Berry Big Deal

 In honor of this sweet time of year, we asked Club pastry chef extraordinaire Alice McCarthy to share her most prized berry recipes for your summertime dessert needs. And the results are delicious.

Triple Berry Crisp
The beauty of this recipe is that it’s seasonless. Serve it in high summer when fresh berries are at their peak or freeze the berries to make it during the cooler months.
Makes 9–10 servings
¾ cup flour
½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup light brown sugar (packed)
1 cup granulated sugar
(separated into ½ cups)
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter
(cold, diced into small pieces)
12 ounces fresh raspberries (2½ cups)
11 ounces fresh blueberries
(2 heaping cups)
6 ounces fresh strawberries
(1 heaping cup, quartered)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ tablespoons cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375° F. Butter a 9 by 9–inch or 11 by 7–inch baking dish.
For the crumble: In a stand mixer, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, ½ cup of granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt and butter until it resembles coarse meal.
In a separate bowl, gently toss the berries with remaining ½ cup of granulated sugar, vanilla extract and cornstarch.
Spoon the berry mixture into your prepared dish, then top with the crumble. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream.

Classic Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry shortcake is a ubiquitous dessert on summer menus and at fairs throughout the state. It’s a crowd-pleasing surefire hit, and you’ll be glad to have it in your repertoire.

Makes 9 shortcakes –
16 ounces fresh strawberries, quartered
Stir in 2 tablespoons of sugar and leave to macerate in refrigerator for 10 minutes.
Cream Scone Recipe –
9 ounces all-purpose or gluten-free flour of your
choice (2 cups)
4 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
¾ cup heavy cream
1 egg slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons powdered sugar, for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and butter in a food processor or mixer. Pulse in 3-second intervals until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the heavy cream, egg, and vanilla by hand until the dough is uniform and slightly moistened. A mixer on the lowest speed also works.
On a floured surface, roll the dough out to a 1-inch thickness. Use a 2 or 2½-inch round cutter to make as many scones as you can.
Place the scones on a parchment-covered sheet pan and space out evenly.
Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. When cooled, slice in half.

To Assemble –
Place a generous amount of the macerated strawberries on the bottom half of each scone, top with a dollop of whipped cream and the other half of scone. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!

Cherry Pie Crumb Bars
Quite possibly the perfect dessert to tuck into a basket or a backpack for a summer picnic or scenic hike. Easy to make, easy to take and very easy to eat.

Makes 9 servings –
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and halved
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Line a square 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Butter the sides and bottom of the lined pan. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the cherries, cornstarch, lemon juice and vanilla.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the butter and sugar.
Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and stir with a fork until the mixture resembles crumbs.
Reserve ¾ cup of the crumb mixture.
Press the remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Spread the cherry filling over the crust.
Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the cherries.
Sprinkle the sugar over the crumb topping.
Bake the bars for 23–25 minutes, or until the top is golden.
Cool completely before cutting.

The Berries of Washington

Blueberries
Blueberries used to be big business for Washington state, specifically Bellevue, which was a farming community before rapid urbanization occurred in the mid-20th century after the bridges were built. Today, the City of Bellevue manages the two remaining historic blueberry farms at the Mercer Slough and Larsen Lake (bellevueblueberryfarms.com), both of which are open for u-pick once the blueberry season starts in early July.

Strawberries
Strawberries put Bellevue on the map in 1925 with the first annual Strawberry Festival, which attracted more than 3,000 visitors from all over King County. By 1938 the attendance had risen to 15,000 people who consumed 4,172 pounds of strawberries and 8,750 shortcakes. Washington state produces 8 million pounds of the berry a year, which is only 1% of the total US strawberry yield.

Sweet Cherries
Did you know that Washington state is the leading producer of sweet cherries in the United States and the second producer in the world after Turkey? Most of the cherry growing is done east of the Cascades in the Yakima Valley, Wenatchee and Columbia Basin areas, and in 2024 that amounted to nearly 391,000,000 pounds. #mindblowing.