As Kathryn pointed earlier today, it's berry season! Who can resist picking up a pint of perfectly ripe berries and popping one (or three) in your mouth before you've even left the farmer's market stand?
But a pint of berries bought as a splurge can sometimes present a conundrum back in the kitchen. Many recipes call for more than you've purchased or maybe you're just not in the mood to go all out with your great-grandma's prize-winning blueberry pie!
Never fear, here are five simple ways to get the most out of your pint and showcase the berries at their best!
Top 5 Things To With One Pint of Berries:
1. Make muffins. Most muffin recipes call for a cup or two of berries (two cups equals one pint), and usually any berry in season can be swapped in for whichever recipe you're using. If you don't have quite enough berries, round it out with nuts or dried fruit.
2. Make individual cobblers. There's no rule that says cobblers have to be baked in baking dish! Fill an individual-size ramikan with a handful of fruit, top with a dollop of cobbler dough, and bake at 350-degrees until the crust is golden and the fruit bubbly.
3. Layer into parfaits. This is one of our favorite summer desserts since it's so easy and doesn't involve hot ovens! Just fill a tall glass with layers of fruit, whipped cream, and any other goodies you want--crumbled cookies, chocolate chips, a drizzle of sauce...
4. In pancakes and waffles. Another favorite! Mix fresh berries right into the pancake or waffle batter for a summer morning treat.
5. Add berries to salads. Tart summer berries make a fun addition to our standard leafy green salad and pair well with vegetables and many proteins like chicken and fish.
What else can you do with one pint of berries?
Related: Top Five: Uses for Arugula Besides Salad
(Image: Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
How to Make Buckwheat Soba Noodles from Scratch
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Martha Concrete Lam...
Dirty Little Secrets of Tidy Families
Hillary & Michael's Refined Roost
smoooooooooooothies
berry bread pudding
I like to make Blueberry Crisp and offered up a recipe card on my blog a while back: http://www.boogaj.com/knitting/2008/07/berry-day.html
I often find myself with too many berries when they're in season. I'll often cook them down into a syrup, which will keep longer in the fridge. Goes well on aforementioned pancakes (or french toast, waffles, etc.). Also, vanilla ice cream.
I usually just toss into a pan a bit of sugar and water like I was making simple syrup and cook the berries down in it. Many recipes include corn syrup along with or instead of the sugar, which I rarely have on hand so rarely use... doesn't seem to hurt the result.
Haven't tried this yet, but strained and mixed with seltzer might also make a nice base for a refreshing summer drink ...
Those are great ideas; especially the individual cobblers. Beats the old standby of throwing them on my morning cold cereal or yogurt.
berry bread pudding sounds like HEAVEN
for something a little less rich, fresh berry granita!
I had a big flat of blueberries this week. Here's what I made with them:
Compote (served with French toast):
http://veg-nkitchenette.blogspot.com/2008/07/french-toast-with-nutter-butter-and.html
Blueberry French toast:
http://veg-nkitchenette.blogspot.com/2008/07/blueberries-and-fiddlehead-ferns.html
Blueberry Lemon cupcakes:
http://veg-nkitchenette.blogspot.com/2008/07/blueberry-lemon-creme-cupcakes-from.html
I have a pint of big, beautiful strawberries that I'll munch on for a few days and then, when they start to ripen a bit, I'll slice them up, sprinkle on a little sugar, and pour them over slices of chocolate cake with a little whipped cream.
Make Berry Fool! Yummm.
I've been making scones with the blueberries I just picked.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post and comments!
I have been dying to buy berries for weeks now, and I finally broke down and bought a whole bunch of them yesterday, but I had no idea what to do with them. All of your helpful hints. I will surely put them to good use soon. Thank you!
I made that cobbler recipe this past weekend (peaches tossed with a couple of spoonfuls of ollalieberry preserves, because the peaches were still a bit early and tart) and my dinner guests devoured it. The dough was a bit sweeter than I'm used to using for cobbler, but it went over very well. Thanks for a great (easy!) recipe.
how 'bout eating them by the handful? that's my favorite "use."
I'm with katiebug.
With any kind of fruit that is in season, there's nothing needed besides a good rinse. Why mess with perfection?
I'm happy to throw them on top of my shredded wheat.
I'll be squishing them into my next mojito (tried it with blackberries but the seeds were too much)
My husband likes them muddled into his old fashioned. I like mine in a malt. Blueberry malts are my favorite treat.
Lenny: I had a raspberry mojito on saturday night. The bartender squished a handful of raspberries into the mojito and it was spectacular! Try this one!
For blueberries and raspberries: a fool. Take that pint of berries and save aside a handful. Puree the rest with sugar to taste. Whip a cup of heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks and fold in the puree. Save aside a few of the reserved berries, crush the rest slightly and mix those into the cream/berry mixture too. Dole out into four small dessert bowls and top with the last few whole berries. You can eat right away or chill for a while before serving.
Blueberry fool also does very well with a dash of cinnamon along with the sugar when you puree the berries.