Native Foods Blog: Blueberry Thrill

by Holladay Allen

Native Foods Cafe

You can have Blueberry Hill, because I found my thrill in Blueberry Cobbler. It is pretty cold here in Chicago, but not freezing which I hear is the norm for this time of year. Still, it is cold enough to have random thoughts of warm fruit cobbler and earl grey lattes throughout the day. So I embraced my foodie daydreams and made a delicious Blueberry Cobbler this weekend. Whenever I am making something for the first time and have not quite yet found my favorite recipe, I always Google “best (insert food item here) ever,” and usually some pretty good stuff pops up. So when I typed in “Best Blueberry Cobbler Ever” I was drawn to a recipe on Allrecipes.com entitled Very Best Blueberry Cobbler Recipe! The topping was described as a cakey/biscuit… which sounded interesting… and the recipe itself seemed fairly easy… which is always fantastic in my book. It was super easy to veganize…. And even more delicious to eat.

Blueberry Thrill Cake Cobbler

2 pints fresh blueberries

1 tsp vanilla

½ lemon, juiced

¾ cup sugar (or less, depending on how sweet you like it…. The berries I got were super sweet so I cut the sugar down)

½ tsp flour

1 TBSP vegan butter, melted

1 ¾ cup flour

4 tsp baking powder

5 TBSP sugar

5 TBSP vegan butter

1 cup non-dairy milk (I recommend almond or coconut)

2 tsp sugar

1 pinch cinnamon

1) Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish. (I used a round, and slightly deeper casserole dish). Place the blueberries into the baking dish, and mix with vanilla and lemon juice. Sprinkle with 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of flour, then stir in the tablespoon of melted butter. Set aside.

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2) In a medium bowl, stir together 1 3/4 cups of flour, baking powder, and 5 tablespoons sugar. Rub in the 5 tablespoons butter using your fingers until it is in small pieces. Make a well in the center, and quickly stir in the milk. Mix just until moistened. You should have a very thick batter, or very wet dough. If you need to add a splash more milk. Cover, and let batter rest for 10 minutes.

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3) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spoon the batter over the blueberries, leaving only a few small holes for the berries to peek through. Mix together the cinnamon and 2 teaspoons sugar; sprinkle over the top.

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4) The recipe I followed recommended baking for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown… BUT I ended up baking it for around 45 minutes. A knife inserted into the topping should come out clean of the batter…. There may be some blueberry on there though! Let cool until just warm before serving.

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