Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake

A guest post by Sue from Basically Baked on her experience making Blueberry Buckle.

Today it’s my turn to be the guest author on Cookie Madness. Katrina’s Baked Alaska was so fun and pretty that my entry may pale in comparison.

When Anna asked if I’d like to do a guest post, I jumped at the opportunity. Anna is the person who encouraged me to start my own blog, and I continue to be one of her biggest fans. It's an honor for me to share my recipe here and I hope my fellow Cookie Madness fans enjoy it.

When we chatted via email Anna mentioned that she and Todd were surprising Fuzz with an Alaskan cruise. We bounced a few ideas around that we thought might tie into their trip.  Anna will be surprised because Blueberry Buckle wasn’t one of the ideas that we discussed!

Good friends of mine lived in Alaska for awhile and they tell great stories about their time there. One of my favorite mental images of them in Alaska is picking wild berries. They would canoe on their favorite lake, hike to pick berries, and camp for days without ever seeing other humans. The thing is they always took their dog with them because the dog had a finer sense of how close they were to the bears. It goes without saying that the bears liked the berries too!

The Alaskan theme got me to thinking of some of my favorite things to do with blueberries.  Blueberry Buckle is near the top of the list. My recipe for Blueberry Buckle came to me from my aunt, but I’m pretty sure she got it from my grandma. The original recipe uses margarine, and doesn’t call for any flavoring in the batter. I use butter and just for Cookie Madness I decided to live it up and add some vanilla. I like the addition of the vanilla and will permanently add it to the recipe.

Blueberry Buckle has always seemed like a funny name. It’s really a fine, moist crumbed, coffee cake with a golden crunchy topping. The topping comes together easily by rubbing the mixture together in a small bowl with the back of a spoon. You could use your fingers, but I prefer to use a spoon. The batter is also easy to make. You could mix this by hand, but I like to use a handheld mixer.

I hope Anna and her family are  having a great vacation. If I lived next door I’d have some of this waiting for them when they return.  The best I can do is post the recipe here for you and for them to enjoy!

Blueberry Buckle

Topping

½ c. sugar
⅓ c. flour
½ t. cinnamon
3 T. butter

Batter
½ c. butter- room temperature
¾ c. sugar
1 egg- room temperature
½ c. milk
1.5 c. flour sifted after measuring
2 t. baking powder
½ t. salt
1.5 c. well drained fresh blueberries (sometimes I use the entire pint)

For the topping:

Rub together the sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter until the mixture forms an evenly fine crumb. I use the back of a spoon to do this, but you can use your fingers if you prefer. Set the mixture aside.

For the batter:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 inch pan with butter, and set aside.

Using a hand held mixer, mix together the sugar and butter until it’s fluffy. Add the egg and mix until creamy. Stir in the milk. Sift the dry ingredients together onto a sheet of waxed paper and then add to the milk mixture and stir until evenly mixed. Fold in the blueberries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter.

Bake for 50-60 minutes until the topping is golden and a toothpick comes out clean after being inserted in the center.