Hungarian Strawberry Shortbread

Our Tuesdays with Dorie  treat of the week is Hungarian Shortbread. I had never heard of Hungarian Shortbread before but love shortbread so was excited to give this recipe a try.  

Cookies with jam in them are my favorite kind, and I love making jam, but was unable to find the rhubarb called for. The recipes says that you can also use your favorite flavor or preserves so I went with some homemade strawberry jam.

Hungarian Shortbread uses a technique I'd heard of but never tried myself, grating / shredding frozen dough! I used my salad shooter with the shredding cone, which made this recipe super easy. I couldn't wait to see what it looked like after it baked...

Here it is just out of the oven. I had to add an extra 5 minutes on the baking time because the middle seemed undone at 40, but when it checked it 5 minutes later it looked just right!  These are absolutely delicious and I would make them again for sure! They seem like the perfect bar cookie to take along for a picnic.

And now I have a couple of photos of our last TWD recipe assignment, a lovely Lemon Loaf Cake...

I baked along with everyone two weeks ago but just didn't have the time to post on time so thought I'd save my pictures and put them up with the Hungarian Shortbread.

I love lemon loaf and this one was pretty yummy! The kids enjoyed this one as well.  And now one last photo to share, an inside shot of my Mushroom Pizza Rustica that we made a month ago. When I blogged about the recipe I didn't have any photos of a slice of it showing the filling. I took this photo of the leftovers the next day and it had been sitting in my "Cooking Photos" folder of pictures for the last month, so I thought I'd share that one this week too.  Thanks for visiting -- happy baking, everyone :)

 

Kids' Thumbprints

Late is better than never, right? I like that saying. I spent many years being an 'on time or else' kind of person, with myself only, if others were late I wasn't bothered at all, but for me, I needed be on time. I despised being late, immediately racked with guilt should the dreaded moment I was late, eventually arrive. But, after having kids, being late just kind of happened.  I was stressed out at being late at first, but now I just try to let it be and enjoy the moment. 

Mind you, I'm still rarely late in real life, it still bothers me if I am, but with blogging, well, it is too easy to fall behind and be late.  I was such a good blogger at first, I think the whole first year I blogged along with TWD I did not miss a single recipe.  Then after that things just got so busy and blogging slid to the back burner. I missed baking along every Tuesday. Every now and then I'd jump back in, then fall back out.  Just too busy!

Anyway here were are, two Tuesdays after the final "original TWD" end recipe, and I am posting.  I baked along on time, but just didn't get to posting until now! Don't worry, these cookies are definitely worth waiting for.  I think they are my very favorite cookie out of all of them that I have baked with TWD, and that's quite a few cookies! 

Cookies with jam are my favorites, add some crunchy peanuts to the mix and I am a happy cookie muncher. These were so fun to make and my three little ones enjoyed lending their thumbs to the cookie cause. I am so happy I got to bake these ones with my kids, it was just a magical moment and I will always treasure having my little sweeties in the kitchen with my, wild and crazy as they are at ages six, five, and four, and full of boundless energy just bouncing around the kitchen :)

A very heartfelt thank you to Laurie, her helper, Julie and most importantly, the author of Baking From My Home To Yours, the world famous Dorie Greenspan -- visit her site for the recipe to these absolutely delicious peanut butter and jelly thumbprint cookies :) 

I am planning to keep on baking through Baking From My Home To Yours, I want to bake all of the recipes that were chosen before I joined in July 2008 and all of the ones I missed through out the years.  And I will definitely be game for TWD's next challenge, Baking with Julia, I've already gotten my book and am ready to go, and hopefully, not miss a single one! 

Strawberry Rhubarb Double Crisp

Time for Tuesdays with Dorie! Our treat of the week is Strawberry Rhubarb Double Crisp, picked for us to try by Sarahe at Teapots and Cake Stands -- thank you, Sarahe! What a perfect springtime pick!

After lots of calling around to different grocery stores, I was finally able to find rhubarb at Krogers! It was so red and fresh, I couldn't wait to make this dessert. One pound of rhubarb all chopped up sure looks like a lot!

The crisp topping (and bottom) came together easily, I think the toughest part was chopping up the ginger, and even that wasn't too difficult with some kitchen shears.

Mmm, love those crisp toppings!

The only change I made to the recipe was to bake it in an 11 by 7 glass baking dish instead of the standard square dish. I think all of the rhubarb filled up the bigger dish just perfectly.

And here is the beautiful double crisp fresh out of the oven. It was so yummy! Only my two boys tried it with me, picky husband would not try it and my daughter is at school, but I think she will love it. My two boys really enjoyed this dish and my five year old kept asking if I would remember to make this one again :) I loved it, fruit desserts are my favorite and this one was delicious!

Strawberry Mango Spring Rolls

I made Giada's Fruit Spring Rolls recently and thought they would be perfect for I Heart Cooking Clubs' theme of the week, Spring Fever. These are a fun springtime snack and were quickly gobbled up by my little ones.


Strawberry Mango Spring Rolls

slightly adapted from Giada's recipe

1 1/2 cups cooked Pad Thai noodles, cooled and drained*
1/4 cup honey
1/4 packed cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
6 (8-inch) rice paper rounds
6 medium strawberries, stemmed
1 mango, halved, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

For the rolls: Put the noodles in a medium bowl and add the honey and the mint.

Using 2 forks, toss the ingredients together until the noodles are coated. Lay a damp kitchen or paper towel on a work surface. Soak a rice paper round in warm water for 20 to 30 seconds until softened. Put the rice paper on the damp towel. Add 1/4 cup of the noodle mixture in the center of the rice paper and form into a 3 by 2-inch rectangle. Using a paring knife, slice a strawberry lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices.

Arrange the slices over the noodle mixture. Arrange 2 to 3 mango slices on top. Roll the rice paper around the filling and seal the ends with a little water. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Wrap the finished spring rolls in damp paper towels and store in the refrigerator. End of recipe.

Happy taste taster above, the kids had fun disassembling the spring rolls and eating all of the parts separately :) These were a neat new twist on the spring roll. I had most of the ingredients on hand, only having to buy the strawberries, mangoes, and mint. I order the Pad Thai noodles in bulk on amazon, and I have a ton of the spring roll wrappers that I had ordered online last year, and have only made one batch of rolls (Vietnamese Spring Rolls) with, so it was good to use some of those up. I will be on the lookout for more Spring/Summer Roll recipes (or any recipe to use these wrappers up) so if you have a favorite, please share!

Tender Shortcakes -- Tuesdays with Dorie Rewind

Time for a Tuesdays with Dorie rewind -- Tender Shortcakes! This was our pick back in June thanks to Cathy at Tortefeasor, you can find the delicious recipe here at Cathy's site.

We love strawberry shortcakes at our house, and while they are nice in the summer with some simple macerated berries, they are also a great winter treat with some warm cooked strawberry sauce from frozen berries (or fresh if you can find decent ones this time of the year). Dorie's shortcake recipe was delicious, perfectly tender and a touch crumbly, just perfect for soaking up all of those yummy berry juices.


Wishing you and yours a wonderful New Year! I have a blogging resolution to be a little more consistent since I've really missed keeping up with everyone these past couple of months. See you soon :)

Simple Strawberry Jam

This delicious treat started last summer when I made my first homemade jam. I found this recipe at allrecipes and it turned out perfectly. I have not canned before and was a little too nervous about it so I just put my jars in the freezer. We had amazing strawberry jam up until a couple of weeks ago thanks to pulling a jar from the freezer whenever we ran out. I can't wait to make jam again next summer after a fun family day picking strawberries at the patch.

Simple Strawberry Jam

from allrecipes

2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled
4 cups white sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

In a wide bowl, crush strawberries in batches until you have 4 cups of mashed berry. I didn't mash mine, just left them whole for a chunkier jam.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil.

Boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F (105 degrees C). Transfer to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace, and seal. Process in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don't bother with processing, and just refrigerate. I just put the jars in the freezer (the first one went in the fridge) and pulled them out as needed.

Sweet Melissa French Pancakes

Time again for Sweet Melissa Sundays, our treat today is crepes! Called Mom's French Pancakes in The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, this recipe is from author Melissa Murphy's great grandmother and loved by all in her family. Thank you to Jaime of Good Eats and Sweet Treats, who picked this recipe for us to try. You can find this recipe here at Jaime's blog if you do not have the book.


The kids and I absolutely love crepes and I was so happy to make this recipe because I hadn't made crepes in a long time. Picky husband doesn't like crepes, can you believe that? Apparently it's a texture thing, although I'm not sure how anyone could not enjoy a delicate crepe enveloping a plethora of filling combinations.


Sweet crepes, savory crepes, doesn't matter which to me, they have always been a favorite. If there are crepes on the menu at a restaurant I will probably order them. I'm especially fond of savory crepes, ricotta or vegetable filled, with a cream or red sauce...mmm.

I used to try to make crepes on my own without much success, then about five years ago I got the VillaWare Grand Crepe Maker and have enjoyed using it since. I don't know if they still make the "Grand" crepe maker -- that makes 10 inch crepes, but I know a smaller model VillaWare Crepe Maker is available -- which makes 7 and 1/2 inch crepes.

I know I'm a bit of a kitchen gadget junkie but I have to give props to this little contraption for helping my crepes come out beautifully every time :)


This recipe is really simple and comes together in a blender, much like my favorite crepe recipe from Alton Brown does. The end result are beautiful crepes, an empty canvas for whatever sweet topping you can think up. I went traditional with these since I had some extra strawberry sauce I had made a few days earlier for strawberry shortcake sitting in the fridge. Simply filled with whipped cream, topped with strawberry sauce and a dusting of powdered sugar, these were a delicious brunch treat.


I did made one tiny change -- the recipe calls for 1 and 1/2 cups whole milk, instead I used 1 cup skim milk and 1/2 cup cream -- which in my mind pretty much equals whole milk anyway, right? ;) The kids absolutely loved these, as did I -- what a wonderful treat!

Simple Strawberry Sauce

4 cups fresh hulled and thinly sliced strawberries

about 1/2 cup white sugar (you might need more depending on how sweet your berries are, adjust to taste)

Toss strawberries in sugar and put in a covered container in the fridge. Leave them to macerate in the fridge for 12-48 hours before serving. -- If you do not have time to wait, you can microwave your sugared strawberries for about 2 minutes, while that will not release as much of the juices, you should still have a decent sauce.

Apple Apple Bread Pudding & Classic Strawberry Tart

This week for Tuesday's with Dorie, Elizabeth at Cake or Death? decided on Apple Apple Bread Pudding as our treat to try. Thank you Elizabeth, I absolutely loved this delicioius bread pudding! I am a new fan of bread pudding, I used to be scared off by soggy bread and eggy custard, but have found a "formula" to adapt recipes for those of us who still think bread pudding sounds good -- but would prefer it a little more solid. When we made the Chocolate Bread Pudding for Tuesdays with Dorie I tried using 3/4 recipe of the bread and 1/2 recipe of the custard, so more bread and less custard. Now I do that with any bread puddding recipe I try, and I've been pleasantly surprised with every bread pudding that comes out of my oven.


I used homemade brioche and crock pot apple butter (made with apple sauce) for this recipe. The apple butter was great and I'd never even thought about making it on my own before this TWD pick. I do love the stuff and have fond memories of it, Mussleman's Apple Butter had been a pantry staple growing up and I loved it on bagels as a kid. Nice to know I can now make my own, and next time around, it will hopefully be with homemade apple sauce :)


Was this how the bread was supposed to be placed? Since I only used 9 ounces of bread and overlapped a little more than I should have, I didn't have enough bread to sandwich the caramelized apples, so I just put them on top, and broke up my last piece of brioche and stuffed it in around the edges.

Whoa Nellie, that's a lot of custard, and that's after halving the custard recipe!

Not to worry, it baked up perfectly! What a yummy dessert, I thought it was especially delicious with some whipped cream and grade B maple syrup, mmm. Sadly, I couldn't convince picky husband on this one, and the kids only liked the apples and picked them out, oh-well.


Last but not least a quick photo of the Quick Classic Berry Tart, picked for us to try last Tuesday by Cristine of Cooking with Cristine -- so sorry I didn't get a chance to post this last week even though I baked along. Picky husband liked it, although he did say it wasn't as good as strawberry shortcake, and the tart was a huge hit with the kids :)

Peanut Butter Truffles & Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler Pie

It's Sunday -- time for Sweet Melissa Sundays! I missed posting last Sunday so I have two treats to share from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book by Melissa Murphy. First off, for this week's selection, Mara of Love Your Mother picked these decadent Peanut Butter Truffles (recipe here). A big thank you to Mara, who has an amazing craft and food blog, very fun!

This recipe had me racking my brain, trying to remember the last time I made truffles, and I don't think I've ever really made them before! I've done different kinds of coated candies but never true truffles. This recipe didn't work out perfectly for me, I got a few decent truffles, after letting the truffle mixture sit in the fridge for six hours (recipe recommends two) my truffle mixture was still too soft to roll. I popped it in the freezer for a little bit, and ended up firming it up enough to be able to roll some truffle balls. As soon as they were rolled, you could tell they needed to go back in the freezer, they were flattening and just too soft.

In the recipe you are to roll the truffle directly into chopped peanuts, but I decided to do a candy coating (wilton candy melts) since they were so soft, and then sprinkle the peanuts on the candy coating shell. This worked for about 7 truffles, before the balls were too soft to coat in the candy coating, getting all gloppy and just making a mess. Kind of disappointed in my attempt at these, I should have been able to make 50 or so truffles with all of the ingredients but most ended up tossed out because they were just too soft. Now I'm thinking I could probably have beat in some powdered sugar to stiffen them up, oh-well. I'm pretty sure the other Sweet Melissa Sunday bakers had a better go with these. At least I did get a pretty few to photograph, and of course they were delicious :)

Last week's recipe was an amazing Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler Pie picked for us to try by Tracey of Tracey’s Culinary Adventures, you can find the recipe here at Tracey's site, along with some amazing food photography :)

I absolutely love fruit desserts, and putting a biscuit cobbler topping on a pie is a genius idea! I had so much fun making this recipe. The end result was oh so delicious, but quite a bit runnier than I typically like my pies. I even doubled the cornstarch before baking because I noted others had trouble with the pie being too runny on the SMS site, to no avail. It was still enjoyed and I'm for sure going to try a cobbler pie again :)