Guest Post & Giveaway with Beau North

Hello everyone,

I am very happy to welcome Beau North in From Pemberley to Milton today for a guest post as part of the blog tour for her debut book “Longbourn’s Songbird”.

I read her book a few weeks ago and found it delicious, just as much as Lizzie Bennet’s Blackbery Cobler that you will see on Beau’s post.

I hope you like it as much I did 🙂

 

****

I’d like to thank Rita and From Pemberley to Milton for the warm welcome I’ve received here, and for the fabulous review of Longbourn’s Songbird! I am looking forward to interacting with all of the dedicated readers here and answering any questions you may have!

 

I’ve been promising Rita something special for weeks now, but perhaps I should have promised something sweet.

 

“All I know for sure is there are few complaints that can’t be solved with dessert. You looked like a man who’d gone far too long without something sweet.”

– Longbourn’s Songbird, Chapter 10

 

I’ve talked about pretty much everything that influenced and inspired this story, from my grandmother to my hometown to Appalachian folk music to the divine Tom Mison. Now that “dinner” is over, it’s time I offered y’all dessert.

 

Mr. Bennet, who loved social experiments, decided to test his suspicion regarding Darcy’s fascination with his favorite daughter. “Come by on Tuesday,” he said eyeing Darcy. “My Lizzie is making blackberry cobbler.” The mention of his daughter had the desired effect. Darcy blanched like a man being walked to the gallows. It told Mr. Bennet all he needed to know. – Longbourn’s Songbird, Chapter Two

 

Cobbler is a staple of southern cuisine. There are several varieties, but the two most common are peach and blackberry. I’ve even seen them combined into one heavenly treat! But, for my last guest post in the tour I wanted to share this family recipe with all of you. My Grandmother, Ola (who was my inspiration for Jane), was an extraordinary baker. Most of our family recipes were her creation, a special bequest for those in our family lucky enough to remember her.

So, exclusively for the readers of From Pemberley to Milton, I give you this. My apologies in advance that the measurements are all in the Standard U.S. Measurement! Here is a link for conversions that I found helpful.

 

Lizzie Bennet’s Blackberry Cobbler

 

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ cup white sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

¾ cup buttermilk (regular milk is fine too)

¼ cup butter

2 cups fresh blackberries, rinsed

 

Instructions:

• preheat oven to 325℉ (165℃)

• place your butter in a baking dish (9×9 is a good size) and put it in the warming oven so that the butter melts

• mix flour, baking powder, sugar, ginger and buttermilk until you have a smooth batter

• remove baking pan from oven and pour batter on top of the butter. You can gently fold the two together if you like, but it is not necessary and may cause the pastry to stick

• drop blackberries directly into batter. Do not stir!

• bake for 1 hour until golden Brown

 

I like to make a little fresh whipped cream for topping, but you can have it plain or with ice cream.

I hope you’ll give it a try. I apologize that I don’t have a vegan or gluten-free option, but that’s the joy of baking – the chance to experiment! . After all, most southern cooking is not terribly precise, it’s usually “a handful” here and “a pinch” there, so there’s always room for interpretation.

 

I’d like to thank you all for giving me the chance to share my grandmother’s knowledge with this audience, I think she would have been happy about it! Does your family have any recipes that have been passed down through the generations? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

 

Thanks again to Rita and From Pemberley to Milton for giving me this opportunity!

 

****

It’s giveaway time!

One lucky winner will receive a paperback copy of Longbourn’s Songbird, and it is open internationally!  

To enter, leave a comment or question below and the winner will be picked randomly.

The giveaway is open until the 29^th of November and the winner will be announced on the 30^th. The best of luck to everyone!

 

I would just like to thank Beau North once more for the delightful post she brought to From Pemberley to Milton, to Jakki from Leaderbound Reviews for organizing the blog tour and inviting me to be a part of it, and to Meryton Press for the giveaway.