Dessert Friday! {blueberry boy bait}

Every Wednesday evening during the school year, my hubby and I attend a small group. Given my love of baking treats that I've never baked before (which, up until a couple of years ago, consisted of anything but chocolate chip cookies), many of these nights I will bring a snack for the group. Meaning that on those Wednesdays my kids get to watch me put a decent amount of effort into preparing a dessert that they can see and smell, but are not allowed to eat. As I was putting some apple pie into the oven for this past Wednesday's group, it occurred to me that here I was, once again, making a dessert for my friends all the while telling my very favorite people that they couldn't have any. Hence I decided to begin implementing Dessert Fridays. Every Friday (with some flexibility allowed for holidays and birthdays and such) I am going to bake something for my family. This week I chose what I was going to make, but from here on out I'm going to let the big kids take turns picking something. Enter *Blueberry Boy Bait. I came across this recipe while searching through the archives of one of my favorite cooking websites, Cooking for Seven. To find the recipe and some great pictures, check out Smitten Kitchen.

As with most baking recipes, this one begins with mixing the dry ingredients; in this case flour, salt, and baking powder.

Next, heft your 30 pound mixer over to the counter by the sink as it is right below the only window in your kitchen. Then throw in some butter (unsalted....venturing into new territory for me), brown sugar, and white sugar.

Then turn on you mixer to medium-high and sit back and watch the batter become fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time mixing until they're just incorporated into the batter after each one.

Then add in some flour...

...and some milk.

Once the batter is combined, fold in the blueberries. I used frozen and they worked just fine.

Mix up some cinnamon and sugar...

...and use your cute little spoon to sprinkle the mixture on top of the cake.

Or if you're impatient like me, after a couple of spoonfuls just sprinkle it right from the bowl. You lose a point in the cuteness factor, but gain one in efficiency.

Pop the cake into the oven and go get your sick boy who woke up too soon from his nap. He'll be very cranky and won't really know what he wants until he sees applesauce. He'll be way too tired to use the appropriate eating utensil, so he'll just attempt to drink his applesauce straight from the cup.

When he throws a tantrum because you wiped his face and gets applesauce everywhere, he'll need to be put in a time out. He'll look pitiful, but it's for his own good.

As enticing smells begin to fill the house, you may begin to notice a bit of drool dibbling down the chins of everyone in the house. Including your own.

If you timed it right, the cake will be ready for your kids to eat just as they get off the bus. A perfect snack for a crisp fall day.

*We didn't actually call this Blueberry Boy Bait in our house. We called it Blueberry Cake. We aren't interested in attracting any more boys to our house for two reasons. 1) Our girls will not be allowed to date until they are 30. 2) Boys eat. A LOT. We already have 3 boys (plus one husband) living in our house. We don't need anymore bottomless pits roaming free in the kitchen.