Fruit Cup aka Sploosh

It's fun this time of year to look back and remember holidays past. I think that is part of the excitement of the season, remembering not only the new things planned but also the family and friends you have enjoyed previous holidays with.

In my case one particularly fond memory is of my grandmother. She always welcomed us in to her kitchen. She taught me how to microwave eggs with velveeta in her little pyrex dishes. I now see those same dishes in antique stores and they make me smile.  She also had us kids devein and peel the shrimp for the shrimp cocktail she served on holidays.  A few of the things I remember most though besides the shrimp cocktail were glazed carrots, key lime pie, and fruit cup.

Fruit cup sounds like it should be a simple thing and it some ways it is. And yet it's wonderful alongside all the rich treats we typically indulge in on Christmas. One thing that makes it special is the way it is prepared. The oranges and grapefruit are peels are sliced off around the fruit to separate the segments and then the fruit peeled out from between them.

Using a serrated knife, slice around the peel. Don't make the swatches too large. It's faster but you lose more of the fruit that way.

Slide the knife down the side of the segment all the way to the center trying not to cut through the center.

Once you have the knife in the center use it to pry the fruit out of the segment.

Like most of my recipes, specifics aren't important. Which is good, because I don't have them. The strawberries in this are the frozen kind that come in sugar syrup. You can buy two size, small or large. Whichever one you get depends on if you are making a lot or a little.

5 lb bag of oranges, more or less
1 - 2 grapefruit
1 small tub of frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed

Segment the oranges and grapefruit according to the description above. Add the strawberries. Let sit for 30 minutes for the flavors to meld a little bit and enjoy. Or let sit overnight, because advanced prep is something I love this time of year.

Blueberry Hand Pies

A make a strawberry galette a few weeks ago and had some leftover crust, so I made a few mini blueberry tarts to enjoy. I loved them so much I made them again for company tonight. I started with the crust recipe I like so much with a few minor changes. 

So I add a little more sugar than it calls for and in place of the shortening I grate in a stick of frozen butter (half a cups of butter) and the rest of the fat I pour in some coconut oil.

For me this made 13 hand pies that were perfect for 1 person.

For the filling I used almost 3 packages of blueberries, I used three and had some filling left over. I think it was about 6 cups total. I mixed it with 3/4 a cup of sugar, but that also depends on your berries. Then add 1/4 cup tapioca flour and about 2 - 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Mash about 1.2 of a cup of them lightly just to create a little liquid. Stir it all together and let it sit while you mix up the crust. 

It was really easy to assemble from there. I hate rolling and cutting stuff out and dealing with leftover scraps. So I spit the dough into pieces and rolled them individually. They should be about 5 inches across when it's all flat. I started to make ten pies but they were rolling a little too big so I pinched some of the dough off of them and it made enough for three more. Put the rolled out dough on the tray you will be baking them on. I recommend a no stick mat as well, tin foil works too. I have done both. Top with just under a half a cup of filling. I like to stir the filling before scooping each time since the liquid tends to settle. Top with the filling and fold the sides in around the berries. Brush the crust with cream and sprinkle with a coarse sugar. 

Bake at 425 until they are golden brown. I think it took about 25 minutes. You don't want the liquid that seeps out to burn on the pan or it will lend a charred taste to the pastries. Cool on the pan no more than5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. I'm not sure how long these stay good before they get soggy, I suspect they would get soggy if made the day before but I'm not sure since we haven't ever had them last that long.

Raisin Filled Cookies

This started off as Golden Raisin cookies from King Arthur Flour. Some basic changes had to happen though because I don't like hard chewy raisins.  So I simmered the raisins in cinnamon water until they were soft and then chopped them up a little. The drawback to that was while they were really good, they don't keep over night. The raisins make the cookies soft, which was actually delicious as well.


2 c. flour

1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 stick butter, frozen

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 c. coconut oil

7-8 Tbsp. ice water

Filling

2 c. raisins

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

water to cover

Cream

Coarse Sugar

Simmer the raisins together with the cinnamon. Once they are plump and soft drain and chop. Put them on a paper towel for a little while preparing the dough to dry out as much as possible.

Another change I made was cream on the top instead of egg with the sugar to top.

The rest of the directions are the same as on the King Arthur web site so you can look there for directions. 

Pumpkin Bombe

Just wanted to post this picture of something fun and tasty. The pumpkin recipe is my own, the cake recipe is not. And cake will work here, but the quinoa cake is perfect. It's rich, moist, and sturdy. 

Start with the bombe pan, I got mine on Amazon. Coat them with a layer of chocolate. Once it is set up, coat them with a second layer. Once they are totally first fill them with

Pumpkin chiffon

I made a little wellin the pumpkin and filled it with caramel. 

I baked a thin layer of the chocolate quinoa cake from Mel's Kitchen Cafe and used a cookie cutter to put it in to the right size to fit in the bottom. 

Then chill again to make sure the shell is firm to remove from the pan. 

I tried to remove them with the flat side up at first and stretch the pan away from it to loosen and I ended up cracking the chocolate. I found it was easier to have the flat side down and peel the pan away from the chocolate. Mine were stick from the caramel so I put them in muffin liners.

Strawberry Rhubarb Galette II

I was excited when I made this, it was the delicious accompaniment that dinner needed that night. And I thought maybe I would come and post it over here. As I was looking around over here, it has really been a while since I used this regularly I noticed I had already posted a strawberry rhubarb galette before. The reason I had forgotten was that it was good, but nothing really special and not where near strawberry rhubarb pie. But this version was and I can't wait to make it again. 

For starters I made my own crust. It's a totally different type than store bought crust is and it made a works of difference here. Also the filling was a lot fuller and chunkier. 

Crust Recipe

I really liked that crust recipe. I made a second one a few days later with apple pie filling and caramel mixed together and baked and it was just as good. Before baking though I brush the crust with cream and sprinkle with large sugar. It helps the crust turn golden and it looks pretty. 

It was a last minute idea to make, and I didn't have all the ingredients I would have normally used so I had to improvise some but it worked out perfectly.

2 c. frozen rhubarb

1 c. frozen berries, thawed slightly and chopped

1/2 a small box of strawberry jello

sugar taste

2 Tbsp tapioca starch

I tossed everything in a bowl and stirred it up before making the crust. You want it to be sticky and no powdery bits left before you add it to the crust. 

Two things I learned, the hard way.

1) Put the crust on the pan you are baking it on, not the one you rolled it out on, before adding the filling. Once you add it, you can't move it. 

2) You don't want the filling to be frozen solid when you add it. It will stiffen up the crust and cause it to break when you fold it over. If that happens the filling can leak out making a sticky mess, but also burning on the bottom of the pan. 

Play around with it, have fun, it accommodates whatever filling you want to make.

Homemade Oreo Cookies (Gluten Free)

3/4 c. Arrowhead mills gluten free All-purpose baking mix

1/2 c. cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. sugar

10 Tbsp. butter

1 egg

Mix all the dry stuff, beat in the butter cold and then the egg. 

Use about a tsp of dough per cookie, don't be tempted to make them any bigger, they spread quite a bit. Roll the dough into balls and flatten slightly. Place on an ungreased, tin foil lined, baking pan about 2-inched apart. 

Bake at 375 for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven, take the tin foil off the cookies pan and let cool. 

Once the cookies are completely cool pipe frosting into the middle and top with another cookie.

A regular buttercream frosting is nice. Other flavors that are good are mint, or the ones in the picture are pumpkin spice. 

Pumpkin spice buttercream

1 stick butter

1 (3.4 oz) Pumpkin Spice Instant pudding mix

1 Tsp. vanilla extract

Powdered sugar

Beat the butter until fluffy. Beat in the pudding mix, and vanilla. 

Beat in powdered sugar, half a cup at a time until stiff. 

Panna Cotta

Panna Cotta

2 c. heavy cream

1 c. whole milk

1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 packets knox unflavored gelatin

1 - 2 lb fresh strawberries

1/4 c. sugar

3 Tbsp clear gel

Sprinkle the gelatin over the milk, stir, and let stand for 5 minutes. 

Heat the cream and sugar until simmering but not boiling. Stir in the milk and gelatin mixture. Cook, stirring, for 2 - 3 minutes. Just enough to melt the gelatin.

Pour into molds or pretty glass dishes and chill.

Slice strawberries, toss with sugar and let sit for 1 hour. Stir in the clear gel and wait 20 minutes before serving.

When ready to serve run the bottom of the mold under hot water and invert on a plate or serve in glass dishes.

3 Ingredient Blender silk

I want to say the simplicity of this is what makes it so good but it's not. The taste and texture are what make it perfect. The simplicity is just a bonus. My friend pours this on top of a baked cake and lets it set up there. I poured it into tiny cups as a cute individual serving of silk.
Because this doesn't have any additional sweetener be careful with the chocolate you use, go a little lighter than what you like to eat.

12 oz. chocolate, milk are dark
  1 c. milk

4 eggs

Place the chocolate chips in the blender. Scald the milk and pour over the chips. Blend on medium speed for a couple minutes. Scrape the bottom to make sure the chips are stuck there. Add the eggs and blend on high for about 10 minutes, until steam starts to form in the top. 

Pour into cups or on top of a baked cake and chill for at least 4 hours.

Strawberry Mousse

This is a Princess original and one of those recipes that is great for so many different things. Most recently I put it in Krogers mini shortbread tartlet shells. It's also good in cream puffs or eclairs with white chocolate on top or just in a cooked pie crust. My personal favorite is crepes.

I recommend using a star tip is you haven't lost it somewhere in your kitchen..hmmm. And I have 3!! 

Also, to make it less grainy looking make sure you add all the strawberry powder while it is still hot to dissolve it. I tried to add more after I added the strawberry mixture and it didn't work. It still tasted good though.

3/4 c. sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

3/4 c. water

1 (3 oz.) box strawberry jello powder

1 lb bag frozen strawberries, thawed (fresh also works)

1 envelope knox unflavored gelatin

1 tsp. lemon juice

 1 c. heavy whipping cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or to taste)

3 Tbsp powdered sugar (or to taste)

In a blender blend the strawberries until smooth. Blend in the knox gelatin and set aside. Let stand for at least 5 minutes.

Whisk together the sugar and cornstarch and then whisk in the water until no lumps remain. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is clear and very thick. Remove from the heat and whisk in the strawberry jello powder. Keep stirring for one minute. Make sure you whisk it long enough on this step of their will be gelatin lumps in you dessert. Stir in the blended strawberries and gelatin mix and stir another minute. Stir in the lemon juice and them place the mixture in the refrigerator to chill. 

Chill the strawberry mixture until its no longer warm, but not set. Whip the cream with the vanilla and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Whisk a third of the whipped cream into the strawberry mix. when mixed whisk in the remaining whipped cream. Chill until firm to the touch. 

To use remove the mousse from the fridge and whisk once. Let stand for 20 minutes before using. Because its stabilized with gelatin it will look kinda lumpy unless you use a piping bag to fill your tarts or crepes with. If you decide to make a pie out of it whisk the mousse in and chill just until its thick, but not set, and then mound it in a cooked and cooled pastry shell. 

I have also made mixed berry mousse with this same recipe. Just substitute the frozen strawberries with a bag of frozen mixed berries and omit the lemon juice. I still used strawberry gelatin powder but I suspect another berry flavor such as raspberry or blackberry fusion might be good. The final mousse was a medium purple color.

This made enough to fill 5 dozen mini tart shells, about the size of a silver dollar.

Fresh Blueberry Sauce

5 c. fresh blueberries

3 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp. lemon juice

3 Tbsp water

1 1/2 tsp instant clear gel

Place half the blueberries in a large bowl and mash lightly. I started to use a potato mashed but it mushed the blueberries too much, I like them to only be broken up a bit but not a paste. Add the sugar and remaining blueberries and continue mashing until most of the blueberries are at least somewhat squished. Add the water and lemon juice, stir for a minute and let stand for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the clear gel over the top and stir again for another minute. Let stand for ten minutes and serve.

I love the use of the clear gel because it thickens the sauce around the berries without having to cook them at all leaving it so they are still fresh. This can be made with fresh strawberries as well. Slice the strawberries instead of mashing them and skip the water. Let the sliced berries sit with the sugar for about 20 minutes and then add the clear gel until thickened.

This is great over ice cream, in crepes, or just in a bowl with whipped cream.

Oatmeal Scotchie Bars

My mom used to make a cookie with butterscotch chips called oatmeal scotchies. The recipe was the one on the back of the chip bag. I made this recipe up using my favorite cookie recipe, and of course a few tweaks. Cookies would be good, but bars are easier to make and taste just as good. 

I would have made this with all butter instead of the oil and syrup but I one stick was all I had. So if you aren't as neglectful as I am then try it with all butter and let me know how it goes.And I know corn syrup has a really bad reputation right now, but really, it's a dessert. What were you expecting?

1 stick butter, softened

2 Tbsp oil

2 Tbsp corn syrup

3/4 c. brown sugar

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 c. flour

3/4 c. whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. oats

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 bag butterscotch chips

Beat together the butter, oil, and syrup. 

Beat in both sugars, the egg, vanilla, soda, salt, and cinnamon. 

Once mixed beat in the flours and oats then the butterscotch chips.

Spread evenly into a 9 x 13 pan. 

Bake at 350 for 20 - 30 minutes until a dark golden brown. 

Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into bars.

Strawberry Rhubarb Galette

Thank you pinterest and Mennonite Girls Can Cook. It only took me 2 months to find rhubarb, but find it I did and now we have a tasty new recipe. 

1 crust

1 lb rhubarb

3/4 c. sugar

3 Tbsp flour

1/2 pkg. strawberry gelatin powder

2 Tbsp milk

1 - 2 Tbsp pearl sugar

I used a store bought pie crust and just rolled it until it was slightly larger. Any homemade pastry crust will work. Transfer to a baking sheet.

Slice the rhubarb and toss with the sugar, flour and gelatin. 

Place in the center of the pie crust, leaving an inch and a half around the edges. 

Fold the crust up over the fruit and brush the crust with the milk. Sprinkle with the sugar. Cover the crust with tin foil and bake at 375 until the fruit is baked. Remove the foil and and continue baking until browned. I baked mine for 35 minutes, removed the tin foil and baked an additional 7 minutes.

Let cool mostly and serve. 

Coconut Limeade

1 small (5.46 fl oz) can coconut milk

1/4 c. sugar

1 tsp coconut extract

2 limes

2 can ginger ale, chilled

Stir together the coconut milk, sugar, and 

coconut extract until the sugar is dissolved. 

In a large glass combine 1 can ginger ale, half of 

the coconut mixture, and the juice of 1 lime.

Serve immediately. 

Serves 2 - 4

Lemon Berry Pie

This is a combination of three separate pies all brought together in one pie crust. The base is the lemon sour cream pie from the other day, with key lime added and then topped with a fresh strawberry pie. Feel free to make this with all lemon or with equal parts lemon and lime for a more distinct key lime pie flavor. Blue berries are also good in place of the strawberries for a lemon blueberry pie. Just switch the gelatin to blackberry or lemon flavored. If you go the lime route add an extra tablespoon or two of sugar, I like it on the tart side but the rest of my family agreed they would have appreciated it slightly sweeter.

1 pie crust

Lemon layer:

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c. lemon juice (minus 1 Tbsp)

1 Tbsp key lime juice (Or orange juice concentrate)

1/4 tsp Penzys lemon peel (or zest from 1/2 lemon)

Strawberry Layer:

1/2 c. sugar 

1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 c. water

1/2 packet Strawberry gelatin powder

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 lb. fresh strawberries, sliced

Bake the crust for 20 minutes. Whisk together all of the ingredients for the lemon layer. Once the crust has baked for 20 minutes pour the lemon and sour cream mixture into the crust and bake an additional 20 minutes until the lemon looks mostly set but not totally solid. 

Chill for 2 hours

In a small saucepan whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the water. Cook until thick. Remove from heat and stir in the gelatin powder and the lemon juice. Let cool slightly and toss with strawberries. Gently spoon over chilled lemon layer. Chill another hour or until ready to serve.

Lemon Sour Cream pie

This is a pinterest find I made and wanted to share, it originally comes from Sacramento Street. Cause it was super simple and very tasty. 

I changed a few things. Instead of Greek yogurt I used sour cream since I already had that on hand and I used my almond crust recipe. I followed their baking directions though. I baked it for 15 minutes, let it cool for 5, then added the filling and baked until it was done. Mine only needed to bake for 18 minutes. Also I think fresh lemons and lemon zest would be best in this but I was feeling lazy so I used bottled juice and Penzys dehydrated lemon peel. 

This is great with just some fresh whipped cream or with a fruit topping, any berry pairs very well with this. 


This is where I would have put a picture if we hadn't eaten it before I got around to taking one

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c. lemon juice

1/4 tsp Penzys lemon peel

Crust

Whisk together the sour cream, sugar, and lemon peel. Whisk in the lemon juice until smooth. Pour into crust and bake at 350 for 18 - 25 minutes until set. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes and then refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  

1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. Salt

½ c. slivered almonds, coarsely chopped

1/3 c. vegetable oil

3 to 4 Tbsp. Water

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. Press into a shallow 9-inch pie plate.

Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before adding the lemon filling and baking.

Old Fashioned Pound Cake

It was surprisingly difficult to find a pound cake recipe that someone hadn't tried to reduce the fat content in. And I certainly wouldn't want that! So like any  ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶  classic pound cake recipe, this starts with an entire pound of butter.

1 lb butter

3 c. sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

6 eggs

3 c. flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. sour cream

Pre-heat oven to 350

Mix together the flour, soda and salt and set aside. 

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until mixed. Then add the flour mixture and mix until thoroughly incorporated. When the flour is completely combined stir in the sour cream and mix until combined.

Grease your baking pan and bake at 350 for anywhere from 20 - 40 minutes, until the top is a dark golden brown. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Run your knife around the edges of the pan and flop upside down on a cooling rack. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I got 5 smallish loaves out of this, each one yielding 10 slices. 

I'm guessing the pan size was 2 x 5 or 6

We ate one with macerated strawberries and
sweetened whipped cream. 

I think lemon curd also is very tasty with the pound cake,

and lemon curd with strawberries and whipped cream is always good too

The other 4 loaves I wrapped in plastic wrap and then tin foil and froze.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies are perfectly soft and chewy, and the first cookie I have ever had that is fantastic right out of the oven but ever better the next day.

Adapted from Apple a Day

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

4 c. flour

4 tsp. cornstarch

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 (10 oz) bag peanut butter chips

1 (12 oz) bag chocolate chips

Beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the brown and granulated sugar and continue beating until light. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, cornstarch baking soda, and salt. Beat into the butter and mix until thoroughly incorporated.

Beat in both bags of chips. 

Shape dough into 1 inch balls, flatten slightly, place on a baking tray and bake at 350 for 8 - 10 minutes. (They wont be browned on the top) Let sit on the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. They are very soft when they first come out of the oven but they are cooked. 

Makes 8 dozen cookies

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Form the dough into balls, flatten slightly, and freeze until solid in a single layer on a baking sheet. When the dough balls are solid store in a plastic freezer bag. To use, let the dough thaw for 15 minutes then bake at 350 for 15 - 18 minutes

Chocolate Cake

2 c. sugar

1 c. cake flour

1 c. all purpose flour

3/4 c. cocoa

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 c. half-an-half

1 stick butter melted

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 c. boiling water

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the eggs, half-an-half, butter, and vanilla and then mix to combine everything. Do not start mixing until all the wet ingredients are in the bowl. 

Slowly drizzle in the boiling water and mix until combines.

Pour batter (it will be thin) into 2 greased 9-in cake pans and bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Cook on a wire rack. 

Frost as desired. I like white chocolate cream cheese frosting.

Frozen Crumble Pie

Apple Crumble pie with my moms home bottled apple pie filling

This has been my week of freezer cooking. 

So I wanted to share this little gem with you as well. 

It's not a freezer to oven thing, it does take some work,

but the hardest part is already done. 

To add nuts reduce the oatmeal to 1/2 c. and 

add a 1/2 cup nuts of your choice.

1/2 c.unsalted butter

1 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. flour

3/4 c. oatmeal

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

Large batch

6 sticks unsalted butter

6 c. brown sugar

4 1/2 c. flour

4 1/2 c. oatmeal

3 tsp. cinnamon

3 tsp. salt

Mix everything together really well. 

Sprinkle the mixture flat on a cookies 

tray and freeze until solid. 

When solid put into a freezer safe bag and freeze until ready to use. 

To use

1 pre-baked pie crust (optional)

2 can pie filling

1 recipe of frozen crumble

Pour the pie fillings in the baked crust and top with the frozen crumble. 

Bake at 350 for 35 - 45 minutes or until the crumb topping is browned and crisp. 
If you wish to make this without the pie crust to make cobbler, 
pour the pie fillings into the bottom of a glass baking dish and 
top with oat mix. Bake the same as with the crust

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

20 oz. (2 1/2 pkg. ) cream cheese

6 - 10 c. powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

6 oz. white chocolate

1/4 c. heavy cream

In a large saucepan combine the white chocolate and cream over medium heat, stirring constantly until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. 

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and then 2 cups of powdered sugar. Beat in 2 more cups of sugar and then the cooled white chocolate mix. 

Continue beating in powdered sugar until the frosting is stiff enough to hold its shape. 

This makes enough to fill and frost a 3-layer 9 inch cake.