Key Lime Pie

I'm a huge fan of key lime pie.  There is just something about a graham cracker crust, with tart, creamy pie, and a bit of whipped cream.  It is such a dangerously delicious combination!  For this recipe, I was lazy and used a store bought crust (I know, shame on me), but if you have the time, make your own crust, it is worth it.  If you are looking for an easy dessert, then this is it.  The pie comes together in just a few minutes and then a few minutes in the oven.  The hard part is waiting for the pie to chill, but it is worth the wait. 

Most key lime pies I've seen call for egg yolks, but not this one.  When I saw this one I was very interested in it.  I LOVE sweetened condensed milk!  Who doesn't though, right?  I remember when I was little, my Mom would be baking something that called for condensed milk, I would be there waiting with a spoon to "lick" the can.  :)  Of course, after making the pie, I had to "lick" the cans.  Guilty pleasure, I guess.  Or re-living childhood memories, either way condensed milk is still just as delicious today as it was then.

Key Lime Pie

1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
3 cups sweetened condensed milk (about 2 cans)
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup key lime juice
1 tablespoon grated lime zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice and lime rind.  Mix well and pour in to graham cracker crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes, until tiny pinhole bubbles burst on the surface of the pie.  DO NOT BROWN!  Chill pie thoroughly before serving.  Garnish with lime slices and whipped cream if desired.

Yield - 8 servings

Hat Tip - allrecipes.com

Snickers Cookies

One day I was looking at the Brown Eyed Baker's website and I came across these peanut butter snickers cookies.  I was in love!  Snickers are my favorite candy bar.  Everyday in my lunch box I pack two fun size snickers.  I look forward to eating them during the day, it's the little things.  :)

When I read the ingredient list, I didn't have milk chocolate chips, so I had to wait.  :(  After I picked them up, I was looking for an excuse to make these yummy cookies.  The excuse presented itself in the form of a friend's birthday dinner.  I got to bring dessert.  Yay me!  :)  I love a good excuse to bake for others.  The cookies were a huge hit!  Some of the cookies went home with friends as party favors.  

The cookies have an excellent flavor!  The texture is very smooth and creamy from the peanut butter.  I highly recommend these cookies, I can't wait to make them again. 

Peanut Butter Snickers Cookies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda (I reduced it by about 20% due to baking at altitude)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder (I reduced it by about 20% due to baking at altitude)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (I reduced the butter by 1 tablespoon due to baking at altitude)

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk (I used plain, low fat yogurt)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups chopped Snickers candy bars, about 4 regular size bars

3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  Set aside.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and peanut butter together until fluffy.  Add the sugars and beat until smooth.  Add the egg and mix until combined.  Add the milk and vanilla extract and mix again.

Add the flour mixture and beat until the flour disappears.  Stir in chopped Snickers and milk chocolate chips.  

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets.  Gently flatten each cookie ball with the palm of your hand.  Bake 10-11 minutes, or until cookies are slightly brown on the edges.  

Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature.  

Yield - About 24 cookies

Hat Tip - Brown Eyed Baker

Strawberry-Buttermilk Sherbert

This is my third use for four pounds of strawberries!  I hope you have enjoyed the strawberry recipes. 

Strawberry-buttermilk sherbert . . . AMAZING!  Honestly when I first starting making the sherbert, I wasn't sure how it would be with buttermilk in it.  Before I put the sherbert mixture in the fridge to chill for an hour, I sampled a little of the liquid.  It was so tasty, it tasted like liquid strawberry frosting!  Crazy, huh?  Once chilled, it went into my ice cream maker, just a bit later, we had semi-frozen sherbert.  I, of course, ate some while it was semi-frozen and then put the rest into the freezer to freeze further.  The sherbert is so fresh, light, and delicious!  You should run to your kitchen to make this . . . go now, don't wait.  :)

Strawberry-Buttermilk Sherbert

2 cups fresh strawberries*
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Garnish: fresh mint sprigs

Process strawberries in food processor or blender 30 seconds or until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.  Pour strawberry puree through fine wire-mesh strainer into a large bowl, pressing with the back of a spoon.  Discard solids.  Add buttermilk, sugar, and vanilla to puree; stir until well blended.  Cover and chill 1 hour.

Pour strawberry mixture into freezer container of a 1 1/2 quart electric ice-cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.  (Instructions and times may vary.)  Garnish, if desired. 

*1 (16 ounce) package frozen strawberries, thawed, may be substituted. 

Yield - about 4 1/2 cups

Hat Tip - myrecipes.com

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry shortcake . . . such yummy goodness!!  These are so delicious, it is hard to explain just how good they are.  :-)  Crunchy slightly sweet biscuit, sweet beautiful strawberries, and of course lovely vanilla whipped cream, in every bite.

Yes, this was another use for our 4 pounds of strawberries.  It didn't use a bunch of strawberries, since this recipe only made 2 servings, but I think it was definitely a good use of the strawberries. 

The shortcake pictured above is actually my second try.  The first batch I made didn't turn out right.  The butter melted,  ran all over the baking sheet and it ended up "frying" the bottom of the shortcakes.  So, I had to make a few changes to this recipe, I believe because of the altitude here in Colorado.  I decreased the butter from 4 tablespoons to 3 tablespoons, 4 was just too much liquid.  I also replaced 1 tablespoon of the all-purpose floor with cake flour.  Cake flour has cornstarch in it, so it helps absorb some of the excess liquid.  Finally I reduced the baking powder to 3/4 teaspoon, we don't need as much leavening agent since there is less air pressure here.  If you make this recipe it sea level, you shouldn't need to make any changes to it. 

Strawberry Shortcake

Shortcakes -
2/3 cup (3 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for the counter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon table salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
2 tablespoons half-and-half (I didn't have half-and-half, so I used buttermilk)
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Fruit-
2 cups (10 ounces) fresh strawberries, hulled*
5 teaspoons sugar
1 recipe Whipped Cream (recipe below)

Shortcakes - Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Pulse the flour, 5 teaspoons of the sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a food processor until combined, about 3 pulses.  Sprinkle the butter pieces over the top and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 15 pulses.  Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.  Whisk the half-and-half and whole egg together, then stir into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until large clumps form.

Turn the mixture out onto a well-floured counter.  Divide the dough into two even pieces, then, with well-floured hands, shape each into a 2 1/2 inch circle, about 1 inch thick.

Arrange the shortcakes on the prepared baking sheet.  Brush the tops with the egg white and sprinkle with the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar.  Bake the shortcakes until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking.  Transfer the shortcakes to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes.  (The shortcakes can be cooled completely and stored in a zipper-lock bag at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.  Before serving, refresh in a 350 degree oven for 3 to 5 minutes, or 7 to 10 minutes if frozen.)

Fruit - Meanwhile, crush 3/4 cup of the strawberries with a potato masher in a medium bowl.  Slice the remaining 1 1/4 cups berries and fold them into the crushed berries along with the sugar.  Let the berry mixture sit at room temperature until the sugar has dissolved and the berries are juicy, about 10 minutes.

Split each shortcake and spoon the fruit over each bottom.  Dollop with the whipped cream and cap with the shortcake tops.  Serve.

Yield - 2 servings

*Fresh blueberries, raspberries, or halved blackberries can be substituted for some or all of the strawberries.  Do not substitute frozen fruit. 

Whipped Cream

1/3 cup heave cream, chilled
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-low speed until frothy, about 1 minute.  Increase the speed to high and continue to whip the cream to soft peaks, 1 to 3 minutes.

Yield - about 3/4 cup

Hat Tip - America's Test Kitchen 2009 Cooking for Two Special Issue

Strawberry Lemonade

We recently bought 4 pounds of strawberries from Costco for just the two of us!!  Crazy, I know, but it is strawberry season.  I'm a sucker for sweet smelling and beautiful strawberries.  As we were driving home, I realized I should do some fun stuff with all these strawberries.  Several strawberry recipes came to mind, as well as strawberry lemonade.  Off the top of my head I didn't have a recipe for it, so I had to do a little online searching.  I came across the recipe below from Life's Ambrosia.  I had everything on hand except for the sparkling water.  I didn't want to go out, so I just used regular water.  I think it turned out well!  The strawberry lemonade had a very pure, berry flavor, probably because I was a little short on the lemon juice.  It was very yummy nonetheless. 

As I mentioned, there are several other strawberry recipes that will be posted in the near future.  Try to control your excitement, but they will be berry good!  :-)

Strawberry Lemonade

6 Lemons (I used 4)
1 to 1 1/2 cups simple syrup (recipe below)
1 (16 ounce) container strawberries, hulled and halved
1 quart sparkling water (I used plain water)
Ice cubes

Roll the lemons back and forth a couple of times on the counter to release the juices.  Cut the lemons in half and juice into a bowl.  Remove any seeds that may have fallen into the juice.  You should get about 1 cup of lemon juice.

Using an immersion blender or regular blender, blend the strawberries with 1/2 cup simple syrup, until smooth. 

Pour lemon juice, strawberry puree, 1/2 cup simple syrup and sparkling water into a pitcher.  Add more simple syrup if you want a little more sweetness.  Add ice cubes.  Chill until ready to drink. 

 Simple Syrup

1 part water
1 part sugar

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat.

Bring to a boil.  Stir until sugar has dissolved.

Cool completely.

Hat Tip - Life's Ambrosia

Salty Chocolate-Pecan Candy

 

Here I go again with another pecan recipe.  I apologize if you don't like pecans hopefully you will like other recipes on my blog.  :-)  A word of warning -- I do know of at least one more pecan recipe in the near future.  I'm not sure why I seem to be so drawn to pecan recipes, except for the fact that I really like pecans.  

This candy looks so elegant and fancy!  It is super easy to make, so it's a great fake out.  The flavor is delicious.  Sweet white chocolate, rich dark chocolate, toasty pecans, and salty goodness all in one gorgeous bite.  I had quite a bit of candy, luckily it keeps well in the refrigerator for about a month.  

Salty Chocolate-Pecan Candy

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

3 (4 oz) bars bittersweet chocolate baking bars (I used Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet)

3 (4 oz) white chocolate baking bars (I used Ghirardelli)

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or 3/4 tsp kosher salt

Place pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted.

Line a 17 x 12 inch jelly-roll pan with parchment paper.  Break each bar into 8 equal pieces.  (You will have 48 pieces total.)  Arrange in a checkerboard pattern in jelly-roll pan, alternating white and dark chocolate.  (Pieces will touch.)

Bake at 225 degrees for 5 minutes or just until chocolate is melted.  Remove pan to a wire rack.  Swirl chocolates into a marble pattern using a wooden pick.  Sprinkle evenly with toasted pecans and salt.  

Chill 1 hour or until firm.  Break into pieces.  Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 month.  

Makes 1 3/4 lb

Hat Tip - myrecipes.com

Snickerdoodles

 

I think of snickerdoodle cookies as a classic, go to cookie; like chocolate chip or sugar cookies.  I seem to make a lot of go to cookies.  They are pretty simple to make and I usually have the ingredients on hand.  This snickerdoodle recipe was both simple to make and I had all the ingredients.  Yay!  :-)  The only draw back with this recipe is that you have to plan ahead a bit.  The dough has to be refrigerated overnight or for at least 3 hours.  It's not a huge problem, but you will have to wait a bit longer to eat the cookies.  If you are able to plan ahead, then refrigerating the dough can work to your advantage.  The dough can be refrigerated up to 1 week.  I actually made the dough 2 days in advance.  I was responsible for making desserts for a party, so I wanted to get as much done ahead of time as possible and it worked out well.

The cookies smelled so yummy as they were baking.  I just love the smell of cinnamon! 

This recipe comes from the Flour Bakery cookbook.  Sweetie and I visited Flour Bakery many times when we lived in Boston.  Defiantly check out the bakery if you are in the Boston area, you won't be disappointed!  Sweetie's favorite were the sticky sticky buns.

Snickerdoodles

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 1/2 cup for coating

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1/4 cup ground cinnamon

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer or a wooden spoon), cream together the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy.  (This step will take about 10 minutes if using a handheld mixer or a spoon.)  Stop the mixer a few times and use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and the paddle to release any clinging butter or sugar.  Beat in the eggs on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, or until thoroughly combined.  Scrape the bowl and paddle again to make sure the eggs are thoroughly incorporated.  

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar.  On low speed (or with the wooden spoon), slowly blend the flour mixture into the butter-sugar mixture and then mix just until the flour is totally incorporated and the dough is evenly mixed.  

For the best results, scrape the dough into an airtight container and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight (or for at least 3 to 4 hours) before baking.  When ready to bake, position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix together the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon.  Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and roll to coat.  Place the coated balls of dough on a baking sheet, spacing them about 3 inches apart.  Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown on the edges and slightly soft in the center.  Let cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.  

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.  The unbaked dough may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Makes about 24 cookies.

Hat Tip - Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe by Joanne Chang