A Life in Food
Cherry Crisp is one of those obligatory summer desserts and I for one, happily oblige. Making a crisp couldn’t be easier. It’s nothing more than mixing a few things together and sliding it into the oven. This is a perfect dessert for those just learning how to bake and also those of us who happen to love cherries. No pie filling here or cake mix of any sort. This cherry crisp is made from scratch with only a handful of ingredients.
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Bars are the go-to dessert when you are feeding a crowd. If I can get away with not turning on the oven, that’s even better. These Blueberry Swirl No Bake Cheesecake Bars have a chocolate crust with a thin layer of melted chocolate in between for that something extra. Super creamy, silky smooth filling swirled with fresh blueberry sauce make these bars as pretty as they are delicious.
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Fresh fruit and coconut yogurt make these popsicles guilt-free. A simple blueberry pureé, yogurt and fresh raspberries are the only ingredients in this icy treat. Summer is officially here and this is how I plan to beat the heat.
Recently, I met up with my friend Sue. She generously bestowed upon me pounds and pounds of fresh blueberries from her farm. I have to admit that I ate a quite a few. Have you ever heard someone describe something as “jammy”? Well, these blueberries were most definitely jammy. As in, they tasted like JAM. They were so incredibly sweet, I could help myself. That’s my defense. They were too good, so I had to eat them. Lots of them.
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Malted milkshakes are a childhood treat. In my humble opinion, a malt is so much better than a regular milkshake. It has more flavor and complexity than just ice cream and milk. Made with Robin Eggs©candy, extra malted milk powder, homemade whipped cream and a mini ice cream cone garnish – this the ULTIMATE malt!
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No Bake Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Parfaits, my new go-to quick and easy summer treat! Perfect for a last minute dessert when there is no time for baking. They look elegant enough to serve to guests, but they are ridiculously easy.
No bake desserts are a lifesaver in warm weather months, which is most of the year where I live. Additionally, warm weather means bathing suit season. We are watching what we eat, but I’m not about to deprive myself of a sweet treat. These no bake blueberry lemon cheesecake parfaits are low carb, lower in sugar and at only 2 ounces, they won’t sabotage your diet. It’s a WIN WIN!
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Butter Pecan Biscotti are perfect for holiday cookie exchanges and for sharing! One of my favorite ice cream flavors is butter pecan, so I wanted to turn it into a biscotti for giving away as homemade gifts for friends this holiday season.
Normally, I am too busy to do much baking during the holiday season. This year is different. We just moved to a new city and I am still healing from surgery so my time in the kitchen is limited. Baking loads of Christmas cookies is something that I really enjoy and these biscotti are going to be in the regular rotation. They received rave reviews around here and this house is well versed in cookie consumption. Biscotti are an excellent option if you ship cookies to friends and family, like I do. They hold up well and remain fresh much longer than normal cookies.
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This week, Betsy from Desserts Required is doing a guest post! I love Betsy and I know you will too! We’ve been friends for a few years now and I must tell you, when you are around her – a good time will be had, whether you like it or not! 🙂 She is a ball of energy, a ray of sunshine and has a serious sweet-tooth just like your truly. Betsy is a “girl’s girl”, a cheerleader & champion of her friends, the kind of friend everyone should have.
Hello Pook’s Pantry readers!
I am so excited to guest blog while Cheryl takes some much needed time to recover from her surgery. I met Cheryl at Food Wine Conference a couple of years ago and last year she was my roommate. To say that I love and adore her would be an understatement. I mean, seriously, you already know how fabulous her sense of humor is in addition to her talent in the kitchen but I got to see it firsthand. Cheryl was on team Betsy’s Balls in the Chopped competition and, holy moly, can that woman cook!
My blog is Desserts Required and I live by the mantra, “Without desserts, life would not be as sweet.” If there is a delicious dessert within reach, driving distance or flying distance, I am always up for giving it a try. That goes for candy, too.
Since Thanksgiving is two days away, I thought it would be best to offer a quick and delish option to make; Holiday Candy Bark. I love the idea of making something that is as easy to serve at home as it is to take to someone for a hostess gift.
The key is to use high quality chocolate. I love bittersweet chocolate but Holiday Candy Bark will work just as well with semisweet, milk or even white chocolate. When I was at Whole Foods buying dried cranberries and unsweetened shredded coconut, I had trouble locating dried apricots. I was directed to a bin of very dark, almost black, apricots. I thought something was wrong with them but learned that they were Turkish apricots and, as such, did not contain sulphur, which gives that very bright unnatural orange color. Although, initially, I wanted that bright orange color, I opted for the natural dried fruit. Feel free to use whichever dried apricot you prefer.
Assembly is a breeze. It’s just a matter of adding layers of dried fruit, coconut and toasted pecans over most of the melted chocolate and then drizzling more melted chocolate over the top to keep the goodies in place.
Best of all, Holiday Candy Bark is great throughout this holiday season. I’ve even heard a rumor that Santa loves a batch with his milk and cookies!
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Labor Day weekend is behind us, and for me that marks the “unofficial” official end of summer. I’m not quite ready to “pumpkin spice all the things”, and I’m grasping onto the last ripe tomatoes, corn and veggies that summer has to offer, but fall is right around the corner. This summer has brought sweltering temps with it and I for one, am ready for it to cool down just a bit.
This recipe came to fruition based on 2 things: I had puff pastry in the freezer and I had figs that were on the verge of being too soft. Wasting food is a Cardinal Sin in my book, and I needed desserts for a client so it was a no-brainer. I looked through the fridge to see what I had on hand to make this come together; it wasn’t much. Luckily, I had cream cheese and I figured if I sweetened it up just a touch, the finished product would be almost Danish-like.
You want dessert, but you don’t want to spend hours making it… However, if said dessert gave the appearance you had spent all day making it that would be a bonus. Amiright?!
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I love my “swirly” bundt pan, but it’s a tad smaller than the average bundt and I always have leftover batter. This may not seem like an issue, but sometimes I don’t want to make extra cupcakes or little cakes. I just want One Big Bundt! So, after dropping a few subtle hints and finally telling my Mom that I was planning a heist and the prize was her Classic Bundt pan… Voila! She told me that one was on it’s way to me! Thanks, Mom! (sometimes, a girl needs to resort to extreme measures)…
Did you know that July is National Blueberry Month? Let’s make a cake and celebrate!
Last week, I was flipping through an old book and 2 things fell out onto my lap: this recipe and an old black & white photo from a birthday party.
That’s the story of my life. I’m usually a fairly organized person, but little scraps of paper plague my existence. I find them everywhere. I mean, literally everywhere. I scribble down notes or ideas and shove them into a bag or toss them onto the dining room table or kitchen counter. I’m staring at a handful of them as I type this…
I’ve given this recipe a permanent home now, which makes me quite pleased because this cake happens to be one of my very favorite things in all the world. In my humble opinion, crumb cakes are absolutely one of the recipes that should be in everyone’s back pocket. A good crumb cake is a crowd pleaser. Have you ever met someone that didn’t like crumb cake? Me either.
It almost guarantees you’ll get another invite if you bring it to someone’s house. Ask my friends, I’ve taken it a few times 😉
This cake has a Very Generous crumb topping, which is mandatory in my book. The cake itself is surprisingly light, but sturdy enough to support a hefty amount of fresh blueberries. Get them while they are in season, because those plump little blueberries are best in the summer months!
