homemade | The Foodies' Kitchen

Mixed Berries Jam

I used to shy away from even attempting to make homemade jams because I thought you needed to buy special ingredients, such as pectin, to make them at home. I also thought you had to go through the whole canning process which uses special containers (which, are kind of expensive).

I gave them a try after reading David Lebovitz’s blog and realizing that not only does he not use commercial pectin, but there is no need to go through the canning process. I buy regular glass containers, with regular twist on/off caps and wash them with hot soapy water before using them. That’s it. Jams will keep for months in the refrigerator without problem.

I have already made a few different types of jam, but hadn’t tried a classic mixed berry jam, and this one would go great with cream cheese and scones. Check out our two recipes for scones, while you’re here!

Helga

Mixed Berries Jam

Yields: 5 one cup jars (8 oz jars)
Adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients:

1 pound strawberries
1 pound blackberries
1 pound raspberries
1 cup blueberries
1 cup water or apple juice
5 1/2 cups sugar
juice of one lemon
pinch of salt
Optional: 1 tablespoon kirsch

Procedure:

In a large pot, mix the berries, and the water or apple juice. Cook, covered, stirring frequently over moderate heat, until the berries are cooked through and thoroughly tender. It should take about 10 minutes.
Put a small plate in the freezer.
Add the sugar, lemon juice, and salt, and cook, uncovered, skimming off and discarding any foam that rises to the surface, until the jam is thick and passes the wrinkle test.
To do the wrinkle test: place a small spoonful of the jam on the frozen plate. Return it to the freezer and check it a few minutes later; if the jam wrinkles when nudged, it’s done. You can also use a candy thermometer; jam jells at approximately 220F (104C).
Stir in the kirsch, if using, then ladle the jam into clean jars, cover, and store in the refrigerator.

03:36 PM
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- Berries, canning, homemade, jam, mixed, pectin
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Homemade Almond Butter

I like to make things at home that you would normally get at the store, such as jams or marshmallows. It occurred to me that I wanted to try to make peanut butter at home, except… we had half a jar in our cabinet. I decided to try almond butter instead, so for all my fellow do it yourself folks out there, here’s the recipe I tried.

I wanted to make a small batch of it, so I tried my mini chopper which I figured would work pretty much the same way a food processor would. It did work, but I was afraid it was going to crack! I could’ve kept going to get a smoother appearance, but I feared for my little appliance. Don’t worry about the time it takes to make this. You do need to be patient, it takes a while.

So my tip would be, use your trusty food processor for this. Leave that poor mini chopper alone.

I had sliced almonds at home, so that’s what I used. You can use whole almonds, or any other type of nut for that matter. I think I want to try cashew butter next, or a mix of nuts.

Health Tip: The number one health benefit of almond butter is that it is good for the heart. It is rich in monounsaturated fats, which are the type of fats that reduce levels of cholesterol and decrease the risk of heart ailments. Dipping your biscuit in almond butter or spreading it on top of your bread certainly gives your heart a healthy boost.

Helga

Almond Butter

Recipe from Heather Eats Almond Butter

Ingredients
2 cups of almonds

Special Equipment: Food Processor

Procedure:

The first step is optional: Preheat oven to 350F to roast your almonds. Spread them on a cookie sheet and roast for 10-15 minutes. Stir them a couple of time to keep them from burning.
Place the almonds in a food processor and let the machine do its job.
First you’ll notice the almond butter will start to pulverize. Scrape down the sides of the food processor from time to time with a rubber spatula (with the power off, of course).
As the nuts are being processed they will begin to clump. This is the butter starting to form.
Keep going! It will creamy, but you do need to keep the processor going for about 13-15 minutes.

Note:

You can add different things to it at this point such as: salt, vanilla, honey, cinnamon, maple syrup. I kept mine plain, and just drizzled honey on top after I spread some on a slice of bread.

04:13 PM
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- almond butter, creamy, homemade, nuts, spread
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Mini Blueberry Pies

I finally mustered the courage to make these. I was afraid they would be tricky to assemble and I would end up wasting ingredients. I made the dough this time, sometimes I cheat and use frozen pie dough, but I really wanted to make these using a homemade crust . It doesn’t take much effort to make a homemade crust when you use a food processor, and the result will always be better than the store bought kind. The trick is not to overwork the dough. Just blend it until it is all combined and the dough is formed. Resist from mixing or kneading the dough too much, which activates the gluten in the flour and affects the texture of your baked crust. Instead of a flaky crust, you’ll have a dense one. When using butter, make sure it is cold and not at room temperature.

When I finished my dough, and I went through the assembly steps, I was glad to see they are not difficult to make at all!

I tried different designs for the top crust, and I can tell you right away you should try the lattice top to get the prettiest result. I completely covered some of them, but the blueberry juice oozed from their side and ended up looking a little messy (you’ll see in my photographs).

I will try this recipe again using different fillings, apple will probably be next. I tried to explain the procedure on the steps below, but you can pretty much get the idea just from the photographs, I promise it’s not hard to make. I also included a video of how to make a lattice top on Step 5 of the assembly procedure.

Mini Blueberry Pies

Crust Recipe from Martha Stewart
Filling Recipe adapted from Tidy Mom
Assembly tips: Adventuress Heart

Makes 6 mini pies

For Pie Crust:

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Egg Wash:
1 egg
1 tablespoon water

Preparation:

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

For Pie Filling:

2 1/2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Preparation:

Gently combine berries, sugar, flour, cornstarch, lemon zest and lemon juice in large bowl.

Assembly:

Preheat oven to 425 F.
Roll out pie dough and using either a cookie cutter mold, ramekin, a small round plate or anything round that has a diameter of 4 1/4 ” for the bottom crust and 3 1/2″ for the top crust. ( My cookie cutter was under 4″, so I kept the dough a little thicker and rolled it out after I cut it to make it larger in diameter).
Place your pie dough rounds inside the holes of your cupcake mold (you don’t need to grease the cupcake mold, the pie crust has enough butter to prevent it from sticking). Using your fingers, gently press down the sides and bottom to make sure you’re getting a proper shape.
Add the blueberry filling all the way to the top.
Roll out the remaining dough to make the tops. Use your round mold, and make any design you like. If you will use a top crust to completely cover the top, try to seal the sides properly to help the filling stay inside during baking. ( I recommend using a lattice pattern)
Once the mini pies have been assembled, brush the tops with an egg wash to create a golden and shiny finish.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden in color. Start to check them on minute 25.

Serve with vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream.

For Pie Filling: