Strawberry Crumb Bars

Quite possibly, one of my favorite things about summer is all of the beautiful, fresh fruit available for my eating and baking pleasure. I like to pretend that it makes up for the sweltering heat we suffer through every year in North Carolina...

So, as I perused the produce section at the grocery store last week, I was delighted to notice that strawberries were on sale! I simply couldn't resist buying as many as I thought I could fit in our refrigerator. I absolutely love strawberries, and could (shamefully) sit down and eat a pound of them all by myself. However, I happen to be the only one in my house that loves them, so I had to find a good use for them before they went to waste.

After searching recipe books, websites, and blogs I stumbled upon a strawberry crumb bar recipe, courtesy of Can You Stay For Dinner.

strawberry crumb bars

Don't they look amazing?! Honestly, they taste even better than they look. This is a perfectly refreshing treat that can be served as a dessert or enjoyed in the morning with a nice cup of coffee. I imagine it would be equally delicious with many other types of fruit: blueberries, peaches, etc. I hope you try it, and enjoy it as much as I did! Happy baking!!

Ingredients:

1 2/3 c sugar, divided

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

3 c AP flour

1 c butter, cold and diced into small pieces

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 tsp salt

Juice and zest of one lemon

5 c chopped fresh strawberries

1 tbs plus 2 tsp cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375 and line a 13x9 inch baking pan with aluminum foil, allowing for an overhang so that you can remove the bars easily from the pan. Coat foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, 3 cups flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest together in a large bowl. Use a fork to blend in the cold butter and egg. Once blended, the dough should be crumbly. Pat approximately half of the dough into your prepared pan.

In a separate bowl, stir together the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice, strawberries, and cornstarch. Evenly spread the strawberry mixture over the crust. Then crumble the remaining dough over the berry layer.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Let the bars cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares.

Cookie Dough Brownies

I recently realized that we had a package of brownie mix sitting in our pantry, just begging to be used. Since we don't usually keep sweets in our house for no good reason I was perplexed when I stumbled upon them, but decided to take it as an opportunity to experiment!

I began flipping through my trusty recipe box and found a cookie dough truffle recipe I had tried sometime last year. I thought to myself, I love cookie dough, and I love brownies, so why not?! I simply took the cookie dough recipe from the truffles and decided to make a sort of "filling" for the brownies. For the top chocolate layer I would typically use Baker's chocolate, but I had half a bag of mini chocolate chips leftover and it just made sense to use those instead. They worked perfectly.

My brother, sister, and brother-in-law kindly indulged me in taking on the jobs of taste testers, and they gave the brownies RAVE reviews! My husband even had a few bars, which is a big deal for those of you that know him... and his complete lack of a sweet tooth! :-) Enjoy and happy baking!

Ingredients:

1 pkg fudge brownies

1 c butter, softened

1 c packed brown sugar

4 tbs milk

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 c white sugar

2 c AP flour

2 c mini chocolate chips, divided

1 tbs Crisco

Begin by baking the brownies in a 13x9 inch dish according to the directions on the package. Once they are done baking, allow them to cool completely before moving on to the next step. If I'm really in a hurry, it helps to put them in the refrigerator or freezer for just a few minutes.

For the cookie dough filling, combine the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, milk, and vanilla together in a large bowl. Cream these 5 ingredients together, add the flour, and stir to combine. Once the flour is fully incorporated into the batter, add 1 cup of the mini chocolate chips and stir to combine them evenly into the batter. Spread the cookie dough mixture onto the cooled brownies and chill for 15 minutes.

For the chocolate topping, melt the remaining 1 cup mini chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon Crisco. If you're like me, you cringe at the very idea of using Crisco, but it will help keep the chocolate shiny and pretty! Try heating them together in the microwave for 30 seconds and then stir. If the chips don't melt together when stirred, continue heating in the microwave at 15 second increments. Once melted, spread over the cookie dough and chill until set. Then cut into bars and enjoy!

Happy Independence Day!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe Fourth of July! Jason and I spent the holiday weekend visiting my family in Charlotte. It was such a treat to have everyone together for a long weekend of fun and celebration. First on the agenda was a visit to Mom's house where we enjoyed a delicious dinner on Friday evening, followed by a Saturday afternoon filled with lunch, shopping for fabric, and (my personal favorite) polishing some of mom's beautiful silver serving pieces! She has acquired quite a large collection over the years, and every time we get her silver out I fall in love with a new piece. =)

We spent the rest of the weekend at Dad & Jackie's house. On the agenda: Saturday evening cocktails at Selwyn Pub with the siblings and spouses, a Sunday afternoon belly flop contest for the men (yes, you read that right), followed by a yummy cookout courtesy of my Dad and Step mom, and then on to the National Whitewater Center for lunch and rafting on Monday. The whitewater center was REALLY neat (its where the US kayak/canoe Olympic teams train) and I can't wait to go back. Jason and I are dying try out their canopy tour! 

It was a fun-filled weekend and wouldn't have been complete without trying a new dessert recipe! I decided to make a Key Lime Pound Cake, and was quite pleased with how it turned out. I've posted the recipe below, along with some photos from the weekend!

bon bon spoon - my new favorite!

Me and Jason at Selywn Pub

my Sunday tanning and napping locale...

until I was interrupted by the boys =)

my brother-in-law, belly flopping

Key Lime Pound Cake - this cake is lovely and refreshing, and a great summer dessert option! It was just a little bit sweet, a little bit tart, but very velvety and super yummy. The only thing that disappointed me was finding that most of the glaze dripped onto the cake plate. I will probably make this cake again, and just play with different ways to ice it, so as to not lose most of the glaze. Enjoy and happy baking!

Cake Ingredients:
1 c butter, softened
1/2 c shortening
3 c sugar
6 large eggs
3 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lime zest
1/4 c fresh key lime juice

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, beat the butter and shortening together until creamy. Then, gradually add sugar (beating at medium speed) until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just blended together after each addition.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the milk. Be sure to begin and end with the flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Then, stir in the vanilla, lime zest, and key lime juice. Pour the batter into a greased and floured bundt cake pan, and smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. *I checked on the cake at 1 hour and then every 10 minutes afterwards until it was done* Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 15 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan to a wire rack or cake stand.

Prepare key lime glaze (recipe below) and immediately drizzle over the top and sides of cake. Cool completely.

Glaze Ingredients:
1 c powdered sugar
2 tbs key lime juice
1/2 tsp vanilla

Whisk all 3 ingredients together in a small bowl, and use immediately.

key limes, so much smaller than I expected!

ready for the oven

glazed and ready to eat

Strawberry Cake

For weeks now I have been dying to try two things: a new strawberry cake recipe and decorating with buttercream roses! This kind of decorating is new territory for me, but with the birthday of our friend Jen taking place this past weekend, it was the perfect opportunity to celebrate her pre-30th birthday AND do some experimenting. Here's a preview of the finished product... see below for more details!

strawberry rosette cake

Cake Ingredients:

2 3/4 c AP flour

1/2 c cake flour (not self rising)

1 tbs baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 sticks butter, softened

2 1/4 c sugar

3 large eggs

1 large egg white

1 c whole milk (I used skim, and it worked fine)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 c chopped fresh strawberries or pureed frozen strawberries

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar with a hand mixer until it becomes light and fluffy. Add each egg, one at a time, and beat after each addition just until the egg has been incorporated. Beat in egg white.

Combine the milk and vanilla in a separate bowl and set aside. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture on low speed in 3 additions, alternating with the milk mixture, and ending with dry ingredients. Finally, stir the strawberries into your batter.

batter, pre strawberries

batter, post strawberries

(it was SO difficult to resist taking a little taste)

Grease two 9 inch round cake pans and fill each pan evenly with batter. Bake in the oven until a tester comes out clean. I'll be honest with you, I didn't watch the clock very closely (I know, shame on me) so I couldn't tell you precisely how long it took for the cakes to bake. I'd recommend checking on them at 20 minutes and then every few minutes afterwards until they are done. Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

While the cakes are cooling, make your buttercream according to the following recipe.

Buttercream ingredients:

2 c shortening

8 c powdered sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbs vanilla

6 oz heavy cream

1/2 c finely chopped strawberries

In a large bowl, cream the shortening with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, 2 cups at a time, until well blended. About halfway through this process, my frosting got VERY thick and difficult to work with, so I added a little bit of the cream to soften it up. After all of the sugar has been incorporated add the salt, vanilla and remaining heavy cream. Blend until combined, then mix on high until the frosting is light and fluffy. Fold in strawberries. **This makes A LOT of frosting, which is needed for the rosettes, but if you will simply be icing a cake, you might consider cutting this recipe in half.**

Once the cakes have cooled, assemble your layers and cover in a good crumb coat. It does NOT need to be pretty, it just needs to be thick enough so that you aren't able to see any cake through the frosting. Example:

On to the really fun part! Assemble a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton 1M decorating tip, and fill the bag about half full with frosting. Work around the side of the cake first. Beginning in the center of the rosette, hold your decorating tip at a 90 degree angle to the cake, and make a circle around the center point. You will likely need to loop around twice so that the rosettes cover the height of the side of your cake. Once you've made your way around the entire cake, it should look something like this:

half-way there...

Next, cover the top of your cake using the same method.

ta-da! all finished.

The roses weren't as neat and tidy as I would have liked. However, considering this is my first attempt, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.



I think the roses would hold their shape better with a less creamy/more stiff buttercream. That's something to look into for next time. Until then, have fun and happy baking! :-)

up close detail

pretty AND delicious!

Happy Father's Day Weekend

Happy Father's Day to the most amazing father, friend, and role model that a girl could ever ask for. Love you... xoxo!

It's only when you grow up, and step back from him, or leave him for your own career and your own home—it's only then that you can measure his greatness and fully appreciate it. Pride reinforces love.  ~ Margaret Truman

When life hands you lemons...

You make lemonade, and lots of other yummy treats!

Every Sunday I do our grocery shopping for the week, and this past weekend I couldn't help but notice that lemons were on sale. So, on impulse, I bought a bag full of them. I know it sounds strange, but I love everything about lemons: I love the smell of freshly squeezed lemon juice, I love their bright and cheerful color, and I love how they make me think of summertime.

I immediately came home from the store and decided on a lovely...and lemony... menu for one of our weeknight dinners. In celebration of our newly painted kitchen (more on that later), and since I was home from work just a tad earlier than usual, tonight worked out perfectly. On the menu: chicken piccata, lemon orzo, and a lemon cream pie for dessert!

The chicken and orzo were absolutely divine, and I will most certainly use those recipes again. They would be wonderful dishes to serve at a dinner party, or even a casual dinner with guests. Even the lemon cream pie was light and delicious!

I don't usually make pies, for several reasons, but the idea of a lemon cream pie was much more appealing than a lemon cake when I was trying to think of a refreshing summer dessert. I found the recipe (posted below, of course) in the May 2011 issue of my Cooking Light magazine and it immediately appealed to me because it didn't call for me to make my own crust. Making pie crust absolutely terrifies me, mostly because I just can't seem to get it right. This recipe, however, seemed to be easy enough, and it really was! I hope you try it out and enjoy it as much as I did :-)


Ingredients:
1/2 pkg refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
Cooking spray
1/2 c sugar
1 tbs grated lemon rind, divided
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
3 tbs cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2 lg eggs
1 1/2 c fat free milk
1/4 c (2 oz) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
2 tbs butter, softened
1 1/2 c frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed

Roll dough into a 12 inch circle; fit into a 9 inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Fold edges under, and flute. Bake pie crust according to package directions. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Combine sugar, 2 1/2 tsp rind, lemon juice, cornstarch, salt, and eggs in a large bowl and stir well. Combine milk and cheese in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until tiny bubbles form around the edge of the mixture, but do not boil. Gradually add the hot milk mixture to the sugar mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return milk mixture to pan, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter.

Place pan in a large bowl filled with ice for 10 minutes or until the mixture cools to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Spoon the filling into the prepared crust and cover surface of filling with plastic wrap. Chill for 3 hours or until set, and remove plastic wrap. Spread the whipped topping evenly over chilled pie, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tsp lemon rind.

Lemon Cream Pie

Gingerbread "Whoopie" Pies

I'm always looking for an excuse to try a new "sweet treat" recipe. Unfortunately, my husband doesn't have a sweet tooth, and although I do love running, I do NOT want to live at the gym. Therefore, my excuse to get in the kitchen and bake often comes in the form of house guests!

Our amazing friends the Goddards made the drive from Mebane to Raleigh on Memorial Day weekend to spend a couple of days visiting with us. I always look forward to our visits with Mike and Jen. Not only are they two of the most genuine people I have ever met, they often humor me and eat whatever I happen to whip up in the kitchen. God bless them.

I came across this recipe a few weeks ago. It immediately caught my eye because I love gingerbread, and it seemed to be a recipe that could easily be done as a cute, bite sized treat to serve at a shower, cocktail party, etc.

Jen was nice enough to keep me company in the kitchen and lend a hand in the baking process. We were both delighted with the end result! The whoopie pies were SO yummy. In my humble opinion, the gingerbread cookies were what made the recipe so outstanding. If you like gingerbread, I would definitely recommend trying these. The cookies would be delicious on their own, but who doesn't love a little cream cheese frosting? As always, I've posted the recipe below. Happy baking!

Ingredients:
3/4 c butter, softened
1 c brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/3 c molasses
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
sanding sugar (I didn't have this, so I used regular sugar)
cream cheese frosting*

*I would usually make my own cream cheese frosting, but it just seemed easier to buy it this time. So, that's what I did. Thank you very much Betty Crocker.

Preheat oven to 350. In a large  bowl, beat butter and brown sugar at medium speed until fluffy. Add egg and molasses, beat until combined. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until combined.

Form dough into 1 inch balls and roll each ball in sanding sugar. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool 2 minutes, remove to cooling racks and cool completely. Spread filling evenly on flat side of one cookie, and top with another. (Makes 24 servings)

**As an aside, I would recommend using the bottom of a drinking glass (spray with non-stick cooking spray first) to slightly flatten the balls of dough once placed on the cookie sheet. Thinner cookies might make for whoopie pies that are not quite as "thick" and therefore easier to eat!  :-)

aren't they cute?!