My apologies for the severe lack of new recipes for several weeks! I've been busy between working and baking cookies! But it's time to resume the good old blog, and a classic Strawberry Pie recipe seems to be fitting for this time of year. This is one my mom makes every spring and summer. We're having it on Easter, which is always a great way to round out the Easter dinner. Fresh strawberries...mmmm....just makes me excited for summer!
Fresh Strawberry Pie
(serves 8)
1 quart fresh strawberries
1 refrigerated pie crust
1 cup sugar
3 T. cornstarch
3/4 cup water
Reddi-whip
Arrange half of strawberries in baked pastry shell. Mash remaining berries and combine with sugar in a medium saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water. Gradually stir cornstarch mixture into boiling strawberry mixture. Reduce heat and simmer mixture until thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour mixture over berries in pastry shell. Chill for several hours before serving. Top with whipped cream.
Okay, so the weather in Pittsburgh today is BEAUTIFUL. Spring, finally!! Since the sun is out and it's actually warm, I was reminded of an old favorite recipe that features lots of spring and summer fruit. Ever heard of fruit pizza? The "crust" is actually made out of sugar cookie dough and you top it with cream cheese and whatever fruit you want. It's pretty fantastic and great for this time of the year. It's one of those recipes that looks fairly impressive to take to a picnic or party...but it's actually very simple to make. Enjoy!
Fruit Pizza
(serves 8)
1 (18 ounce) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries, mandarin oranges, bananas (whatever fruit you want!)
Glaze:
1/2 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slice cookie dough and arrange on greased pizza pan, overlapping edges. Press dough flat into pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool.
In a large bowl, soften cream cheese, then fold in the whipped topping. Spread over cooled crust. You can chill for a while at this point, or continue by arranging the fruit.
Begin with strawberries, sliced in half. Arrange in a circle around the outside edge. Continue with fruit of your choice, working towards the middle. If bananas are used, dip them in lemon juice so they don't darken. Then make a sauce to spoon over fruit.
In a saucepan, combine sugar, salt, corn starch, orange juice, lemon juice and water. Cook and stir over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat, and add grated orange rind. Allow to cool, but not set up. Spoon over fruit. Chill for two hours, then cut into wedges and serve.
This is coffee cake at its best. I didn't know what a "buckle" was in relation to baking until I found this recipe...and it's basically a coffee cake with fruit and a crumb topping. Even though it's not blueberry season yet, you can still buy average store-brand blueberries and this still tastes great. I'm posting this recipe because I'm more than ready for warm weather and fresh summer berries! I found this one on allrecipes.com and it was a hit with my family. When I make this, I replace the shortening with butter, use EggBeaters and SplendaBlend to lighten it up and I sometimes add some oatmeal to the topping. You could easily substitute raspberries here too, but I think the blueberries are hard to beat!
Blueberry Buckle
(serves 10)
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup shortening (I use butter instead)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease one 8x8 inch pan.
Cream together 3/4 cup sugar, shortening, and egg.
In a separate bowl mix together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into sugar mixture, alternating with milk. Stir in blueberries. Pour into greased 8x8 inch pan.
To make topping: Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, cinnamon, and butter. Sprinkle over cake batter.
Bake at 375 degree F (190 degrees C) for 25-30 minutes.
Even though I was going to post a savory recipe to counteract yesterday's cheesecake, I just can't wait any longer to post this little gem. It looks so simple that most people wouldn't try it because they'd probably figure it wasn't anything special. They'd be wrong, though. This is a favorite of mine because I am a huge whipped cream fan and pineapple is one of my favorite fruits. Oh and did I mention there are pretzels in it? All of this equals a winning combination.
While it sounds like a summer dessert, you really can make it any time of year since it takes canned pineapple. And since Spring is around the corner...I hope...all the more reason to make this dessert. (Warning: you can't just have a small amount of this...it's very addictive!)
PIneapple Fluff
(Serves 6)
1 cup coarsely crushed pretzels
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 cup sugar, divided
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
In a bowl, combine pretzels, butter and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees F for 7 minutes. Cool.
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and remaining sugar until creamy. Fold in pineapple and whipped topping; chill until serving. Break pretzel mixture into small pieces; stir into pineapple mixture.
