Blueberry Season in Florida

blueberry picking

I love blueberry season! I grew up in the blueberry capital of Mississippi so I couldn’t help but love them. My parents had about 7 blueberry bushes at our house so we had an endless supply.

Mississippi’s blueberry season is June through July. Our Blueberry Jubilee festival is always a lot of fun and hot. You can taste blueberry everything from pies, ice cream, jams, and more.

When I moved to Florida, I was surprised to find that the blueberry season is April through May. The blueberry season is late this year with the blueberries just being picked. Last year, my husband and I went to a u-pick farm and loaded our freezer up for the year of blueberries. Like I said, I can’t get enough.

What I love about blueberries is their versatility. You can use them to make muffins, pancakes, waffles, cakes, cobblers, sauce, jams, smoothies, and more. I thought it was only fitting that I share a few of my favorite recipes with you.

Griddled blueberry muffin

My griddled blueberry muffins will transform your idea of a muffin. The sugars in the muffin caramelize in the pan which adds a little sweet crunch. Recipe in New Southern Table cookbook.

pancake and blueberry

I like my blueberries sprinkled over my pancakes instead of in them. My favorite way of eating pancakes is peanut butter spread over the top of warm pancakes, blueberries and honey on top. In this photo, I took a healthier approach and sprinkled pb2 powder over the pancake.

Blueberry Pecan Crunch

My Blueberry-Pecan Crunch recipes in my new cookbook, New Southern Table is so good! Pineapple, blueberries, butter pecan cake mix, and pecans are layered on top of each other and baked. I bake mine in a cast iron skillet but you can use a baking pan. I have had people share with me that they have baked the dessert in a skillet on their grill. This past Sunday, a woman in my Sunday school class brought this dessert for breakfast. It does have fruit in it after all.

blueberry cornmeal crumb bars pic

This is a newly created recipe. I love pairing sweet cornmeal and blueberries together. I’ve added blueberries into my cornbread and it was so good which is what sparked the idea for these bars.

Blueberry Cornmeal Crumb Bars

½ cup yellow cornmeal

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

3 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

3 tablespoons extra-virgin coconut oil

1 cup pure cane sugar (or granulated sugar)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

Topping:

2 cups fresh or frozen and thawed blueberries

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

Vanilla ice cream, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8 glass baking dish with coconut oil, line with parchment paper and grease again.

Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium-mixing bowl.

Cut the butter into the flour mixture until the size of breadcrumbs. Add coconut oil and sugar and stir until combined. Add the egg and vanilla and stir until combined. Transfer all but ¼th of the mixture to the baking dish. Press the dough evenly into the dish.

In a small bowl, combine the blueberries, lemon juice and cornstarch. Stir until combined. Pour the blueberry mixture over the dough.

Crumble the remaining dough over the blueberries.

Bake on the top rack of the oven for 30 minutes and then cover with a piece of parchment paper and bake another 10 to 15 minutes or until set and golden brown. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes and then cut into bars and transfer to a serving plate or individual dessert plates.

Serve slightly warm optionally with ice cream.

Serves 6 to 8.

Enjoy this blueberry season and all these delicious recipes.

 

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