There’s cool free entertainment inside Commercial Bank of Texas during the Texas Blueberry Festival presented by Brookshire Brothers June 14 in downtown Nacogdoches.
At 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., Claudann Jones, pictured above, the Family and Consumer Science County Extension Agent for Nacogdoches County, will be preparing blueberry goodies. She’ll demonstrate cooking techniques with delicious samples for everyone.
Jones recently moved to Nacogdoches after serving as the County Extension Agent-FCS in Shelby County and the Family and Consumer Science Instructor at Shelbyville I.S.D. She earned a Master’s of Science in Education from Arkansas State University and a Bachelor of Science from Stephen F. Austin State University.
At 10 a.m. and noon, the festival’s favorite funny guy, Cowboy Max, returns with rope-twirling, joke-cracking entertainment. He performs from Australia to Scotland and Canada to California, but he loves coming back to Nacogdoches for the Texas Blueberry Festival (www.shelbybond.com).
At the end of each show, there will be a drawing for prizes. For more information, call Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce, 936-560-5577 or go to www.texasblueberryfestival.com. Commercial Bank of Texas is located on the brick streets at 215 E. Main Street, Nacogdoches.
Recipes for the delicious dishes Claudann will be cookin' up:
Blueberry Scones with Vanilla Glaze
No. of servings: 8
Ingredients:
- All purpose flour – 2 cups
- Confectioner’s sugar – 1/2 cup
- Baking powder – 1 tbsp
- Unsalted butter – 5 tbsp
- Heavy cream or milk- 1 cup (I used 2% milk)
- Salt – 1/4 tsp
- Egg – 1
- Fresh Blueberries – 3/4 cup
For Glaze:
- Confectioner’s sugar – 1 cup
- Milk – 4 to 5 tbsp (I used 2% milk)
- Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
Method of Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit.
- In a mixing bowl sift all the dry ingredients.
- Add soft butter to it and mix well.
- Whisk the egg with milk or heavy cream and add it to the flour mixture and gently blend everything together to make a dough.
- Fold in the blueberries gently. Be careful not to break them as they spit some colors.
- Spread some flour on a baking sheet and transfer the contents and flatten it to a large square.
- Cut it into four quadrant and then diagonally to make triangle shaped scones.
- Transfer each piece to another baking sheet and bake it for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Don’t worry if your dough is not perfect and is sticky. Spread it just like I mentioned and cut it and do not transfer it to another sheet. Just bake it in the same sheet for 20 to 25 minutes.
- To make the Vanilla glaze, add confectioner’s sugar to a bowl.
- Mix vanilla extract and milk together and add it to the sugar and make a smooth paste.
- That’s it. Vanilla Glaze is ready.
- Check if the scones are ready by just poking it with a clean toothpick or skewer. It should come out clean.
- Sprinkle some vanilla glaze on top and serve.
Blueberry Coconut Pecan Breakfast Cookies
1 1/2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 tablespoon golden flaxmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup dried blueberries
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup coconut oil, warm enough to be liquid
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine oats, coconut, flaxmeal, salt, pecans, and blueberries. Stir in bananas, oil, agave nectar and vanilla until well combined.
Press 2 tablespoons of mixture into a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Continue with remaining mixture.
Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until fragrant and golden. Cool on pan.