Blueberry Lemon Bars

You may have noticed I like blueberries.  They're a staple around here.  

We buy this huge bag from Sam's and the girls and I love them!

If anyone finds my missing pear, let me know.  I won't say who I think it is, but if someone checked out the teethmarks on my other pears, they could take a pretty good guess too.

Back to blueberries, I made these delicious bars for Shiloh's birthday brunch back in August.  They're a fresh mildly sweet dessert and would also make a great addition to breakfast.  {Do not ask me how many of these I've had for my actual breakfast this week.}    These bars make me think of Summer with the lemon and blueberry combination.  

My 2 cents worth on this recipe:  These are delicious fresh, but do not seem to hold up well after that.  I suggest keeping these in the fridge after you initially serve them or split the recipe in half and put in a square 8x8 if you won't be needing a whole 9x13-inch pan of these bars.  

Your thighs will thank you.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

Ingredients:
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
zest of two lemons
4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
3 teaspoons cornstarch

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, salt, lemon zest and baking powder.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla together until combined.

4. Use pastry cutter or your food processor (see not below for alternative method) to blend the flour mixture with the butter and egg/vanilla mixture.  Dough will be crumbly.  Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.  {I wished I would have done more like 2/3'rds  on the bottom.}

5. In another bowl, stir together 1/2 sugar and cornstarch.  Gently mix in the blueberries.  Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust.  Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. {I think I should have baked mine for a little longer, so do not go by the color of mine in my photos.}  Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Note: If you do not have a pastry cutter or a food processor, simply freeze your butter and use a box grated to grate the butter into the flour mixture. Use two forks or your fingers to fully incorporate.

Here's a few photos of my process...

Sprayed my parchment paper with vegetable oil non-stick cooking spray...

I have absolutely no idea if this is how you get lemon peel, but this is exactly what I do.  {This is where TV and the cooking channel would come in handy I suppose.}

Ignore my crummy thumb.  I always think one day I'll stop doing so many rough projects that involve getting my hands tore up.  Who thinks that'll ever happen?

Again, I improvise the whole butter-in-flour-mixture-thing because I do not have a pastry cutter.  Something tells me if I did a quick search on ebay, the tool would only cost me a few bucks.  But I'm a cheapo and a creature of habit so I cut my butter into the flour mixture with 2 knives.  Steak knives to be exact.  Read the note above if you want a better method. :-)

Poured half of the mixture into my parchment lined pan and patted down gently...

When I mix the frozen blueberries with cornstarch it makes this awesome reaction that would be fit for a science experiment with the kiddos...

I layered those antioxidant-filled-berries over the sugar-infested-flour-layer in my pan...

and poured the rest of my flour on top...

Baked in the oven and cut up into bars they look like this...

ENJOY!!!

It's naptime y'all and I'm digging deep into a slipcover project.  Wish me luck!!!

Pumpkin Muffins: An October Tribute

It's OCTOBER!
All is well in my world.

I could go to Starbucks every single day and order a Pumpkin drink - cold or hot - to relish this cooler weather and not feel the slightest bit guilty after the Summer we've had.  

Fall has never tasted so good let me tell you.

And speaking of Fall tasting good, I have been tasting of it profusely and you're gonna love this slice of October below.

These pumpkin muffins are perfect for crisp mornings on the deck, Bible in one hand, coffee in the other.  Or eating as an after-work snack while you catch up with the hubby.  Think apple cider in mugs with your girlfriend.  Or paper bags with these goodies all sewed up inside and hand delivered to your neighbors.  

Am I the only one who thinks food is romantic?

Seriously though.  How is that not romantic?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins 
{Topped with Cinnamon Streusel}

Yield: 24 muffins

Ingredients:

For the muffins:

3 cups flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tbsp. and 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

4 eggs

1 ¼ cups vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

2 cups pumpkin puree

For the filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

For the streusel topping:

½ cup sugar

¼ cup and 1 tsp. flour

4 tbsp. butter, cubed

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and whip until smooth. Form into a log on plastic wrap or foil, making sure that the diameter is small enough to fit into the well of a muffin pan. Wrap the log up tightly and freeze until slightly hardened, 1-2 hours.

To make the muffins, combine the flour, spices, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, sugar and pumpkin puree. Mix until well combined. Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined.

To make the streusel topping, combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix together with a pastry blender or two forks until crumbly.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two muffin pans with paper liners. To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well halfway with batter. Remove the cream cheese log from the freezer and slice into 24 equal slices. Place a slice in each muffin well. Divide the remaining muffin batter evenly among the muffin cups, on top of the cream cheese. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the top of the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.





And a few photos of my process...

Mixing the cream cheese with the powdered sugar...oh what combination could be better?

When finished, it should be this consistency...

 

I buttered my tinfoil for the cream cheese fill and it worked beautifully for me when it was time to unroll again. 

 Stuck it in the freezer rolled up like this...

 

Did you know that painting a chalkboard wall while your log is freezing will make it good and ready when you come back to it?  My cream cheese log had been in the freezer for about 2.5 hrs. by the time I got back to her and she was good and solid - making handling much easier.

When I 'm ready to get going on the muffins, I like to make my streusel first since I don't have a pastry cutter and cutting up the butter into the sugar/flour mixture by hand with 2 knives is a little time consuming.

Doesn't it look good already???

I made the batter.

  I aspired to take pictures of this process for you, but life takes over.  Hubby gets home from work, kids start waking up from their naps, you realize you haven't had a shower all day, and photo op of your food gets pushed low down on the priority list...you get the picture. :-)

After the batter was made, I pulled the cream cheese log out of the freezer and unrolled it, removed the tin foil, and cut it in slices on my cutting board. This is the easiest way I've found to do this, as long as you've buttered your tinfoil earlier. 

My cream cheese pieces weren't perfect little discs, but I smooshed mine down in the batter and I like having the center just one big cream cheese piece....YUM.

Covered with more batter.

And sprinkled with streusel topping.  Get ready for the house to smell delish while it's baking.  Not that I would know really, since my nose hasn't been functioning since ragweed season hit us.  But a girl can imagine.  Especially a girl who thinks food is romantic.



But can't you just smell that muffin through the computer screen?

Please let me know if you make these and it'll be like I made them all over again...


Happy October y'all!!!

Memorial Day Recipe

I've been making this since I was in high school and I got the itch to make it again for Memorial Day with a patriotic twist. I used frozen blueberries I had on hand and cherry pie filling for the decorating. Emma Claire studied my every move and we discussed our country and the reason we celebrate Memorial Day while decorating it. I want my children to realize the importance of this day, living their lives with humility and gratefulness for the freedoms they enjoy.

Cherry Topped Cheesecake

1 graham cracker crust (6 oz.)

1 package cream cheese (8 oz.), softened

1/3 cup of lemon juice

1 can condensed milk (14 oz.)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cream softened cream cheese. Beat in the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract and the lemon juice until the batter is smooth; pour the batter into the graham cracker crust. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Yield: 1 cheesecake.

May be topped with cherries, strawberries, or drizzled with chocolate, but delicious plain!

German Chocolate Cake

I have been craving this cake for a couple weeks now. Well...ever since the last time I made it actually. I made this cake for Steven's birthday and instantly became a coconut convert! The icing is spectacular and well worth the time you sit stirring. This recipe came from here, but I have added some tips I think you will find helpful in parenthesis. Enjoy!


German Chocolate Cake

Cake:

1 (18.25 ounce) package butter cake mix
1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

Frosting:

(You will most likely need to double this. I have both times.)

1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 cup white sugar
1 cup chopped pecans (I didn't use the pecans because Steven didn't want them.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flaked coconut

Directions


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 8 inch round cake pans. (I only used 2 and left a little batter in the bowl. I have some great helpers who help me with what's leftover.)

2. Combine the cake mix, instant vanilla pudding, cocoa, buttermilk, vegetable oil and the 3 whole eggs. Mix until blended and pour the batter into the prepared pans.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cakes test done. Set cakes aside to cool.

Frosting:

In a medium sized sauce pan mix the evaporated milk, white sugar, 3 egg yolks and the butter. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is thick. (It should resemble a soupy applesauce consistency. This will take about 25 - 30 min. of stirring. It's my excuse to read a magazine :-)  Trust me, it will be worth it!) Remove from heat and beat until partially cooled. Beat in the vanilla. Stir in the flaked coconut and the chopped pecans. (I then chilled the frosting in the refrigerator because it is still not thick enough to ice at this point.) Use to fill and frost cake.