Almond Jam Bars

Another weekly treat for work.  I had just returned from Vegas (my birthday treat to myself) and wanted to make something that was not time consuming to put together and baked fairly quickly.  This recipe cooks in about 30 minutes, and does go together easy.  I was originally going to make pineapple but as you can see changed my mind, maybe next time. 

 

adapted from here

  Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups AP Flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup coconut oil, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup fruit jam (I used Strawberry Jam)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.  I sprayed my pan then lined it with parchment paper, (two pieces overlapping and over the sides for each removal and clean up.  I also sprayed the paper.   Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream coconut oil and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix well. With the mixer on low, slowly add in the flour mixture. Mix until combined, the dough will be crumbly. Stir in the sliced almonds.
4. Stir the jam to loosen it up. Gently press half of dough into bottom of prepared baking dish. Evenly spread jam over dough. Sprinkle remaining dough over the top, making sure you cover the entire bars. Press gently to form the top layer.
5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Cool completely in pan then remove and  and cut into squares.

Hope you try this recipe, you won't be sorry.   Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful week and Always Remember to Find the Time to DO ALL the things YOU L♥ve.
Donna

Frozen Strawberry Yoguart Pie

I made this for Easter Dinner this year.  We had dinner at my grandson's (a first).  Usually we have dinner at our house, but since he has his own place he wanted to cook.  We had ribs, brats and 

This is one of my grandson's favorites, which I didn't know.  It's so easy and makes for a very quick dessert.  It's wonderful during the summer months when you need somethings sweet and cool.

Ingredients:

2 containers  (6 oz. each) strawberry nonfat yogurt

2 cups  thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

1 ready-to-use  graham cracker crumb crust (6 oz.)
8-10 fresh strawberries 

Directions:

Spoon yogurt into medium bowl. Add whipped topping; stir gently with wire whisk until well blended.     Chop 6-8 strawberries and fold into cream mixture  Fill pie crust.  Top with sliced
strawberries.  FREEZE 4 hours or until pie is firm enough to hold its shape when cut into slices to serve. Store leftover pie in refrigerator. 

So there you go a quick simple dessert that all will love.    Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful week and Always Remember to Find the Time to Do All the Things You L♥ve
D♥nna

LC stawberry cream cheese dessert

I found these while searching for a LC dessert.  Sorry but I can't remember where.  These are really good and hit the spot for having something sweet after a meal.  Even my grandson loved them and said I could make them anytime.  Here's the inside.

Ingredients:

1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon plus 1/4 cup sugar, divided *I used Splenda and their measurement to get the above*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
6 (8-inch) soft flour tortillas Mission LC version
1 3/4 cups sliced strawberries, divided
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
Vegetable oil, for frying

 Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese with the sour cream, 1 tablespoon sugar, vanilla extract and lemon zest, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Fold in 3/4 cup of the sliced strawberries.
Divide the mixture evenly between the tortillas, slathering each portion in the lower third of each tortilla. Next, fold the two sides of each tortilla toward the center and then roll the tortilla up like a burrito and secure it with a toothpick. Repeat the rolling process with the remaining tortillas.
Combine the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with the cinnamon in a shallow bowl and set it aside. Line a large plate with paper towels.
Add 3 inches of oil to a large, deep saucepan, leaving a minimum of 2 inches from the top of the oil to the top of the saucepan. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 360ºF on a deep-fry thermometer.
Working in batches, fry the each one until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes, flipping them as needed. Transfer them to the paper towel-lined plate to drain for 1 minute, and then roll them in the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Repeat the frying and rolling process with the remaining ones, returning the oil to 360ºF between batches.
Remove all toothpicks from them and transfer them to serving plates. Top each with a portion of the remaining 1 cup of sliced strawberries and serve immediately.

They are simple to make and you could use regular flour tortilla's if you like.  I used the LC version and to me you really can't tell the difference.
There are so many different ways to change this up by just changing the fruit that you use.  I had strawberries in the freezer so that's what I went with.  I also think these would be really good if you added walnuts or pecans, but I didn't to these because my grandson doesn't like nuts.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by, hope you try these because they really are great.
Have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to Do the Things You L♥ve.
Donna

Strawberry Banana Muffins

It's been soooooooooooo cold here in Kansas and I am so ready for Spring.  A couple of weeks ago I got very ambitious and decided to clean out the top freezer on my fridge.  A big job for sure.  A couple of days before that I cleaned out my kitchen towel drawer and got rid of all the old and and found that I had many new towels, and I might add the drawer looks pretty good now as so does the freezer.  I actually know what I have in there now, and I can see it all.  whoop!  Back the muffins.  I found some strawberry puree in there so decided to make muffins and I also had 1 banana left.  Of course banana's and strawberry go together.  Hope you try these they really are very good.

1 banana sliced thin
1/2 -3/4 cp strawberry puree
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter  melted
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cp brown sugar
1/3 cup finely chopped almonds *optional*
white sugar for top

Preheat oven to 350°, line large muffin tin or spray with nonstick spray.  You can also make this in a loaf pan.
In a large microwave safe bowl melt the butter, add the sugar, eggs and vanilla, stir well. Add the strawberry puree and sliced bananas.   In another bowl combine the dry ingredients.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir but do not over mix.  Fill the muffin tins 3/4 full, top with finely chopped almonds and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Enjoy.....these would be really good at breakfast time too.

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful day and Always Remember to Find the Time to Do all the Things You L♥ve.
D♥nna

Fruit Tart

This is the dessert I made for my son's fiance' birthday last week.  I also made the second version for Thanksgiving.  This really is an easy dessert to make and only involves the cooking of the crust.  You could use any fruit you like and best of all this would be great when those fruits are in season.  It's such a refreshing treat.
Sure hope you try it.

Crust:
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened and sliced
Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping:
Fresh strawberries, kiwi slices, blueberries, raspberries
Glaze
1/2 cupUnsweetened apple juice
1 TBL corn starch
1/4 sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the crust: In a food processor, combine the confectioners’ sugar, flour, and butter, and process until the mixture forms a ball. With your fingers, press the dough into a 12-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, taking care to push the crust into the indentations in the sides. Pat until the crust is even. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until very lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
For the filling and topping: Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth. Spread over the cooled crust. Cut the strawberries into 1/4-inch slices and arrange around the edge of the crust. For the next circle, use kiwi slices. Add another circle of strawberries, filling in any spaces with blueberries. Cluster the raspberries in the center of the tart.
For the glaze: Combine the apple juice, cornstarch, and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until clear and thick, about 2 minutes. Let cool. With a pastry brush, glaze the entire tart. You will not use all of the glaze.
Keep the tart in the refrigerator  Remove about 15 minutes before serving. Slice into wedges and serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

I also made a strawberry pineapple one for Thanksgiving, that also was a "big" hit.

 Thanks for taking time from you busy day to stop by.  Remember to always Find the time to Do All the things YOU L♥ve.
Donna

Strawberry Filled Vanilla Cup Cakes

I made these for Valentines Day.  I don't usually do much for this day but this year thought what the HEY!  I also made some white bread rolls which I will share soon.  YUM
These cup cakes have a cream cheese frosting with a bit of strawberry jam for color.

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 TBL vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup AP flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk (I used 1/4 cup half n half and 1/4 cup water)

I used strawberry jam for the filling but you could also use fresh strawberries cook with a bit of sugar and white wine then mashed.

Frosting:
3/4 about 6 oz of soft cream cheese
1/2 cup confectionary sugar
1/2 stick butter, soft
2 TBL milk
1-2 TBL strawberry jam
Cream butter and cheese, add sugar and milk cream til fluffy add strawberry stir to mix.  Guess you could also add red food coloring but hey that doesn't give it any flavor.


Picture with filling, it's not a pretty sight but you cover them so no one has to know.  :)

Preheat oven to 350 and line 12 muffin tins.  In a bowl cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add 1 egg at a time and mix well, add extract.  Combine the flour, salt and baking powder add to the egg mixtures.  Mix well add the milk and combine.  With an ice cream scoop fill cups 2/3 full, I found you could probably get about 15 muffins.  Mine over puffed a bit so I had to do some cutting before I could fill and ice them.  Bake for about 20 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool on rack for about 30 minutes.  Then using a knife or a melon baller scoop out a bit of the center and fill with you jam of choice put the stuff you took out back on then frost.
Thanks for stopping by,  have a wonderful Valentine's Day with your sweety, and Remember to Find the Time to Do ALL the Things YOU Love.
Donna

Strawberry Coffee Cake

Adapted from here

Printable

(this is what Coleen used 2 cups frozen dark sweet cherries (thawed and drained well)

2 cups fresh strawberries chopped
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter room temperature
½ cup sliced almonds
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup sour cream

Directions from Coleen for the cherries
Thaw and drain the frozen dark sweet cherries completely (I put them in a colander overnight in the fridge). The next morning, drain completely, cut the cherries in half and mix with the brown sugar and almond extract. Set aside.

Beat butter till creamy, add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, add extracts and sour cream, mix well. Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth.

Spread 2/3 of the batter into greased 9" spring form pan. Top with fruit


and then spoon dollops of the remaining 1/3 of the batter, over the fruit, like this:



Sprinkle the sliced almond over the top of everything and sprinkle it with a little cinnamon sugar
Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Let the coffee cake cool in the pan for about 15 minute before removing it. Drizzle the cake with a simple vanilla glaze.

GLAZE
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Oh gee, ya know I forgot to put the glaze on, BUT it was wonderful without it.
Tips from Coleen
IMPORTANT NOTE: When you thaw the frozen dark sweet cherries, you will get a considerable amount of "juice". DO NOT USE that juice in this recipe (save it for a different recipe). However, after they are drained and you mix the cherries with the brown sugar and almond extract (after it sits a few minutes) you will get even MORE "juice"...make sure you use this extra juice in the recipe.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This recipe calls for a 9" spring form pan, but you can make it in a regular 9" round cake pan. The spring form pan just makes for a prettier presentation. IF YOU USE A SPRING FORM PAN, make sure you wrap the bottom of the pan in foil, in case your pan leaks.

This is a great cake for after dinner or breakfast. Thanks for stopping by. Remember to Find the time to Do all the things YOU love.
Donna

Strawberry Shortcake

I made this the night I made the Ham/Swiss Bake. Great combination.

This is a wonderful dessert and is quick and easy. The shortcake is very similar to a biscuit but much better, especially topped with strawberries and whipped cream. Can't get much better than that!
This is adapted from Alton Brown from Food Network. Apparently from the reviews the recipe is off so I have made the changes that were suggested.
Printable

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 3/4 cup half and half
• Melted butter to brush shortcakes
• Berries
• Ice cream or whipped cream

Directions

Heat oven 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in butter and shortening. Mix in half-and-half. Drop by large spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 minutes or until brown. Cool and eat with berries, ice cream and/or whipped cream.

This is the shortcake biscuit before all the sweetness. You can use these with any berries of your choice.

Thanks for taking time from you busy day and Remember to Find the Time to Do all the Things You Love.

Donna

Strawberry Mango Cupcakes with Strawberry Mango butter cream frosting

I think Spring may finally be on it's way.   wooooo hooooo  I was in a puttering  mood the day I made these (the end of March).  I have days when I just jump from one project to another and it seems to take me all day to get all of them done.  I must admit there are days not all the projects get completed.  Not a bigger anymore since I'm retire...there's always tomorrow or the day after that.  :)
I had bought a Mango which I've never cooked with but several times on the Food Network they have used it for different types of things.  I also had just bought some really nice looking strawberries so I thought they sounded like a great combo.  Off to the kitchen to bake.
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup self rising flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
2 eggs
2 tbsp. yogurt (can also use milk if the mixture is a bit dry)
2/3 cup light pureed mango and strawberries
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line your muffin pan with cupcake liners
Cream the butter and slowly add the sugar and cream until the sugar are dissolved.  Add the egg, one at a time into the mixture and beat well.  In another bowl, measure the flour and the baking powder.  Slowly pour into the wet mixture and mix well. Then add the mango strawberry puree.   Pour into pan and bake for about 20 min, test with toothpick.

Mango/Strawberry Butter Cream Frosting
1 /2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup mango/strawberry  puree
Zest and juice of 1 orange, lime or lemon *about 2 Tbl.
2 tablespoons honey
4-5 cups of powdered sugar
In a mixing bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add mango/strawberry puree, zest and juice  and honey. Mix well. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until desired spreading consistency is reach.  (I didn't like the way this came out, it was too sweet for my taste and it looked awful)  :(    Sorry about that.  To me the icing looks sweet.  I may have added to much juice because it didn't really set up.  Oh well, next time.

These are very refreshing and  tasty.  Hope you give them a a try.  I will experiment some more with Mango's in the future.  Already have a couple of ideas going in my head.  Just call me the mad baker.  LOL
Have a wonderful day and Remember to Find the Time to do ALL the things YOU love.