CHOCOLATE COVERED BLUEBERRIES: National Blueberry Day!

Today is National Blueberry Day, and July is National Blueberry Month! Chocolate goes so well with blueberries--wild, cultivated--even frozen! I've posted different blueberry recipes over the years, but thought the easiest to start a series of blueberry recipes would be Chocolate Covered Blueberries. I make them pretty much the same way I make chocolate covered raisins--in clumps, but you can also dip fat blueberries individually into dark chocolate.. sort of like having blueberry candy.

FYI: Until 1911, blueberries were picked from the wild, or bushes were dug from the wild that might or might not survive when planted elsewhere. But true domestication—reproduction at the will of a grower and breeding to improve desirable traits—was beyond reach. This makes blueberries among the most recently domesticated crops and one of the few that originated in North America, although they are now grown all over the world.

U.S. Department of Agriculture botanist Frederick Coville set the stage for commercial production by solving the mystery of why blueberries could not be cultivated well when he showed, in 1910, that the plants must be grown in moist, very acidic soil. Soon after, he made the first successful crosses designed to improve important traits, such as berry size and flavor. The blueberry was tamed. Coville's records which are at the National Agricultural Library provide a fascinating look at the USDA research effort that took blueberries from a crop picked from the wild and sold for 14 cents a quart in 1912 to a commercially grown crop worth more than $530 million today.

Dark chocolate and blueberries are great anti-oxidants, and coconut oil is great to fight inflammation, so think of this recipe as very healthy! I do.

CHOCOLATE COVERED BLUEBERRIES

Ingredients
Pint of fresh Blueberries
2 cups dark chocolate, chopped
1 tsp coconut oil

Directions
Wash blueberries and dry well (at least an hour before you dip them in chocolate or the chocolate will seize). Pat them dry.
Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
Combine Chocolate and Coconut Oil in the top of a double boiler -- or a saucepan or stainless steel bowl over another saucepan of simmering water. Stir until just smooth. Remove from heat.
Dip berries (about 3-6 at a time-to make clumps) into chocolate to coat  (you can also use a special tool for dipping.. or two forks or two slotted spoons). Take berries out of chocolate with a spoon and put on baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the blueberries. You can always add a bit more coconut oil to the chocolate if it starts to thicken up.
Put baking sheet in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes to set.
Eat!

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE WITH CHOCOLATE CRUST: National Blueberry Month

I love blueberries, so any chance to add them to chocolate is fine by me. They're plentiful at the farmers markets right now, so why not make this fabulous Blueberry Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust.

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE WITH CHOCOLATE CRUST

Chocolate Crumb Crust:
1 1/2 cups chocolate crumbs
 2 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

Cheesecake:
16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Blueberry Topping:
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease glass pie plate with butter. Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat.
Mix together crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon. Mix butter in and form crumbly texture. Press into pie plate. Place into preheated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove and place on cooling rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 F.

Filling:
Put cream cheese in large mixing bowl and using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Add sour cream, vanilla, and sugar and mix to combine. Add eggs and mix in until well combines. Transfer to prepared pie crust. Place in preheated oven and bake 40-45 minutes. Center will be jiggly. Outside edges should be set, but not brown. Remove and put on cooling rack. Cool to room temperature, then put into refrigerator. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool before putting blueberry topping on for at least an hour. Remove from refrigerator, pour room temperature blueberry sauce on top, cover again, place into refrigerator and set at least 4 hours or overnight.

Topping:
Place berries, water, and sugar into heavy bottom saucepan. Bring  mixture to boil. As soon as it starts to boil, turn down to low. Simmer for about 3-4 minutes stirring as needed so as not to stick to pan. Meanwhile; stir cornstarch into 2 tablespoons of water. Stir cornstarch mixture into blueberry mixture. Turn heat back up and bring to boil, stirring whole time. Cook for a minute or so. Mixture will thicken quickly. Remove from heat, transfer to glass bowl, and let cool to room temperature. Remove chilled cheesecake pie from refrigerator, pour blueberry sauce on top.
Place in refrigerator, cover, and set for 4 hours to overnight.

CHOCOLATE BLUEBERRY PIE: National Blueberry Day

Today is National Blueberry Pie Day! My market always has fresh blueberries, but if yours doesn't, you can always substitute fresh frozen wild blueberries. I love the ones from Trader Joe's. Or you can save this recipe for the summertime when there are fresh local blueberries in your market!

You're probably used to strawberries and chocolate and raspberries with chocolate. I've posted plenty of blueberry and chocolate recipes for scones and muffins and chocolate covered blueberries. This recipe for Chocolate Blueberry Pie is so easy, especially if you use pre-made pie crusts! Don't use the ones in the shells. I like pie crusts from Trader Joe's. I keep them in the freezer, so I'm always ready!

Illustrations for this post are from the 1959 children's classic The Blueberry Pie Elf by Jane Thayre, illustrated by Seymour Fleishman.

CHOCOLATE BLUEBERRY PIE

Ingredients
6 cups blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
3 1/2 ounces DARK chocolate, chopped
Juice of half a lemon  (I use Meyer lemons from my tree)
2 pre-made pie dough crusts (I use Trader Joe's pie crusts--but you can always make your own)
Butter

Directions 
Preheat oven to 350.
Line 9 inch pie plate with one of crusts.
In large bowl, smash some of blueberries with fork (leave most whole).
Sprinkle sugar and lemon juice over blueberries. Let sit 10 minutes.
If mixture is too watery remove some of liquid.
Mix in chocolate and pour mixture into prepared pie pan.
Top with remaining crust and pinch crusts together, make a few slits.
Brush top crust with butter.
Bake 60 - 65 minutes or until golden.
Let sit 15+ minutes before serving.