A berry good summer

It's no surprise that I love berries. I've already written about them once this summer, in fact. But we've been gobbling them up so much over the past few weeks that I couldn't resist another post.

We try to get most of our berries in the summer from the farmers' market. They tend to be the prettiest and tastiest, plus they're local. See? So pretty.

We've certainly done our fair share of eating berries on their own, but I've also had several occasions for baking lately, and at this time of year, it's hard for me to justify baking something that doesn't have berries in it.

It started with these Summer Berry Custard Bars from Bakers Royale. I made them for two 4th of July parties we attended, and they were a big hit. Kind of a cakier gooey butter cake with berries. Yes, please!

Shortly after that, I made Smitten Kitchen's Blueberry Crumb Bars for brunch. They have fruit in them, so they're a breakfast food, right? They were delicious. So much blueberry goodness.

Then, this past weekend, I whipped up these Blueberry Hand Pies from Completely Delicious. I've made many a pie in my day, but this was my first time making hand pies. They were so good and definitely a better option for taking to parties, like I did, than a big old pie you have to cut up. Besides, summer is all about utensil-less foods.

 B gave his hearty approval.

I felt pretty much the same way. Now, I just need an excuse to make Smitten Kitchen's Strawberry Summer Cake. I made it last year and have been dreaming about it ever since.