Fall Favorites
I’m taking a little break from my kitchen and my computer this week, so I thought I’d share some past recipes that you may have missed along the way. These are some of my favorites that I look forward to making when temperatures chill and the leaves start falling:
Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
Ready to eat in minutes, great for using up leftover pumpkin and it tastes a lot like pumpkin pie. It’s a no-brainer.
Spiced Apple Bundt Cake
A cake that tastes equally great for breakfast or dessert. Super easy to make and it travels well too.
Cranberry Upside-Down Coffee Cake
It’s cranberry season! And I love this coffee cake.
Cinnamon Glazed Pumpkin Cookies
Full of fall flavors and extremely addictive. Don’t skip the cinnamon glaze!
Apple Cranberry Caramel Tarts
Simple ingredients transformed into something amazing. Can’t wait to make these again!
Baked Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes
Ok, they’re really muffins rolled in cinnamon and sugar, but that’s just details. What you really need to know is that they’re pop-able and addictive, and you should probably make a second batch.
White Bean & Chicken Chili
Comfort food at its finest. Warms you from the inside out.
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Crumbled Bacon
I am having a major love affair with butternut squash this fall.
I only discovered I even liked butternut squash two years ago. I had never tried it before. Since then though, I’ve eagerly looked forward to roasting the slightly sweet orange squash as soon as the weather cools every year. It’s my new favorite fall vegetable.
This year, I decided to try something a little different with my butternut squash. I roasted it as usual, then pureed it and turned it into a fantastic soup. This soup has just a hint of pumpkin pie-like flavor, while remaining savory and not tasting, you know… like pumpkin pie. It’s fall in a warm, cozy bowl and it’s healthy too!
Well, except for maybe that extra crisp bacon I topped it with.
Yeah, that happened. Salty sweet heaven. You need to eat this.
Butternut Squash Soup with Crumbled Bacon
Serves 4-6
While the soup is simmering, cover a baking sheet with foil, lay bacon strips in a single layer on sheet and bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes, or until bacon is crisp. It’s my favorite way to cook bacon.
Don’t be scared by the tales of how hard it is to cut up butternut squash. By roasting the squash in quarters, it only requires a few quick cuts. You don’t have the mess with peeling and chopping it. I made my soup on the thicker side. If you prefer thinner, add more chicken broth. I only added a few dashes of each spice to the soup – start with a little and adjust to your taste.
Ingredients
1 3-lb butternut squash
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 shallots, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups finely diced carrots
3 ribs celery, finely diced
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced
3-4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
salt to taste
dashes of cinnamon, allspice, chili powder
crisp cooked bacon, for garnish
Directions
With a sharp, strong knife, slice roughly 1/2 inch off the top (stem end) and bottom of butternut squash. Cut squash into quarters lengthwise, first slicing in half from top to bottom, then cutting each half in halves. Place squash on a foil lined baking sheet (for easy clean up). Using your fingers, break 1 tablespoon butter into small pieces and dot over squash. Sprinkle evenly with salt. Cover with foil and roast at 400°F for 45-50 minutes, or until squash is tender and easily pierced. Cool on pan.
In a large soup pot, saute shallots, garlic, carrots, celery, and apple over medium heat until tender, about 5-8 minutes. Add enough chicken broth to cover (about 3 cups) and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Remove soup from heat.
Using a spoon, scoop softened roasted squash from skin and puree in food processor until smooth, working in batches if necessary. Transfer to a bowl. Carefully ladle soup into food processor and puree until smooth, again working in batches if necessary. Repeat until all soup is pureed.
Combine pureed soup and butternut squash in pot and return to medium-low heat. Cook just until hot. Add cider vinegar. If needed, add additional chicken broth to thin soup to desired consistency. Season to taste with salt & spices.
Serve warm, topped with crispy, crumbled bacon.
Chewy (-ish) Pumpkin Molasses Cookies
If you’ve ever made pumpkin cookies (like these Cinnamon Glazed Pumpkin Cookies, perhaps?) you know they’re usually cakey, like a muffin. Cakey and delicious. But this time I had something else in mind.
I wanted chewy pumpkin cookies.
Once I get an idea in my head, there’s no letting it go. Molasses cookies are my favorite chewy cookies. Obviously they could only get better if I added pumpkin! So this past weekend I made 60+ cookies and spent several hours trying out recipes to get chewy pumpkin cookies. In the end, the recipe I came up with was only kinda chewy (-ish). It’s hard to make non-cakey pumpkin cookies!
I’d like to revisit the idea sometime to see if I can make them even chewier, but I’m sharing this recipe now because even if they were still a little cakey, these cookies were irresistible. They’re packed with fall flavors and spice, plus a little crunch from the sugar coating. My friends and I polished off nearly all of them in one weekend. Even my dog, who was refusing to eat over the weekend, ate a few cookie pieces. They’re that good.
Chewy (-ish) Pumpkin Molasses Cookies
Makes 24-36 cookies, depending on size
There is one somewhat time consuming step to these cookies – dehydrating the pumpkin – but it’s essential for the chewy (-ish) texture. These cookies have the best flavor and texture a day or two AFTER you bake them, so they’re ideal for baking ahead. They barely spread in the oven. To get the chewiest cookie, flatten the dough balls and underbake them a little. For a cakier, poofier (and still addictive) cookie, don’t flatten the dough balls and let them bake a little longer.
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) of butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup of dehydrated pumpkin puree** (see recipe below)
2 1/2 tablespoons of molasses
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup granulated sugar + 1/4 cup raw sugar + 1/2 tsp cinnamon for rolling cookies
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and spice. In a saucepan or a microwave safe bowl, melt 11 Tablespoons of butter.
Combine melted butter with remaining butter in a large bowl. Add sugars and whisk to combine. Add pumpkin and molasses, whisk again. Whisk in egg yolk and vanilla. Using a spatula, fold flour mixture into wet ingredients just until a dough forms and all flour is incorporated.
In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup raw sugar and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Roll dough into balls, 1-2 tablespoons in size. Roll each dough ball in the small bowl of sugar until coated and set on baking sheets, 8 to 12 cookies to a sheet.
For the chewiest cookies, completely flatten dough balls with the bottom of a glass or measuring cup and bake for just 7-8 minutes, until edges are set but centers still look a little wet. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool completely.
For cakier cookies, bake round dough balls for 10-13 minutes, until edges are slightly browned and cookies are set. Cool on a wire rack.
Store covered at room temperature. Best served 1-2 days after they’re baked.
Dehydrated Pumpkin Puree
Makes about 1 1/4 cups
Removing the water from pumpkin puree helps yield a chewier cookie. It couldn’t be easier, but it is a little time consuming. You’ll only need about half of this recipe to make a batch of cookies.
Ingredients
15 ounce can pumpkin puree (not pie filling!)
Directions
Dump pumpkin puree into a medium saucepan or saute pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently and spreading out pumpkin with a spatula, for 50 minutes to 1 hour or most of the water has cooked out. Pumpkin should darken in color and be the consistency of clay or a stiff cookie dough. Cool to room temperature or refrigerate overnight.
Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes
It seems like once the weather cools down everyone wants to jump right into pumpkin season. Don’t get me wrong, I love pumpkin as much as anyone else, but to me September is apple season.
I was thinking about how often apples get overshadowed by pumpkin a few weeks ago when my husband asked me if I wanted to attend a dinner party with some of his coworkers. “Hrmmm. Maybe…”, I said. “They asked us to bring some kind of food to share”, he said. That was all I needed to hear. Not one to pass up an opportunity, I agreed, “I’ll go… but only if I can bring dessert.” I had visions of apples and caramel and cupcakes swirling in my head.
It took me a while to decide on an approach for these cupcakes. Did I want apple cupcakes with caramel frosting? Caramel cupcakes with apple frosting? Would there be enough apple flavor? I was imagining cupcakes that tasted like apple pie (but without the yucky crust) so they really needed to taste like apples.
Ultimately, I decided the best way to pack that punch of apple flavor into a cupcake was to use apple pie filling. Cinnamon cupcakes would compliment the apple filling without overwhelming it, and caramel frosting would be the icing on the cake (ha ha).
I was apprehensive while putting these cupcakes together. I’m not going to lie – they’re pretty labor intensive and not exactly easy. I had doubts about whether they would be worth all the effort, whether they would taste as good as I imagined they would.
In the end, they didn’t.
They tasted approximately a million times better than I had imagined.
I was hoping for good cupcakes, but these were amazing. Fantastic. They got rave reviews at the party, but I thought maybe everyone was just being nice. Until I tasted one myself. I believe I uttered the phrase, “OMG. These are my new favorite cupcakes ever… and they’re not even chocolate!” So yeah. They’re that good. Totally worth every minute they took to create. You won’t find cupcakes like this in a box at the grocery store!
Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes
Printable Recipe (Includes all sub-recipes)
Makes about 24 cupcakes
There are several steps to complete before assembling the cupcakes, but some can be done a day ahead to speed things up. The caramel and apple filling can both be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Let them come to room temperature (or gently warm caramel) before using. You won’t need the whole batch of caramel, so feel free to half it if you don’t want a bunch leftover. Any leftover pie filling or caramel sauce makes a fantastic breakfast/snack mixed with Greek yogurt, or a delicious topping for ice cream!
Ingredients
2 cups Apple Filling (below)
1 cup Vanilla Bean Caramel Sauce (below)
24 Cinnamon Cupcakes (below)
1 batch of Caramel Swiss Buttercream Frosting (below)
Directions
Working with completely cooled, use a small paring knife to cut out a cone shaped wedge from the center of each cupcake. (Like when cutting the lid off of a jack-o-lantern.) Save the “lids”. If needed, scrape out a little bit of cake from each hole to make more room for filling – just don’t go too far or your cupcakes will fall apart. Fill each hole not quite to the top with Apple Filling (about 1/2 tablespoon). Replace “lids”, trimming off the bottoms of the “lids” if necessary.
Pipe frosting on cupcakes. Drizzle with caramel sauce.
Serve same day as assembled, or freeze for long term storage.
Apple Filling
Printable Recipe
Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1.5 pounds (approx.) Honey Crisp apples (about 4 medium), peeled, cored, and finely diced
1 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
Directions
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add apples, sugars, lemon juice and cinnamon. Cook until apples are tender and release their juices – about 10 minutes. In a small bowl or glass, combine cornstarch and water. Add to apples and stir, cooking until thickened. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature. (Cover and refrigerate overnight if making ahead.)
Vanilla Bean Caramel Sauce
Printable Recipe
Adapted from Annie’s Eats
Makes 2 1/2 cups
A word of caution: Making caramel is tricky. Have patience and have all of your ingredients ready to go. Caramel also gets very, very hot. Much hotter than boiling water. It will spatter, so be careful. Wear long sleeves, use a deep pan or pot, and do not try to taste the hot caramel no matter how much you want to! David Lebovitz has some great tips for making caramel.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
Directions
Measure heavy cream in a measuring cup. Scrape out vanilla bean seeds and add to cream. Set aside.
Spread sugar in an even layer on the bottom of a heavy, tall-sided sauce pan or pot. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring gently with a heat-proof spatula or whisk to promote even browning, until sugar melts. Once the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring.
Watch carefully. When the caramel turns a rich amber color and smells like caramel, remove from heat and immediately whisk in cream. (Caution: Caramel will bubble violently!) If any sugar has hardened, return to low heat and whisk until smooth.
Cool to room temperature. To store or make ahead, transfer to an air-tight container and keep refrigerated. Caramel can be re-warmed in microwave or in a saucepan over low heat, if needed.
Cinnamon Cupcakes
Printable Recipe
Adapted from Annie’s Eats
Makes about 24 cupcakes
Ingredients
1 cup milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat eggs and sugar until thick ribbons form, about 5 minutes. Add flour mixture and beat on low just until incorporated. Add milk mixture and vanilla, and beat until blended.
Divide evenly among baking tins. Bake at 350°F for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Caramel Swiss Buttercream Frosting
Printable Recipe
Adapted from Flour Child
Makes enough to generously frost 24 cupcakes
It’s very important that your caramel be no warmer than room temperature when you add it to the frosting, or your frosting will melt.
Ingredients
6 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
Pinch of coarse salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup Vanilla Bean Caramel sauce (above), cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
Place a saucepan with about 2 inches of water over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer. Combine egg whites, sugar and salt in the metal bowl of a stand mixer. Place bowl over pan of simmering water and whisk constantly until mixture an instant-read thermometer reads 160°F. (Sugar will be dissolved and mixture will start to resemble marshmallow fluff.)
Remove bowl from heat and attach to stand mixer. Beat with the whisk attachment until stiff meringue peaks form and the outside of the bowl no longer feels warm, about 10 minutes. Switch to paddle attachment. On low speed, add one cube of butter at a time, waiting until incorporated before adding the next. Once all butter is added, on low speed slowly pour in caramel. Add vanilla and continue beating until smooth. (If frosting curdles, just keep beating! If frosting is soupy, place mixer bowl in fridge for 10-15 minutes and beat until smooth. Repeat if necessary.)
Zucchini Bread & Muffins, My Way
Right about now, you might be finding your garden overrun with zucchini. Or maybe you have a neighbor forcing pounds of the baseball bat-sized green squashes on you.
Either way, you need to make some zucchini bread.
I originally got this recipe from one of my favorite farmer’s markets. They had samples. I tried one and said “Oh, yum! I’m going to need the recipe.” When I got home I read the recipe and nearly fell out of my chair. 3 cups of sugar. 1 cup of oil. No wonder it tasted so good! Call me crazy, but I feel like bread made with vegetables should at least try to exercise some restraint*.
So this is my altered version. It uses half the sugar and replaces half the oil with non-fat Greek yogurt, and it still tastes delicious. The texture is somewhere between cake and a muffin. They’re moist and lightly sweet with lots of cinnamon spice flavor – just the way I like my zucchini bread. I highly recommend adding chocolate chips (which I forgot – first time in my life I have ever forgotten chocolate!) and/or nuts, if you like that sort of thing.
This recipe makes enough to share – 2 loaves or a loaf and muffins – so feel free to pay that neighbor back for sharing their garden goods!
* For those of you rolling your eyes at the thought of using restraint in baked goods, stay tuned. The next recipe uses over a pound of butter and more than 4 cups of sugar. And heavy cream.
Zucchini Bread & Muffins
Makes 2 standard loaves
OR
5 mini loaves
OR
1 8×4 loaf plus 12 muffins
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups graulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/3 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt, such as 0% Chobani
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
chocolate chips (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350° Prepare baking pans – line muffin tin with liners and/or spray loaf pans with non-stick baking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour through cinnamon). In a medium bowl, beat eggs lightly. Add oil, yogurt, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and water. Whisk. Stir in grated zucchini. Pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk just until combined.
Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake standard loaves about 45-50 minutes and mini loaves and muffins about 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire wrack. Store covered at room temperature, or wrap tightly and freeze for later.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake Bites
You already know how much I love peanut butter and chocolate together, right? (I really, really love it.) And chances are you agree (or your probably wouldn’t still be reading…) so I’m sure you already know that these little peanut butter cheesecake bites topped with a dollop of chocolate ganache are melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
But they’re also so much more.
They’re symbolic of my life-long love of chocolate and peanut butter. A life that I celebrated lasting 30 whole years just this past weekend.
(I plan to eat peanut butter and chocolate for at least another 30 years.)
But they’re also symbolic of the love we share through food. I was initially inspired to make these decadent bites when I heard about the tragic death of Jennifer Perillo‘s husband. Wait, that sounds weird. You see, dozens upon dozens of people, many complete strangers, reached out to Jennie and honored her husband Mikey by making his favorite peanut butter pie in the days after his passing. I don’t know Jennie and you might not either, but the outpouring of love and support for her that I witnessed online was awe-inspiring. It even led to the creation of Bloggers without Borders, an organization that harnesses the power of bloggers for those in need. And it all started with food.
In my family food has always been an expression of love and it’s one of the reasons I enjoy baking so much today. So go. Make these and share them with someone you love.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake Bites
Makes 12 bite-sized cheesecakes
I love (really, really love) cinnamon, so I added some to the graham cracker crust. You can skip it if you want. I also (really, really) love dark chocolate so that’s what I topped my bites with, but feel free to use milk chocolate if that’s you’re thing!
Ingredients
For the crust:
1 cup of graham cracker crumbs (7-9 graham crackers pulsed to crumbs in food processor)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
For chocolate topping:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, such as Ghirardelli 60% chocolate chips
2 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 12-cup mini muffin tin with non-stick spray.
Combine graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon and sugar in a food processor. Pulse to combine. With food processor running, drizzle in melted butter until mixture resembles wet sand. Divide evenly among muffin cups (about 1 tablespoon each). Press crust down firmly. (I used the bottom of a shot glass to get them nice and flat and compact!)
In a medium bowl, whisk together cream cheese, peanut butter and egg. (If needed, microwave cream cheese and peanut butter for 10-15 seconds to help combine.) Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (about 1 tablespoon each).
Bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes, or until puffed (tops may crack) and no longer shiny. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature.
In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and heavy cream. Microwave on high for 20 seconds at a time, stirring between, until chocolate is melted and a smooth ganache forms. (If your ganache turns out oily and gloppy, no biggie. Just add a little bit more cold heavy cream and stir until smooth.) Top cheesecake bites with a dollop of ganache. Eat any leftover ganache with a spoon (optional, but you know you want to.)
Store bites in fridge until ready to serve, or freeze. If frozen, thaw at room temperature.
Peach Pastry Cream Tarts
I’ve been thinking about peaches and cream for weeks. I have no idea why. Sometimes my brain just grabs hold of an idea and won’t let it go.
I got tired of my brain nagging me with thoughts like, “Wouldn’t those fresh peaches be great with some vanilla pasty cream?” and “I bet peaches and gingersnaps taste awesome together”, so to shut it up I made these tarts. Turns out my brain was right.
What I had in mind was a cookie-like crust filled with cool, creamy vanilla bean pastry cream, topped with fresh peach slices… and that’s exactly how these tarts turned out. Instead of using graham crackers for the crust, I decided to use gingersnaps for a little gingery kick. The crust has just the right amount of spice without overpowering the peaches or pastry cream. Each bite of the finished tarts has a delightful balance of crunchiness from the crust and silkiness from the pastry cream. They’re wonderful.
Hurry up and make some of these before peach season ends!
Peach Pastry Cream Tarts
Makes 4 4-inch miniature tarts
For easy entertaining, bake the crust and make the pastry cream the day before. Refrigerate pastry cream and store the crusts in a zip-top plastic bag at room temperature overnight. The day of serving, fill the tarts with pastry cream, top with peach slices and serve.
Ingredients
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
Pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons plain non-fat Greek yogurt
2 cups (approx.) gingersnap crumbs
1 cup pecan halves, coarsely chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 small, fresh peaches
Directions
In a medium saucepan, warm milk, 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, and salt over medium heat. Bring to just about a simmer (do not boil) and remove from heat.
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, cornstarch, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into egg yolk mixture. Whisk in remaining milk mixture, then pour everything back into saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened. (Instant read thermometer will read about 160°F.) Remove from heat. Discard vanilla bean pod.
Fill a large bowl with ice and cold water. Set a fine mesh strainer over medium bowl. Strain pastry cream into medium bowl. Whisk in butter and yogurt. Set bowl in ice water bath and whisk until cool, about 5 minutes.
Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it against the surface, and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
Combine gingersnap crumbs and pecans in food processor. Pulse until finely ground. With the food processor running, pour in melted butter. Pulse until mixture resembles wet sand. Divide among 4 non-stick tart pans. Using the back of a measuring cup, press crumb mixture firmly into tart pans. Set filled tart pans on a baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire wrack. (Do not remove from pans.) Can be stored overnight in an airtight plastic bag.
To assemble, spoon pastry cream into cooled crusts (you may have some left over) and top with sliced fresh peaches.
Cherry Cream Cheese Turnovers
Turnovers? Handpies? Pastries? I don’t know what to call these, but I do know they’ll put a smile on your face.
See?
OK they aren’t really supposed to look like that. I’m just easily amused.
Here’s what you need to know: Fresh cherries. Cream cheese. Sugar. Puff pastry.
These turnovers are yet another product of my summer cherry obsession. I hate pie crust (seriously) but cherry pies are so quintessentially summer that I kind of wanted to make one. I was also craving something kind of like a danish, so I decided to make a cherry turnover with the addition of sweetened cream cheese.
The flaky crust just begs you to bite into it, where you’re rewarded with a hint of creaminess and a burst of fresh cherries like summer sunshine. Best of all, they’re quick and easy to throw together. I love unfussy, casual, eat-them-with-your-hands desserts. The turnovers puff way, way up on the oven, and one might even burst open (see first photo) but don’t sweat it. They’ll taste good no matter what.
Cherry Cream Cheese Turnovers make a great ending to a summer meal or a sweet breakfast treat. (Not that I would know because who eats turnovers for breakfast? *cough*)
Cherry Cream Cheese Turnovers
Adapted from Food and Wine
Makes about 4 turnovers
These are best enjoyed the same day they’re made. If using store bought puff pastry, be sure to only roll it out once.
Ingredients
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 1/2 cups pitted sweet cherries, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2.5 ounces (about 1/4 cup) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
2 Tablespoons milk or cream
raw sugar, for sprinkling
Directions
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.
Lightly dust a clean counter top with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll out puff pastry very thin – about 1/8-inch thick. Cut out circles. (I used an upside down bowl to cut out four identical 6-inch circles.) Place puff pastry circles on prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate.
Add cherries, sugar, and lemon juice to medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until cherries release their juices and have softened, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl stir together water and cornstarch. Add to cherries and stir constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature.
In a small bowl, whisk together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until combined.
To Assemble: Beat yolk and milk together in a small bowl. Working on just half of each chilled puff pastry circle, spread a thin layer of cream cheese mixture and top with cherry mixture. Brush edges with egg wash and fold over to close. Crimp edges with a fork. Chill for 15 minutes. Brush egg wash on top of turnovers and sprinkle with raw sugar. Cut 2 or 3 slits in each turnover with a sharp knife.
Bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes, or until browned. Cool to room temperature and serve.
Chocolate Truffle Ice Cream
Bon Apetit unassumingly calls this recipe “Chocolate Ice Cream”, as if it’s just like that chocolate ice cream you pick up at the grocery store or find at those popular ice cream chain stores.
It’s not.
What this ice cream is is a monumental test of your self control. First, you mix up the fudgey ice cream base and try not to do too many “quality control” tests by dipping your fingers in it. Then you cook up some caramel and mix that into the base, trying to remember that greedy fingers + hot caramel = ow ow ow. Then quick, shove it in the fridge and just try to forget about it for a day or two. Next comes churning, when you have to pour the pudding-like rich base into the ice cream machine without eating it all first. Then you let it churn and churn and churn, staring at it impatiently, silently willing it to please hurry. But that’s not all! Oh no, the worst part is yet to come.
Then you have to stick it in the freezer and not eat it for THREE. WHOLE. DAYS.
I’m pretty sure this kind of torture is outlawed in the Geneva Convention, but it’s so worth enduring. I will not hesitate to say this is the best chocolate ice cream I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a lot. It’s creamy and rich and intensely chocolatey. Everyone that tried it came to the same conclusion – it is exactly like eating a frozen truffle and it’s amazing.
Chocolate Truffle Ice Cream
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Makes about 1 quart (4 cups)
The melted chocolate provides most of the flavor in this ice cream, so now is the time to use the good chocolate you’ve been saving up. I didn’t have any high quality chocolate (because I ate it all) so I used 60% Ghirardelli chips, which worked very well.
Ingredients
7 ounces dark chocolate, chopped, or high quality chocolate chips (such as Ghirardelli 60%)
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons 2% milk
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6 large egg yolks
11 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
Set a saucepan with about 2 inches of water on the stove and bring to a simmer. Place chocolate in a medium, heat proof bowl. Set bowl over simmering (not boiling) water and stir gently until melted. Set aside.
Empty water from saucepan. Add milk and cocoa powder and whisk over medium heat until hot, steaming, and just about to boil. (Do not boil.) Remove from heat.
Prepare an ice bath using an extra-large bowl half filled with ice and water.
In a large, heat proof bowl, whisk egg yolks and 6 tablespoons sugar briskly until pale yellow and thick ribbons begin to form, about 2 minutes. (Can also be done with an electric mixer.) Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot milk mixture into egg yolks. Return mixture to saucepan. Add melted chocolate, whisking to blend. Stir over low heat until thickened and instant-read thermometer reads 175ºF. Pour custard through a fine mesh strainer back into large bowl. Stir over ice bath until cooled.
Bring remaining 5 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons water to a boil in a heavy, deep saucepan. Stir just until sugar dissolves, then stop stirring. Boil until amber in color. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in heavy cream (caramel will bubble vigorously, so use caution!). Whisk caramel into chocolate custard base. Cover and chill for at least 24 hours, up to 48 hours.
Churn custard base in ice cream maker according to machine instructions. Transfer to a storage container and freeze for 3 days before serving.
Peaches & Vanilla Cream Pops
Uh, it’s hot.
Really hot. Like excessive heat warning, face melts when I walk outside, can’t eat anything but frozen foods hot.
So I made popsicles. Did you know making popsicles is pretty fun and pretty easy? I didn’t. I’ve never made them before. I just happened to buy some popsicle molds on a whim when I visited Bake It Pretty (love them!) last year, but I don’t like eating frozen foods when it’s cold outside so I waited and waited to use them. Until now.
All of my waiting paid off. I found some amazing peaches at the farmer’s market and combined them with my favorite yogurt, a vanilla bean and a little bit of cream and bourbon to make these irresistible Peaches & Vanilla Cream Pops. Both my husband and I said, “Whoa. These taste like a Creamsicle!” at first taste. They’re creamy, peachy, vanilla-y and sweet, and they are guaranteed to keep your face from melting off.
Peaches & Vanilla Cream Pops
Printable Recipe
Adapted from Bon Apetit
Makes about 4 popsicles
Ingredients
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
2 cups pitted, sliced and peeled peaches (about 2-3 medium peaches)
3 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoons plain greek yogurt (I used Chobani 2%)
1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
Directions
Place sugar and water in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add vanilla bean seeds scraped from the bean and the bean itself. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and discard bean. Transfer to a small bowl and chill.
Add peaches and vanilla syrup to a food processor. Puree until smooth. Transfer to a large 2 or 4-cup measuring cup. (You should have about 1 cup of puree.) Whisk in heavy cream, greek yogurt and bourbon.
Pour into popsicle molds, add sticks and freeze until firm. Dip bottoms of molds in hot water to loosen when ready to eat.
