Category: Dessert. End your meal on a sweet note

Summer? Is that you? It seems like every few weeks I think we are finally taking a turn towards warmer weather, and then it goes back to rainy and gloomy.  But I think we are finally getting that warm weather.  And I am not sure why, but summer means pie.  A week ago up in Maine, my friend had some lemon meringue pie and since then I have had a craving for it.  I finally decided to give into my craving and make it.  I have made it once before and lets just say, it didn’t go to well.  But this time, this time I have conquered! I will admit this is a recipe that is relatively hard but it is definitely worth the time and attention. Give yourself a few hours of patience, put on your favorite playlist, and get ready to make a delicious treat!

Ingredients:

For the filling

• 6 Tbs corn starch
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh is best)
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 2 Tbsp butter

For the meringue

• 1 Tbsp corn starch
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (or 1 teaspoon white vinegar)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the crust

• 3 graham crackers
• 1/2 cup oats
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or butter)

How to:

1. Begin by making the pie crust.  In a food processor blend the graham crackers, oats, flour, and cinnamon together until the mixture is a course powder (~ a minute) Add in the oil and pulse for another few seconds to incorporate.
2. Spray a pie plate with nonstick spray and pour in the crumb.  Press down firmly and move the crumb so it reaches all of the edges of the pie plate.
3. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes until golden and set aside. Drop your oven temp to 325.
4. For the filling, in a sauce pan combine the cornstarch, water, salt, and sugar. Bring to a boil then reduce to medium heat.  Whisking continuously, let simmer for another minute and the mixture should thicken, once it has, remove from heat.
5. Beat your egg yolks, and spoon 1 tablespoon of the corn starch mixture to the eggs to temper them.  Once you have used 1/2 of the cornstarch, add the yolks back to cornstarch in the pan and put it back on the stove.  Letting it cook for another minute or two on low heat.
6. Remove from heat and add in the zest, lemon juice, and butter. Stirring with a rubber spatula to incorporate. Set aside
7. In a small sauce pan add 1 Tbsp cornstarch and 1/3 cup water.  Bring to a small boil and it will start to thicken, once thick remove from heat.
8. In a bowl add your egg whites, vanilla, and vinegar (if using cream of tartar mix in with the sugar). Begin to beat on low speed until the mixture is frothy.
9. Increase speed to medium and once frothy begin to add in the sugar slowly.  Once soft white peaks form, start adding in the water cornstarch mixture spoonful at a time until stiff peaks form.  You can increase to high speed but do not over mix.  (side note, mine never formed “stiff” peaks, but it turned out totally fine)
10. Now add in your filling to the pie crust and spread evenly.  Then starting with the outer circle add your meringue on top, making sure to get to the edges of the pie.  Once the outer ring is complete, fill in the middle.
11. Place in the oven and cook for 20 -25 minutes until the meringue is lightly golden brown.
12. LET COOL COMPLETELY!! like not slightly cooled, all the way to room temperature and maybe a few minutes in the fridge before you slice into it, or your filling will be runny.  I made this mistake because I was impatient, don’t let it happen to you!
13. Eat and enjoy!

What goes better than wine and cheese? Not much.  But I am sure when you read wine and cheese cupcakes you were mildly concerned as to where this could be going.  Well here is the short of it, it is a vanilla cupcake filled with fruit and wine compote and a cream cheese frosting.  See how we get the wine and cheese in there?  Although I have been cooking lots lately I haven’t been posting any recipes.  I have been busy prepping for my burger battle and battling the heat in my apartment.  But as I make my return, I needed to post something that will blow your socks off, and this cupcake will do that.  It is coworker approved.  I apologize for not posting lately, but I am back with my most creative recipes yet!

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups of flour
• 2 eggs
• 6 tablespoons butter (for cupcakes)
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 block cream cheese
• 1/2 stick butter (for frosting)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 cans peaches (or fresh)
• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 1 peeled apple
• 8 oz red wine (I used sweet red)

How to:

1. Begin by preheating your oven to 350.
2. Cream the room temperature butter with the granulated sugar.  About 2 minutes.
3. Add each of the eggs, one at a time, and fully incorporated.
4. Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt.
5. Add in the flour a bit at a time, while also adding in the milk.
6. Line a muffin tin with liners and fill 3/4 of the way up.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until slightly golden and has just a little give in the middle. Set aside to cool
8. For the compote put the peaches (drained), the diced apple, the apple sauce, and the wine in a pan and set on medium high.
9. Cook continuously until the wine has reduced and the fruit is soft almost mushy.  This takes about 40 minutes so be patient. I also added a pinch of cinnamon to this to bring out the earthy tones of the wine.
10. For the frosting, beat together the cream cheese and soft butter until well whipped.
11. In a seperate bowl whip the heavy cream until stiff. Fold this into the cream cheese and butter mixture.
12. Beat in the cups of sugar 1/2 a cup at a time until desired sweetness is reached (may need more sugar).  Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and you are done!
13. Assemble once everything has cooled and enjoy!

I made this recipe a while ago but have been waiting for a rainy day to post it, and today is that day!

This was a pre-wisdom teeth removal recipe so it combines a nice crunchy puff pastry with succulent blueberry topping that combines sweet, savory, and aromatic flavors.  I like this recipe for a few reasons.  The first being that I love blueberries, especially in the summer, if its blueberry anything I want it.  I also love that this presents new and exciting flavors for the blueberries, sometimes blueberry recipes are just overly sweet and cover up the blueberry flavor, this recipe enhances the blueberries flavors.  And lastly, this recipe, like most of my recipes, is really easy, you can start from frozen and have a delicious recipe dessert in an hour.

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet Puff Pastry
• 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
• 1/4 zest of an orange
• 1 pinch rosemary
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• egg wash (1 egg and a splash of water)

How to:

1. Begin by defrosting your puff pastry if necessary.  And set your oven to the temperature recommended on the box.
2. In a sauce pan combine your blueberries (either frozen or fresh) with a splash of water and set to medium heat.
3. Cook the berries so they begin to reduce into a sauce.  After the berries have begun to make a sauce, add in the rosemary, zest, cinnamon and sugar.
4. While that continues to reduce, begin to make your tart base.  Take the puff pastry and cut it into squares, about 5 inches on wide and 7 long.  Fold the edges 1/2 inch in to give a border. Then brush with egg wash and bake for 7 minutes.
5. When you remove the puff pastry, push down the center.
6. You want the berry mixture to have a nice syrup sauce to it, if it is taking to long to thicken up, add a bit 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch to the mix.
7. Once it is thick, spoon it onto the top of the puff pastry and egg wash the sides of the pastry again.
8. Bake for another 10-12 minutes until the edges are completely golden.
9. Add some whipped cream and enjoy!!

I love pintrest, it is great to come up with new and different ideas.  The problem is sometimes people post recipes that don’t actually work when you try to make them.  But as I was scanning pintrest I kept seeing these recipes for “healthy” cookie dough.  In my mind this reads as “too good to be true”, but it kept coming up so I thought I would give it a go.  Well, I must say I was pleasantly surprised.  More than just pleasantly surprised, I was amazed.  It has one special ingredient that I now consider a miracle food. This will satisfy your cookie dough cravings without having you feel guilty about it!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup canned chickpeas
• 1/2 a banana
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

How to:

1. Begin by roasting the drained and washed chickpeas. Lay them flat on a cookie sheet and toast in a 400 oven until they are golden and dry to the touch, about 15 minutes.
2. Using a food processor or blender, puree the chickpeas. Then add the peanut butter, banana, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Pulse to combine.
3. Fold in the chocolate chip pieces with a spatula.
4. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling them into balls.
5. Eat and enjoy the guilt free sweet treat!
6. Store in the fridge or freezer!