Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

You guys. I made my first strawberry rhubarb pie and it was amazing. It was pretty easy too. I used this recipe as a guide for the filling and made my favorite box pie crust (Betty Crocker, the same crust that my Mom has always used for her apple pie).

Our friends recently moved into a new house and had an excess of rhubarb growing in their yard, and generously gave us a bouquet of it. Thanks James and Bethany! The first thing that came to my mind was starwberry rhubarb pie, even though I've never used rhubarb before. Isn't it pretty? The giant leaves are poisonous, I learned. The bright red stalks are for eating, but are very tart/bitter and need a lot of sweetening. 

Enter strawberries and sugar. A winning combination! Such beautiful red. 

I had fun rolling out the dough, making a lattice top (use a pizza cutter), and adding a pair of hearts, just to make it cute. I'm no good at crimping the pie crust edges so I just try to roll it down and make it look halfway decent! 

The top got a tiny bit too golden brown but I caught it just in time. It was still perfectly cooked with the right amount of flakiness. The filling was sweet and bubbly and gooey, almost like strawberry jam. Yum. 

I cut the first beautiful slice and I was hooked! It tasted better than I imagined.

I confess, I ate three quarters of this pie. All. By. Myself. Not in one sitting. 

In my defense, I'm the only one in my house who likes sweets (until Marshall can decide for himself). 

I did share two slices. 

This is why I can't bake pies. 

I am weak. 

Ingredients:
3 cups of sliced fresh strawberries
2 cups of sliced rhubarb stalks
1 cup of sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Splash of orange juice or lemon juice
Pie crust of your choice (2 if you do a lattice top)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Mix all filling ingredients in a bowl and toss to coat fruit.
Pour filling into prepared pie crust. 
Cut dough to form lattice top. Brush crust with milk and sprinkle granulated sugar on top, if desired. 
Bake for 55-65 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling.
If crust is browning too quickly, cover loosely with aluminum foil. 
Cool for 1 hour before serving.

Salt Dough Ornaments

Did you ever play with salt dough when you were a kid (aka knock off Play-Doh)? I forgot all about that stuff until I was perusing Pinterest and saw a few variations of salt dough ornaments. What a cute and easy idea! I made the dough with simple ingredients I already had on hand. I got out some cookie cutters and alphabet stamps and set to work crafting a batch of homemade ornaments. This blog was especially helpful. 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Mix ingredients together to form dough and kneed for 7-10 minutes. 
Roll out dough and cut shapes with cookie cutters. You can imprint different patterns and textures too. Be creative! 
Use a straw to poke a hole at the top for ribbon or string, before you bake.
Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 2 hours. 
Let cool completely before painting and decorating ornaments.

I was able to stamp LOVE, JOY and HOPE onto the dough. I even made a few stamped with OHL (the perks of having a short last name!). 

I painted both sides with gold and bronze craft paint and added a twine bow to each one. They look cute and very handmade, hanging on the tree. I also added them to gift wrapping. Isn't that fun? These would be a great project to make with kids. They could even be personalized wedding or party favors. Monograms would be pretty, too. Just don't eat them! 

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods

There's still plenty of time to whip up some tasty Christmas treats, like chocolate covered pretzels. Perfect for handing out to friends and co-workers. I saw many varieties on Pinterest. 

I decided to use milk chocolate, mint chocolate, and white chocolate chips. The mint chips are my new favorite! Some festive colored sprinkles, jimmies and nonpareils. And of course, a tub of pretzel rods, which actually has about 85 pretzels in it for around $6. I also crushed up some candy canes for an additional topping. 

Start melting the first chocolate over a double boiler (I placed a glass bowl on top of a sauce pan with simmering water) and stir to melt. Once melted, you can remove from heat and re-heat as needed. Dip the pretzels, one by one, tapping off the excess. Add your sprinkles and set on parchment paper to solidify. You can place them in the refrigerator briefly if you need them to set up quickly. I left them on the counter while I worked on the rest and they set pretty well.

Repeat with each type of chocolate and toppings. Aren't they pretty? I ended up making all 85 or so pretzels - I felt like I was in a chocolate factory! 

I packaged them up in cellophane treat bags, 2 per bag, and tied them with a ribbon. I found some great treat bags at Big Lots that came with ribbon and little peppermint circles. 

I wanted to add a personal tag so I printed, stamped and wrote my own, including Luke 2:10-11 at the bottom, "And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for; behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which sill be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." 

I definitely enjoyed trying a couple of these! I may need to make a batch for myself. 

Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins

Yesterday was one of those rainy fall Saturdays that makes you want to stay inside and curl up with a blanket on the couch. I was in the mood to do some breakfast baking, so I made "healthier" oatmeal blueberry muffins. They don't have a ton of sugar and the oats and blueberries make them healthy, right? I used frozen blueberries that I hand-picked this summer. Just enough sweetness. Perfect for breakfast or a snack. I used ingredients I had on hand, and modified a recipe I found via Pinterest. I'll definitely have to make them again. 

Ingredients:
1½ cups rolled oats (uncooked)
1 cup milk
½ cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup flour (whole wheat or all purpose)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, roll in flour prior to adding)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.
Combine oats and milk in a small bowl and soak for 30 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, oil, egg whites, vanilla and mix to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add oat mixture to wet ingredients and stir to combine.
Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients, and stir until just combined.
Fold in blueberries.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin.
Bake for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Banana Coconut Chocolate Chip Oat Bars

I made my own soft oat bars for the first time. I tried to keep them on the healthier side, based on this recipe. Making them was very simple and I actually had all of the ingredients already. You can add whatever type of nuts or add-on's that you like. I usually keep a few store bought bars on hand for a snack or even breakfast, but at $1+ a pop, making them at home costs much less. They aren't as sweet, because there's no added sugar (which is kind of the point). Give them a try. I've already had two today, and I'd like a third! 

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used Organic, unsweetened)
1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
1/4 cup shredded coconut (plus extra to sprinkle on top)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup of old fashioned oats

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350
1. Mash the bananas in a bowl. Stir in the rest of ingredients and combine well.
2. Line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper (it helps to grease the pan a bit to get the parchment to stick to it.) Then spread the batter into an even layer with a spatula.
3. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
4. Allow to cool completely before cutting into slices.

Brownie Cake

I made a brownie cake. It. Was. Awesome. What is a brownie cake, you ask? 

2 boxes of brownie mix, plus 1 container of chocolate frosting = brownie cake. 

Mix up both boxes of brownie mix and pour evenly into two round cake pans (be sure to grease pans well). Bake according to directions (mine took almost 40 minutes). Cool brownies completely. Stack brownie #1 on a cake plate and frost with about half the frosting or so. Stack brownie #2 on top of frosted brownie #1 and decorate top with the rest of the frosting. 

Brownie cake is born. Talk about chocolaty! I used my "frosting gun" with a ribbon tip to make fun designs and added some sprinkles. 

Easy to make and sure to satisfy that pesky sweet tooth! 

Valentines Day Ideas

It's not too late to make some treats for your sweetie! These are a few of my favorite ideas: Heart Sugar Cookies

Votive Candle with Chocolates

Raspberry Jell-O Whipped Pie

Hand Made Cards

Cranberry Orange Pound Cake

The holidays are over, but I still love all things cranberry. I came across a recipe for Cranberry Orange Cream Cheese Pound Cake by Sophistimom, and I had to try it. This recipe makes two loaves, which is perfect for gifting and keeping one for yourself to enjoy.

I followed the recipe exactly, and it came out perfectly! It may seem like a lot of steps, but it's not as complicated as you may think. Zesting oranges is divine - and you can squeeze fresh orange juice when you're done. I used frozen cranberries (chopped, not thawed) and they were great. Don't skip the glaze either! I love the flavor of tart cranberries with orange. So delicious! 

Ingredients:
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
zest of 2 oranges
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, roughly chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour two medium size loaf pans, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, cream cheese, and sugar. When mixer is light in color and fluffy, add in zest. With mixer on low, add in eggs, one at a time, incorporating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just incorporated. Fold in cranberries. Divide batter evenly between the loaf pans. Place on a baking sheet, and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

3. Remove from oven. Place cakes on a wire rack to cool. After about 5 minutes, lay cakes on their sides, and allow to cool for another 5 minutes. Flip cakes onto their other sides and cool for another 5 minutes. Remove cakes from pans, and let cool on the wire rack. While still warm, drizzle with orange glaze (recipe follows). Serve warm or at room temperature.

Orange Glaze
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
zest of 1 orange
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Add more juice or sugar to achieve desired consistency.

Thank you, Sophistimom for sharing such a delicious recipe! I'll definitely make this again.

Coconut Macaroons

When we were in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, I had a delicious coconut macaroon from a little cafe. It got me in the mood for coconut and I wondered if I could make a similar cookie at home. I found a recipe at foodnetwork.com by Ina Garden (Barefoot Contessa). I was happily surprised that they were so easy to make and SO delicious. I probably ended up eating half of them. No joke. If you like coconut, give these a try! 

Ingredients:

14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut 
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature 
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.
Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using either a 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop, or 2 teaspoons. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve. 

I ran out of parchment paper, so I baked the cookies directly on the tray - I would NOT recommend doing this. These cookies are quite sticky and I had to scrape them off the baking sheet. Next time, I'll definitely use parchment paper.

 

I took them out of the oven when they looked like this - golden edges and a little firm. The insides are soft chewy coconut. Such a sweet treat!

Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

I was recently introduced to these amazingly decadent chocolate peanut butter cup cookies, by a new friend and blogger, Beka. I asked her for the recipe, which she found here. Not only are these cookies delicious, they are SO easy to make. I think it took me longer to edit photos and write this, than it did to whip up a batch of these sweet treats.

Ingredients:

1 box chocolate cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 8oz bag Reese's Peanut Butter Cup mini's OR 12 pack of regular size, chopped up

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix together cake mix, oil and eggs until combined. Gently stir in peanut butter cup pieces.

3. Roll dough into tablespoon sized balls and bake for 8-9 minutes.

Your kitchen will look like you went on a candy binge. 

 I scooped them onto cookie sheets with a measuring tablespoon.

Recipe makes 24 rich and indulgent can't-have-just-one cookies. Enjoy!

Fancy Brownies

My co-worker Naomi made some amazing brownies, so I asked her for the recipe. She said she doesn't really have a recipe, she just adds/substitutes a couple of ingredients. I had to give it a try. 

Start with a box of Duncan Hines brownie mix. The family size makes a 13x9 inch pan. I followed the directions for cake-like brownies. The secret is the addition of mini-marshmallows, chocolate chips, and Bailey's Coffee Liquor instead of water. They were absolutely delicious. The amount of chocolate chips and mini marshmallows is up to you. I used about 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1 1/2 cups of mini marshmallows - most of which I folded into the batter at the end of mixing.

I sprinkled the rest on top before putting it into the oven to bake for 30 minutes. When the marshmallows are toasty and golden on top, it's probably ready. 

As for the Bailey's, the recipe called for 1/4 cup of water, so I substituted 1/4 cup of Bailey's, which equaled one mini bottle. Next time I might add two mini bottles to give it a little more coffee flavor. Yum! 

Next time you have a chocolate craving, these will definitely hit the spot! I might never eat plain-'ol-straight-from-the-box brownies again.

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

I know it's bad timing to be posting a cookie recipe after the holidays. If you're anything like me, you ate waaaaay too many Christmas cookies. I love cookies. Especially cut-out sugar cookies. The ones shaped like stars and snowmen with icing and sprinkles get me every time. This year, I wanted to make a batch that were gluten free, so everyone in our family could enjoy them. But I wanted to make really good gluten free cookies. Not ones that tasted like cardboard or something you found in the backyard.

After doing an online search - who am I kidding, it was Pinterest, yet again - I found this recipe with good recommendations, at LivingWithout.com. It was a little complex, due to various special ingredients, but overall, easy to make and just as fun to roll out and use cookie cutters. AND I made royal icing for the first time and LOVED it. The lemon extract is what made these cookies so delicious. Maybe you have a birthday party coming up or you could make some Valentines cookies next month. I'm certainly not making another batch right now because I'd eat them all! 


Ingredients

1¼ cups Mary’s All-Purpose Flour Blend (See below for recipe)
½ cup tapioca flour/starch
1-⅓ cup potato starch (not potato flour) *I substituted Tapioca Flour*
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter or dairy-free substitute, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg or egg-free substitute
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon gluten-free lemon extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, combine first five ingredients. Set aside.

3. In the large bowl of a mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat for 3 minutes until mixture is a pale yellow.

4. Add in egg, vanilla extract and lemon extract.

5. Add dry ingredients, slowly mixing until dough forms. Place bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

6. Remove half the dough and roll out onto a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Use star shapes or other cookie cutters to cut out cookies and place them on prepared cookie sheets. Reroll scraps of dough. If dough becomes too sticky, chill again. Repeat with second half of dough.

7. Bake in preheated oven 12 to 15 minutes until light brown. Remove and let cool thoroughly before handling and decorating.

Mary’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend

MAKES 6 CUPS

2 cups brown rice flour

2 cups white rice flour
½ cups potato starch (not potato flour) *I substituted Tapioca Flour*
⅔ cup tapioca starch/flour

Mix ingredients together. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator until used.

Royal Icing

1½ cups confections’ sugar
1 large pasturized egg white or powdered egg white mixed with water to equal 1 egg white
½ teaspoon lemon juice *you can substitute water until it's the consistency you want*
½ teaspoon gluten-free lemon extract
- Food coloring

1. Beat sugar and egg white with electric beater.

2. Add lemon juice and lemon extract and beat until ingredients are incorporated.

3. Separate icing into small bowls and stir in a drop or two of different food coloring, as desired.

4. Chill icing until you’re ready to decorate cooled cookies. Spread icing on cookies, as desired.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

This is a pretty lousy photo of some pretty amazing muffins (taken with my phone). Please don't judge them by the way the look. If you like pumpkin and you like chocolate chips, you will love these. I adapted it from this recipe for Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread that Jon (baker extraordinaire) recommended. If you're looking for a delicious treat or a last minute Thanksgiving dessert, these will not disappoint. I've been eating them for breakfast :) 

Ingredients: 

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup water

3 cups white sugar

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 bag of mini chocolate chips (or more to your liking)

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin pans with muffin papers.

2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Fold in chocolate chips. Divide into lined muffin pan.

3. Bake about 20 minutes in preheated oven, or until muffins are golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

*I also made mini muffins with a mini muffin pan and papers. These only need about 15 minutes to bake. 

Enjoy!

American Flag Cake

Every 4th of July, I think of this cake. It's red, white and blue. It's got strawberries, blueberries and whipped topping. And it's easy to make. What could be better? This year I added a little surprise inside.

I have seen recipes for a rainbow cake floating around and thought I would give it a try with red, white and blue. I mixed up a regular white cake mix, then separated the batter into three bowls, adding blue food coloring to one bowl and red to another.

Using a 13x9 inch pan, I poured in the white batter first, then layered on the red, followed by the blue (in a half-hazard way, as you can see). Then, using a toothpick, I swirled them together a bit. I wasn't sure how this would look after it was baked and cut into, but it was worth a try. I probably should have put the red down first, then the white, followed by the blue. I was too anxious to get it in the oven and see what it would look like! 

After the cake has cooled completely, spread one tub of whipped topping on top. Add blueberries and sliced strawberries to make the flag design.

When it was time for dessert, this is what it looked like - pretty cool! Just enough red and blue to not look too scary to eat it. Next time I might swirl it around a little more or try making stripes instead. The blue cake kinda looked a little greenish where the top of the cake turned golden brown. But it tasted delicious! 

Ingredients:

1 white cake mix (according to directions) 

Blue and red food coloring 

1 tub whipped topping, thawed

Blueberries

Strawberries

Happy Birthday America!