Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

I am loving the farmer's markets in the area lately -- especially when I stumbled upon some delicious rhubarb!  I've never cooked with rhubarb before but I'm loving the combination of strawberries and rhubarb -- it's classic! Not only is this recipe super easy but it's a perfect impressive dish that is tart, sweet and the crunchy topping is wonderful.  All you need is a scoop of ice cream and you have yourself an amazing summer dessert!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
from The Kitchen Sink


2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and diced (plus more for greasing)
4 stalks rhubarb, trimmed and cut in 1/2-inch slices
3 cups strawberries, trimmed and quartered
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons Grand Marnier (or lemon or orange juice)
1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest

Preheat the oven to 375°.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and a pinch of kosher salt.  Cut in the 6 tablespoons chilled, diced butter using a pastry blender (or, if you don’t have one, rub the butter in with your fingers).  Place the mixture in the refrigerator.

Generously butter either four gratin dishes or one 9×9-inch pan.  Set aside.

In another medium bowl, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, Grand Marnier, zest, remaining 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and a pinch of kosher salt.  Spoon the mixture into the buttered dish or dishes.   Blanket the strawberry-rhubarb mixture with the chilled topping.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Ricotta w/ Vanilla Sugar Croutons and Berries

Who here loves cheesecake?!  ME ME ME!  I adore cheesecake...something about the creaminess and the savory-ness of the cream cheese that really gets me interested.  Top that slice off with some fruit and I’m yours forever {hear that, Steve?}.  What I don’t like about cheesecake is this:  it’s a huge calorie bomb.  Have you seen the recipes out there for low-fat cheesecake?  Just....don’t.  Most of them are just bad...dry...ugh.  Cheesecake is one of those things that you just can’t make low-fat/low-calorie...for one, it’s not like a huge slice of low-fat cheesecake is going to be 100 calories.  Oh no....that low fat stick of cream cheese and sugar substitute is not going to save you many cals.  And when you take that first bite of a mediocre cheesecake, it’s not nearly as satisfying as the full flavor type.  Just trust me...full fat cheesecake or no cheesecake...plain and simple.  Which leads me into today’s dessert and the things I love about it -- ta da!  Savory ricotta cheese gets a dessert makeover!  Wham!  When I took a spoonful of this to my lips I had a cheesecake moment--the cheese, the vanilla, the fruit.  YUM.  It’s a great substitute for that devilish dessert.  Oh and did I mention how crazy easy it was?  I made this recipe for a dinner party and literally had each part made hours ahead of time.  All I had to do was assemble and pass out the deliciousness.  Easy as..pie. {I hate that expression -- I don’t think there’s anything about pie that is easy...unless you have a store bought graham cracker crust and a can of cherry pie filling....}

Ricotta with Vanilla-Sugar Croutons and Berries (4 servings)

Giada de Laurentiis

Croutons:

1/4 (4 ounces) ciabatta loaf, cut into 1-inch cubes

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla sugar, recipe follows

Syrup:

1/2 cup orange juice (from 1 medium orange)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup blueberries

8 strawberries, hulled and quartered

Ricotta:

1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese

3 teaspoons orange zest (from 1 medium orange)

1 teaspoon lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

1 tablespoon vanilla sugar, recipe follows

1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh mint leaves

For the Croutons:

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium bowl, toss together the bread cubes and melted butter. Add the vanilla sugar and toss until the bread cubes are coated in sugar. Arrange the bread cubes in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cool completely.

For the Syrup:

In a small saucepan, bring the orange juice, lemon juice, and sugar to a simmer, over medium-low heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the blueberries and strawberries and simmer until the fruit softens, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cool the syrup to room temperature.

For the Ricotta:

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well.

To serve: Divide the ricotta mixture between 4 decorative dessert bowls. Spoon the fruit syrup over the ricotta and top with the croutons. Garnish with the sliced mint.

Vanilla Sugar:

2 cups sugar

1 vanilla bean

Place the sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Using a paring knife, slice the vanilla bean in half, lengthways, and scrape out the seeds. Add the vanilla seeds to the sugar. Pulse 10 to 15 times until the vanilla and sugar are combined. Cut the empty vanilla pod into 1-inch pieces and place in a glass mason jar. Add the vanilla sugar to the jar and seal. Shake the jar before using.

Yield: 2 cups

Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

So, I haven’t shared this with anyone yet as I didn’t want to jinx my training through hardcore bragging, but this weekend my husband and I are running a half marathon!  I cannot wait for it to be over so I can get back to my love of cooking, eating, and lying around on my couch.  Training takes up a lot of time!  And since my husband is much MUCH faster than me, it hasn’t been one of those training programs where we are running together side-by-side on the beach, chatting away.  It’s him getting his 10 mile run done in about an hour and 15 minutes and me trecking in from the same run an hour after him, then passing out for 3 hours due to exhaustion.  Phew.  I’m tired just thinking about it. 

Anyway, due to an over-abundance of bananas in our house {for making protein shakes}, I decided to go ahead and use them to make some banana cupcakes.  And what goes better with banana cupcakes than cream cheese frosting?  Duh.  These little moist cakes really made my day today.  I needed that treat to get me out the door for my last run before the race on Saturday!  Boom!  Cupcakes to the face.  Ok people, wish us luck -- can’t wait to have more time to dedicate to this blog, which is a huge source of happiness for me!  Enjoy the cakes!

Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

from Two Peas and Their Pod

For the banana cupcakes:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
2 ripe medium bananas, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioner's sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and continue to beat, adding one egg at a time until thoroughly combined. Add the sour cream and bananas and mix until combined.

Cran-Apple Crisp

So today the weather in South Carolina has gone back into the 80s....ugh!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So in order to throughly enjoy this Cran-Apple Crisp, I had to crank the AC, put on some sweats and pretend it was cool outside.  It worked....and this crisp is amazing!  I love a piping hot scoop of plain old apple crisp, but chuck in some dried cranberries, walnuts and orange zest and POW -- flavor explosion to the face.  No need to pile on the ice cream or whipped cream here, this baby is good all on it’s own!

I chose to use a combination of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples in the recipe.  I really had to force myself to cut up the Honeycrisp and throw them in, {they are the most heavenly apples for eating} but they really were perfect and stood up to the heat of the oven.  Feel free to use any apples you wish/have on hand.  

Cran-Apple Crisp

8 c. thinly sliced peeled tart apples

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. dried cranberries

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

1/4 c. flour

1 1/2 - 2 tsp grated orange peel

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1/3 c. whole wheat flour

1/3 c. nonfat dry milk powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 - 1/2 tsp cloves

5 tbsp cold butter, cubed

1/3 c. quick cooking oats

1. Combine first 6 ingredients, toss to coat.  Transfer to a 13 x 9 in baking dish coated with cooking spray.
2. Combine brown sugar, whole wheat flour, milk powder, cinnamon and cloves.  Cut butter into mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in oats and sprinkle over apples.
3. Bake uncovered at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden.  

And check out a different presentation idea -- MiniChow Cran-Apple Crisp!!!!!!  For those who want "just a little bit".  Cute!!!!

Halloween Party -- Part 2

So today on Part 2 of our Halloween Party I have some more decor ideas for your home as well as my favorite foods from the party!  I really had a great time coming up with some of these recipes or modifying some recipes I already had to give them that touch of spookiness that Halloween brings.  Everyone’s favorite appetizer from the party was the Roasted Eyeball Crostini {aka, Roasted Grape Crostini with Gouda and Thyme}.   If you haven’t had roasted grapes yet -- give them a whirl!  They are amazingly sweet yet fit so well in savory dishes.  

Ok -- more decor!!!  My guests loved walking through the house and stumbling upon the staircase overrun with rats and candles.  The rat cut-outs and the candles are both dollar store finds and I bought the plastic pumpkin at Michael’s for a few bucks and decorated it with plastic spiders.

I love free printables from the internet!  For any holiday -- just Google “free ‘insert holiday here’ printables” and you will find tons of cute cupcake toppers, art, stickers, invitations, etc, for your next party.

Another big party hit was the menu I put out.  I simply bought a $3 frame from Walmart, downloaded a free spooky font at www.dafont.com {the most amazing font website everrr!}, and typed out everything that was being served.  I called everything by it’s “creepy” name then spelled out in detail what exactly was in each dish.  This made it easy for me to point my guests towards something fun to look at while I was putting the finishing touches on my apps.

Yay, Food!

Roasted Eyeball Crostini

{Roasted Grape and Gouda Crostini}

1 baguette, thinly sliced into 24 slices

cooking spray

72 red grapes {3 grapes per crostini}

salt and pepper

extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

6 ounces gouda, sliced into 24 thin pieces

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place baguette slices on a cookie sheet.  Spray each side lightly with cooking spray.  Bake crostini for 5-7 minutes, flipping over each piece halfway through, until just starting to brown.  Remove from oven and set aside.
2. In an oven safe glass dish, combine grapes, salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.  Mix to coat grapes well.  Roast grapes for 12-15 minutes, until they begin to burst.  Remove from oven and set aside.
3. Top each crostini with a slice of cheese, 3 grapes and a sprinkle of thyme.  Return to oven and bake about 5 minutes, until cheese melts.  Serve immediately.

Crispy Brain-Stuffed Mushrooms

{Chorizo and Asiago Stuffed Mushrooms}

1 package button mushrooms, cleaned and de-stemmed

1/2 lb ground chorizo

1 small onion, minced

3 oz asiago cheese, grated

1/3 c. plain bread crumbs

extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

1. Place cleaned and stemmed mushrooms in an oven safe baking dish.  Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Heat 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add onions and saute for about 3 minutes.  Add chorizo and cook until browned and crispy.  Remove from heat.  Add breadcrumbs and cheese and mix until combined.
4. Spoon mounds of mixture into mushrooms and press gently to pack in.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Bake 15 minutes, or until sizzling and cheese is melted.  Serve immediately.

Bacon-Wrapped Roaches

{Bacon-Wrapped Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates}

1 package medjool dates

3 oz good quality blue cheese

1 package thinly sliced bacon, each slice cut in half

1. Make a slit in each date and stuff a small piece of blue cheese inside each.
2. Wrap a half of a slice of bacon around each stuffed date, overlapping ends.
3. Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Place bacon-wrapped dates in hot pan, seam side down and cook on each side until crisp, 1 to 2 minutes per side.  Skewer and serve immediately.

Liver Pate Canapes

{Chicken Liver Pate}

-- This recipe makes a lot of pate so consider cutting the recipe in half, unless of course you are crazy for chicken liver pate!

6 tbsp unsalted butter, divided

1/3 c. minced shallot

1 lb chicken livers

salt

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp capers

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp anchovy paste

1/4 c. brandy

1/4 c. cream

1. Trim any fat/connective tissue from livers and discard.
2. Heat 2 tbsp butter in large saute pan on medium heat and let butter brown, 3 to 5 minutes.  Don’t let it burn.  
3. Add shallots and saute 1 minute.  Add livers, spacing them well so they can brown.  Sprinkle with salt.  Flip after two minutes.  Once browned, add capers, thyme, garlic and anchovy paste.  Saute 1 minute.
4. Take pan off heat and add brandy.  Turn heat to high and boil down brandy to consistency of syrup, 1 to 2 minutes.  Turn off heat and cool mixture.
5. Place mixture in food processor and pulse to combine.  Add remaining butter and cram and puree.  Mixture will firm up in fridge.  Pack in ramekins or small bowl and fridge for 1 hour.  Serve with baguette slices, crackers or in this case, rounds of white bread, buttered and toasted.

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

2/3 c. all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree {not pumpkin pie filling}

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 c. half and half or evaporated milk

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Line a 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.  In medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
2. In a large bowl, whisk pumpkin puree, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and half and half until well combined.  Add in dry ingredients and whisk until no streaks of flour remain and batter is smooth.
3. Fill each cup with 1/3 c. batter
4. Bake 20 minutes.  Cool in pan.  Cupcakes will sink.  Chill before serving and top with whipped cream and nutmeg.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bites

Cheesecake freaks me out.  Let me be more clear....making cheesecake freaks me out....eating cheesecake is fantastic.  Pretty much anything that needs to be baked in a water bath intimidates the hell out of me and the thought of eating “no-bake” cheesecake makes me want to hurl so I thought I’d dive into cheesecake world with this bar recipe.  It seemed easy enough and let me tell you -- it was easy as pie!!!!

When I pulled the bars out of the oven and sprinkled them with the peanut butter and chocolate chips I had to restrain myself from digging in until they were cool.  Knowing how dangerous these babies were going to be, I cut them into mini-bites so I felt like I wasn’t eating as much.  You’re going to love these with a tall glass of icy milk {{or a shot glass of milk -- adorable serving idea!!}}.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bites

1 (17.5 oz) package oatmeal cookie mix {I used Betty Crocker}

1/2 c. chilled butter, cut into small pieces

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. sugar

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1 large egg

2/3 c. peanut butter morsels

2/3 c. semisweet chocolate morsels

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with nonstick spray.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine cookie mix and butter.  Pulse 4 to 5 times.  Press into prepared pan and bake 10 minutes or until lightly browned around edges.  Cool 10 minutes.
3. Combine cream cheese, sugar, flour and egg at medium speed with an electric mixer.  Spread over cookie crust.
4. Bake 20 minutes or until set.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with morsels.  Let stand 10 minutes or until cool.  Cut into desired-sized bars.

Rustic Blueberry Peach Tart

I’ve got a super-duper simple dessert for you today!  One of my favorites to make {um, because it requires almost no skill} and so easy to make it your own with any fruits you desire. Now, I love a good home made pie crust -- there really is nothing better than biting into a flaky, buttery, hand-kneaded crust made with love, butter, flour and ice water.... but MAN can that be a tough thing to achieve.  When I have extra fruit lying around, I’d love to make a pie but I’d love to not have to make crust.  So I substitute....Store. Bought. Refrigerated. Crust.  It’s shameful...I know....I can hardly look at you all as I type.....................

But soon enough I’m shoving a piece of this warm rustic fruit tart into my mouth.  Maybe it’s dolloped with whipped cream...or maybe it’s topped with luscious vanilla ice cream...either way, I’m taking it down like it’s straight from my Grammy’s oven.  Store bought pie crust has come a long way!  Really!!  Just be sure to get the refrigerated dough that’s rolled up, not the stuff already frozen in a pie-tin.  That you might regret...

Rustic Blueberry-Peach Tart

All purpose flour, for dusting work surface

1 9-inch pie dough, store bought or homemade

2 ripe peaches, peeled and sliced into thin chunks

1 c. blueberries

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp lemon zest

2 tsp cornstarch

3 tbsp granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling

2 tbsp heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 400.  On a lightly floured work surface, roll out pie dough into a 9-inch circle and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.
2. In a bowl, combine peaches, blueberries, lemon juice, lemon zest, cornstarch, 3 tbsp sugar.  Pour filling onto the pie crust, leaving a 2 to 3 inch border.  Fold the edges of the crust over the fruit mixture.
3. Brush the crust with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake until crust is golden brown and fruit is tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

LowCountry Boil - Part 3 - Decor & Desserts

So let’s talk about this party decor...I was going for a rustic, Americana look but that kind of took on a mind of it’s own, transforming from red, white and navy to red, white and turquoise.  I thought the turquoise was much more playful.  I also brought in the burlap and craft paper color so everything wasn’t so matchy-matchy.  I thought the colors played on each other nicely.

My most labor-intensive craft was the dot-garland.  I simply picked some scrapbooking paper that had similar colors and designs, cut out a circles and glued them onto twine.  Things got complicated when I realized how many circles I was going to be cutting out, as each dot on the garland was composed of 2 circles.  Needless to say, the cramp in my hand from cutting hung around a few days. {Note to self: invest in punches next time, a la Martha Stewart}  In addition to the scrapbooking paper, I also made a garland with craft paper and newspaper. {I originally planned on covering the tables with newspaper but then I realized, with the help of my mom, that newspaper print + food probably wasn’t a good idea -- either way I loved the color that the newspaper provided in the garland.}

Next, I used some fun fonts and created tags for each of the mason jars that held the SkinnyChow Spiked Arnold Palmers and secured them to the jars with colored bakers twine that I found at Michael’s.  They were a hit along with the paper red and white straws I got on Etsy.  

I also created a Lowcountry Boil sign and a chalkboard menu on white foam board.  I love the foam board because it’s smooth and extremely sturdy.  I just painted the foam board with chalkboard paint and wrote out the menu on it.  Everyone loved it and it was so simple and cheap! {And I can use it again and again!}

On to dessert -- I didn’t get many pictures at all because it was so dark by the time I served dessert but really -- you guys have got to try these Blueberry Pie Cookies.  They are amazing and the crust part of the cookie is tender and flaky and oh-so-good!  I also served Vanilla Caramel Corn in popcorn bags I found on Etsy and my guests loved picking up a bag and snacking on it while they socialized.  

Blueberry Pie Cookies (makes 32 3-inch pies)

from Building Buttercream 

Pie Crust:

2 1/2 c. flour

6 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter

about 1/2 c. ice water

Filling:

2 1/2 c. blueberries

1/2 c. sugar

juice and zest from 1/2 lemon

1 tbsp melted butter

1 tbsp cornstarch

1. Mix the flour, sugar, and salt together with a fork.
2. Cube butter and “cut” it into the flour mixture until there are no butter bits that are bigger than a pea.  Make sure you don’t go smaller than this because you will lose flakiness.
3. Add the ice water, a tablespoon or two at a time and use a fork to wet the flour/butter mixture.
4. Keep adding until the dough just starts to hold together.  Don’t let the dough get too wet.
5. Divide dough in two, cover each half with plastic wrap and fridge for a couple hours at least.  
6. Toss blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and zest, butter and cornstarch in a medium bowl.  Set aside.
7. Preheat oven to 350 and line the bottom of cookie sheet with parchment paper
8. Remove one of the covered dough halves from fridge.  Divide this in half and roll out on a floured board.
9. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut eight circles out of pie dough.  Place these on parchment paper, evenly spaced.
10. Spoon a small amount (5 to 6 blueberries and a little sauce) into the center or each pie circle.  
11. Cut eight more circles out of the pie dough and place them on top of the blueberry topped bottom.  Press down the edges with fork and brush with egg yolk.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Cut small slits on top.
12. Bake 10 to 14 minutes and cool on wire rack.  Repeat with rest of dough and berries.

Vanilla Caramel Corn

From Taste of Home 

3 packages butter-flavored microwave popcorn

1 1/3 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. light corn syrup

2/3 c. sweetened condensed milk

1/2 c. butter, cubed

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Pop popcorn according to manufacturer’s directions.  Transfer to two very large bowls; discard any unpopped kernels.
2. In a large heavy saucepan, combine brown sugar and corn syrup.  Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 3 minutes.  Carefully stir in milk and butter; return to a boil.
3. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.  Pour over popcorn and toss to coat.  Spread in a single layer on a greased 15-in x 10-in x 1-in baking pans.
4. Bake at 250 for 40 minutes, stirring once.  Remove from pans and place on waxed paper to cool.  Break into clusters and store in airtight containers.

All in all, I think my first Lowcountry Boil was a success. If I could do anything different next time, I’d get a bigger pot to do the boil in and I would definitely do the boil over an open flame to be more authentic.  Hopefully next year!

Dulce de Leche Banana Tart

Warning!  This is hands down, the best dessert I have ever made.  Thank the good Lord I only made enough of these tarts to supply my guests or I could have inhaled half a dozen of these puppies.  Not only was this dessert spectacular, it literally took 20 minutes to make.  It really doesn’t get any better than this!!

The best trick of this recipe is utilizing puff pastry as the base.  I used a biscuit cutter to shape the pastry rounds into handheld desserts, perfect for an individual serving.  Be sure to follow the directions on preparing the puff pastry -- it’s important to top the cutouts with parchment and to place another cookie sheet on top.  This prevents the pastry to stay flat instead of puffing up all over the place.  Also, the recipe called for slivered almonds but I used pecans since I had them on hand -- I believe any nut would be an ok substitute!  

If you’re planning these for a dinner party, bake the pastries ahead of time and keep them in an airtight container to lighten the load a bit!  Enjoy!!

Dulce de Leche Banana Tart

2 sheets frozen puff pastry

1/2 c. chopped pecans, slivered almonds, or chopped walnuts

1/4 c. brown sugar

2 1/2 tsp honey

1 1/2 molasses

1 1/2 tsp unsalted butter

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 c. store bought dulce de leche 

4 bananas, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Unfold puff pastry and cut out six 4 1/2 inch rounds {{or sized to your preference}}.  Prick pastry all over with fork.  Transfer to parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Cover with parchment paper and set another baking sheet on top.  Bake about 15 minutes {{less time if you made smaller cutouts!}}  Transfer to cooling racks.
2. In a skillet over medium heat, toast nuts about 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar, honey, molasses, butter, cinnamon and cloves.  Move back to heat and cook on medium until thick, about 5 minutes.
3. Spread Dulce de Leche over pastry rounds.  Arrange banana slices and spoon caramelized nuts over bananas. 

Peach and Plum Crumble

As I’ve mentioned numerous times on the blog... I’m not a baking expert.  I probably need to suck it up and take a couple of baking classes in order to hone my skills a little bit.  However, there are some baked goods that are difficult to mess up -- and those are my go-to desserts.  These include fruit crumbles, crisps and rustic tarts with store bought pie crust.  

I love a good fruit crumble -- warm seasonal fruit with a crunchy buttery topping -- add a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and I’m in heaven.  This crumble is a spin off of a recipe I found on Pinterest -- I loved the idea of pairing peaches and plums but I wasn’t crazy about the topping on the original recipe.  It was very simple with basic ingredients of butter, brown sugar and flour -- I decided to add some texture by taking out some of the flour and adding in instant oatmeal and sliced almonds.  I loved the crunch of the almonds along with the fruit.  Delish!  

Peach and Plum Crumble 

adapted from What About Second Breakfast

1 1/2 pounds peaches, cut into 1/2 inch wedges

1/2 pound plums, cut into 1/2 inch wedges

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

4 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp coarse salt

12 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 c. light brown sugar

1 c. all purpose flour

1 c. instant oatmeal

1/3 c. sliced almonds

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Stir together peach and plum slices, granulated sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and salt then pour into an 8-inch square baking dish or a 10-inch pie plate.
2. Beat butter and brown sugar until combined, then add flour, oatmeal and almonds.  Gather handfuls of the mixture and squeeze, then gently break up the clump with your fingers and scatter over the filling.  You will have big and small pieces.
3. Bake 30 minutes, then cover loosely with foil.  Bake 20 more minutes until the filling is bubbling.  Cool 2 minutes before serving.

Funfetti Sandwich Cookies

Hey everyone!  Today is a special blogging day for me, as it is my 50th post!  I’ve been having so much fun sharing recipes and stories with you all and I want to pass on my appreciation by having a cookbook giveaway!  The cookbook is one of my favorites {and one of my favorite food categories}: Williams-Sonoma New Flavors for Appetizers.  This book is so great because it takes those well-known party appetizers and kicks them up a notch to make them fabulous.  Some of my favorites from this book include: slow-roasted pork tostaditas with pickled red onions, olives and feta marinated with lemon and ouzo, lobster rolls with bacon, tomato and caper mayo, and grilled figs with prosciutto and gorgonzola.  Not only are the recipes fabulous but the photography is amazing.  Also included in the prize are some really fun and playful cocktail napkins and matching disposable appetizer plates so you have everything you need for a little App Party!

All you have to do to enter to win the prize is comment on this post at the bottom of the page.  You can comment up until Sunday night at 9:00pm and the winner will be drawn at random and announced on the blog on Monday!  Good luck!

So, this being my 50th post and something I’m proud of, I decided to make these super fun and colorful Funfetti Sandwich Cookies.  They just look like a party!  {And they taste super great -- sweet and creamy with a little crunch from the sprinkles!}  

Funfetti Sandwich Cookies

from Yammies Noshery

2 sticks softened butter

1 1/4 c. sugar

2 tsp vanilla 

1 egg

2 c. cake flour

2/3 c. all purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c. colored sprinkles

more sprinkles for rolling

1. Beat butter and sugar on high for 5 minutes or until fluffy.  Add in vanilla and egg.  Beat until well combined.  Sift flours, baking soda and salt.  Mix to combine.  Stir in sprinkles.  Chill dough in fridge, 1-2 hours.  
2. Preheat oven to 375.  Take small piece of dough, dip in sprinkles, roll into a ball and place on baking sheet.  Repeat until sheet is filled.  Bake 7 minutes or until cookies puff up and are set.  Keep remaining dough chilled while baking.

Filling:

1/2 c. heavy cream 

1 tsp vanilla

2 c. powered sugar

2 sticks cold butter, chopped into small cubes

2 tbsp sprinkles

1. Beat cream and vanilla until slightly thickened.  Beat in the powdered sugar until thick and smooth.  Beat in about 1/4 of cold butter cubes tat a time on high speed.  Beat 10 minutes on high speed.  The filling will look weird but just keep at it!  Fold in sprinkles and spread on cookie and top with another.