Brownie Sandwiches!

Ok everyone, we're in the home stretch here - Valentine's day is tomorrow and even if you're not really into it, I know you still either make a nice dinner at home, or maybe some cupcakes or cookies. Admit it. You know all the red & pink pulls at you just a little. Here is a super quick, easy, and special dessert - make them tonight!

I will admit that I executed these with a boxed mix and store-bought ice cream, but its the idea that I'm showing here - you can definitely make your own special ice cream and your favorite brownie or blondie (which I hopefully will be doing tomorrow).

Valentine Ice Cream Brownie Sandwiches
Ingredients
Your favorite ice cream (I chose low-fat Edy's slow-churned vanilla)
An uncut pan of your favorite brownies or blondies (I added pink & red m&m's and a little vanilla to this boxed mix)
Heart-shaped cookie cutters

Steps
1. Make your favorite brownies

2. Use your heart cookie cutters and cut out the brownies. Using a sharp knife, cut each heart in half so you have 2 sides for the sandwich.

3. To make an accurate heart sandwich, put one side of the brownie down and put the heart cookie cutter back on top loosely. Use a spoon and fill with about 1/2 - 3/4 inch of ice cream. Push it out of the bottom of the cutter and put the lid on. Place the done sandwiches on a tray in the freezer to get hard (you might need a few hours in there).

Enjoy!
And, just as a small extra - check out this super easy craft. You can totally make these with kids too. I made a bunch to add to a flower bouquet for my mom and my mother-in-law.

Wire hearts

Super easy. Here's what you need:
Scrap paper (a thicker paper or cardstock, or leftover magazine cover works best)
Scissors
Glue
Wire (any stick would work, but only wire will be bendable)

Fold paper in half. Cut out half of a heart so when you open the cut piece, its a whole heart (this will also make a crease for the wire). Use heart as a template to cut another the exact same size. Put a thin layer of glue on the inside of one heart, add a piece of wire on the crease and cover with the second heart. Let dry and thats it! Sometimes, I used paper clips to hold the hearts together while they were drying.

Make these for Valentine's Day!

I promise to be back here in time for Valentine's with some kind of cute heart-shaped dessert (like last year :), but just in case you are looking for something easy for Valentine's Day or anyday, try this recipe. I swear. Its not rocket science or anything - I make these all the time because I always have the ingredients and they take about 15 minutes. I've discovered that even people who think desserts without chocolate are not really dessert will eat it (and secretly love it!).

Individual Fruit Crumb Pies

Note: directions are more like guidelines rather than strict instructions; feel free to add whatever fruit combinations delight you and add other fun ingredients to the crumb topping. It all tastes good, I promise (although if you add something totally disgusting, the credit is all yours :)

Ingredients (for 4 mini-pies)

Filling:

Assortment of prepared fruit (diced, chopped, or whole, depending on type): 2 apples (chopped), handful of strawberries (diced), handful of blackberries (halved) and a few blueberries (whole)

Squeeze of lemon juice

Crust:

1 prepared pie crust, rolled and cut into 4 equal pieces (store-bought or homemade dough is fine)

Crumb topping:

1/4 cup flour

1/4 sugar

1/2 stick of cold butter

Few tbsps of brown sugar

Handful of oats

Steps

1. Preheat oven to about 425 degrees.

2. Prepare fruit and place in a bowl; add squeeze of lemon juice so apples don't turn brown. Set aside.

3. Prepare bottom crust by rolling the dough into a circle (about 10-inch diameter or so should be fine, maybe about 1/8-inch or a bit better thick). Cut into four equal pieces. Fit each piece of dough into a ramekin. Now, these are not supposed to be perfect looking - since the dough piece is not a circle or perfect square, the edges will be varied. Some corners will flop over, some won't reach the top, it really doesn't matter - but if it matters to you, feel free to trim the sides or cut the pieces to better fit your containers. I won't give you a hard time :). Also, if your containers deviate from the average ramekin, make sure you review what size your dough circle needs to be so that you have enough to fit your container. Or make 2 instead of 4 ramekins.

4. Ok, now we're ready for the crumb topping. Super easy - add all dry ingredients to a small bowl and stir to combine. Make a small dice out of the cold butter and add to the bowl. Use your fingers to form the mixture into small crumbs. Don't overmix because the butter will get too warm and you'll be left with something that does not resemble crumbs :).

5. Assembly - after you have the bottom crust in each ramekin, fill each with the fruit mixture and top with a handful of the crumbs. You will see a bit of fruit peeking out, but it should be mostly covered.

6. Bake until brown and fruit is bubbling - I've baked these anywhere from 12-25 minutes depending on the size of the ramekin, oven type and crumb/fruit mixture. Keep your eye on them and if the crust starts to get more brown then you'd like, put a bit of foil around the edges to prevent further browning.

Enjoy!

Holiday Leftover

Don't hate me, but I have one more cookie to post. I never got to posting it during the holidays because, well, no excuse - you know how it is. I picked up a Rachael Ray magazine at the airport because of the glossy Christmas cookie section :) and ended up making these cookies for my holiday baskets this year.

But listen - they are really good! Peppermint Chocolate Cookies - definitely bookmark these for next year, or for now, if you like mint year-round. It is an excellent cookie: easy to make, you can top them with anything (doesn't have to be minty-flavored) and they lasted quite a few days so they are perfect for mailing or gift-giving.

For now, I'm only going to post a photograph and a link to the recipe , but when I get a second, I"ll re-write the recipe in case the link moves.

Try them for Valentine's Day with some cute pink M&M's on top!

Need a quick gift?

Try this Apple-Cranberry Bread!

Super delicious and easy - I don't totally care for quick breads, but I really like this Apple-Cranberry Bread. I have been making it as mini-loaves for a few years and they are perfect as favors, or as a gift for neighbors or in gift baskets. Click here for the recipe!

A few quick notes on the recipe from me:

• Make sure to butter/flour the pan very well. There is a lot of fruit in this recipe and the cranberries especially, have a tendency to get stuck to the walls of the pan.


• Even better - bake in pans that you can give as part of the gift! Try a few of those mini-holiday ceramic loaf pans you see in the dollar or craft stores. Then you can wrap each and not worry about them coming out of the pan perfectly!


• The batter seems lumpy and thick, but it will turn out great. Make sure to smooth out the top of each mini-loaf before baking.


• I got about 4-6 loaves with each batch depending on the size of my pans.


• A good wrapping trick - if you need to give a gift in a pinch, use a ziploc/plastic bag and trim off the zipper/closure to make a cute treat bag. Tie it with whatever string you have laying around (I keep a ball of all-purpose brown twine that works great) and tie on one of these free gift tags (check out these, and these and these too!) and you are all set! You can also wrap with parchment paper and tie with a cute ribbon if you don't have any bags.

Holiday Brunch

While Katie will take you through the do's and dont's of having a holiday brunch, I will just offer a great tart recipe that is easy and perfect for brunch. This Apple Danish Tart is another recipe from the Pillsbury Fall Baking Booklet (where I found those awesome cranberry apple butter bars). I meant to post this last week but we ended up going out of town (maybe you can guess where from the few photos below). I will have an onslaught of holiday baking and cooking gifts, ideas and recipes coming in the next few weeks - I can't wait! Onto the recipe...

Apple Danish Tart (adapted from Pillsbury Fall Baking Booklet)
Ingredients
Tart:
1 pie crust (I made my usual - Martha's tart pastry, but the recipe recommends store-bought roll-out dough which is fine too)
2 golden delicious apples and 1 macoun apple, diced (about 2 1/2 cups - granny smith would work well too)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons flour
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons milk

Steps
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Pre-heat a sheet pan as well so the tart pan will have something to go on while baking. Prepare tart pan (removable bottom) with prepared dough (either store-bought or homemade).

2. In microwavable bowl, mix apples, brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Microwave uncovered on high for 2 minutes and stir. Microwave 1-2 minutes longer, stirring once, until apples are slightly soft.

3. In another bowl, beat cream cheese, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, the vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Spread this mixture over the bottom of the tart crust. Top evenly with apple mixture. The apples don't completely cover the mixture because the cream cheese bubbles up a bit through the apples while cooking.

4. Bake 32 to 37 minutes or until filling is set, apples are tender and crust is light golden brown. Cool on cooling rack and then refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

5. Before serving, mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon milk. Stir in additional milk, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, until thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle glaze over tart and serve. Perfect as a dinner dessert or for brunch! If you love danish, this definitely tastes like a danish or apple cheesecake tart.

Here are a few pics from our weekend. We had a great time - definitely did some relaxing and checked out all the awesome spots to eat & drink :). Now we're back to get ready for the holidays!

Check out this salsa spread!

If the 2nd pic didn't clue you in, I'll give it away...

The last of it...

Thanksgiving leftovers! I used the rest of the turkey up last night to make an awesome (and super easy) turkey and wild rice soup. Although I'm kind of over Thanksgiving food, this soup would be great with chicken too, so I decided to post it. Plus, its cheap :). And delicious. And did I mention easy? Who doesn't need something simple after the cooking madness that is Thanksgiving!

Turkey & Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients:
Leftover turkey or chicken, diced (as much as you like - I used about 1 cup or so)
Chicken/turkey/vegetable broth (homemade or store-bought), approximately 64oz.
1 onion, diced
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
Few stalks celery w/ leaves, diced
Few carrots, cut into coins
1 cup wild rice
Extra virgin olive oil
Smallest bit of butter :)
Kosher salt/freshly ground pepper

Steps:
1. Add a bit of olive oil to a stockpot or large saucepan and heat pan on medium. Add garlic and onion and saute until soft, but not brown. Add celery, carrots, salt & pepper. Continue to saute for about 5 or so minutes.

2. Add rice and broth, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer until rice is tender, about 1/2 hour (but it depends on your type of rice). Then add turkey and little bit of butter (just a tiny, tiny amount :) and allow to simmer for about 5 more minutes.

3. Serve and Enjoy! Makes a great lunch too.

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To finish off the holiday for this year, here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving:

I was in charge of the desserts, but my mom always makes the pumpkin pie...

This is my cous-niece, remember her from St. Patrick's Day? She loves dessert :).
Recipe for these super easy & adaptable mini-cheesecakes coming soon...

Quick Thanksgiving Craft!

I know you have extra glitter hanging around. Don't lie. You went out (just like me) and bought that Martha Stewart glitter in orange, or brown or red. Or all three. You glitterized a bunch of pumpkins and gourds and now, you have a ton of glitter left over... So, use it!! This is the perfect craft to use up that glitter and it might even get you to head out and buy some green, silver or white glitter for Christmas :).

Here is what you need:

• Clear glass votive holders
• Mod podge or other glue that dries clear
• Glitter (I like this kind; use a Michael's coupon for 40% off)
• Tealight or votive candles

To make the votive holders, paint the outside with glue, apply glitter liberally (you can shake off excess and return to the container afterwards) and let dry. Don't make the glue too thick or else it may dry more white than clear and you will be able to see on the inside. You can make designs in the glue (sort of like mine, and although that wasn't on purpose, I like the end result) or just paint it on more evenly. Make sure you only do the sides - leave the bottom without glue/glitter so you have an area to hold on while applying the glue.

I thought a couple of these would even be a nice hostess gift with a set of candles. Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm also going to send these over to Sandi @ WhistleStop Cafe for the November Centerpiece-of-the-Month (COTM). While these could be a centerpiece all on their own - they would be great paired with some fresh flowers or fruits (pears or apples?) as part of a holiday table!

Cookie 2: Cranberry-Apple Butter Bars

These are so good! And they actually taste like cranberries, not some over-sweetened-fake-almost-tasting-like-strawberries or raspberries cookies. Don't you hate that?

I tend to like things on the tart side (these are not super tart, but not super-super sweet either), so if you are on the sweeter side, maybe make a half-batch and decide whether you prefer more sugar, but I tested these on my husband and colleagues and they went over with high marks. Give them a whirl - they would be perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Cranberry-Apple Butter Bars (adapted from Pillsbury Fall Baking Booklet, recipe found here)
Ingredients
Filling:
1 bag (12 oz) fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon orange peel, grated
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup apple butter or cranberry-apple butter
2 tablespoons butter

Base/Topping:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups quick-cooking oats

Steps
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 13 x 9-inch pan with cooking spray.

2. In a saucepan, mix cranberries, white sugar, orange zest and juice. Boil and cook for approximately 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until cranberries pop and mixture thickens. Stir in apple butter and 2 tablespoons butter; remove from heat.

3. Beat 3/4 cup butter and the brown sugar in a separate bowl, scraping bowl occasionally, until fluffy. Stir in flour, salt, baking soda and oats. Press approximately 3 cups oat mixture in pan. I ended up using a bit less than that for the base in order to have enough for the topping. While you are pressing the base, keep an eye on how much you have left for the topping, if you are running out, use a bit less for the base.

4. Spread cranberry filling over base. Crumble remaining 2 cups oat mixture over filling and press lightly.

5. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely before cutting.

Last year, I made homemade apple butter as part of my gift baskets. If you are doing that, these bar cookies would make a great gift basket paired with the apple butter and cute recipe card!

BBQ Dessert Platter

Hey everyone! Running around like crazy as I have a wedding to shoot tomorrow and some friends coming into town for the holiday weekend, but I wanted to post this super easy and festive dessert platter. I made this for my mother-in-law's July 4th BBQ, but it would easily work for Labor Day too and it feeds a crowd!

Here is what I included on the platter:

Soft & Chewy 10-minute cookies (both the vanilla and chocolate versions)
Mini-cherry crumble tartlets (I used a mini-muffin pan)
Vanilla brownies (cut them fairly small since they are pretty rich-tasting)
Mixed berry cakes (recipe from Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine)

I own a bunch of plain white ceramic platters from when I used to do some catering - they are perfect for parties and pretty inexpensive at a bunch of different discount stores (I got several of mine from TJMaxx, Marshall's, Target and Homegoods). Arrange all the desserts in groupings in different sections of the platter - it looks great and keeps everything in one place.

Enjoy & Have a great weekend!

St. Patrick's Day

Time to Party! St. Patrick's Day also just happens to be my mother-in-law's birthday - so, today, in honor of her birthday and St. Patrick's day (we are an Irish household), we had a small family party. Here is the menu:

Appetizers

Mini-Irish sausages wrapped in puff pastry (so good...)

Irish cheeses (Dubliner & KerryGold swiss) w/ crackers and blackberries

Shamrock sugar cookies (recipe below)

Main Dishes (all individual-sized)

Homemade macaroni & cheese

Shepherd's pie

Desserts

Vanilla 3-layer cake with strawberries and cream cheese frosting

(more) Shamrock sugar cookies

My mother-in-law's FAMOUS Irish soda bread

The soda bread is loved by all....as shown by my adorable cousin

So, since they came out so cute - I thought I would pass along the recipe for the sugar cookies. This dough came together really fast and I made it the day before and let it sit in the refrigerator until I was ready to roll and cut out the shapes. Sometimes sugar cookies can be a bit dry and boring (exciting to look at, but lacking in taste), but these were really good. I would definitely advise icing them with some type of frosting though to enhance their appeal :)

Shamrock Sugar Cookies (dough - Good Housekeeping Perfect Desserts; icing - me :)

Ingredients
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Steps
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat butter and sugar until blended; then mix at a higher speed until light and creamy.

3. Beat in egg and vanilla until blended; then add in flour and baking powder, mixing until just combined.

4. Divide dough into 4 pieces and wrap (I use wax paper and plastic wrap); refrigerate about 1 hour (or more) or until firm enough to roll out.

5. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface approximately 1/8 inch thick (the thickness can be changed depending on how chewy/crisp you like your cookies - adjust the baking time accordingly). Cut into shapes (I used shamrocks), place on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for approximately 10 minutes.

6. Top with icing of choice and any other toppings (I used Wilton St. Patrick's Day themed sprinkles for mine). I was going to do a fancy piped icing, but ran out of time and ended up going with the old standby: sifted confectioner's sugar and water (or milk) with a dash of vanilla extract. There is no real ratio, just add the liquid until you reach the consistency that you are looking for (usually I'm going for spreadable and not too runny). The icing will harden after about 1/2 hour.

A Heart Tart

When I saw Zorra's "A heart for your Valentine" event - I just had to participate! After all, I did already profess my love for Valentine's Day (and all other holidays, for that matter :).

This event calls for sweet or savory recipes that are either heart-shaped or heart-decorated. I don't have a heart tart pan, so I went the heart-decorated route. The result is a Bittersweet Chocolate & Berry Cheesecake Tartlet - What do you think?

And...get this - its not that fattening! I love to make cheesecake and frequently make all different versions, but have never tried the low-fat cream cheese. I had saved this recipe awhile back and decided to give it a whirl for the filling - but change up the crust and toppings just a bit. I much prefer to make smaller, individual desserts, rather than large cakes or tarts because it is just Tim and myself in the house and we never finish the larger desserts. Plus, individuals look so cute and are perfect for a romantic Valentine's Day Dinner!

Bittersweet Chocolate & Berry Cheesecake Tartlets
(adapted from Everyday Food)

Note: I made 3 tartlets, but had enough batter to make about 3 or 4 more - the original recipe calls for a regular 9-inch tart pan. You could also use a mini-cheesecake pan - I would just make the original amount of batter (or half it) the first time to get a better handle on how much you need for whatever pan you would like to use. Then just watch the oven - the baking time will need to be adjusted.

Ingredients
~ 1 cup chocolate cookies
1/3 cup almonds
3/4 cups sugar, separated
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 bars (8 ounces each) reduced-fat cream cheese @ room temperature
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch salt
Berries (for decorating tart tops - I used a combination of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries)
Confectioner's sugar (for dusting)
Bittersweet chocolate, melted (a few ounces should be fine - but that depends on how many tarts you make and how decorative you would like them to be!)

Steps

For the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, grind cookies, almonds, and 1/4 cup sugar until finely ground; add butter, and process until moistened. If you find that your crumbs are too wet or too dry, add either more chocolate cookies/wafers or more butter. Transfer to removable-bottom tart pan(s). Using the base of a dry measuring cup (and your fingers!), press mixture firmly into the bottom and up sides of pan. Freeze at least 15 minutes.

For the filling: Clean food processor. Place cream cheese, sour cream, 1/2 cup sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt in food processor; blend until smooth. Place tart pan(s) on a rimmed baking sheet; fill with cheesecake mixture. Bake until filling is just set, approximately 23 minutes for my little tarts (the original recipe recommends ~30 to 35 minutes for larger tarts). Transfer tart pan(s) to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, refrigerate until cold.

For the decorations! Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and fill a piping bag with melted chocolate. The piping bag should have a very small round tip attached so you can write/draw words, shapes or in this case, HEARTS! Pipe out hearts - I did heart outlines and filled hearts - on the parchment. I cooled mine in the freezer so they would harden quickly.

Use berries (I patted mine dry first with paper towels to remove excess juice [I had to use frozen berries because they are out of season here]) to make two concentric circles around the edge of the tarts. Once the chocolate hearts are hard, use them to decorate the center of the tart - I pushed mine into the cheesecake and left a few around the outside of the plate. Dust the top of the tart with confectioner's sugar and EAT!

The full round-up of entries can be found here!

A Tale of Two Thanksgivings...

in photos!

I made several dishes for the two Thanksgiving meals we attended this year (Thanks Mom and MIL!). They included mini-black bottom cheesecakes, a cranberry linzer tart (from Orangette - it was delicious, extremely fruity, tart and sweet all at the same time), my favorite roasted brussel sprouts, a cheese platter (assembled it so I can't take credit for the actual cheese, but I did make the chocolate-covered seckel pears, which were a huge hit!), an apple crostata, and cranberry bellinis (cranberry juice + prosecco or other sparkling wine = easy and so good!). Tim also made his "famous" roasted red potatoes, which I'll have to have him post about another time. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the day....

Love this table setup - maybe COTM?