INDIVIDUAL FRUIT PIZZA

 This is the second time I've made these and it's been a hit both times.    It starts with a homemade sugar cookie.  Rather than using a store bought variety of cream cheese dip, I chose to make my own version as well.  Here's what you need to know if you'd like to make these.

I used a sugar cookie recipe that I found in my Mom's cookbook.  It's the Sugar Drop Cookies from the "Joy of Cooking" cookbook.  

INGREDIENTS:

2 ½ cups flour

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup cooking oil

2 eggs 

1 tsp. vanilla *

*I like almond flavoring, so I went with ½ tsp. vanilla and ½ tsp. almond extract

DIRECTIONS:

Sift all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine 1 cup sugar and 3/4 cup cooking oil.  Beat the sugar and oil together until well combined using a mixer.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate after each is added.  Add extract(s). 

Add the dry ingredients all at once and beat well.  Shape the dough into ½ inch balls.  Dip the balls in granulated sugar.  You can also choose to flatten them with your finger to the desired size as I did.   I tried a couple from the "ball" stage to see how much they flattened, and they do stay pretty plump, but they were nice and soft.  

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  I will tell you, this timeframe was way too long.  I like softer cookies, and in the case of this dessert, they should be soft (maybe a little golden on the edges).  Next time I'm going to check them at about 8 minutes and make my decision from there.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 oz. package of cream cheese

7 oz. marshmallow fluff or Jet Puff marshmallow creme (this is what I found in my grocery)

Soften the cream cheese and mix the two ingredients together with a mixer.  That's it!!  It's so perfect for this....a little sweet, but it does not overpower the fruit which is the real star of the show.

As for the fruit, that's totally up to you.  Strawberries, blackberries, mandarin oranges and kiwi are definitely my "go to".   This time I also added some mango.  Then just have fun "creating" your very own design. 

Refrigerate before serving.  My husband actually loves these even the day after, since the cookie softens up even further.  Just cover them with plastic wrap if storing overnight.  I keep them on the cookie sheet so the plastic wrap is suspended above the cookies.  

Enjoy!

BRUGGE (PARIS and LONDON)

This year's Mother/Daughter trip was another one for the books and came together in a very unusual way.  I actually had another trip completely planned, when my daughter approached me about going to Paris.  Reason being, the Louvre in Paris was hosting its first ever fashion exhibit from January-July, and she wanted me to be able to see it.    Since we had both been to Paris, I decided we could head there to see the exhibit and then add some additional cities to round out our trip.  I had always wanted to visit Brugge, Belgium and thought finishing our trip in London, more specifically to Windsor castle would make a great trip!   So with eight weeks notice, I was able to cancel the other trip and confirm this itinerary instead. 

 

Our first city was Paris.  I knew that I wanted to see Notre Dame since it had just reopened (on December 7, 2024) after the 2019 fire.  The last time we were in Paris, it was closed for repairs.  And my first time I was there was so long ago (I was in either high school or college) it was a blur.  I had forgotten how huge it is and the interior was gleaming due to the renovation!                                                                                                                                                                          

I also knew that I wanted to take a Seine river cruise since I'd not done that on my previous visits.  I thought a sunset cruise would be pretty.  It was beyond pretty!  We booked an 8pm cruise and experienced the most beautiful sunset and just as the trip was coming to an end, the Eiffel tower lit up and started twinkling.                             

The haute couture exhibit at the Louvre was amazing.  It was staged on the first floor of the Richelieu wing of the Louvre.  Nearly 9,000-square-meters of the Decorative Arts wing was transformed into a walkable fashion mood board.  Over 70 garments; rare loans and archival contributions, from 45 houses set against the Louvre's immense catalogue of paintings, furniture, and decorative objects from the Middle Ages through the 19th century were included.                                                                            

 The following day we were on a Eurotrain to Brussels, followed by a regional train to Brugge.  We checked into our hotel mid-afternoon, and headed out to find a bite to eat.  It felt like we stepped into a fairytale city!  I absolutely fell in love with Brugge.  It's such a lovely city, with more than 30 churches.. Of those 30 churches, 14 still hold weekly masses, and 13 are open for public visits. There were a total of 25 windmills in Brugge....4 remain today.  Most notably and deliciously....there are over 90 dedicated chocolate shops!  It was so quaint, easily walkable and every corner you turned was a picture postcard.  

                    

From Brugge, we left for London by regional train to Brussels and then the Eurostar (35 minutes of the trip is underwater through the Chunnel) to London.  We ran around the afternoon we arrived to take in some sights (with intermittent rain).    Our big adventure was the following day when we went to see Windsor castle. 

I thoroughly enjoyed our Windsor visit.  Can't say I wasn't disappointed that no pictures allowed in the castle or St. George's chapel.  I had booked afternoon tea after our Windsor visit and then finished that whirlwind part of the trip with an evening out at the theatre.  

It was an amazing trip.   Memories galore and "bucket list" items that I'm thrilled that I got to take advantage of.

Until next year.........

HOMEMADE CALZONES

 One of the fun dinners we've had with the family is "build your own calzones".  This is the first time though, that I decided to make homemade pizza dough for the occasion.   It certainly isn't difficult to do, and it sure elevated things.

This is the Pizza/Calzone dough recipe that I used......

INGREDIENTS:

1 ¼ cup warm water, no hotter than 110 degrees F

1 Tbsp. honey

2 tsp. active dry yeast

3 cups all purpose flour

1 ½ tsp kosher salt (or 1 tsp table salt)

2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided use 

DIRECTIONS:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the lukewarm water with the honey and stir to incorporate.  Stir the yeast into the water/honey until it begins to dissolve.  Set aside until the yeast becomes foamy, about 8-10 minutes. 
• Add the flour, salt, and oil to the foamy yeast.  Stir by hand with the dough hook of your mixer, or a dough whisk until a shaggy dough forms.
• Place the dough hook and bowl on the stand mixer and knead on medium speed until a smooth elastic dough forms, fully releasing from the bowl's sides.  4-5 minutes.  Add a little flour as necessary if it's too sticky.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and drizzle olive oil into it.  Place the dough back in the bowl and turn it to coat in the oil.  Wrap with plastic wrap and allow the dough to double for one hour, in a draft free and warm area.
• Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and portion it out into 4 equal portions of dough.  Form the dough into 4 round balls, place them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.  Allow the dough balls to proof once again for 30 minutes.  

As for assembly.....using your fingers (or a rolling pin, if you prefer) spread the dough into an 8" circle.

Add pizza or marinara sauce, and filling options to half of the circle.  Wet the entire edge of the circle with water.  Fold over the empty side and secure the two edges together by pressing, crimping, or using a fork tine.  

Cut 3 small slits in the top.  Brush with an egg wash to allow for a golden brown finish.  Place in a 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. 

Spread the top with melted garlic butter, and some parmesan.    Serve with additional sauce for dipping.

Enjoy!

LEMON BLUEBERRY CREAM CHEESE COFFEE CAKE

 I'm a sucker for a good blueberry coffee cake and this one, which not only has blueberries, but cream cheese, sounded like the perfect combination for an upcoming brunch.  Oh and let's not forget a healthy streusel topping.   I mean.......

I have to tell you it was absolutely delicious.  But, I also need to tell you it takes some prep time and a lot of bowls!  Because it's made in a springform pan, it's large.  You'll get 12 good size servings....which in my case, meant leftovers.......so all the effort was worth being able to enjoy more than one serving.

Also, for all my high altitude bakers....I made no adjustments and she turned out just great.

INGREDIENTS:

Crumb Topping:

½ cup melted butter

1 ½ cups flour

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Cake:

¼ cup melted butter

¼ cup canola oil

1 cup granulated sugar 

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup plain yogurt, or sour cream

¼ cup lemon juice

2 Tbsp. lemon zest

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries*  

Cream Cheese Filling:

1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese

¼ cup sugar

1 large egg

zest from one lemon

Lemon Glaze:

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

*if using fresh, reduce oil to 2 Tbsp. 

DIRECTIONS:

Make the crumble:

• In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, flour, sugar and vanilla until crumbly.  Set aside.

Make the cake:

• In a large bowl, whisk together butter, oil and sugar for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the eggs, vanilla, yogurt, lemon juice and zest.  Whisk until combined.
• Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Stir until just combined.  Stir in blueberries.  Set aside. 

Cream Cheese Filling:

• With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and zest until smooth.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9-10" springform pan with parchment (lay it in the base and close the sides around it with the paper sticking out the bottom) and spray with non-stick spray. 

Assemble and Bake

• Spread ½ the cake batter into the bottom of the prepared pan.
• Spread cream cheese filling in the center...try to stay away from the edge of the pan if possible
• Top with remaining cake batter and spread to cover as much of the cream cheese as possible.
• Sprinkle the crumb topping over the top.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes, or until center is set and does not jiggle when moved.  It's a very moist cake, so don't worry about baking so long. It could take up to 80 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let cool before glazing the top

Lemon Glaze

• Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice
• Drizzle glaze over the top

 Enjoy!

recipe c/o: the reciperebel.com

PAINT PROJECT

 I'm sure you've found as I have, an item that would be really cute as a home accent.....but it doesn't quite match your color scheme.  I can't tell you the number of times, I've re-painted or re-purposed things over the years.  And this past year was no exception.

I found these cute wall accents at Hobby Lobby.  But, I just felt like they needed a little something. There was so much I liked about them, but I felt I really needed to make them my own.  

The picture to the right is how they looked when I found them.  The top picture is what I did to them to liven them up a bit.  I added a narrow white border and brought the flowers to life with some white/green craft paint.  I like how it emphasizes them and enhances the 3d aspect which is what I really loved about them.  

The picture below is the kitchen wall that I added them to.  I already had the succulents in place, and adding these really pulled it all together and took the whole wall "up a notch."    Wouldn't you agree?