Incredibly Realistic Glass Berries

Berries. One of my very favorite things.

Succulent, juicy, red raspberries!

No, these aren't real, but they sure look real, don't they?

They're made of sculpted glass. Amazing, right?

I came across them in Beth Johnson's Etsy shop, GlassBerries.

Here's a great story:

As Beth worked to perfect her sculpting technique, and was finally satisfied,

she strung a few raspberries and wore them as a necklace. 

When some one asked her how she kept the berries from staining her shirt, 

she knew that she'd achieved her goal of creating a lifelike berry!

Beth also uses her glass berries to make fabulous jewelry!

Visit the GlassBerries shop on Etsy.

Images used with direct permission from Elizabeth Johnson.

Blueberry Buckle

Gotta LOVE blueberries!

This recipe for Blueberry Buckle is an absolute family favorite!

So, what is a "buckle", anyway?

A Buckle = Cake Batter + Fresh Fruit + Streusel Topping.

The classic version uses blueberries, but other fruits will work as well.

Why the name, "buckle?"

When the cake is baked, the topping crinkles, or buckles.

This dessert has been popular in the United States,

particularly in New England, since the time of the colonists.

This colander once belonged to my

brother-in-law Vince's dear mother,

whom I miss so very much.
I use it all the time and think of her.

A special keepsake.

Here's a kitchen gadget that I like to use: The Wonder Cup.

It's great for measuring things like shortening or peanut butter -

ingredients that are tough to remove from regular measuring cups.

I purchased mine years ago through The Pampered Chef,

but since I could no longer find them on that website,

I'm providing a link to Amazon.com, if you'd like to check them out there.

The batter ~

The crumbly streusel topping ~

Incredibly delicious!

Blueberry Buckle

CAKE:

 1 ½ C sugar

½ C shortening

2 eggs

1 ½ C milk

4 C flour

4 t baking powder

1 t salt

4 C (2 pints) fresh blueberries

TOPPING:

1 C sugar

2/3 C flour

1 t cinnamon

½ C butter (1 stick)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the sugar & shortening until fluffy.

Mix in eggs until well-blended. Then add milk and mix again.

In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder & salt.

Add to wet ingredients, mix slowly until blended.

Fold in blueberries.

Grease & flour 9 x 13 pan. Spread batter evenly into pan.

Combine ingredients for topping. Cut in butter with a pastry blender.

Sprinkle over batter.

Bake 40-45 minutes.

This recipe comes to you with thanks

to my sweet friend Lisa T.,
who shared it with me many moons ago!

Other blueberry recipes on the blog:

Lemon Blueberry Dessert

Blueberry Crumble Cheesecake Bars

Blueberry Crumble Cheesecake Bars

 Did you know that JULY is National Blueberry Month?

In honor of the blueberry, I'm sharing this sweet recipe:

Blueberry Crumble Cheesecake Bars

Graham cracker crust:
10 graham crackers, finely crushed
3 tbsp. sugar
4 T (½ stick) butter, melted

Filling:
12 oz. cream cheese at room temp.
½ C sour cream at room temp.
½ C sugar
2 eggs at room temp.
½ t salt
1½ t vanilla

Blueberries:
2 t sugar
2 t flour
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 C fresh blueberries, rinsed and patted dry

Topping:
1 C flour
¼ C brown sugar
¼ C sugar
7 T butter, cold

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325. Line an 8x8 square baking dish with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on 2 sides.

In medium size mixing bowl, combine crust ingredients. Spread into baking dish, pressing flat to create an even layer. Bake for 10 mins.

In a small mixing bowl, combine blueberry ingredients, set aside.

In a medium size mixing bowl, combine topping ingredients. Cut the butter in with a pastry blender until coarse, set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until smooth.

Pour the cheesecake batter over the slightly cooled crust. Spread evenly with a spatula. Place blueberries on top, evenly covering the cheesecake. Top with crumble topping.

Bake for 45 mins. until set and topping is light golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool 1 ½ hours to room temp.

Place in refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours before cutting to serve.

Makes approximately 12 bars

Found this recipe at Life Made Simple,

which was originally adapted from Tyler Florence.


Want MORE blueberry recipes?
See these posts:
Blueberry Buckle
Lemon Blueberry Dessert

Lemon Blueberry Dessert

Lemon and blueberries. Two of my favorites. The combination is fabulous!
This recipe shouts "summertime"!

I've taken it to many events and it's always a hit. Hope you'll like it too!

Lemon Blueberry Dessert

Crust-

2 C crushed butter crackers (1 sleeve)

1/3 C powdered sugar

1/3 C butter, melted

Filling-

12 oz Cool Whip, thawed
6 oz frozen lemonade, partially thawed
1 T lemon juice
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
2 C fresh blueberries

Combine crust ingredients and press into bottom of ungreased 9x13" pan.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Combine filling ingredients, then fold in blueberries.
Spread gently over cooled crust.
Cover and chill 4 hours.

Note: The 6 oz size of lemonade was not available,
so I used half of the 12 oz size as pictured.

More of my posts with BLUEBERRY recipes:

Blueberry Buckle

Blueberry Crumble Cheesecake Bars