Bake or Break

As many of you know, I lived in Mississippi my entire life until we moved to NYC in 2010. While I do so love living here, one thing is just not the same. Biscuits! Honestly, biscuits are so ubiquitous in the South, that I never really bothered making them that often. If I had a hankering, we’d just go get breakfast in a restaurant or pick up a sausage or chicken biscuit at any available place.

Recently, the idea to bake biscuits got in my head and wouldn’t go away. So, I decided that I would bake some. Eventually. Then, I got a little extra push in that direction.
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As much as it baffles me to think about it, it’s not long until Memorial Day. And with that day, we begin the season for barbecues, backyard parties, rooftop get-togethers, and all sorts of outdoor parties. If you’re anything like me, you’ll have dessert delegated to you more often than not.

When you think about warm weather desserts, it’s easy to think immediately of icebox pies and mini cheesecakes and all kinds of cold desserts. But, here’s the thing. If you’re going to be dining outside, then those kinds of desserts are not your friends. No melty, gooey desserts here. What we do have is plenty of delicious crowd-pleasers like cookies, bars, cakes, and more.
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During my time at King Arthur Flour’s Blog & Bake™, I found a new love. Now, don’t worry. Quinn is not going anywhere. I found a new baking love – white whole wheat flour.

Sure, I’d seen it before, but I always kind of discounted it and went with traditional wheat flour when needed. But, I found out that white whole wheat flour has all the benefits of whole wheat flour, but it produces lighter-colored baked goods with a milder flavor. There’s red wheat, where we get whole wheat flour, and then there’s white spring wheat, which gives us white whole wheat flour.
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As that collection of recipes last Friday hopefully conveyed, I love baking with berries. I love all kinds of berries, but if I have to pick a favorite berry, I would likely choose blueberries. And, one of my favorite uses for blueberries is muffins.

Just to make these blueberry muffins even better, I used one of my favorite baking ingredients – sour cream. I love the texture and flavor that it adds. These little muffins are everything you’d want in a blueberry muffin. They are seriously dangerous, though, because you’ll be tempted to eat one right after another.
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As I was making that lovely Raspberry Almond Crumb Tart earlier this week, I began thinking about some of my favorite baking recipes that use berries. These days, berries are available pretty much year-round, but there’s just something about fresh local berries that is extra exciting. As we head into berry season, it seems like a good time to start thinking about what to bake with all the berries that will soon be on their way.
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As a child, I disliked the texture of berries. I loved the flavors, but the texture was just weird to me. I’m happy to say I’ve gotten over that. I still don’t like to bite into a big strawberry, but cut those up and I’m good. No idea what that’s all about.

In any case, I now happily embrace berries and love to use them in baking. For my taste, I prefer to use them in a way that lets the flavor of the berries come through. They’re plenty sweet on their own without adding much to them. This tart is a lovely way to revel in berry deliciousness.
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