You have your Fourth of July menu ready. A holiday filled with tradition, it calls for the hotdogs, burgers, ribs, chicken, salads and the side dishes your guests have come to appreciate and look forward to.
Now let’s talk about dessert. I am a big fan of baking a pie for the Fourth of July, when local blueberries have just come into season. This year we also have the option of making a peach pie (or mixing the two fruits) because some local farms are picking peaches early.
Clingstone varieties, which usher in the peach season, aren’t always considered the best for baking because you lose some fruit when it clings to the pit. But if you are willing to sacrifice that, you can have a delightful pie.
If you don’t want to deal with pie crust – homemade or from the supermarket – other options are blueberry or peach cobblers or crisps. They are simpler than making a crust and taste just as good with a scoop of ice cream on top.
Colorful flag sheet cakes decorated with blueberries and strawberries to mimic the stars and stripes are always welcome, as are frozen popsicles made using patriotic colors.
Or you could consider an alternative fruit dessert such as these blueberry bars from thepioneerwoman.com. Ice cream would work well on them too. Have a great holiday!
For the crust and topping:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup granulated sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
For the filling:
½ cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
3 ½ cups fresh blueberries
½ cup blueberry jam
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Yields: 16 serving(s)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with the rack positioned in the lower third of the oven. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper.
To make the crust and topping: Whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and sugar in a medium bowl until combined. Add the butter. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, work the butter into the flour mixture until well combined and the mixture is the texture of wet sand (the mixture should hold together when squeezed). Press half of the mixture into the prepared pan in an even layer. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
To make the filling: Whisk together the sugar and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Add the blueberries, jam, lemon zest and juice, and salt, tossing to combine. Spread the filling in an even layer over the warm crust in the pan.
Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture over the top of the blueberry filling in an even layer, leaving some larger clumps. Bake until golden brown on top and the filling is bubbly around the edges and in the center, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack, about 3 hours. Cut into bars and serve.
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