Blueberry Tart

I actually made this tart two days in a row. Once for myself and the girls in my family and again today for one of my friends. It’s amazingly refreshing and surprisingly simple.

Here’s the recipe- adapted from Real Simple Magazine

1 8 oz. sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 large egg, beaten

1 TBSP granulated sugar

4 oz. Cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

3 TBSP confectioners’ sugar

2 cups blueberries

Heat oven to 375F. On a lightly floured surface, unfold the pastry and roll it into a 10 by 12 inch rectangle. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using the tip of a knife, score a 1-inch border around the pastry without cutting all the way through. Brush the border with the egg and sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Bake until golden and puffed, 18-22 minutes. After it is baked, take a knife and rescore the border without cutting all the way through. Gently press down the center of the pastry sheet to flatten it and let it cool to room temperature, 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, in an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the cream, zest , and 2 TBSP of confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth. Spread the mixture evenly within the borders of the pastry. Sprinkle blueberries over the filling and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of confectioners’ sugar. Enjoy!

Perfect Peach Pie

I don’t like to use the word perfect that often. It’s just not something I throw around in order to sound cool. The other day a friend dropped off a tray of gorgeous, ripe peaches and told me to make something with them. How sweet is that? I thought about the many different things I could do with these amazing peaches, but I just had to make another pie. Here you go everyone. If you want to “wow” your friends with the simplicity of a perfect fruity pie, this recipe is for you.

Perfect Peach Pie Recipe
- Pastry for 2 crust pie, ready in pan to bake
- juice of 1/2 large lemon
- 6 or 7 large peaches, peeled, sliced
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 TBSP. cornstarch

Preheat oven to 400F
Mix sliced peaches into lemon juice to keep them from darkening. Mix together sugar and cornstarch and pour over the peaches ( Mixture will become “soupy”). When oven is hot, pour the mixture into the pie shell and either lattice or put the second crust on top. Cut some slits in the pie and sprinkle sugar on top. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes and then reduce temperature to 350F and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes. Oven times do vary. I ended up baking my pie for close to 45 minutes because my crust was a little thicker. Then let cool on a cooling rack for 2-3 hours. Then slice, serve and try not to eat it to fast!

Lemon Whoopie Pies

Well, today has been such a memorable day. My good friend had a baby girl this morning and I celebrated by making lemon whoopie pies and zucchini muffins. We’re starting today with the lemon pie recipe. I have honestly never tried a traditional whoopie pie. I am so tempted every time I turn the corner in the bakery and see one wrapped in its box waiting for me to eat, but I have never worked up the courage. It’s a monster of a cookie. I made my version a little smaller. Well 1/3 of the normal size. You can do whatever you like because I am sure you are going to not have a problem with eating these delicious morsels of goodness.

Lemon Whoopie Pies- Adapted from Joy the Baker

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) usalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons finely grated lemon zest

1 large egg

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk (although whole milk with work just fine)

Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Position a rack in the middle of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest until smooth, about 3 minutes.  Stop the mixer to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during the mixing.  Add the egg, lemon juice and vanilla, mixing until blended, about 1 minute.  The batter may look curdled.  On low speed, add half of the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it.  Mix in the buttermilk.  Mix in the remaining flour mixture just until it is incorporated and the batter looks smooth again.

Drop heaping tablespoons (about 3 level Tablespoons each for a giant cookie or for a smaller cookie drop a teaspoonful size) of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 3 inches apart.  Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops feel firm, about 12 minutes.  With the exception of a time line at the edges, the tops of the cookies should not brown.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy the goodness!

Peanut Butter Bars

I really did have a reason to make these. We were going over for dinner at a friends’ house and they requested something “peanut buttery” for dessert. I finally decided on the decadence of chocolate and peanut butter combo. And boy was it a hit! Even if I didn’t have a reason to make them, they would still be perfect for any random day.

Peanut Butter Bars- adapted from allrecipes

• 1 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 15 large crackers)
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 5 tablespoons peanut butter

Mix melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, peanut butter and press into the bottom of an ungreased 9×13 pan. Chill in the refrigerator while you melt the chocolate and 5 TBSP. peanut butter. Spread evenly over peanut butter mixture and refrigerate until hardened. Slice into small squares and serve with delight!

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