Puff Pastry Blackberry Hand Pies

You know the drill. Find a few ingredients in your pantry/freezer and a new dessert is born. You can certainly use your favorite fruit in these but I had some beautiful blackberries that were begging to be eaten. Adjust the sugar to your liking, depending on your fruit. I think berries tend to need a little more but it's your call, of course. Anyway, these are really simple to throw together. And don't worry if your little pies leak a little juice. I like to call that "rustic". These are fun to throw in a sack lunch, too!
Puff Pastry Blackberry Hand Pies



1 package puff pastry~ thawed
1/3 - 1/2 cups sugar (depending on your sweetness level)
2 cups blackberries ~ frozen or fresh
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 large egg
Sparkling sugar (found in the baking aisle at the grocery store)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix together sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl. Add blackberries and toss.

 Beat egg in a small bowl. Set aside.

Roll each of sheet puff pastry into an 11-inch square on a lightly floured surface.

Cut 4 5-inch circles circles out of each sheet of pastry. (I used a small bowl and cut around it)

Place pastry rounds on prepared sheet and put about 1/4 cup berry mixture onto one-half of each round.

Lightly brush edge of circle with egg.

Fold dough over filling and crimp edges with a fork to tightly seal.

Cut a couple of small slits on top of dough to vent. Repeat with remaining pastry and berry mixture.

Brush pies with remaining egg. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar.

Bake 20 - 30  minutes until golden brown.

Transfer to wire rack to cool slightly.

Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Let's get started.

Stir together your sugar and cornstarch.

Sprinkle that over the berries and stir.

Roll out your puff pastry a little bit 

so you can get 4 5-inch circles out of each piece.

Then place some berries on each

circle and brush half with the beaten egg.

Fold over and crimp the edges to seal. 

Some of the juice might leak out and that's OK!

Place the little pies on a baking sheet 

and brush with the remaining beaten egg.

Then sprinkle with sugar.

Bake!

Look how pretty! And yummy, too!

Super Simple Blackberry Cobbler

I think a cherry or berry pie is one of my all time favorite desserts. And a simple version of either one of those is even better! And I love a good cobbler crust. I've always called this particular kind of crust a "pour crust" because you, well, you pour it over the fruit. This cobbler would work well with almost any kind of fruit. I used frozen blackberries but peaches would be scrumptious, too. Give it a try for a quick and easy weeknight dessert.

Super Simple Blackberry Cobbler



1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon sugar


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 inch pan with cooking spray.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, melted butter, and cream until smooth.

In a medium bowl, mix berries with 1/4 cup of sugar.

Spread the blackberries into your prepared pan.

Spread batter on top of berries. Sprinkle the top of the batter with the nutmeg and 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Bake until the top is lightly browned, about an hour.

Allow to cool before serving. Serve with ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.

The cast of characters.

Sprinkle the berries with 1/4 cup 

of sugar and spread in the bottom

of your prepared pan.

Mix the melted butter, flour, 1/2 cup 

sugar, baking powder, milk and cream 

in a bowl and whisk.

Pour the batter over the berries in the pan.

Then bake!

Then eat!!! Serve with ice cream 

or sweetened whipped cream.

Blackberry French Toast Casserole

My sister-in-law shared this recipe with me. It’s perfect if you’ve got overnight company and want to serve something for breakfast the next day but don’t want to spend all morning in the kitchen. Just make it up the day before and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Pull it out of the fridge an hour or so before baking and voila! You’ve got breakfast without too much trouble.

Blackberry French Toast Casserole

1 Cup Blackberry Jam
1 12-ounce loaf French bread, cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 - 2 cups whole fresh blackberries, rinsed and dried (optional)
4 large eggs
2 cups half-&-half
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
Toppings: maple syrup and whipped cream

Cook the jam in a small saucepan over medium heat, 1 – 2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring once. Place half the bread cubes in the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Top with cream cheese cubes, blackberries (if using) and drizzle with melted jam. Top with remaining bread cubes. Whisk together the eggs and next three ingredients. Pour over bread mixture. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Cover tightly and chill overnight.

Preheat over to 325 degrees. Bake covered 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes or until bread is golden brown and mixture is set. Serve with toppings and fresh fruit.

Serve with bacon, if desired. Did you know you can bake bacon in the oven? It’s better than standing over a stovetop. Just lay bacon strips on a lightly greased rimmed cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until desired crispness is reached. If you want an extra treat, sprinkle a little bit of brown sugar over the bacon before baking. You can also cook the bacon the night before as well. When the bacon is done and cooled, wrap it in foil and put it in the fridge. The next morning, pop it in the oven with the casserole the last 15 minutes or so.

The yumminess.

Slice the bread in half the split 

it into thirds lengthways.



Slice each third into four strips and cube.

Before it's baked...

Mix up the half&half, eggs, cinnamon 

and vanilla. Pour over the whole she-bang.



Serve with syrup and whipped cream....