaze over the top and serve immediately. (If not serving immediately, store glaze in the refrigerator. Add glaze just before pie is eaten.)

Enjoy!

Graham Cracker Crust

Graham Cracker Crust is so delicious because it's made out of cookies! Plus, you don't need to worry about flakiness or texture; it's great no matter what. We use a recipe from Ken Haedrich's Pie.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 9 -11 graham crackers)
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
big pinch of salt
6 Tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter your pie plate and set aside.

Combine the cracker crumbs, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Add melted butter; mix with fork and/or your hands. 

Spread crumbs evenly in pan, pressing them into the bottom of the pan and up the sides. 

Bake for 7 minutes. Let cool on wire rack before adding any filling.