mixed berry sauce

We absolutely adore this time of year at our house. Sure, the weather is fantastic. Sure, summer vacation is a relaxing break. Sure, the longer hours of daylight are a welcome and refreshing change of pace. But none of those things compare to the awesomeness that is widely available fresh berries!

I think we could all be classified as berry junkies. It’s not uncommon for a pound of blueberries or strawberries to be finished off within 5 minutes. I’ve even had to resort to rationing berries because as much as they’d like to convince me otherwise, I know my kiddos can’t exist on berries alone.

Our berry consumption usually goes something like this – container to colander to mouth. End of story. However, every once in a while, I’ll snag a few cups of berries to use in my cooking.

Though I don’t get to do it very often, here are my favorite, tried and true berry recipes that I make over and over again. I hope they’ll help you make the most out of this plentiful berry season…if you can!

Strawberries & Cream Waffle Sandwiches

Blueberry Fritters

Blueberry Breakfast Crumble

Mixed Berry Sauce

Berry Baked French Toast

Blueberry Coffee Cake

We love fruits of all kinds in this house. Unfortunately, this sometimes means that our eyes are bigger than our stomachs sometimes. This means we buy huge containers of strawberries or 29 pound watermelons. And sometimes, although very rarely, we aren’t able to finish up all that fresh fruit before it starts turning that corner toward not-so-good.

Not that that’s a problem though. There are SO many ways to use fresh fruits to extend their lives or make them freezer friendly. And I know I’ve said it before and risk sounding like a broken letter, but sauces are a fantastic way to put those on-the-verge fruits to use. Seriously, a world without sauces or dips would be a sad, sad world indeed.

Here is another one of those sauces that sauces. I love this one because it is very versatile, freezes perfectly and couldn’t be easier.

Mixed Berry Sauce

1 c. water
1 c. sugar
3 c. mixed berries, or just one type of berry, whatever
1 T. cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1 T. water

1. In a medium saucepan, combine water and sugar. Bring to a slow boil and boil for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. While the simple syrup is coming together, slice or dice any berries that need it, like strawberries. Raspberries and blueberries can stay whole.

3. Add berries to syrup, reduce heat and simmer another 5 minutes. In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch or arrowroot powder with the water. Slowly stir into the syrup, bring back to a boil and cook until thickened.

*This amount of cornstarch will create a semi-thick but still runny sauce, about the consistency of syrup. You can easily make it thicker to use in pies or as a cake filling by doubling the amount of cornstarch.

Here are some ideas for this sauce:

As a breakfast syrup…over pancakes, waffles, crepes or French toast
At the bottom of a bowl of plain yogurt for your own “Fruit On The Bottom” yogurt
Mixed with softened cream for a delicious Mixed Berry Cream Cheese. This is great as is on bagels or used in place of plain cream cheese in a cream cheese frosting recipe.

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