Apple cherry breakfast pastry

Tags

Breakfast, Dessert, EASY

Diced apples and dried cherries sauteed with a little butter and red wine, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, then folded into phyllo.

Started out as this; would be good with ice cream on top!

Apple Pear Crumble

Tags

Apple Crumble, Dessert

Don’t you hate it when you take time to sift through all the apples in the produce section of the market….carefully looking at each one and bringing home only those that are not bruised, dented, soft or simply not appealing to the eye…..only to bite into it and it tastes like cardboard?  Wait….no?  you don’t have that problem?  Really?  Because, seriously, that happens to me alot.  Mainly during the non-apple season.

But it’s ok….you don’t have to throw them out.  You just have to bake with them!  And that’s exactly what I did when I found myself with above mentioned rejects….and a few pears left, too!

You can’t fail with a Barefoot Contessa recipe! (recipe courtesy of Food Network / Ina Garten)

• 2 pounds ripe Bosc pears (4 pears)
• 2 pounds firm Macoun apples (6 apples)
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the topping:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Peel, core, and cut the pears and apples into large chunks. Place the fruit in a large bowl and add the zests, juices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch oval baking dish.

For the topping:

Combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 minute, until the mixture is in large crumbles. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely.

Place the baking dish on a sheet pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm. WITH LOTS OF YUMMY VANILLA ICE CREAM!!!!

Easter Lemon Bars

Tags

Dessert, lemon bars

I wanted to bake something to share with family on Easter.  I was looking for something that showcased the season….bright, cheerful, spring-like……LEMON BARS!

I like the crumble topping…..but had to change it up because I ran out of sugar (can you believe that????)  I used brown sugar for the crumble topping….and honestly, I like the taste of it!

The recipe came courtesy of Epicurious:

Crust
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 large egg yolks

Lemon filling
6 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

Streusel topping
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Powdered sugar

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with nonstick spray. Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor to combine. Cut in butter, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolks and blend until moist clumps form. Press mixture onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake until just beginning to turn golden brown around edges, about 10 minutes. Remove crust from oven; reduce temperature to 325°F.
Meanwhile, prepare lemon filling:
Whisk eggs and sugar in large bowl to blend. Whisk flour and baking powder in medium bowl to blend. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, whisking to blend. Whisk in lemon juice and peel. Immediately pour lemon filling over hot crust; bake until filling is set, about 30 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
For streusel:
Blend flour, 1/2 cup sugar and salt in processor to combine. Cut in butter, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Sprinkle topping over hot lemon bars; continue to bake until just golden, about 25 minutes longer. Cool completely. Sprinkle powdered sugar over. Cut into bars. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)

I thought they were delish.  I bagged some up to share with everyone today…..hope they enjoy, too!

Happy Easter!

Happy PB Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tags

Cookies, Dessert

The Happy Vegan Face is one of Dan’s favorites food blogs.  I figured if hubby liked it, I should probably check it out.  And wow, I picked a good day to look.  These cookies were the newest post on her blog.

I was craving something sweet but again, trying to be good.  These definitely hit the spot!

You can find the recipe here.  The batch I made gave me 2 dozen cookies.  By the time I tried one, and the kids tried their share, we were down to just a handful. Dan called them addictively good!  My niece tried one today and gave me the thumbs up!  I will definitely be making them again as they satisfy my sweet tooth without the guilt.