Mini Caramelized Peach Tarts are made with juicy peaches, bourbon, and an addictive and delicious pecan crumble topping! Raise your hand if you love summer fruits! Yeah, me too! Peaches, plums, cherries...it's just another reason to love the summer (and be a little sad that it's coming to an end...) Well. I couldn't let the summer end without at least one more delicious fruity recipe for you to enjoy. Enter Mini Caramelized Peach Tarts. Delicious juicy peaches, cooked with bourbon, vanilla and brown sugar. Baked on a tart. With pecan crumble on top. Because everything is better with pecans. This is pretty basic, ya know? Anyhow, my friend Mara from Kosher on a Budget moved this … [Read more...]
Strawberry Rhubarb Squares
Strawberry Rhubarb Squares are a delicious and easy dessert recipe that's perfect for summer! Sometimes recipes don't turn out the way I want. And often, that's a bad thing. Or even a terrible thing (usually depends on how expensive the wasted ingredients are). But sometimes a recipe doesn't turn out as expected, and it's a fabulous discovery. Take potato chips for example. You know the story, don't you? Seems that some aggravated chef dumped some potato scraps in hot oil and when they came out, they were, well, awesome. Chocolate chip cookies were a mistake too. Legend has it that Ruth Wakefield was going for marble cookies. She assumed the chunks would melt and marbleize in her … [Read more...]
Strawberry Chocolate Hand Pies
Strawberry Chocolate Hand Pies are a beautiful summer dessert that's not hard to make and guaranteed to impress! Are you afraid of making pie crust? I know I was. For years. A perfectly made pie crust is a real thing of beauty. But a badly made pie crust? Ugh. Just ugh. For ages, I was afraid to even try making my own pie crust. "Why should I make one," I reasoned, "when there are perfectly good pie crusts available in the freezer section of the grocery store?" Well let me tell you friends - perfectly good is nice and all, but homemade pie crust? It's perfection. And here's the best part. Once you make a pie crust once or twice, you'll be an old pro at it and you'll feel totally … [Read more...]
Grape Upside Down Cake
Grape Upside Down Cake is beautiful and impressive, plus it's yummy and has a fabulous texture! I was all set to post a new real food recipe, but then I decided that this cake is too perfect for Tu B'shvat to resist posting today. Seriously folks, you need to make this for Tu B'shvat. But then, keep the recipe handy, because it's so delectable, so pretty, so great, you'll want to make it again, and again. And again. And then again. The great thing about upside down cakes is that a plain round cake looks beautiful. No frosting, no piping bags, no sugar roses. Just a gorgeous cake that will impress everyone you serve it to. Oh, and did we discuss the texture yet? It's...well, perfect. … [Read more...]
Fruit Tart Cookies and Top Ten Fruity Recipes!
Amazingly soft and chewy cookies are topped with a luscious creamy topping and fresh fruit - fruit tart cookies! I'm so excited to share this recipe with you! It was originally featured in my summer article for Ami Magazine on using fresh seasonal fruit, but I figured that with Tu B'shvat coming up this week, there's no better time to post a recipe for Fruit Tart Cookies! These cookies are soft, chewy and totally addictive. Top them with a layer of creamy frosting - and they are even better! Then add a layer of fresh fruit, and you have the most beautiful little cookie that's elegant enough for a fancy occasion, yummy enough for any occasion, and of course, perfect for Tu B'shvat! Oh, and … [Read more...]
Healthy Apple Berry Crumble
As a general rule, I am not a huge fan of diet dessert. In my mind, diet + dessert = fresh fruit. Simple math, really. But as we've discussed before, even a dieter needs a treat on occasion. And if you are going to treat yourself, there are better and worse ways to do it.Last year, my editor for my magazine column asked me to come up with some diet desserts for the magazine's annual diet issue. Naturally, I published a healthy muffin recipe. (You all know how much I love coming up with those!) And I came up with my amazing oatmeal protein cookies. And the third dessert, I figured, would be a crumble. Lots of fruit, oatmeal topping, it seemed like the natural choice for a healthier … [Read more...]
Baked Apple Pie Wontons with Caramel Dipping Sauce
These apple pie wontons are crispy on the outside, but soft, hot and cinnamony on the inside. Best of all? They're baked, not fried! I know I've been a bit heavy on the desserts here lately. I have an excuse though. Not a good one, but an excuse nonetheless. I've been working really hard on my holiday desserts for my magazine column. Seriously, really hard. You'll start to see the results soon, but stay tuned, because there's a second feature of mine coming up after the first! Anyway, baking up a holiday storm for weeks on end doesn't leave all that much room for cooking. Hence, no real food recipes. I do have some new ones coming up soon though, so stay tuned. In the meantime, I … [Read more...]
Blueberry Muffin Cookies
If you've been reading my blog and/or magazine column for a while, you might have noticed that I like to do things a little differently. Here's an example. People love blueberry muffins. I have to say, I do too. And people even like a healthy version of blueberry muffins. I have to say, I find them to be a fabulous treat for my dieting self. But sometimes, I like to turn things on their heads. Make a completely different version of a classic. (Remember my S'mores Surprise Cookies, Rice Krispy Treat Bark, and other fun treats?) These cookies are a good example of this. Sure, I would have just made blueberry muffins, but where's the fun in that? So instead, I created blueberry muffin cookies. … [Read more...]
Cherry Lime Bundt Cake
One of the tough things about writing a recipe column for a magazine is doing things way in advance. I originally made this cake recipe in March...way before cherries graced the shelves of the supermarkets in my area. So I came up with a solution, and bought a package of cherries from the freezer aisle. Well, that's a good solution for making this fabulous cake year round, but now that it's summer and delicious fresh cherries are abundantly available, there's only one way to make these properly, and it involves fresh cherries, and a handy cherry pitter sent to me by my friends over at OXO! This is one of my favorite new bundt cake recipes - fresh, bright, light, and simply delicious. Try … [Read more...]
Cheesecake Recipe Roundup!
I don't know about you, but I love cheesecake. All flavors, all shapes, all varieties. If it's creamy and cheesey, I. Am. In. Well the holiday of Shavuot is coming (for those of you who aren't familiar with it, click here). If there's ever a time to go crazy making cheesecake, it's for a holiday where it's traditional to eat cheesecake (among other dairy treats!). So whether you are celebrating this holiday, or just love a good slice of cheesecake, I have gathered up over 65 of the best cheesecake recipes from all over the internet. I've divided the recipes up into catergories, so scroll down, click over, and enjoy! (Links to the recipes in the photos are directly below the picture.) And … [Read more...]