Saturday Blog Showcase #8 - Blueberry Squares

It's time for our eighth edition of Saturday Blog Showcase!  Join Ann (Thibeault's Table) and me in showcasing recipes from our fellow bloggers.  To participate in the fun:

1. Make a recipe from another blog on any day of the week.  Create a link to that blog in your post.
   
2. Add the Saturday Blog Showcase logo to your post.
   
3. On Friday night or Saturday, link your post to Mr. Linky.

Today I borrowed a recipe from Asha at Fork-Spoon-Knife. Her Cranberry Squares (aka Fruit Squares) looked delicious and the recipe looked so easy, a prerequisite as I started a new job this week!  I made the squares with blueberries instead of the cranberries and iced them with a simple glaze of confectioners' sugar, cream, and vanilla extract.  As part of my 'orientation' at the new office, I decided to bring these in to help introduce the newbie to the rest of the staff (thus no photos of them cut into squares - sorry!).  It was a good move. The president of the company was getting coffee as I dropped the squares off in the breakroom.  He wasted no time cutting into them.  (I also found out he's a foodie, too!)  Within minutes of returning to my desk, he had emailed the whole office about the squares and how delicious they were!  :D  Thanks, Asha, for making my first week at the office that much smoother!

Blueberry Squares (Fruit Squares)
(adapted from CD Kitchen)

** Asha's Note: I used a 8 inch square pan, so my squares turned out a bit thick. You could easily spread this on a 9x13 inch pan **

1-1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon almond extract
1-1/2 cup flour
2 cup fresh blueberries or cranberries or other berries
1/2 cup chopped, toasted cashew nuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the pan you are using.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs until creamy and smooth. Whisk in the melted butter and almond extract. Add flour and fold until incorporated. Fold in blueberries and nuts (if using) carefully so as not to break the fruit and color the whole batter purple.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for about 40-50 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out clean. Transfer to a rack to cool completely (takes about an hour really!). Cut squares and serve.

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