Blueberry Banana Bread

This is your favorite banana bread with a blueberry twist: Crisp on the outside and moist and fruity on the inside.

I followed the advice of the reviews on the recipe, so I made a few adjustments to the original recipe.  I also made three small loaves instead of one large loaf.  

Blueberry Banana Bread

Ingredients

Blueberry Mixture: 

• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 5/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• dash cinnamon and nutmeg

Banana Mixture:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed bananas

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three small loaf pans.


2) In a medium bowl, mix blueberries in 2 tablespoons flour. Gently stir blueberries together with oats, 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

3) In a large bowl, cream shortening.  Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in mashed banana.  Add blueberry mixture to creamed mixture and stir until just moistened.  Spoon batter into prepared pans.


4) Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the loaf. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Scones

These scones taste like they came from a bakery! 

Blueberry Scones

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter, chilled
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 3/4 cup half-and-half cream
• 1 egg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Cut butter into mixture of flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add blueberries and toss to mix.
3. In separate bowl beat together cream and egg, and slowly pour into dry ingredients, stirring with rubber scraper until dough forms. Knead just until it comes together, 3 or 4 times. Don't overhandle.
4. Divide dough in half. On lightly floured board, shape each half into a 6-inch round. Cut into 6 wedges.
5. Bake on ungreased sheet about 20 minutes at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Serve warm!!

Myapron Recommendation: Use fresh blueberries for this recipe.  I have tried frozen blueberries in this recipe previously, but I had to add extra flour to overcompensate for the small amount of added liquid.  The blueberry flavor was not as rich and the texture of the pastry was not as fluffy when I tried the frozen blueberries.  Also, when adding the butter, cut it into small slices and then use a fork to mix it with the other ingredients until it resembles course crumbs.