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Blackberry Oat Bars

I know I’m a bit late with this post. Call me crazy, but I’m not one of those people who long for fall before summer’s really over.  In fact, I luxuriate in every extra moment of summer warmth that I can, often wishing summer might last just a little bit longer. But alas, school is finally starting up next week, the weather is starting to cool, the evenings getting darker, and even I can’t put it off much longer. Not that I don’t like autumn, I just always feel a little lost at the start of the season. I find it hard to say goodbye to long summer nights, extended time with family and friends, less structure, hot sunny days spent at the beach, ice cream  and loads and loads of yummy fresh fruit! I hope you enjoy this recipe that uses one of my favourite summer fruits and can hold on to those warm summer days just a bit longer!

Blackberries – fresh, sweet, juicy and packed full of flavour – they are easily my very favourite summer fruit. It wasn’t always this way. It was only after moving to the sunny Okanagan that my love affair with these berries began. Shortly after our move here I was lucky enough to find an amazing local farm stand which I visit almost daily during the summer, for the very best peaches, blueberries, nectarines and of course blackberries. It’s basically a fruit lover’s paradise, part of the reason we feel so blessed to live here!

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As much as I LOVE to eat these yummy berries fresh by the handful I also love baking with them. One of my family’s favourite summer desserts is blackberry peach cobbler but I was anxious to make a hand held treat with these lovelies; something that wouldn’t be so much a dessert, a little healthier in fact, but no less tasty! The base is firm and not too crumbly – easily packable for lunches, hikes, a trip to the park or whatever adventure awaits!  I think these bars would be equally as yummy with blueberries or raspberries or frozen berries as fall approaches and fresh fruit becomes less accessible.  I modified this recipe slightly from the original version which you can find here: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/09/raspberry-breakfast-bars/

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Blackberry Oat Bars

Make the crust: 

1 1/2 cups of flour

1 c packed brown sugar

1 1/4 cup oats

3/4 tsp/ baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp/cinnamon

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 by 13 inch pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the pan letting the paper over hand a little on both ends. Butter the parchment – this allows for easy removal of the bars after cooking.
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Combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl – mix gently. Using a pastry cutter, or your fingers combine butter until coarse crumbs form. Reserve 11/2 cups of the mixture and set aside – this will be your streusel topping. Pour the rest of the mixture into the prepared pan use your hands or he back of a spoon to much the crust into an even layer at the bottom of the pan. The crust should also touch the sides of the pan. Bake until golden brown 12- 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool while you make the filling.

Make the blackberry filling:

1/4 brown sugar

grated lemon zest to taste

pinch of cinnamon

2 TBSP flour

3 cups or more blackberries fresh or frozen

2TBSP fresh lemon juice

2 TBSP. unsalted butter – melted

In a medium bowl whisk the sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and flour together. Add the berries, lemon juice and butter. Toss gently until the berries are evenly coated. Spread the filling over the cooled crust and sprinkle the reserved crumb topping over the berry filling.

Bake for 35 – 40 min. until the top is golden and filling is bubbling. Transfer to a cooling rack before removing from pan and cutting into squares.

Store bars in refrigerator for up to 3 days. (I seriously doubt they will last that long though!)

 

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes

I’m going to talk about raspberries and cake and birthday’s here – it’s been a busy week! Our little backyard garden has been doing phenomenally well this year and we have been enjoying the bounty of the season. For the past few weeks it has been raspberries. We have picked bowlfuls of these delightful fresh berries and are enjoying them at breakfast as well as eating handfuls of fresh berries for snacks!  Although I love eating them fresh I just can’t control my urge to bake up something delectable in my kitchen – this week gave me lots of excuses to bake away!

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My daughter turned 11 this week ( yes 11!!) and I made a three layer funfetti cake for her birthday party. I loved how the cake looked, but the taste was only so-so. SInce we celebrate birthday’s twice around here – once for the birthday party and once for the “actual” birthday – it gave me the chance to make something else for our family celebration. With the abundance of raspberries in our backyard right now and my daughter’s love for them, I decided on these lemon raspberry cupcakes and I have to admit – I LOVED them!!

 

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You start with a basic vanilla (or lemon) cupcake recipe. This one is perfect – it comes together easily and quickly  -literally in the time my children were at a short soccer practice – and bakes up beautifully. Add a little pink icing sugar glaze a few fresh raspberries for garnish and – voila – you have a gorgeous little birthday cupcake! These would be perfect for any summer gathering you need to bring desert to. They are easy to make and provide a stunning a presentation – just my style!

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I adapted this recipe slightly from here:  http://.com/2014/07/17/raspberry-lemon-cupcakes/ This is definitely my new “go to”recipe  for vanilla or lemon cupcakes. They are moist, fluffy, light and super easy to whip together. If you are looking for a from “scratch” cupcake recipe you will absolutely love this one. We did! Happy baking!

Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

1/2 cup of softened unsalted butter

3/4 cup of sugar

2 large egs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 and 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
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pinch of salt

3/4 cup whole milk

zest and  juice of 1 lemon (you could also use lemon extract)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.

2. Beat butter and sugar at high speed in an electric mixer until creamed. About 2-3 minutes.

3. Add eggs and vanilla – mix well – scrape down sides o bowl as needed.

4. In a medium bowl mix flour,baking soda and salt.

5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three additions, beating on low speed after each addition. Batter will be thick.

6. Beat in the milk, lemon juice and zest on low speed until just combined. Be careful not to over mix the batter!

7. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 18-20 minutes, A toothpick will cone out clean when done – do not over bake!

8. Remove from oven and allow to completely before adding the glaze.

Icing sugar glaze:

Add approx. a 1/4 cup of powdered sugar to a small bowl. Mix in 1 teaspoon of milk and strawberry flavoured essence if you have it. Any extract will work here for flavour. Mix, adding more sugar or milk  until you get a texture that will drizzle easily from the edge of a spoon, thick or thin – it’s really just your preference there are no hard and fast rules here!  Add a drop of pink food colouring if you want pink glaze – I did!

Drizzle glaze over cooled cupcakes and add fresh raspberries as desired.

M&M Bars

M&M’s – there’s just something about those bright colored chocolate filled candies that get me every time.  I mean, what’s not to love about an M&M? Especially when they are mini and baked into these yummy squares. With added  peanut butter (yes, again) and oatmeal  they also have some redeeming nutritional qualities.  Now, I’m not pretending these are in any way healthy but they are a yummy treat – I don’t recommend eating them as a regular breakfast food – but they are a pretty good snack to bring when hiking, playing in the park, at the beach or whatever the week-end might hold for you.

M&M bars

I made these for a recent family camping trip and they were amazing. They kept very well in a ziplock bag and stayed fresh for the whole week-end – also relatively mess free  – the M&M’s provided all the chocolate flavor but no melty mess of chocolate chips – perfect for warmer weather. These M&M bars are a great choice to make for an outdoor get together with family and friends on a long week-end, and are sure to please kids and adults alike!

M&M 3

 

M&M Bars

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter softened

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract
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1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup flour

1/2 cup quick oats

1/2 tsp. baking soda

heaping 1/2 cup of M&M’s ( I used mini)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray an 8×8 pan with cooking spray.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter and sugars together. Add the egg, peanut butter and vanilla and mix until well combined.

3. In another bowl combine  flour, oatmeal, baking soda and a pinch of salt.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and beat until well combined. Stir in M&M’s..

4. Spread batter in prepared pan – it will be a bit sticky – bake for 18-20  minutes or until edges just start to turn to golden. Don’t over bake!

Yummiest chocolate frosting!

Last week was my husband’s birthday  which of course means cake! Now, if it was my birthday, there would absolutely,  no question, be copious amounts of chocolate in that cake, but my husband and daughter are vanilla kind of people (can’t explain it) so what to do?

After a bit of searching on some of my favorite recipe sites I decided to try a zebra cake – chocolate and vanilla swirled into a very cool zebra pattern –  I loved the idea of using both flavors and wanted to surprise and amaze my family when they cut into the cake with the zebra stripes! I intended to use vanilla for the frosting (really) but in a weak moment I decided to use this chocolate frosting instead and that is the very reason for this post – So.good. Quite possibly the yummiest chocolate frosting ever!

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This frosting is thick, and creamy with a super chocolate flavor. It is easy to spread looks shiny and luscious and is sooooo delicious. It is a bit more work than your regular powdered sugar and cocoa but it takes the frosting on the cake to whole new level.  A level I am becoming quite fond of. If you ever needed a reason to go make a cake this it. Now go have your cake….. and the icing too!

I used Annie’s eats zebra cake recipe but this cake seems to show up in a lot of places on the internet. Any one of your favorite cake recipes or flavors would work. The frosting is adapted only slightly from a recipe here: sifting focus.

Yummiest Chocolate Frosting 

3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 stick of butter softened

1 1/2  cups packed brown sugar

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4 ounces of good quality chopped semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate

Method:

1. Sift together the confectioners sugar and cocoa.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat combine the butter, brown sugar, pinch of salt and light cream. Stir occasionally until  small bubbles appear around the perimeter of the pan, 4 to 8 minutes.

3. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently until mixture thickens and turns a deep golden brown – about 5-8 minutes.

4. Transfer to a large bowl, add the chopped chocolate and the vanilla,stir until smooth.

5. Slowly whisk in the confectioners sugar and the cocoa until incorporated. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

6. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes until the frosting reaches desired spreading consistency.

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Perfect Pizza

I have been wanting to share this recipe for pizza crust for a while now, but I have been so busy with cookie orders over the past few weeks I am only getting around to it now.

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Trust me, this one is well worth the wait – homemade pizza crust that is super easy and quick to prepare – I make this once a week for my family and we all love it! You make the crust quickly (before I run my kids to after school activities) let it sit for about an hour, (while I am running kids to activities) then simply roll it out put on your favorite toppings and bake for a bout 14 minutes – it’s that easy and convenient and so much better for you than take out!

I must add one VERY IMPORTANT comment here about baking your pizza – this pizza crust works beautifully and best, with a pizza stone. If you don’t have one, I urge you to go get one NOW! Seriously that stone changed my life and I absolutely LOVE how it makes the pizza crust so much better than a regular baking pan or cookie sheet. Luckily they are fairly inexpensive too – I got mine as a Christmas gift a few years ago – I think my husband found it at local home goods store for $9.99 – so worth it!!

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As for toppings I have done everything from BBQ chicken, sausage and cheese, kale pesto, pear and goat cheese…. More often than not though it is my kids favorite, pepperoni and cheese and ham and pineapple, that makes a quick and popular week night dinner. Whether you are getting creative or sticking to the old standby toppings this crust is a winner! Now go enjoy your day – dinner is solved – your welcome!

Perfect Pizza Crust 

1 tbsp. butter

1 cup warm water
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21/4 tsp. instant yeast

about 2 cups of all purpose flour (you could also use whole wheat)

1 tsp. of sugar

pinch of salt (optional)

Put about 1/12 cups flour into a medium sized bowl add the they yeast, sugar and salt stir to combine.

Melt the butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave then add warm water. Your water and butter should be warm to the touch not HOT – it will kill the yeast if it is too hot.

Pour the water/butter into the flour mixture and stir to combine adding more flour as needed. I like to turn my dough out onto a floured counter and work it a bit until it becomes smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and let it rise for about an hour. When you are ready to make the pizza, heat your pizza stone in a 425 degree oven for about 10 min. Put your rolled crust on the hot stone – sprinkled with a little cornmeal to stop it from sticking – then just load whatever toppings you want on and pop it back in the oven for about 14 min – voila! Enjoy!!

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins

I love a good muffin that can double as a breakfast food or mid morning snack that isn’t loaded with sugar and fat.  There’s just something about that neat little hand held piece of goodness that makes me feel happy. They are also a great addition to the kid’s lunch kits.

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These muffins are all that and more – they have very little butter, whole wheat flour, oatmeal and peanut butter. They are truly satisfying and keep you feeling full long after they are eaten and they are absolutely delicious! They have a great texture and bake up nice and fluffy. They are moist and full of flavor and keep well in a plastic bag for  several days.  I have been enjoying them with my morning coffee this week and the kids have been eating them as a grab and go snack before heading out the door for a bike ride or play in the park.

I started out with a basic banana muffin recipe but I rarely follow a recipe once I get started and almost always feel the need to add ingredients and change it up to meet my needs at the time (this time a peanut butter craving). If you have a couple of ripe bananas on the counter and the need to bake up some goodness – here’s your chance – hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

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Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins

1 c flour

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1 cup quick oats

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

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2 TBSP. melted butter

1/2 c sugar

2 eggs

2 ripe bananas mashed

1 c of milk or buttermilk

5-6 TBSP peanut butter

Heat oven to 375 degrees and grease a muffin tin ( this recipe makes 12 large muffins)

Blend the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a large bowl mix the melted butter, (cooled) sugar, bananas, eggs, milk and peanut butter. Add the flour and oat mixture to the wet ingredients. Gently stir until just combined.

Fill greased muffin cups to almost full. Bake for 16-18 minutes until wooden skewer comes out clean. Enjoy!!

Old Fashioned Potato Buns

There is nothing quite like the odor of fresh bread baking in the kitchen. I love to make bread and buns and have experimented with many recipes over the years. If you’ve never tried your hand at bread making you should definitely think about it. I always use the quick rise rapid yeast which is so easy to use and makes the process really, very simple.

I’d never heard of adding potatoes to the bread dough, until my husband mentioned one of his favorite things his grandma used to make was potato buns.  I was intrigued,  so I asked his mom for the recipe. I then did a bit of my own research and came up with this recipe (a variation on said grandma’s) which makes about 16 medium sized soft, fluffy buns perfect for sandwiches.

potato buns 1

They are slightly sweet and are also divine hot from the oven with a bit of your favorite jam. The only problem with them is they disappear as fast as I can make them! I’m not exactly sure what adding the potato does to the dough, but I love the texture of these buns. If anyone out there has some knowledge on this subject I’d love to hear from you! Just leave me a comment in the section below. Now, please, go make these buns – they are definitely worth it!

 

Ipotato buns 2

 Potato Buns

3/4 cup of warm water

21/2 tsp. instant yeast

2 tbsp. of sugar

1/4 c butter, melted

1 egg slightly beaten

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31/2 – 4 cups of flour

Add the yeast and sugar to the warm water, let sit for a few minutes until foamy.

In the bowl of a stand mixer add 3 cups of flour and a pinch of salt. Once the yeast is foamy add it to the flour mix slightly.

Add the melted butter, egg and mashed potato. Knead dough with the dough hook about 5 min. Dough should pull away from sides of bowl and be smooth and elastic. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with saran wrap and let rise for about an hour.

Once the dough has risen cut into 16 equal pieces and shape into rolls. Place rolls in a greased pan any shape will do – I used two 9 inch cake tins – and let them rise again for about 45 min.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 15-18 min until browned on tops. Take out of oven and cool in pans on wire rack. Brush tops of rolls with butter if desired.

 

 

 

 

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

I LOVE peanut butter, I mean really, really  love it! I have been known, in secret, to spoon it right out of the jar and sprinkle the teaspoon with a few chocolate chips for my afternoon snack. (I can’t believe I just admitted to that!)  But really, peanut butter in moderation is not all that bad for you, especially the all natural kind, and I am always looking for ways to add it to my baking.

These bars really are a wonderful combination of yummy. They are a cross between a cookie and a granola bar with a great texture that doesn’t leave a lot of crumbs.  The perfect after school snack – the peanut butter and oatmeal make them very filling and satisfying! My whole family loves them and they never last long.

peanut butter oatmeal bars

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

Oh, and  those large chunks of chocolate you ask? Well yes,  these particular bars were made even yummier by adding some  chocolate chunks  I just happened to have on hand. Who am I kidding? – I pretty much ALWAYS have a stash of chocolate somewhere in the house – but you could add what ever you wanted, raisins, cranberries, nuts….. or nothing at all. This recipe makes an 8×8 square pan but you might want to double it depending on ow many people will be enjoying them. If you are a peanut butter lover then give these a try – you won’t be disappointed!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients

3/4 cup of butter, softened

1 cup of brown sugar

3 heaping TBSP of peanut butter – a little more if you want!

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup of flour
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1/2 cup oats

11/4 tsp.baking powder

pinch of salt

add ins: chocolate chips or chunks, cranberries, nuts – I added about 1/2 cup of chocolate chunks into mine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line an 8×8 square baking pan with parchment paper this will allow for easy removal of the bars.

Cream butter and sugar together add peanut butter and continue mixing. Add egg and vanilla mix well.

Add flour, oats, baking powder, and salt. Mix slowly until combined. Stir in your chosen add ins.

Spread the dough in the pan and bake for between 25 -30 min until edges are firm.

Let cool then cut into bars.

Kale Quinoa Salad

Two summers ago I planted kale in my small backyard garden. Kale is a sturdy, easy to grow veggie and I ended up with more kale than I knew what to do with.  I went searching for Kale recipes and it wasn’t hard to find quite an assortment. Luckily for me, I found this recipe from one of my favorite food bloggers, Deb over at  Smitten Kitchen and I’ve been hooked on kale ever since, planting a little more kale each year! I’ve modified her original recipe, which you can find here www.smittenkitchen.com,  a fair bit to suit my tastes especially  the dressing which contains mustard . If you’re not a mustard fan don’t be put off though – I don’t love mustard but with my adaptations to the dressing I LOVE the end result! The combination of tart cherries, sliced almonds and ricotta salata cheese make all the difference so try not to substitute the ingredients – remember we’re going for something a little special here!

kale salad

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 Kale Quinoa Salad

 

Since I am sharing some of my favorite show stopping recipes this week I had to include This. Salad. It’s that good, and good for you too – sweet right?! The other fantastic thing I love about this salad is that once you put the dressing on it holds up really well – any leftovers make the perfect next day’s lunch!  Quinoa and kale are pretty popular and trendy ingredients these days but this salad stands alone as a long time winner in my kitchen.  I hope you like it as much as I do – bring it to the next dinner party you attend – it will be a sure winner!

Kale Quinoa Salad  
Salad:

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa

1-1/2 bunches of fresh kale

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/3 cup dried cherries roughly chopped

1-2 tsp of dill dried or fresh

2 ounces of ricotta salata – available at most Italian grocers – in a pinch you could also use the Greek cheese mizithra

Dressing: 

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon of honey mustard

1/2 teaspoon grainy Dijon mustard – I like to use a smoky variety

1/2 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup

salt and pepper to taste

Cook Quinoa according to package directions – let cool. With a knife remove the rib from each stalk of kale leaving long strips of leaves. Cut crosswise into thin ribbons. Add the kale, quinoa, and the rest of salad ingredients to a large bowl and toss to mix.

Whisk dressing ingredients together in a small bowl and our over salad. Seas on with salt and pepper to taste.

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Squares

I promised to share some of my favorite recipes this week and this is the first one – these chocolate raspberry truffle squares are pure chocolate goodness, decadent but small enough to be a treat you won’t feel guilty about. Unless you eat more than two or three….. which is entirely possible – they are to die for yummy but also sophisticated and perfect for Valentine’s Day – with that pop of red from the fresh raspberries. Trust me – make these this week-end for your Valentine, family, friends or even yourself – you won’t be sorry!     blog 1

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Squares

Brownie base

3oz. unsweetened chocolate – use the best quality you can find

1/3 cup of butter

2 Tbsp. raspberry jam, seedless

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

Chocolate ganache topping 

2 Tbsp. light cream

2 Tbsp. raspberry jam

2 Tbsp. butter

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4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chopped

25-30 raspberries

Make the brownie base

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8 inch square pan with foil – grease and set aside.

Combine chocolate, butter and jam in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat.

Beat eggs in a large bowl  until foamy. Mix in sugar, vanilla and chocolate mixture. Stir in flour just until incorporated.

Spread batter evenly in pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until set.  Cool completely in pan on rack.

Make the topping

Combine cream, jam and butter in a saucepan. Heat to a simmer stirring constantly until melted. Remove from heat and chocolate, stirring until smooth. Let stand until cool about 10 minutes then spread over brownie base. Immediately top with raspberries and chill until cold. Cut into small squares. Makes 25 small squares approx. 2 inches in size.

 Recipe adapted slightly from The Rest of the Best from The Best of Bridge Series