Berry Delicious

Fresh berries. They’re delectable in pies, crumbles and cobblers. Simply delightful with fresh whipped cream or with my latest favorite, vanilla greek yogurt, dolloped on top. They also happen to be perfectly tasty all by themselves, freshly washed and straight out of the colander. Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries are of course the well-known and common supermarket staple but there are a variety of others waiting to whet your pallet. Golden raspberries, boysenberries, acai berries, gogi berries and of course snozzberries if you’re familiar with Willy Wonka ;)

Not only are they tasty to eat but they’re great for you too. Packed with antioxidants and vitamins, they're also low in calories and blueberries are even considered a SUPERfood! In celebration of berries and all that is good in the world, I give you an easy and delicious berry recipe perfect for summer!

Blueberry Crisp - serves 8

Have it:
For the Filling
6 c. (3 pints) fresh blueberries
1/2 c. sugar
1 tbs. cornstarch
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. coarse salt

For the Topping
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant or quick-cooking)
1/2 c. chopped nuts, such as almonds
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
6 tbs. unsalted butter, softened
1/3 c. sugar

Do it:
1. Preheat oven to 375. Make the filling by mixing the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and salt in a bowl. Transfer to an 8-inch square baking dish.

2. Make the topping - in a medium bowl, stir together flour, oats, nuts, baking powder and salt. With an electric mixer (I use my KitchenAid - love it!) on medium speed, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir flour mixture into butter. Using your hands, squeeze topping pieces together to form clumps.

3. Sprinkle topping evenly over filling. Bake until filling is bubbling in the center and topping is golden brown, about 1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy alone or with ice cream or frozen yogurt (try out my new fav Atheno's frozen greek yogurt!).

Close up of the bubbly-goodness!

There you have it - a delicious and easy dessert that is low on prepwork but big on flavor! You could even do with another varietal of berry or a mix of berries. Yummers.

Source: Martha Stewart via People Magazine from her new cookbook Martha's American Food.

Give me some s'more of those S'more Cups!

One of summer's favorite treats would have to be the gooey, chocolately concoction commonly known as the S'more. I have many a fond memory of sitting around a campfire with my cousins, roasting (and oftentimes burning) marshmallows before smooshing them between two crunchy graham crackers squares and a couple Hershey rectangles. Those sticky sandwiches are a delicasy best made over the crackling flames of a bonfire but I have come across a make-at-home S'more treat with all of the same delicious flavors in an adorable bite-size package. Behold, the S'more Cup.

S'more Cup - makes 24 cups

Have it:
7 graham cracker sheets (I used HoneyMaid Grahams and finely crushed them in my food processor)
1/4 c. powdered sugar
6 tbl. butter, melted
4 bars mil chocolate candy, divided (I used the ultimate chocolate bar, Hershey's)
12 large marshmallows

Do it:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place graham cracker sheets into your food processor and pulse until finely crushed. If you do not own a food processor, place crackers into a large resealable plastic bag and use a meat mallet or rolling pin to finely crush.

2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and butter in a small bowl.

Place 1 tbl. of the crumb mixture into a greased mini muffin pan (use Pam or other cooking spray and give a little spray in each cup). Press crumbs to form shallow cups and bake 4-5 minutes or until edges are bubbling.

3. Meanwhile, break candy bars into rectangles. Remove pan from oven; place one rectangle into each cup.

Cut marshmallows in half using a kitchen knife sprayed with Pam to avoid sticking. Place one marshmallow half, cut side down, in each cup on top of the chocolate. Return pan to oven for 2-3 minutes or until marshmallows are slightly softened. Remove pan from oven and place on cooling rack; cool 15 minutes. Carefully remove cups from pan. I used a teaspoon to help them along. Cool completely on a cooling rack.

4. Break remaining candy bars into pieces and place in a small microwavable bowl. Microwave on high in :30 second intervals stirring in between until melted. Dip the top of each marshmallow in the melted choclate. Turn top-side up and let stand 40-60 minutes or until set (if you can wait that long!). Makes 24 delish cups.

I made this crowd-pleasing delight for a party and they were scarfed down within 15 minutes! And my official taste-tester hubs was equally delighted :)

Source: Found via Pinterest over at Texas Cottage and originally from Pampered Chef

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting...is there a better dessert topping?!?! Okay, maybe chocolate frosting or chocolate ganache or fresh whipped cream. I guess cream cheese frosting doesn't stand alone but it's up there as one of the most decadant and delicious dessert toppings. And what better to spread it on than a fresh carrot cake? I'm not a super frequent baker as there are only 2 of us and we can't (and shouldn't) put down a whole cake so I saved this recipe for a lovely Easter dinner. It was from one of my favorite spots - the crew over at America's Test Kitchen - and so worth the wait!

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - Serves 10-12

Have it:

Carrot Cake:

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (nutmeg grinders are pretty common to find and great to have around)

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

1 lb. carrots (6-7 med.), peeled
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

4 large eggs

1 1/2 c. safflower, canola, or vegetable oil (I used vegetable oil)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese softened but still cool

5 tbl. unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1 tbl. sour cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. confectioners sugar

(This ingredient list is if you make the cake as directed in the original recipe and put in a 13" x 9" baking pan. However I wanted a pretty cake so I went with 2 8" x 1.5" round cake pans. You won't need any more cake batter but I did another half recipe of the frosting to get it in between the layers and then around the cake.)

Do it:
For the cake:
1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position; heat the oven to 350 degrees. For a pretty cake like mine, spray 2 8" x 1.5" inch baking pans with nonstick cooking spray. The original recipe calls for then using parchment paper and spraying that but I did not use it and had no problems.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. In a food processor fitted with the large shredding disk, shred the carrots (you should end up with about 3 cups);

add the carrots to the bowl with the dry ingredients and set aside. Wipe out the food processor and fit with the metal blade. Process both sugars with the eggs until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds. With the machine running, add the oil through the feed tube in a steady stream. Process until the mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 seconds longer. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl. Stir in the carrots and dry ingredients until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Pour into the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking time. Be careful with the smaller pans. I checked at 25 minutes and they were done around 30 but every oven is different. Cool the cakes to room termperature in the pans on a wire rack, about 2 hours.

For the frosting:

4. When the cake is cool, process the cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla in a clean food processor until combined, about 5 seconds, scraping down the workbowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the confectioners sugarand process until smooth about 10 seconds.

5. Run a paring knife around the edge of the cakes to loosen them from the pans. Invert the cake onto a wire rack and use the paring knife to gently even the tops of each cake to make them level.

Eat the uneven parts as they are delicious. Place a cake on a serving platter and use parchment paper to tuck under the edge of the cake so as not to get frosting all over the serving platter. You'll remove once the cake is frosted and it will look so pretty!

6. Using a spatula, spread frosting on the top of the bottom cake and carefully place the second cake on top.

Use the spatula to frost the now layered cake. Spraying the spatula with a little nonstick cooking spray will help smooth the frosting and keep from glopping on your spatula.

Serve. Devour. Enjoy.

Some additional notations. America's Test Kitchen rocks. Not only does every recipe taste amazing but most of their cookbooks have an intro to every recipe explaining the trial and error process and how this recipe came to be. I love it! The second notation would be that food processors are a must in the kitchen. There isn't much they can't do and with this recipe they shred the carrots in a matter of minutes. Last but not least, if you are like me and without a proper cake platter, don't worry. Use a wide dinner plate and an inverted bowl, voila! Instant cake platter. Now stop reading and start baking.

Source: The New Best Recipe cookbook by the fabulous folks at America's Test Kitchen and the editors of Cook's Illustrated