My holiday break left me feeling very refreshed and optimistic about the year to come.  There is something about spending time with family and friends that just seems  to re-center me and remind me of what is truly important in life.  It is our relationships and how we treat each other that makes our lives meaningful and that will leave a lasting impression after we are gone.

With my job, I get to develop at least 10 new relationships every 4 months or so and I just love it because I always get to interact with different personalities.  Have you ever met someone and you are just instantly drawn to that person because he or she seems to exude a positive energy and attitude?  That is the type of person I strive to be.  Some people would consider this to be a negative desire.  They would say that “you cannot please everyone and this is an unrealistic goal”.  But getting everyone to like me is not what I mean.  I know and accept that not every single person that I interact with will like me.  But regardless of how they feel about me, I can sleep well at night knowing that I treated people nicely that day.  I think if we all made a small effort to be conscious of the way that we communicate with others  and do some simple good deeds, it could greatly improve the condition of our society.

Hold the door for someone behind you.  Ask someone if they need help carrying their groceries.  Tell someone that you appreciate their service.  You do not have to be rich or Mother Teresa to make a difference.

Ok, I will get off of my soapbox now and move on to the sweet of the day.

I love recipes that are fairly simple but result in something that looks fancy and impressive and tastes delicious.  When I saw recipes for these pastry braids over at Willow Bird Baking I hoped that the recipe was as easy as it seemed and that the resulting pastry was as yummy as it looked.  I was not disappointed.  The filling in my braid was a simple mixture of strawberry preserves and frozen blueberries, but you could really be creative and use anything you can think of to fill it (i.e. apple butter, nutella, fresh or frozen fruit, etc.).

The pastry itself is flakey and pie-crust-like and it is scrumptious when drizzled with a simply glaze and eaten warm out of the oven.

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Strawberry-filled Pastry Braid

by adapted from Willow Bird Baking

Keywords: bake breakfast dessert bread fruit pastry

Ingredients

For the pastry and filling

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup strawberry preserves (or filling of your choice)

For the glaze

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp of milk
• 1/2 tsp almond extract

Instructions

For the pastry and filling

Preheat oven to 425 and grease a baking sheet.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

Add butter and cream cheese and pulse to combine.

Add milk and extract and pulse again until the dough just comes together.

Place dough onto floured work surface and knead gently for 15 seconds.

Roll out dough between to pieces of wax paper and form into long rectangle.

Remove top sheet of wax paper and flip rolled-out dough onto prepared baking sheet.

Mentally divide the dough into 3 equal sections lengthwise. The filling will be placed in the middle section, but before placing the filling, cut the outer thirds of dough diagonally in 1 1/2 inch strips.

Place filling in middle third leaving 1/2 inch between the filling and the strips.

Fold the strips over alternating sides to give the dough the braided appearance.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes or until pastry is lightly browned.

For the glaze

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and almond to make the glaze.

Pour over warm pastry and serve.

NOTE: The pastry may be formed a day ahead without baking and then kept in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap until ready to bake.

Powered by Recipage

 combine flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor

add butter and cream cheese and pulse to combine

add other ingredients and pulse into a loose dough, then turn out onto floured work surface and knead for 15 seconds

roll out dough between two sheets of was paper until long rectangle is formed and place formed dough onto baking sheet

cut outer thirds of dough into 1 1/2-inch strips at a diagonal

place filling in the center leaving 1/2 inch between filling and cut strips

fold strips over on top of the filling alternating sides to give the braided appearance

 bake about 15 minutes or until lightly browned

make glaze and pour over warm pastry

slice and enjoy while still warm (or re-warm)

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The heat has been sweltering here in Minneapolis.  Not to mention the humidity.  When I walk outside and immediately feel like I am in a sauna, rich ooey gooey treats do not sound as appealing to me.  Instead I crave cooling treats with fresh summer fruits.

This fruit tart is one of my husband’s favorite desserts.  I like it because decorating it makes me feel like an artist and it allows me to let my creative juices flow.   The tart starts off with the recipe that I use at Christmastime for cut-out sugar cookies.   When this dough is pressed into a baking sheet, the end result is a perfectly thick and chewy cookie crust.  I top the perfect sugar cookie crust with a cream cheese frosting smear and at that point, it is a blank canvas for whatever fruit toppings I have chosen.  Finally, a simple fruit preserves glaze and it looks like it could grace the cover of a food magazine.  Ok, maybe not, but it really will impress your friends and family!

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Fruit Tart

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: bake dessert snack fruit cream cheese cookie

Ingredients

For the crust

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 3/4 cups flour

For the cream cheese frosting

• 1 package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla

For the glaze

• 1/4 cup apricot or peach preserves
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions

For the crust

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Combine flour and baking powder in medium bowl

With mixer on medium speed, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy

Add eggs and vanilla

Add dry ingredients in three additions, scraping down sides of bowl as needed (DO NOT chill this dough)

Roll out dough onto floured surface and then press dough into baking sheet

Bake 12 minutes or until lightly browned

For the cream cheese frosting

Mix cream cheese and vanilla using mixer and then add sugars; mix until smooth and creamy

For the glaze

Heat preserves and water in saucepan stirring until combined

Strain through mesh strainer to remove and fruit pieces from preserves

Cool

Assembly

After crust is completely cooled, spread frosting onto crust

Arrange fruit (be creative-this is where it becomes your work of art!)

Drizzle cooled glaze over fruit

Can be refrigerated or served immediately

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And the best part is that when you are finished there is inevitably going to be left over fruit and maybe just a spoonful of frosting……

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My dad recently returned from a fishing trip in Alaska.   Last weekend we were at the family lake cabin again and got to indulge in his fresh catches.  While dinner was being made, I was thinking about dessert (you know me and my sweet tooth).  I wanted something light and refreshing to compliment the lovely fresh fish and I did not want to go to the grocery store.  With plenty of fresh fruit around, I decided to make a galette.  The beautiful thing about this dessert is that you can make it with whatever fresh fruit you have on hand regardless of the time of year.  In the fall and winter it is wonderful with apples or pears and in the spring and summer the sky is the limit:  peaches, plums, nectarines, berries, etc.  So while preparations for the fish feed were underway,

I whipped up my favorite pastry dough, pâte brisée, sliced some nectarines, rinsed some berries and while we devoured the fresh salmon and halibut, dessert baked in the oven.  To top of this simple summer delight, I made some ginger whipped cream.

Pâte brisée                      (Recipe from Martha Stewart)

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water

1. Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined.    Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 5 seconds.
2. Drizzle water evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture just begins to hold together, about 10 seconds. (Dough should not be wet or sticky.) Press dough into 1 large disk (for mini pies) or 2 small disks (for large pie), and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or overnight.

(I was at the lake cabin and therefore did not have a food processor so I used my hands which worked just fine.)

Roll out dough on floured work surface

Place dough onto parchment-lined baking sheet

For the filling:

• 4 cups of your fruit of choice
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1/3 cup sugar

Mix ingredients and pour or arrange fruit over pastry crust

 Fold crust over partially covering fruit working in a circle

Brush top of pastry with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar

Bake at 450° for 20 minutes or until golden brown

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream (for my ginger whipped cream, mix 1 cup whipping cream, 1 tsp ginger paste and 1/2 cup powdered sugar with a mixer until medium to firm peaks form)

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Hello sweet teeth!

My husband ASKED me to BAKE last week.  No, you do not understand how significant this was.  I imagine that a lot of men would be thrilled to have a wife/girlfriend/significant other who is obsessed with all things food.  I know that my husband appreciates and enjoys the things that I make, but my culinary adventures are often met with comments such as, “Who is going to eat all of this?”  Or “Why would you make graham crackers when you can just buy them?”  So, as I mentioned, when he asked me to bake something for him to bring to work, I was shocked and excited!  He requested something “breakfast-y” and since I had just purchased two pints of plump, juicy blueberries, scones it was!

With all of the seasonal summer fruit coming to its’ peak, I find myself with even more excuses to bake.  I like to take advantage of the produce that we are only able to enjoy for a few short months out of the year in this part of the country.

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Blueberry Scones

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: bake breakfast blueberry scone

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 6 Tbsp cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
• 1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 eggs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400° and line baking sheet with parchment paper

In a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients

With a pastry cutter, blend in butter until the largest pieces are the size of peas

In another small bowl whisk eggs together with heavy cream

Make well in center of flour mixture and pour in wet mixture (save bowl that eggs and cream were mixed in)

Combine using a fork until dough just comes together

Mix in blueberries gently using hands

Place dough into floured round cake pan and pat down evenly (this allows easy shaping of the dough)

Turn formed dough out onto floured surface and cut like a pie into 8 equal pieces

Place scones on prepared baking sheet and brush with remnants of the egg and cream mixture

Bake 16-18 minutes until lightly golden brown

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(adapted from Martha Stewart)

Blend butter into dry ingredients

….until pea-sized pieces remain

Whisk together eggs and cream

Pour wet ingredients into well created in center of dry ingredients

Once dough comes together, gently mix in blueberries

Pat dough gently and evenly into prepared cake pan

Turn dough out of cake pan onto floured work surface

Cut into equal-sized pieces

Brush scones with remaining egg/cream mixture before baking

Bake until golden brown

Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

1. Blend powdered sugar and lemon juice until well-mixed (add more powdered sugar or lemon juice as necessary to thicken or thin glaze)
2. Drizzle glaze over cooled scones using a fork

Pass the Earl Grey please!

**My kitchen blooper of the day**

I made two batches of these scones and I ran out of baking powder after the first batch.  Luckily, I have a corner market across the street and so I ran over (covered in flour as usual) and quickly replenished my supply.  Before I purchased the baking powder, I looked at the expiration date (2012) which got me thinking about how long I have probably had my current baking powder.  Although I bake very often, the powder I ran out of had been a backup that I found in the back of my baking cupboard.  Well, let’s just say I recommend that you check your expiration dates!  Look at the difference between the scones made with the expired baking powder and the ones with the newly purchased powder!  They all tasted wonderful but, I learned my lesson.

Made with expired baking powder

Made with new baking powder

This recipe is linked here

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