Fresh Fruit Dip

This simple, tangy fruit dip goes very well with berries, melons, citrus fruits, pineapple, you name it. (I'm on a bit of a strawberry kick, if you haven't noticed.)

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese (can use reduced fat), room temperature
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
zest and juice of one lime (also delicious with orange or lemon...just use a teaspoon or two of the juice)

With an electric mixer, mix all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Serve with fresh fruit.
Will store well in the refrigerator for a week or so.

Strawberry-Almond Cream Tart

This is a delicious, fresh summertime dessert. You can make the filling and topping up to 3 days ahead. Store in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the tart.

Recipe adapted from the Best of Cooking Light
Crust:
36 honey graham crackers (9 sheets)
2 T sugar
2 T melted butter
4 tsp water
Filling:
8 oz light cream cheese (Neufchatel), softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond
Topping:
6 cups small fresh strawberries, divided
2/3 cup sugar
1 T cornstarch
1 T fresh lemon juice
2 T sliced almonds, toasted (350 for about 8 minutes)

Preheat oven to 350.
To prepare crust, place crackers in food processor and process until crumbly. Add two tablespoons sugar, butter and water. Pulse just until moist. Place mixture in 9-inch round removable bottom tart pan coated with cooking spray (springform pan would work as well). Press into bottom and up sides of pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare filling, combine cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and almond. Stir until smooth. Spread over bottom of cooled tart shell.

To prepare topping, process 2 cups strawberries until pureed. Combine puree, 2/3 cup sugar, and cornstarch in saucepan over medium heat. Stirring with a whisk, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook one minute. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally (you will only use half of the topping on this tart...use the rest as a topping for pound cake or ice cream).

To assemble tart, combine 4 cups strawberries with lemon juice, toss to coat. Arrange whole berries, cut side down, in a circular pattern over filling. Spoon 1/2 of glaze evenly over berries. Sprinkle almonds around edge. Cover and chill for 3 hours.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

My girls couldn't be convinced that these muffins were healthy.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
adapted from Cooking Light

• 1 2/3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
  
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk (an easy substitute: put 1 1/2 T lemon juice or vinegar in a 2 cup liquid measuring cup. Add enough skim milk to make 1 1/2 cups)
  
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind (I needed almost 2 lemons worth)
  
• 2 large eggs or 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt or sour cream (optional: I often add a big spoonful to muffin recipes...makes them more moist)
  
• 2 cups blueberries (if using frozen blueberries, toss them with 2 T flour to keep the batter from turning purple)
  
• Cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Place oats in a food processor; pulse 5 to 6 times or until oats resemble coarse meal. Place in a large bowl.

3. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add flours, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt to oats; stir well. Make a well in center of mixture.

4. Combine buttermilk, oil, zest and eggs. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moist.

5. Toss berries with 2 tablespoons flour (you can omit the extra flour if your blueberries are fresh), and gently fold into batter. Spoon batter into 18 muffin cups coated with cooking spray; sprinkle 2 tablespoons granulated sugar evenly over batter. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove from pans immediately; place on a wire rack.

Bunny's Rocky Ledge Bars

A cookie party recipe in July?!?! That's almost as good as finding an unwrapped Christmas present in March!

Sister in law Bunny brought these yummy bars to the party back in April. They are chock full of tasty little morsels...milk chocolate, white chocolate, butterscotch, caramel, marshmallow. There's something for everyone.
They would be excellent to take to a family picnic.

Rocky Ledge Bars
(Martha Stewart recipe)

2 1/4 cup flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used milk chocolate chips)
1 cup white chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used chips, again)
1 cup butterscotch chips (next time, I might substitute toffee bits...mmmm)
18 soft caramel cubes, coarsely chopped (maybe into quarters)

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9x13 pan. Line with parchment paper with an overhang and butter. (Cooking spray will work as well.)
Whisk flour, baking powder, salt in bowl. In another bowl, mix butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until well combined. Mix in flour mixture until combined. Fold in half of each of the marshmallows, chocolates, butterscotch chips and caramels.
Spread batter into prepared pan. Scatter remaining marshmallows, chocolates, butterscotch, and caramels on top. Bake until top is golden brown and cake tester comes out clean about 35 minutes. Let cool on wire rack. Lift out of pan and transfer to refrigerator until set, at least 30 minutes. Remove parchment, cut, and enjoy!

Cinnamon Rolls for a Giant (or the cyclist)

My husband loves cinnamon rolls. So much so that when we are in the mall or at a sporting event and they are making those cinnamon roasted almonds, he gets very upset. He feels like he's being cruelly teased.

How can it smell so much like a cinnamon roll, but not be a cinnamon roll? Oh, the humanity!

So last week, for father's day, I made him cinnamon rolls, but not your ordinary cinnamon rolls, these were HUGE. One roll could easily serve 8-9 normal size people.

Or one cyclist.

I can't blame him. These were SOOOO good.

(Oh, the humanity!)

Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls
recipe adapted from Lion House Bakery

2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 t vanilla
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
2 T active dry yeast
1 cup granulated sugar
1 T salt
7 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted

Place water, oil, eggs, vanilla, and dry milk in the bowl of an electric stand mixer and stir vigorously until milk is dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over liquid mixture, then add the 1 cup sugar, salt and flour.

Put dough hook on mixer and mix for 10-15 minutes on low speed. The dough will be VERY sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap (If you want to make the dough a day ahead, mix dough to this point, cover with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator over night. The next morning, roll out the dough and proceed. It may take the dough a little longer to double in size...my house was warm, so it doubled in 90 minutes) and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and roll out into a rectangle shape. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon. Roll up rectangle lengthwise and cut into 1-inch slices. Grease 2 round pizza pans. Place one slice of dough in the center of the pan. Take the next slice of dough, line up the ends, and wrap it around the center roll, uncoiling the second slice as you go. Do this with additional slices until you've made a dough spiral that fills the pan. Repeat with remaining dough on second pan.
Cover dough with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes. After baking, let jumbo rolls cool slightly before frosting.

Buttercream Frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
6-8 T cream or evaporated milk
1 t vanilla

Combine powdered sugar, butter and 3 T of the cream in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, on low speed, combine well. Slowly add the rest of the cream, 1 T at a time, until creamy and smooth but not at all runny. Add vanilla and mix again.

This recipe will make two pizza-pan sized cinnamon rolls, or 18 standard size cinnamon rolls. I suggest the jumbo rolls...it was such a fun presentation, plus you there is so much more of the soft inside to enjoy.

What a good dad.

Whole Wheat Waffles with Honey Cinnamon Syrup

Heaven knows I love brunch. But I really LOVE a brunch that I can feel good about serving my gals. We enjoy waffles a great deal, so we decided to whip up a batch with some fresh ground whole wheat flour. If you don't have a wheat grinder, store bought whole wheat flour should do just fine.

Whole Wheat Waffles
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
4 T oil
1 T honey
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

In a blender, blend the eggs, milk, oil and honey. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Blend well. Cook in a hot waffle iron.

Honey Cinnamon Syrup
1 cup honey
1/2 cup butter
1/2 t cinnamon

Heat honey and butter in a saucepan over low heat until butter is melted. Add Cinnamon. Stir well. Serve warm syrup over hot waffles.

Both the waffle and syrup recipes are from Wheat Cookin' Made Easy

Brown Sugar Pound Cake

This cake is delicious on its own. The brown sugar gives it a rich, caramel flavor.
Add the berries and special sauce...delectable, delightful, delish, distinctive, divine, enjoyable, enticing, exquisite... (thank you online thesaurus).

Brown Sugar Pound Cake
Pound Cake Recipe adapted from Cooking Light
3 T dry bread crumbs
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 T vanilla
3 large eggs
1 cup fat-free milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 10-inch angel food cake pan with cooking spray and dust with the bread crumbs.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl; set aside.

Beat the butter in a large bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add brown sugar and vanilla, beating until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with the milk, beating at low speed, beginning and ending with the flour.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and five minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Serve with fresh sliced strawberries (any berries would do I'm sure) and the special sauce.

Yogurt Sauce
equal parts brown sugar and plain yogurt (I use fat free...you could certainly substitute the yogurt for sour cream to make this sweet and tangy sauce)