Using Up Summer Berries

Yesterday I noticed that we had soooooo many fresh berries that were on the verge of going bad, so I decided to make a simple berry crisp to use some up! It was a perfect easy summer dessert that involves almost no prep work!

Fresh Summer Berry Crisp

2 c. fresh summer berries (strawberries, blueberries, cherries, blackberries, raspberries, etc.)

1/2 c. flour

3/4 c. light brown sugar

1/3 c. instant oats

1/2 tsp. sea salt

3 tbsp. butter, cut into about 9 pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Prep berries by rinsing them, and halving cherries/blackberries and quartering strawberries. For my crisp I used a combo of strawberries, blueberries, and cherries.
3. Pour berries into an 8x8" glass baking dish or an 8" round (oven-safe) souffle dish (what I used).
4. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together flour, sugar, oats, and salt until ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
5. Sprinkle the flour mixture evenly over berries, and top with pieces of butter .
6. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the crisp topping is golden-brown.

It may not be beautiful, but it is so tasty and especially good eaten warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! The perfect summer treat - warm/cold, gooey/crispy, and tart/sweet! Yummy!

Buon Appetito Tutti!

Dark Chocolate Goodness

So, I admit...I've been a bit lazy about posting/baking recently because I have been completely wrapped up in watching Wimbledon! We also have a plethora of baked goods in the house right now that are getting finished, so I don't think we have room for any more at the moment! However, I do have a batch of cookie dough I just made chilling in the fridge right now to cook tomorrow and am so excited for it! For now, though, an older recipe which I found a while ago that is soooo good and satisfies even the most intense chocolate cravings:

Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies

yield: about 16 cookies

1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1/4 c. butter

1/2 tbsp. ghiradelli mocha hot chocolate mix (or instant coffee)

1 1/2 tbsp. cocoa powder

just under 3/4 c. sugar

1 egg

1/2 c. flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. semisweet chocolate, chopped into chunks

1/4 c. dried cherries, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Melt unsweetened chocolate, butter, mocha, and 2 tbsp. semisweet chocolate in the microwave for 40 secs, stir, then for 15 secs more.
3. Beat eggs and sugar in a bowl - stop when mixture is thick, creamy, and lemon-colored.
4. Add chocolate mixture to the egg mixture.
5. Sift flour and baking soda over liquid mixture. Add vanilla and cocoa powder, and mix until well-combined.
6. Fold in semisweet chocolate chunks and dried cherries.
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until tops are puffed and cracked.

These cookies are reeeeeeally rich and great for any dark chocolate lover! They are even better after the dough is refrigerated for 12-36 hours, as it yields a denser, fudgier cookie!

Enjoy!

Banana Bread with a twist

This morning I woke up craving something with bananas in it, and knew exactly what I wanted to make! The other day I saw a recipe for blueberry-banana bread on the blog Fat Free Vegan Kitchen and thought that sounded really good! Since I didn't have any blueberries on hand, but I did have a bunch of cherries, I decided to change the recipe a bit so I could use fresh cherries in it! So...here's my slightly altered version:

Cherry Almond Banana Bread

3 large over-ripe bananas
2 tbsp. lemon juice (juice of 1/2 lemon)
1/3 c. apple sauce
1/2 c. sugar

1 tbsp. honey
2 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. cherries, pitted and quartered

1/3 c. slivered almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with oil.In a large bowl, mash the bananas and add the lemon juice, applesauce, sugar, and honey. Stir well to combine.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture, and stir just until the mixture is well-combined. Fold in the cherries and almonds.
4. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.

Notes: The bread turned out really well, but next time I think I would use either white whole wheat flour, or 1c. whole wheat flour and 1 c. all-purpose flour. I also think it might taste good to use 1/4 c. granulated sugar and 1/4 c. light brown sugar instead of 1/2 c. granulated sugar.

All in all this bread turned out well, and is a great healthy breakfast bread utilizing fresh summer cherries!