Chocolate Pear Cake
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups chopped unpeeled pears, about 2 small
Powdered sugar
Preparation
Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x9x3-inch square baking pan, reserve.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine, crushing any lumps of brown sugar with your fingers.
In a medium bowl whisk the eggs lightly, then add the yogurt, oil and vanilla and mix until smooth. Quickly stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture, and just as it comes together, stir in the pears. Spread in the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool for 5 minutes on a rack before dusting with powdered sugar and cutting into 16 squares. Once the cake is completely cooled, it can be tightly wrapped and refrigerated for up to a week.
Recipe & photo courtesy of http://strongertogether.coop/
Mom’s Apple Squares
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar, plus 3/4 cup, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
5 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup ice water
1 large egg, separated
4 cups thinly sliced firm tart apples, such as Granny Smith, Empire or Cortland, peeled if desired
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preparation
Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Cut butter into small pieces and quickly rub them into the dry ingredients with your fingers until smaller but still visible. Add oil and toss with a fork to combine. Whisk water and egg yolk in a small bowl. Add to the flour mixture and stir until it begins to come together. Knead the dough with your hands in the bowl a few times until it forms a ball. Divide the dough in half and shape into 5-inch disks. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
Combine apples, the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Roll one portion of dough between sheets of parchment or wax paper into a 9-by-13-inch rectangle. Peel off the top sheet and invert the dough into the prepared pan. Peel off the remaining paper. Trim the dough so it covers just the bottom of the pan. Spread the apple filling evenly over the dough. Using the parchment or wax paper, roll out the remaining dough, invert it over the filling and trim the edges so it just covers the filling. Whisk the egg white in a bowl until frothy and evenly brush over the top crust. Lightly sprinkle the crust with additional sugar, if desired.
Bake until golden brown and bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool for at least 1 hour before cutting into 12 squares.
Recipe & photo courtesy of strongertogether.coop
Peach Ginger Crisp
Ingredients
5 cups sliced peaches, fresh or frozen (about 6 large peaches)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
2 tablespoons crystallized ginger, minced
1/2 cup cold butter (1 stick), cut into small pieces
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Oil or butter an 8 or 9-inch square baking dish.
In a mixing bowl, toss the sliced peaches with the ground ginger and maple syrup until coated. Place mixture into the baking dish.
Mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and crystallized ginger. Blend in the butter pieces with your fingers or a pastry cutter until crumbly. Spread the topping evenly over the peaches. Bake for about 45 minutes, until peaches are bubbling and the crisp topping is lightly browned. Let the crisp set for 15 minutes before serving.
Serving Suggestion
This classic summertime dessert is often served with ice cream or sweet tea with mint—a festive way to end any barbecue or picnic.
Recipe & photo courtesy of strongertogether.coop
Old-Fashioned Blueberry Buckle
Ingredients
2 cups fresh blueberries, washed and stemmed
1 tbs. lemon juice
2 cups sifted flour
2 tsp. baking powder
dash of salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup milk
Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
1/2 stock butter, melted
Preparation
Place prepared blueberries in a bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Set aside. In a mixing bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. in a separate bowl cream butter and sugar together. Blend in beaten egg, vanilla, and milk. Stir dry ingredients into liquid until well blended. Fold in berries. Pour batter into a greased, floured 9x9-inch baking sidh. Sprinkle with topping and drizzle with butter. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F. oven for 30-35 minutes.
Recipe taken from "Old-Fashioned Bread Puddings & Other Old-Fashioned Desserts" by Bear Wallow Books
Classic Blueberry Pie
Ingredients
Pie Crust
1 cup flour
6 T butter
2 1/2 T cold water
Pie filling
4 cups frozen blueberries (thawed and drained), when in season, use fresh!
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
Preparation
Pie Crust
Cut very cold butter into tiny pieces and combine into flour. (I usually use my fingers to break down the butter into “pea sized” pieces). Add water a tablespoon at a time — mixing the ingredients with a fork or by hand until dough is combined but not sticky. (Note: pie crust dough doesn't need a lot of kneading, so as soon as the ingredients are combined, dough is ready). Form the dough into two balls, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Lightly flour a surface for rolling out the dough. Roll out one dough ball into a very thin circle and place into a 9" pie tin. Dough should overhang the edge of the pie tin by 1/2"; trim away any excess dough. Roll out the remaining dough ball and cut into 1/2-3/4" lattice strips.
Filling
Combine berries in large bowl. Mix in flour and sugar and let stand for 20 minutes. Pour into pie tin. Lay on the lattice allowing strips to overhang the pie tin by 1/2"; trim away excess dough. Fold the bottom crust over the ends of the lattice and pinch to seal the dough together. Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes, reduce to 350°F and bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
Pineapple Green Smoothie
Ingredients
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
4 cups spinach leaves, washed
1 cup pineapple chunks, drained
1 medium frozen banana, sliced
Preparation
Place ingredients in a blender in the following order: milk, yogurt, spinach, pineapple and banana, and secure the lid. Blend on high until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve immediately.
Serving Suggestion
For a thicker smoothie, use frozen pineapple chunks as well as the sliced, frozen banana. Make your own frozen fruit for smoothies by cutting up fresh pineapple and bananas and freezing the pieces on a baking sheet; then transfer to a zip-close bag for storage. Drained canned pineapple freezes just as well as fresh.
“Forgotten” Macaroons
INGREDIENTS
2 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups coconut flakes
PREPARATION
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets with non-stick baking spray.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites for approximately 9 minutes or until they stand in stiff peaks, then continue to beat for another 3-4 minutes as you slowly add the sugar. Don't worry if the sugar doesn't dissolve completely.
3. Beat in salt and vanilla. Stir in the coconut.
4. Scoop heaping teaspoons of mixture and drop onto prepared cookie sheets.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and then turn oven off. Leave macaroons in oven overnight or for about 9 hours.
In the morning, remove macaroons from cookie sheets.
6. Store in sealable plastic bags or in airtight containers until serving.
TIPS
Oven temperature is crucial here; it's like the 3 little bears and needs to be just right. So you may want to invest in an oven thermometer in order to be precise
Recipe & photo from joyofkosher.com
Chocolate Strawberry Fool
Ingredients
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries, divided
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, very cold
Preparation
Place 1 cup of strawberries in a small bowl and add the sugar and vanilla extract. Mash the strawberries into small pieces using a fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Pour the cold whipping cream into a cold, medium-sized bowl. Using a beater, whip the cream until it holds stiff peaks. Fold the mashed strawberries and 3/4 of the chocolate into the whipped cream.
Using a tablespoon, fill a wide-mouth glass (such as a martini glass or tumbler) 1/3 full with the whipped cream, then top with a layer of sliced strawberries. Repeat with more whipped cream and another layer of strawberries. Top with remaining whipped cream and garnish with chocolate shavings.
Serving Suggestion
Accompany this elegant dessert with a plate of delicate shortbread cookies. Blueberries, raspberries, or pitted cherries can be used instead of the strawberries, if you prefer.
Rhubarb Tart Parisienne with Honeyed Strawberries
Ingredients
1 Pastry Dough for Pies and Tarts or Wheat-free Pie Crust (below)
3 to 4 cups fresh rhubarb, cut into small chunks or sliced thinly on the diagonal
1 cup crème fraîche or heavy cream
2 large eggs
3/4 cup unrefined sugar
Turbinado sugar for sprinkling (optional)
1 pint fresh strawberries, capped and cut in half lengthwise
2 tablespoons honey
Pastry Dough for Pies and Tarts
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
4 ounces (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, quartered lengthwise and cut into pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon unrefined sugar
1 tablespoon milk
Wheat-free Pie Crust (alternative to Pastry Dough)
1/3 cup barley flour
1/3 cup soy flour (or 1/6 cup soy, 1/6 brown rice flour, or 1/3 cup partly ground whole sesame seed meal)
1/3 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons water
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425° F.
Line a 9 or 10-inch tart pan with the pastry crust. Trim the edges. Scatter or arrange the rhubarb over the crust. Combine crème fraîche or cream, eggs and sugar; pour over rhubarb. Sprinkle with Turbinado sugar (this will give it a glittery texture).
Bake for 10 minutes and then reduce the heat to 350° F. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes more or until rhubarb is tender and the filling is set.
Combine the strawberries with the honey and serve draped over the tart.
Pastry Dough for Pies and Tarts
Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until the dough just begins to gather, about 45 seconds. Remove the dough to a floured surface and form it into a ball.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it for 30 minutes. Place the chilled dough on a floured work surface and roll it out into a circle 2 inches larger than your 10-inch tart pan. Fit the dough in the pan and trim any excess.
Wheat-free Pie Crust
Stir flours together with salt directly in a 9 to 10-inch pie pan. In a cup, mix 3 tablespoons oil and 3 tablespoons water with wire whisk until emulsified (mixed well). Add to flour slowly, stirring with fork; lightly knead in pan and flatten, pressing into shape with fingers. Lightly prick bottom and sides with fork tines.
Grilled Sweet & Spicy Cantaloupe
Ingredients
very ripe cantaloupe
smoked paprika
honey
Preparation
Preheat grill to medium-high. Slice cantaloupe in 1/2" pieces. Sprinkle each side liberally with smoked paprika (not regular paprika). Grill cantaloupe slices 5-7 minutes per side. Remove from grill. Drizzle with honey.If grilling other foods, grill cantaloupe last.
Recipe and photo taken from http://www.grillocracy.com/