It’s been a rough week for a lot of people. That’s maybe an understatement. I guess that it goes along with it being the worst year of my life, so I almost expected this. But, in my attempt to be ever optimistic, I know there is one thing that I can do, and that is bake and baking makes me happy. In the midst of cookie madness, here I am baking crumble bars.
It’s been a banner year for peaches in Massachusetts. That isn’t always the case — was it last year that the entire crop was lost due to a hard frost right as the blooms were coming out? While I went to the orchard for apple picking, in the store they had all these beautiful yellow peaches, so I decided to buy some and have a few things planned. First off these Bourbon Vanilla Peach Cobbler Bars. Simply delicious. I think the bourbon and vanilla pair nicely to give it a little bit extra too.
I am a big fan of plums — all kinds really, but if I can find Mirabelle plums (the little yellow, or pinkish one, not much larger than a cherry), I am in plum heavy. I found some of them the other day, organic ones no less, so I made this Mirabelle Plum Crumble Tart, with a Pâte Sucrée. What’s a Pâte Sucrée? It’s a pie crust that is more like shortbread, one that you don’t have to roll out, you just “pat” it into the pan. Lovely cake, just tart enough to make your mouth tingle a bit and just sweet enough to make you smile.
It’s wild Maine blueberry season so I decided to whip up this coffee cake, verbatim from the King Arthur recipe. Very much like blueberry muffins (very similar recipe in fact), but just in cake form. Stick with the wild sort of blueberry, not the cultivated type, as they are smaller and distribute better throughout the batter.