One of my nephews turned 1 yesterday… which meant (once again) I went crazy making a fondant covered cake. The theme of the party was “sock monkey”, so I quickly googled sock monkies to find out what they were! We were more Cricket and Glow Worm kids. After losing many nights of sleep thinking about how I would make the cake- I finally tackled it. An obsene amount of hours later and here it is! The cake is marble with chocolate frosting and strawberry mousse filling. I baked and iced the cake on Thursday, decorated on Friday and it was surprisingly moist on Saturday.

Notice the candles in the bedposts! That was my sisters idea… I can take no credit!

Don’t forget to check out my new cookbook– You will find nothing about fondant cakes in it– but it is a great book for beginners. Get your copy on Barnes and Noble.com

After a long break from recipe blogging, I am excited to be back and to introduce a new member of my family. This new addition has been long awaited and I am happy to call it my own…

My brand new cuisinart food processor was a gift for my birthday. I am trying to think of recipes that require a food processor, just so I can play with my new toy. I decided, for my first round using my food processor, I would make an apple crisp. Rather than doing a plain old pie I decided to make them bite sized. These little pies would be great as an addition to your fall party.

Bite Sized Apple Pies

Topping:
1 cup Oatmeal
1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 stick butter, chilled

Filling:
6-8 Medium Honey Crisp Apples (or another firm, tart, cooking apple)
1/2 stick Butter
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
1 Tbsp Cold Water

1 recipe Pie Crust

Place all topping ingredients in the bowl of the food processor. You can easily do this by hand, I just really wanted to use my new food processor! Blitz a few times until ingredients are well combined.

Peel and dice apples. Saute in a medium pan over medium heat, with butter. Cook until nearly soft. Add brown sugar and cinnamon. Combine cornstarch and water and pour into simmering apple mixture. Cook, while stirring until well thickened. Turn off heat and allow to cook slightly.

Roll out chilled pie crust and cut into circles. Be sure to cut one then double check that the circle size works for the size of your muffin pan. Place circles in greased muffin tin, be sure not to pierce holes in the bottom. You can use mini muffin tins for bite sized treats or regular for something more substantial. Spoon filling into dough cups, all the way to the top. Place one spoon full of topping over that. Press the topping gently so the crumbs don’t fall off of your pies. Bakes pies at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes then serve warm.

If you are in a rush and don’t want to make all of these components from scratch you can:

Use pre-rolled purchased pie crust
Use canned apple filling
Give the recipe to someone who likes to cook and invite yourself over for dinner

~SD

This late into summer we have so many fresh veggies and fruit coming in season. Right now some of my very favorites are at their peak. Sweet corn, tomatoes, peaches and blackberries! I can’t seem to get enough. Try this recipe for blackberry buttermilk coffee cake to fulfill your berry cravings!

Blackberry Buttermilk Coffee Cake

2 cups All Purpose Flour
2 cups Brown Sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 Egg
1 c. Buttermilk
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 cup Fresh Blackberries

Combine the flour, butter and brown sugar. Mix well with an electric hand mixer, until all ingredients are incorporated. Reserve 1 cup of the crumbs for the topping. Add the remaining ingredients (except berries) to the batter, and mix until smooth. Pour into greased 9×9 pan. Sprinkle berries over the top of the cake batter.

Then, sprinkle the crumb mixture over the top of the berries.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the cake. If it comes at clean, the cake is done. Serve warm.

~SD

When it comes to produce, these days, it is so easy to find what you want, when you want it. Anyone can go to their local grocery and find summer squash in the middle of winter, brussel sprouts in the heat of summer or even strawberries whenever you like. I have fallen for these “out of season” berries. They look so bright and red. They are huge, like berries on steroids! So, why not try ‘em? Each time I fall for the allure of year round berries I regret it. Once they have arrived in my far away land from someplace warm, they loose all of their flavor appeal. Cut into a strawberry in January and instead of a soft, deep red flesh, you get hard and white. Oh how what a drag! The good news is, local strawberries are in season right now! I would not have known this if our neighbors had not brought my family some this week. These berries are deceiving to the eye. Early season strawberries are much smaller, but boy do they taste sweet! Take a trip to your neighborhood truck patch or grocery store and pick up some of the summers first berries!

Quick Berry Cheesecake

1 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
¼ cup Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 Tbsp Butter, melted

8 oz Cream Cheese, at room temperature
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
¼ cup Sugar
¼ tsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Vanilla

1 ½ cups Berries
¼ cup Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small mixing bowl combine cracker crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Transfer to an ungreased sheet pan and bake for ten minutes. This will toast the crumbs and blend the flavors of the sugar and cinnamon in well. Melt 2 tbsp of butter and mix into cooled crumb mixture. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese with an electric hand mixer. Scrap the sides of the bowl with a spatula every now and then to ensure all of the cheese is being whipped. Mix for about two minutes on high speed. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then pour in heavy cream and turn speed to medium. Whip for another two minutes, mixer should be smooth and fluffy. Add sugar, lemon juice and vanilla and beat for one more minute. Set aside.

Prepare berries by washing and slicing them. Place sliced berries in a small bowl and toss with sugar. If you are using something like blackberries, or blueberries simply rinse them and toss in sugar, gently.

Begin layering by placing graham cracker crumbs in the bottom of a medium sized, shallow serving dish. Next, spread cream cheese topping. Top with sugared berries and chill before serving. The berries tend to release a lot of juice when they are sliced sugar. If there is a lot of liquid in your berry bowl, discard it and just spread the berries over your cheesecake.

~SD

Peach Blueberry Crisp

Get your timer ready, because this throw together dessert is so quick and easy to make! I try to keep frozen fruit on hand for a last minute dessert fix. The great thing about this crisp is you can use many different fruits like cherries, apples or blackberries. Of course, they can be fresh or frozen, depending on the season.

2 cups Peaches, sliced
1 cup Blueberries
3/4 cup Sugar
2 Tbsp Flour
Dash Cinnamon

1/2 cup Flour
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Oatmeal
1/2 stick butter, softened

Combine peaches, blueberries, sugar, flour and cinnamon. Place in a medium sized baking dish.

In a medium sized mixing bowl blend together flour, brown sugar, oatmeal and softened butter- with your hands. Spread over top of peach mixture, bake at 350 degrees for 20- 25 minutes.

Please note… my favorite part of this crisp is, well… the crisp. I put extra on and serve it warm with vanilla ice cream. It is life changing. Try some tonight!

~SD

I am a huge fans of oatmeal raisin cookies. I make them every so often, but this time around I decided to branch out… try something new! Instead of sticking with the ever faithful california raisins, I raided the pantry to find some new little treats…

I loved the cranberries, apples and golden raisins in these cookies! My little cousin didn’t want to eat these cookies because he doesn’t like raisins. So, I told them to just pick them out. He picked out all of the cranberries and ate the golden raisins! Such sneaky little raisins!

Fruit and Oatmeal Cookies

2 sticks Butter, softened
1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar
3 Eggs
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla
3 cups Flour
2 cups Rolled Oats
1/2 cup Golden Raisins
1/4 cup Diced Dried Apples
1/4 cup Diced Dried Cranberries

Whip together (with electric mixer) softened butter, brown sugar and eggs until fluffy. Mix in baking powder, soda, salt and vanilla, then flour. With rubber spatula stir in rolled oats, raisins, apples and cranberries. Spoon scoops about the size of a ping pong ball onto an ungreased sheet pan. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on the pan for about a minute, then place onto cooling rack.

Ah! Warm Cookies and milk just can’t be beat!

~SD

Apple Strudel

2 sheets Puff Pastry
6-8 Apples, peeled and diced
1 tbsp Butter
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 Egg

Allow puff pastry sheet to thaw at room temperature, or in the refrigerater.

I love this brand of puff pastry. I have made homemade pastry before, but it is a very time consuming project. I have found that the frozen version is just as good!

Peel and dice apples. Melt butter in a medium saute pan then cook apples until nearly tender. Add brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins.

Place puff pastry on floured surface and roll out slightly. Spoon half of the apples onto the edge of the puff pastry, leaving about one inch excess of dough to fold when you roll the strudel. Mix egg with about 2 tablespoons of water, then brush around the edge of the dough. Roll the dough tightly around the apples, and fold in sides. Secure edge with egg wash, and brush top of strudel. Bake at 375 degrees until golden, about 20-25 minutes.

This recipe is super simple and can be eaten any time of day. Whether it is breakfast, or dessert with ice cream!

~SD

When I was younger I had what you could call an obsessoin with cherry pie. Whenever we would go to my Grandma’s Restaurant I would order cherry pie with vanilla ice cream. Now, I would also order nachos and chicken fingers, but cherry pie was my all time favorite. As I have grown older my tastes have evolved away from cheesy nachos… but not away from cherry pie! I rarely make cherry pie, but when I do it is an all day task with stewed fresh cherries and an ornately decorated pie. Recently I decided to simplify the recipe and make it accesible for any home cook. I hope I won’t be judged for using canned cherries here, but these little cherry tarts were truly a hit with all who tried them!

Cherry Tarts

For the crust:

4 cups All-Purpose Flour
¾ cup Shortening
¾ cup Butter, softened
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp Sugar
½ cup Water, ice cold
1 Egg
1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Combine flour, sugar, salt, butter and shortening in a large bowl. Work together with your hands until mixture forms small balls. For detailed instructions please refer to my apple pie post. In a small liquid measuring cup combine water, egg and vinegar and mix well. Slowly incorporate liquid in to flour mixture, be careful not to over mix. The dough should be moist, but not too wet and will not be completely smooth. Knowing the proper texture can only come with practice. Refrigerate dough, wrapped in plastic wrap for about a half an hour.

For Tarts:

1 can Cherry Pie Filling
Cinnamon
Egg White
Water
1 cup Powdered Sugar
Water

Sprinkle pie filling with a fair amount of cinnamon ( about 1/2 tsp). This little twist will make you fill better about using canned filling, at least it did for me! Roll out pie crust until about 1 mm thick. Cut into 4 inch circles. Mix egg white with about 2 tablespoons of water, and brush the outer edge of the discs. Place about three cherries in the center of the dough discs, too much will result in leakage! Close dough circles into a half moon shape, securing the edge by pressing with a fork- but not piercing. Brush outside with egg wash. Place on greased tray and bake until golden brown at 350 degrees (12-15 min). While tarts are baking whisk together powdered sugar and water. Add the water very slowly, because a little goes a long way. About 1 Tbsp. Brush over tarts immediately after pulling them from the oven. This will melt the glaze a bit and make the finish look smoother.

There is no finished picture of these tarts because they disappeared too fast! They are now a family favorite! You can try these with any sort of filling that your family likes… just be creative!

~SD

This time of year is prime time for baking with apples.  Of course, anytime of the year you can go to your local grocery and grab a bag of Granny Smith, Golden Delicious or Macintosh apples, but there is something special about apples when they are in season.  Right now the orchards are harvesting some of my favorite eating and baking apples… and I love to take advantage of the great varieties that are available.  My personal favorite for eating and baking is Honey Crisp, which is a newer apple variety and is becoming more available each season.  I also really love a great Northern Spy.  This apple is an heirloom variety that my great-grandmother used in her fall baking.  Although not great for eating, this type is great used alone in baking, or combined with Honey Crisp.

For this recipe I chose to use Northern Spy apples, but any tart, firm baking apple will do.  These muffins are great snitched straight out of the oven, warmed with vanilla ice cream or with a great cup of coffee for breakfast.  The addition sour cream, as with many other baking applications, makes these muffins super moist, with a uniquely rich flavor.  This recipe makes two dozen muffins, which is a great way to share the bounty with friends! 

Apple Streusel Muffins
Makes: 2 Dozen

Muffins:
4 cups Flour
2 cups Sugar
2 ½ tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Cinnamon
4 eggs
2 cups Sour Cream
½ cup Butter, melted
1 cup Heavy Cream
3 cups Diced Apples

Topping:
½ cup Sugar
6 Tbsp Flour
½ tsp Cinnamon
4 Tbsp Butter, softened

For Muffins:  Combine all dry ingredients in large bowl.  In a separate bowl blend all wet ingredients well.  Mix wet ingredients into flour mixture, then add diced apples. 

For Topping:  With hands blend sugar, flour, cinnamon and softened butter until mixture reaches a crumb-like texture. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease muffin tin well and fill each section ¾ full with muffin batter.  Top generously with streusel topping.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.  To test:  gently press the top of a few muffins with your index finger, if the top gives and then springs back the muffins are done.

~SD

With the Holiday season upon us, we begin to start fearing the inevitable winter weight gain.  Everyone indulges in the once a year treats and eats and usually this results in at least six new pounds!  This year, rather than running from the unavoidable- Embrace the Weight!  2009 is just around the corner and simply make that your year to look good!

My new recipe for Caramel Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream Frosting is just the thing to start you off on the right foot.  Even better- make a bunch and share them with friends!

 

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