When I was growing up, we used to spend some time every summer in New Hampshire, right by crystal-clear Lake Sunapee. In that area of the country, blueberries grow in abundance, so every morning before my brother and I started our trek down to the beach armed with towels and picnic lunches, my mom would task us with picking one pint each (which seemed like SUCH a big chore at the time.) She would either use the plump berries immediately for pie, muffins or pancakes, or she would freeze them for use throughout the year.
Every Fourth of July, there would be a big barbecue potluck down at the beach, accompanied by fireworks. My dad was the undisputed king of our community firework extravaganza, toting bags of sparklers, cherry bombs and what we referred to as "martians," fireworks that would hop around the sand and shoot colored sparks for about 5 seconds before fizzing out. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure if New Hampshire state laws allowed us to be shooting off private fireworks back then. If that was the case, my dad was most definitely NOT in charge of the production.......it was some other guy who I haven't seen in 25 years. My mistake.
Food at our annual celebration consisted of typical barbecue fare--nothing too over-the-top or fancy as Food Network had not yet made its debut and inspired home cooks to try Bobby's chipotle-laced baked beans or Ina's Provencal potato salad. While dessert selections included all-American favorites like brownies and chocolate chip cookies, blueberries always played a starring role, with multiple cobblers, crisps and buckles on display in Corningware casserole dishes of various shapes and sizes.
And of course there was ice cream. Vanilla bean ice cream, to be exact. To me, a blueberry dessert is not complete unless it is accompanied by a generous scoop of vanilla bean ice cream that melts into the top, blending with the juices in a blue-ish white swirl. I always opt for ice cream over whipped cream where summery desserts are concerned. It just seems more appropriate, don't you think?
Even today, any time that I make a blueberry dessert, it always makes me think of our summers in New Hampshire. While I can't remember whether or not we ever had blueberry-studded shortcakes at our annual beach feast, these slightly crunchy cornmeal varieties would have fit right in......and the biscuits would have been heavenly for breakfast the next morning, smeared with soft maple-butter.
Throughout the summer in Las Vegas, our local Trader Joe's carries the most delicious ripe and juicy free-stone peaches, and I always buy one or two flats at a time. Because peaches and blueberries pair so well, I decided to fill these blueberry shortcakes with sliced peaches (and vanilla bean ice cream, of course. This particular brand in the photo, my new favorite, is called McConnell's. If you haven't tried it, you're missing out!) Serve the shortcakes warm, so that the ice cream gets all melty. Or, serve at room temperature--the ice cream will probably still get all melty. It is summer, after all.
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Jean Claire
These recipe sounds delicious! the ingredients and procedures are easy to find and prepare.. Will definitely try this one sometime soon.
Chris
I followed this exactly, and when I mixed the wet and dry, it was INCREDIBLY sticky. I would've had to add at least another cup, maybe more, of flour, but I didn't have enough. There is absolutely no way I could've cut these biscuits out, much less used a roller to roll them out. Are you sure your directions and measurements are right?
Julie @ Peanut Butter and Julie
Hi Chris. Thank you for your email and apologies for the delayed response -- I was out of town. I went back and double (and triple) checked this recipe, and all of the information/ratios were entered correctly. It is a recipe that I have been using for years with good results, which is actually a variation on a recipe from Epicurious that has received consistently positive reviews, so I am confident that the ingredient amounts are correct. That said, there are definitely other factors that could affect the texture of your dough, and I am sorry that your results were not good. Was your kitchen especially warm or humid? Was the 1-1/2 sticks butter that you used cold? These are both things that could have made the dough sticky. Did you perhaps use frozen blueberries instead of fresh? Sometimes those contain extra moisture. I would love to help figure out what happened, so please let me know your thoughts, and I will try to help you get to the bottom of this. Thanks so much.
Jeni
I love the display almost as much as the dessert!
Julie @ Peanut Butter and Julie
Thank you, Jeni! I bought those tree "slices" years ago for an event that I threw. My husband, who is from Vermont, was making fun of the fact that I actually purchased it online. He used to have them everywhere out in his backyard 🙂
Melia
These look amazing! I love it when ice cream melts on hot desserts-the best!
Julie @ Peanut Butter and Julie
Me, too. And I love that hot-cool contrast when the pie/cobbler/shortcake is still warm. Nothing like it!
Karen
I grew up in MA and during blueberry season, my dad would give us each a can that he'd punched holes in and laced with string so it could go around our necks. Two-fisted blueberry pickers, we were! Haha... these shortcakes look luscious!
Julie @ Peanut Butter and Julie
Karen -- what an ingenious idea! I'm sure that my mom would have done the same had she thought of it. Nowadays, I would love to have the task of picking fresh blueberries--although I would probably eat half of them along the way 🙂 Hope you are doing well!