Smith Berry Barn

melted butter

Winter Squash Soup

October 12, 2016
Course

Winter Squash Soup
Print Recipe
We serve this hearty soup at our annual Heirloom Apple Festival and it gets rave reviews! Use any type of winter squash you would like, just vary the quantity, depending on the size of the squash.
Servings Prep Time
8 servings 1 hour
Cook Time Passive Time
1.5 hours 1 hour
Servings Prep Time
8 servings 1 hour
Cook Time Passive Time
1.5 hours 1 hour
Winter Squash Soup
Print Recipe
We serve this hearty soup at our annual Heirloom Apple Festival and it gets rave reviews! Use any type of winter squash you would like, just vary the quantity, depending on the size of the squash.
Servings Prep Time
8 servings 1 hour
Cook Time Passive Time
1.5 hours 1 hour
Servings Prep Time
8 servings 1 hour
Cook Time Passive Time
1.5 hours 1 hour
Ingredients
For the Squash
  • 4 each acorn squash (or 2 medium butternut or 1 hubbard or other large squash)
  • 2 each fresh pears (peeled, cored and quartered)
  • 1 each sweet onion (quartered)
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • salt and pepper to taste
For the Soup
  • 4 cups chicken broth (sub vegetable broth for vegetarian option)
  • 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
  • 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
For the Finish
  • 1-1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • fresh ground pepper (liberal or to taste)
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Servings: servings
Instructions
To prepare squash
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds and place in 9"x13" baking dish with cut-side facing up. You may need more than one baking dish depending on the size of your squash. See notes below.
  3. Place onions and pears around squash, filling all the spaces in the baking dish.
  4. Drizzle with melted butter and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Bake in oven approximately 45 minutes, or until fork-tender.
  6. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough that you can handle the squash. Scoop the flesh of the squash, discarding the skins.
  7. Place all ingredients from baking dish(es) into large stockpot and proceed with making the soup.
To prepare soup
  1. Add all remaining ingredients to stock pot with the squash mixture.
  2. Heat on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to bubble.
  3. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
  4. Remove soup from heat and puree the soup using an immersion blender. Puree until smooth (you may have a few onion pieces that won't puree...that's fine!)
To finish soup
  1. Add the heavy whipping cream, salt and liberal grindings of fresh pepper and stir to combine.
  2. Taste for seasonings and adjust if necessary.
Recipe Notes

We find that because of the varying sizes in squash, it's sometimes necessary to use more than one baking dish to roast the squash. ??Your baking dishes should be full but not too full, so if necessary, place ingredients into two dishes and place them side by side in your oven.

Also, the seasonings may need adjusting, due to the variations in the squash. ??Simply taste your soup and add more of each of the seasonings to taste. ??This soup comes out a little different each time we make it, but it's very forgiving!

Enjoy this soup with a crusty loaf of bread and a salad as a complete meal...or serve as an appetizer in small mugs at a holiday gathering.

If you end up with too much soup, place remaining soup in freezer containers and freeze for a later date! ??Enjoy!

Blackberry Cobbler

July 29, 2016
Course

Blackberry Cobbler
Print Recipe
This is the cobbler we serve every year at our Berry Festival. Try it with a mixture of blackberries like marionberries and boysenberries or, later in the season, try mixing our Triple Crown blackberries with blueberries. There's no combination that isn't delicious!
Servings Prep Time
12 servings 30-40 minutes
Cook Time
50-55 minutes
Servings Prep Time
12 servings 30-40 minutes
Cook Time
50-55 minutes
Blackberry Cobbler
Print Recipe
This is the cobbler we serve every year at our Berry Festival. Try it with a mixture of blackberries like marionberries and boysenberries or, later in the season, try mixing our Triple Crown blackberries with blueberries. There's no combination that isn't delicious!
Servings Prep Time
12 servings 30-40 minutes
Cook Time
50-55 minutes
Servings Prep Time
12 servings 30-40 minutes
Cook Time
50-55 minutes
Ingredients
Ingredients for Filling:
  • 10 cups fresh blackberries (sub 2 cups blueberries if desired)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 Tbs cornstarch
  • 1/2 lemon (juice and zest)
Ingredients for Dough Topping:
  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar (plus more for spinkling)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup melted butter (plus additional 1-2 Tbs, melted for topping)
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
Servings: servings
Instructions
To prepare the filling:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Place rinsed berries in large mixing bowl. Add lemon juice,lemon zest, sugar and cornstarch and stir gently to combine.
  3. Pour berry mixture into a buttered 9"x13" baking dish. Place in preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. While the filling bakes, begin preparing the dough.
To prepare the dough:
  1. In large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  2. In glass measuring cup, measure out the buttermilk and mix in the melted butter until smooth and creamy. It works best if you allow the melted butter to cool slightly before mixing.
  3. Slowly add buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until a soft dough forms. Bring dough completely together with your hands, if desired.
  4. Pat dough into a flattened disc and divide into 12 equal pieces. Form and flatten the dough pieces into rounded discs.
To finish baking:
  1. After the filling has baked for 30 minutes, remove from oven and raise oven temperature to 375 degrees.
  2. Carefully place each of the dough pieces on top of the hot berry filling in an even pattern.
  3. Melt an additional 1-2 Tbs butter and brush gently on the tops of the dough. Sprinkle with sugar to finish.
  4. Bake uncovered for an additional 20-25 minutes, until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. This cobbler is best served warm with vanilla ice cream.
Recipe Notes

If you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can easily substitute with a milk/lemon juice combo. ??Simple measure the same amount of milk and add approximately 1 Tbs of lemon juice. ??You may also use 1/2 cup of whipping cream or half and half along with 1/4 cup sour cream.

Raspberry Rhubarb Crisp

July 29, 2016
Course

Raspberry Rhubarb Crisp
Print Recipe
As with most of our berry dessert recipes, this one can be altered to use just about any fruit you would like. We love the raspberry/rhubarb combo, but any berry medley is wonderful...simply adjust the amount of sugar to taste.
Servings Prep Time
6 servings 30-40 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Servings Prep Time
6 servings 30-40 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Raspberry Rhubarb Crisp
Print Recipe
As with most of our berry dessert recipes, this one can be altered to use just about any fruit you would like. We love the raspberry/rhubarb combo, but any berry medley is wonderful...simply adjust the amount of sugar to taste.
Servings Prep Time
6 servings 30-40 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Servings Prep Time
6 servings 30-40 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Ingredients
Ingredients for Filling:
  • 3 cups rhubarb (approx 5 stems)
  • 3 cups raspberries
  • 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 Tbs cornstarch
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp salt
Ingredients for Topping:
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup oatmeal
  • 1/3 cup melted butter
Servings: servings
Instructions
To prepare the filling:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Prepare the rhubarb by dicing into 1/2" pieces and steaming on the stove top for approximately 3 minutes. Just enough to soften slightly.
  3. In large mixing bowl, gently mix together the berries, rhubarb, lemon juice and lemon zest.
  4. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, corn starch, cinnamon and salt until well combined.
  5. Sprinkle dry mixture over berry mixture and stir gently.
  6. Place berry mixture into a buttered 8" square baking pan.
  7. Bake berry mixture for approximately 15 minutes, while you prepare the topping. This allows the fruit mixture to cook and set, without over-baking the topping.
To prepare the topping:
  1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar and oatmeal.
  2. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. You should have a crumbly mixture when fully incorporated. Use your fingers if you'd like!
  3. Remove berry mixture from the oven and carefully sprinkle the topping mixture over entire surface of fruit.
  4. Raise oven temperature to 375 degrees and place pan back in oven to finish baking. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly.
Recipe Notes

Sometimes when our fruit is extra juicy, we lose some of our topping into the berry mixture. ??We don't mind, though...just top it with some vanilla ice cream and watch it disappear!