Just in Time for Summer: Fabulous Fruit Pies

Thank you all for the well wishes will my new job—I am still on cloud 9. I made a trip to the library to get  a few books to do some culinary cramming. I know a lot, but there is SO much to learn in the culinary field, I’ve just scratched the surface. So in other words, I’ve gone from college textbooks to culinary books—I am definitely not complaining!

Also, I’ve been in the process of covering my pantry door with a variety of food magazine covers—I’m liking it!

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So, lately, a lot of blogger’s have been focusing on summer produce from the grocery stores or farmer’s market, so it’s about time I jump on the bandwagon! And what better way than with some sweets right? And even better when they are a little on the lighter side of course!

Cherry Ricotta Cheesecake

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• Fiber One piecrust (recipe here), or one store-bought graham crust
• 4 oz fat-free cream cheese
• 1 c ricotta cheese
• 1/4 c + 2 Tbsp sugar, or Splenda
• 1/2 c eggbeaters, or egg whites
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• For serving—cherry pie filling (recipe below), and Cool Whip, if desired

Homemade cherry pie filling:

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 cups fresh tart cherries, pitted

1-1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

6 drops red food coloring, optional

1. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add the cherries, water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in food coloring if desired. Yield: 4 cups.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• Prepare Fiber One or store-bought piecrust.
• Add medium speed, beat cream cheese until fluffy, 1-2 min. Add ricotta and sugar, beat until smooth and creamy, 3 minutes. Beat in egg whites, flour, vanilla, and almond extract.
• Pour batter into pan; bake 1 hour 15 minutes, until center slightly jiggles. Turn oven off; let cheesecake cool in over for 1 hour.
• Chill at least 4 hours.
• If desired, spread about 3 Tbsp cherry pie filling onto individual slices and top with a dollop of Cool Whip.

 

Creamy Strawberry Rhubarb Pie 

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• Fiber One piecrust (recipe here) OR store-bought graham piecrust 
  RHUBARB LAYER:
• 2 cups sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb
• 1/4 cup sugar, I used Splenda
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 
  CHEESECAKE LAYER:
• 1 packages (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened—I used fat-free
• 1/4 cup sugar, or Splenda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 c + 2 Tbsp egg beaters or egg whites
  TOPPING:
• 3/4 c fat-free or regular sour cream
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, or Splenda 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tsp strawberry Jell-O powder

Directions:

Prepare Fiber One crust.

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine rhubarb, sugar and flour; spoon over the crust. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add egg whites, beat on low speed just until combined.

• Pour over hot rhubarb layer. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the sour cream, Jell-O powder, sugar and vanilla; spread over hot cheesecake. Cool on wire rack for 1 hour.

Refrigerate overnight. Refrigerate leftovers.

Spring Sweets & Sips

Do your eats tend to change seasonally?

Mine usually do—fall and winter are filled with comfort foods, hearty casseroles, baked goods that fill the house with a spiced aroma and an array of winter produce. Spring and summer are a variety of grilled fare, lighter and colorful mixed salads, and a rainbow of produce ranging from yellow summer squash to deep purple eggplants.

But one taste palate that never seems to change throughout the year is my sweet tooth—yes, it changes from fruit-studded tarts and back again to rich carrot cakes, however, it never seems to disappear throughout the 12 months of the year. I like to try a different  dessert once a week to switch things up, and every so often, I’ll make a recipe that deserves to be made once, twice, or in this case, three times within a three week period! I almost considered dedicating one whole post to this first strawberry-studded sweet treat, but figured if a little persuading and a few pictures couldn’t convince you, then a whole post certainly wouldn’t. So instead, I’ll give it the honor of being featured first, and then followed by a few other sweets I’ve been enjoying this spring.

Enjoy!

Springtime Strawberry Cheesecake Yogurt Pie

Serves:6

Ingredients:

• 1 Fiber One pie crust (recipe here) or a store-bought piecrust
• 2 c thinly sliced strawberries
• 2 Tbsp strawberry jam—I used sugar free
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1-8 oz package of fat free cream cheese
• 1 (6 oz) container of strawberry cheesecake yogurt(from Target), pictured below
• 2 Tbsp sugar—I used Splenda
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1 c frozen (thawed) fat-free whipped topping

Directions:

• Add sliced strawberries, 1 tsp sugar, strawberry jam, and 1 Tbsp water together in a small saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil and then lower to a simmer until thickened, about 10-12 min. Remove from burner—let cool completely.

• In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on high speed 30 to 60 seconds or until fluffy. Beat in sugar until blended. Add yogurt, vanilla and almond extract; beat on low speed 30 to 60 seconds until well blended and smooth. Fold in whipped topping just until blended. Spoon into crust; spread gently to edge.

• Refrigerate at least 4 hours or until chilled.

• Top pie with strawberry sauce. Store pie in refrigerator.

By far one of the best pies that I’ve ever tried/made..and if you make it with my Fiber One crust, it’s clocks in at just about 150 calories per huge slice!!

Cinnabon Clone with a Twist

Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup margarine, melted
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
• 1 c apple pie filling—I used sugar free
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened—I used fat-free
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.

After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Spread the apple pie filling evenly across dough, leaving enough of an edge so it doesn’t squeeze out.

Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

The addition of the apple pie filling really adds a lot to these Cinnabon clones and takes them from delicious to out-of-this-world.

Chocoholic’s Scotcheroos

Ingredients:

• 1 c light corn syrup—I used Lite, see below

• 1 c sugar
• 1 c dark chocolate dreams peanut butter (from PB & Co.)

• 3 c Rice Krispies cereal
• 3 c Envirokids Leapin’ Lemurs PB and Chocolate cereal

• 1 c semi-sweet chocolate morsels
• 1 c butterscotch chips
• 1/4 c Reese's Pieces for garnish, if desired

Directions:

• Place corn syrup and sugar into 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter. Mix well. Add cereals. Stir until well coated. Press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Set aside.
• Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips together in 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Spread evenly over cereal mixture. Sprinkle with Reese's Pieces if desired. Let stand until firm. Cut into 2 x 1-inch bars when cool.

I loved coming up with this recipe—using the dark chocolate PB and the PB and chocolate cereal really separates these from the original Scotcheroos, and makes them more gourmet.

And now onto my latest favorite springtime sip…

A few weeks ago I decided to drop an insane $4 on a Starbuck’s Lite Vanilla Frap—big mistake. It was so good, and I could see that a possible bad habit could be formed. Instead, I figured out how to make an almost identical version for only a few cents! Here’s my mock Starbucks Lite Vanilla Frap tutorial:

1. Fill a blender or a Magic Bullet with 1/2 c ice.

2. Pour in 1 cup of cold coffee—I keep a pitcher in the fridge.

3. Add in about 2 Tbsp of milk—I use unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze—I recommend a vanilla flavored milk.

4. Add in sugar free vanilla syrup, about 1 Tbsp. I use Sugar Free Vanilla Torani Syrup—found at Wal-Mart.

5. Blend by pulsing about 5 times.

6. Stick in a straw if desired, and slurp!

The Fruity Treat That Screams Summer

Not only does this new recipe scream summer, the temperature finally hit an all-time high of 80 yesterday which was like a balmy tropical island heat wave for Minnesotans! I hope wherever you are you were feelin’ the heat today too! Although not all was perfect outside—unfortunately the wind was way breezy and ruined my attempt to sit out and go through some magazines for recipes. Good thing we have a screened in porch! So this recipe I am featuring today is yet another of my attempts to “copy and paste” many recipe techniques and ideas together to achieve a unique and original new recipe! If you’ve followed my blog for awhile now, I am sure you know that I get the most satisfaction out of creating my own recipes rather than following a written recipe. What can I say? I don’t like to follow the rules recipes! ;-)Needless to say, it turned out to be what I (and my family,friends,etc)thought a winner! So much so that I am entering it into a local rhubarb contest and the winner gets to prepare and speak on your dish at the annual rhubarb festival. Fun, right?! I hope you have access to rhubarb, because this dessert is a summer must from a BBQ to a family renunion!

Sweet Strawberry Rhubarb Streusel Bars

*Serves: 16 *Bake Time: 55 min.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb, chopped
• 1 recipe Ginger Icing (below)
• 1 1/2 C quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 C all-purpose flour + 2 Tbsp
• 3/4 C packed brown sugar
• 3/4 C butter
• 1/4 C granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 Tbsp of powdered strawberry Jell-o mix
• Slices strawberries for garnish, optional
• **Ginger Icing**: 3/4 sifted powdered sugar, 3 to 4 tsp. of milk, 1/4 tsp of ground ginger

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line a 8x8x2’ baking pan with foil, letting the sides hand over. Lightly mist with cooking spray.

2. In large bowl, stir together oats, the 1 C flour, and brown sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3.Set aside 1 C oats mixture and press remaining into bottom of your pan. Bake 25 minutes.

4.Meanwhile, in a medium bowl stir together granulated sugar, 2 TBSP flour, ground sugar, Jell-o powder, and spices. Add rhubarb and toss to coat.

5.Spread mixture on hot crust. Sprinkle reserved oats mixture; press lightly. 

 6.Bake 30-35 minutes until top is golden and filling is bubbly. While it’s baking, stir together the ginger icing adding milk until desired consistency is achieved.

7.Once done baking, cool on rack. Drizzle icing and top with sliced strawberries if you choose. Lift from pan; cut into bars. Makes 16

January Daring Bakers Challenge: Tuiles

Today marks the first Daring Baker's Challenge I took part in. I thought January would be a perfect time to embark on a new adventure, since the month is associated with new diets, new goals, etc. So one of my 'resolutions' was to be a little more daring with my cooking & baking experiences.
So when I recieved a membership email, I went straight to the site and checked out my first challege; it was tuile. I had to actually Google it, because sadly I had never heard of it!! After some Wikipedia and other research I headed back to the recipe and dreamed up my own cute tuile creation. [At least I thought so ha ha!]


This month's challenge is brought to us by ((Karen of Bake My Day)) and ((Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf)). They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Of course there was a couple certain instuctions:

*We could use any kind of stencil, or make any size/shape tuile our heart desired.

*We had to pair it with something light--like a fruit, sorbet mousse, glazes, or dips.



[[Here's]]what I did.-->I used the recipe from "The Chocolate Book" and cut out circle stencils. Once my tuiles were baked, I rolled them up in a cone shape, and put together a filling of strawberry preserves mixed with a dollop of whip cream. These turned out to be a delicious and light treat! I am so glad I was introduced to tuiles; the possibilities are endless! =)

After Christmas Cookie

I'm sad to say that the Christmas Cookie Countdown is done for the year, but all good things come to an end, right? Not to say that the cookie posts will stop, because I've still got plenty to post, and lots more cookies I want to bake throughout the year =) Today is a cookie that takes a little work but ends up looking almost as good(if not better) as a store bought cookie, and probably tastes a whole lot better too! Just make sure you follow the directions carefully, so you're hard work will pay off! They are supposed to resemble a Poinsettia flower, which is usually associated with Christmas--but I think you should make these little gems all year long! And the cool thing is, the flavor comes from gelatin mix, so you can use raspberry, cranberry, or strawberry.(I used strawberry) You can also get creative for what you want to use as the inside of the flower; I used gumdrops, but you could do a couple yellow sprinkles or whatever else you have lying around. Good luck with these!

Strawberry Poinsettia Blooms

Makes: 3 dozen cookies

Prep time: 25 min -- Start to Finish: 1 hr 50 min

Ingredients:

3/4 c butter or margarine

1/2 c sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 box(4 serving size)strawberry gelatin

1 egg

2 c all-purpose flour

1 box of gumdrops

Directions:

In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, vanilla, gelatin, and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or with a spoon. On low speed, beat in flour.

Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

Heat oven the 375 F. On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls about 2 inches apart. With sharp knife, make 6 cuts in top of each ball about three-fourths of the way through to make 6 wedges. Spread wedges apart slightly to form flower petals (cookies will seperate and flatten as they cook).

Bake 9-11 minutes or until set and edges begin to brown. Cool 2-3 minutes, then press a gumdrop into the center of each cookie. Cool completely--about 15 minutes.