Brown Sugar Blueberry Cookies

Next on my to do list with the blueberries from my parent's tree's was a treat for my bestie who watched the boys while I was away in Canada for work.  I found these Brown Sugar Blueberry Cookies on Sweet Pea's Kitchen (I love this site since this is my dad's nickname for me).   NOW I did use frozen blueberries which made the dough a little hard to work with when they came out of the oven it was a little difficult to get them off the sheet.  BUT I did test them and they were extremely yummy!!!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 stick butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
3/4 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar, for rolling dough

Directions:

Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the flat beater attached, cream the butter and brown sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg and vanilla; beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just dough comes together, about 30 seconds. Add in milk. If dough is still crumbly, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until it comes together. Fold in blueberries gently with a spatula.
Place the ½ cup sugar for rolling in a shallow bowl. Fill a medium bowl halfway with cold tap water. Dip your hands in the water and shake off any excess (this will prevent the dough from sticking to your hands and ensure that the sugar sticks to the dough). Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a 1½-inch ball between moistened palms, roll the ball in the sugar, and then place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, moistening your hands as necessary and spacing the balls about 2 inches apart (you should be able to fit 12 cookies on each sheet).
Bake until the cookies centers are just set and very lightly colored, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets about 3 minutes; using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

What a fun way to bring blueberries into a cookie!

Any yummy cookies in your future?

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Blueberry Cheesecake Fudge

My parents have around 8 blueberry bushes in their yard.  My dad spent a few days and picked all the blueberries and brought them over to my house.  Into my freezer they went and onto Google I went!  I wanted to bring something yummy to the volunteers and staff at the Boys and Girls club.  They help me out so much watching the boys during the day.

I found this amazing recipe for Blueberry Cheesecake Fudge on About.com.  Let me tell you it was so freaking amazing.  I had to get these out of the house quick before I ate every last bit of them.  Let's just say I had just a few bites ... ok who am I kidding!  I doubled the recipe to make a large batch for them.

Ingredients:

• 6 sheets of graham crackers
• 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature, divided use
• 2.5 cups plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 3 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1 (12 oz) bag white chocolate chips
• 1/2 stick (2 oz) butter
• 1 cup dried blueberries
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk

Preparation:

1. Prepare a 9x9 pan by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Place the graham crackers in a food processor or blender and blend until you have very fine crumbs. Add two tablespoons of granulated sugar and 1.5 ounces of softened cream cheese, and pulse until the mixture starts to come together and looks crumbly. It should hold together if you squeeze it in your hand, but should not be too moist or sticky. Press the graham cracker mixture into a thin, even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Don’t worry if it seems too dry to form a solid crust--the layer of fudge on top will solve that problem.

3. Place the sugar, butter, evaporated milk, and miniature marshmallows in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently.

4. Once boiling, begin to stir constantly and cook, stirring, for five minutes. After five minutes remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the remaining 6.5 oz of cream cheese and the white chocolate chips. Mix until the fudge is entirely smooth and free of lumps. If the white chocolate chips do not dissolve easily, return the pan to the heat briefly and stir over the heat until they melt.

5. Add the dried blueberries and vanilla to the fudge and stir until they are well-mixed. Pour the fudge into the prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer. Refrigerate the fudge until it is set, at least 4 hours.

6. Once set, remove the fudge from the pan using the foil as handles. Cut the fudge into small one-inch squares to serve. Store Blueberry Cheesecake Fudge in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week, and bring to room temperature before serving.

ALEXIS NOTES: I doubled recipe.  I also used frozen blueberries which was nice touch but when I put them down it didn't allow the graham cracker mix to stick to the fudge so I lost part of the cheesecake taste.  Next time I'll pour some fudge down then lay down the blueberries and top with the rest of the fudge.

Enjoy but be-careful you may not stop eating them!
Yes this was over 2 days.


Tray all filled up to go to the club:

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Sinfully Yummy Blueberry Bread Pudding

My parents have around 8 to 10 blueberry bushes at their house, so we usually are loaded with them.  Since my new diet does not allow fruit of any kind I had a freezer space shortage and needed to make something with them.  Then my mom sent me home some french bread (another no no on my diet) so I thought what better to do then a bread pudding.  We had our every other week dinner guest come over (that is the only time I make a dessert).

I found a Over the Top Blueberry Bread Pudding recipe that I tweaked a little bit, one due to time and the other part being lazy after work (hey I'm at least honest about it).

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 package (10 to 12 ounces) white baking chips
• 1 loaf (1 pound) French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 package (10 to 12 ounces) white baking chips

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cream, sugar and vanilla. Stir in blueberries and baking chips. Stir in bread cubes; let stand for 15 minutes or until bread is softened.  Add the white baking chips and carefully stir them in (don't over stir or you'll have mush).
• Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

If you want you can make the sauce (instead of using the baking chips in the bread pudding you use it to cover the bread pudding). 

If you want here is the sauce recipe:

• SAUCE:
• 1 package (10 to 12 ounces) white baking chips
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

For sauce, place baking chips in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over baking chips; whisk until smooth. Serve with bread pudding.

I liked adding it into the bread pudding to give you a little extra goo :).  NOW I didn't eat any of it but by the empty plates that returned I would say it was a huge hit!

Enjoy!!