recipe – Page 2

Holiday Baking with Land O’ Lakes Butter {Caramel Apple Pie Pops Recipe}

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Over the weekend I had my sister, best friend and their families over for a little holiday crafting date. Basically this translates to: my best friend brings some yummy food, I bake, my sister does all the crafting, the kids get to play and the husbands watch football. It was a great excuse to get everyone together even if that meant we barely got any real crafting done. We can partially blame that on the food coma and maybe a glass of wine (or two!)

The day before I stopped by Walmart to pick-up some last minute craft and baking supplies. The one thing about my refridgerator is that it is usually fully stocked with butter, I mean who doesn’t love butter? But, with all the holiday baking I have been doing lately I was all out of the good stuff. When I bake I make sure to use quality butter and always choose Land O’ Lakes.

Since going gluten-free over two months ago I have been brainstorming my baking list to see where I can make some changes with treats I enjoy. One of my favorite desserts during the holidays is my dutch apple pie. I tweaked the recipe slightly by taking away the crumb topping, added in mini caramel bits, switched the all-purpose flour to gluten-free flour and made them pops! They are so stinkin’ cute and taste that much sweeter. I would love to say that making them mini would stop me from eating more but I cannot. The crust is my favorite part! Land O’ Lakes butter makes the crust so flaky, delicate and perfectly crisp that you don’t even realize that it’s gluten-free.

Gluten-Free Caramel Apple Pie Pops Recipe

For the Crust:

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons guar or xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick Land O’ Lakes butter cut into pieces
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
lollipop sticks (optional)
Instructions:
In a food processor mix: gluten-free flour, sugar, guar or xanthan, baking powder, and salt. Cut in chilled butter.
In a separate bowl, combine: eggs and apple cider vinegar. Add to flour mixture and stir to blend. You may need to add a tablespoon or two of water to dough.
Gather dough into a ball, wrap, and refrigerate until slightly chilled.
The easiest way to roll out the dough is between layers of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Roll dough fairly thin, but thick enough so it does not tear. Using a biscuit cutter, cut an even amount of circles. Place the cut circles onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Place a lollipop stick half way onto the dough. I found red stripe sticks but plain sticks will work too.

Apple Pie Filling:

2-3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored & diced
2 TB brown sugar
2 TB granulated sugar
2 TB cinnamon
Caramel Bits (2-4 bits per pie)
half & half
sanding sugar
In a mixing bowl, combine: apples, sugars and cinnamon. Place a heaping teaspoon onto each dough circle. You will want to make sure the mound isn’t too high as the top layer of dough will tear.
Add 2-4 caramel bits on top of the apple layer. Place second piece of dough on top. Slightly push the two pieces of dough together. Take a fork around the edges to crimp the dough together. You can add a decorative piece of dough onto the pies like I did if you wish. I’ve made some with acorns for Thanksgiving and some with stars for Christmas, the options are endless.
Brush a little half & half onto the crust and sprinkle sanding sugar. Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. I tend to like my crust a little darker so mine were baked for roughly 33 minutes. Let cool & enjoy!

Caramel Apple Pie pops will bring a smile to anyone’s face this holiday season! For additional holiday ideas using Land O’ Lakes butter make sure to visit their holiday recipe collection.

Blueberry Crumb Coffee Cake Muffins {recipe}

I never thought I could top the best bakery muffin recipe I tried in March but I did. Thanks to purchasing four pints of blueberries last week I was forced to find something to do with the plump berries before having to freeze them. The muffins are not too sweet and you can taste the subtle hint of sour cream and buttermilk within the tender crumb. The batter is studded with plump, juicy blueberries and topped with a simple streusel crumb. Double the recipe and freeze for easy on-the-go breakfasts when school starts or for a lazy weekend breakfast in.

Blueberry Crumb Coffee Cake Muffins

makes 12 jumbo or 16 regular sized muffins

recipe inspired by Ina Garten

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt2 half-pints fresh blueberries, picked through for stems

Streusel Topping:

3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 sugar

3/4 of a stick of butter, at room temperature

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. I used mini panettone paper molds and baked them freely on a cookie sheet. You could line muffin tins with regular muffin papers as well.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed. Fold in the blueberries with a spatula and be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans (1/4 cup for regular sized muffins and 1/2 cup for jumbo muffins).

For the topping: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment combine flour and sugar. Mix to combine. Add in butter and mix until pea sized crumbles form. Top each muffin with 1 TB of topping and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a toothpick comes out clean.

fresh raspberry bars {recipe}

My mom made these seriously addictive fresh raspberry bars on the fourth. I was reluctant because I am usually the one in charge of baking but these were to.die.for! The recipe is from Paula Deen and the only thing we changed was baking them in a fluted tart pan for easy removal which was easier than the first go my Mom did on Memorial Day. The crust is a crisp buttery shortbread, a sinful cream cheese center with gooey fresh raspberries and a crunchy oat crumble on top. Nom! Wish there were still some left. Bring these bars to your next pool party or get together, they will not disappoint.

Fresh Raspberry Bars – recipe c/o Paula Deen

Ingredients

For the crust:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Pinch of salt

2 sticks of butter

For the filling:

1 pint homemade raspberry jam

1 cup fresh raspberries

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

For the topping:

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup quick oatmeal

1 stick of butter

½ cup brown sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9X13 pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

For the crust, mix all ingredients together in a bowl until you have ball of dough. Place ball in the prepared pan and flatten making sure it covers the entire bottom of pan. Bake for 20 minutes. While crust is baking prepare topping in the same bowl mixing all ingredients until it is crumbly. In a small mixing bowl mix jam and raspberries together. Once crust is removed from oven let cool for 10 minutes. Then spread cream cheese on crust and spoon berry mixture over cream cheese. Now sprinkle topping mixture over berry mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.

Greek Quinoa Salad {recipe}

About a month ago I had lunch with my best friend at True Food Kitchen. We had the most amazing Mediterranean quinoa salad paired with to die for veggie pasta dishes. Since that meal I have been craving that simple and refreshing salad. The ingredients have been in my pantry and refrigerator to add the salad to our weekly meal plan but I never seemed to make it until last night. It was my Mom’s first quinoa dish so I was a little worried she wouldn’t care for it, but surprisingly she did and went for seconds! It’s so easy and can be made ahead of time to enjoy for an easy weeknight meal or for lunch throughout the week. Serve alongside a light pasta dish or a steamed artichoke.

Greek Quinoa Salad

1 cup red quinoa cooked according to the package directions (I like to replace the water with vegetable broth and I add fresh chopped garlic)
2 Persian cucumbers, cut lengthwise and then sliced
1/2 cup mini heirloom tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 cup Marcona almonds
1/2 cup kalamata olives
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 cup organic micro baby greens

Dressing:
Juice of one lime (a lemon will do too, it’s just what I had)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 TB extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Once you have cooked the quinoa let it sit for a few minutes. Combine the dressing ingredients into a small bowl and toss over cooked quinoa, set aside.
In a large serving bowl mix together the remaining ingredients except for the baby greens. Toss the ingredients and then add the quinoa. Refrigerate for at least thirty minutes before serving. The longer you let this salad sit the better. Before serving top with the micro baby greens. These greens wilt relatively fast so I like to top the salad with it.
Enjoy!

farmers market pasta

Last Saturday the lil miss and I headed over to the Poway’s farmer market to pick-up some goodies for the week. I had her pick out whatever she wanted (within reason of course) and I have to say that she came up with some great picks this week! This will be a new tradition for her and I. She started off with some fresh orange juice and then we picked out our produce and our last stop was grabbing some lunch to take home to the boys.

A selection of our produce and the inspiration for my farmers market pasta. Payton loved the baby zucchini and summer squash so we purchased enough to add to the lemon sage pasta she chose to go rightfully so with artichokes we had purchased the day before. This girl is going to be a great cook, I am so happy that she loves it so much already.

Farmers Market Pasta

1 cup baby zucchini, trimmed and sliced lengthwise
1 cup yellow summer squash, trimmed and quartered
2 small heirloom tomatoes, large dice
2 artichokes, steamed and then grilled. Hearts chopped. (you can substitute frozen or jarred hearts, we grilled some on Memorial Day and saved them for this recipe)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 TB butter (or EVOO)
fresh basil to garnish
10 oz. close to home fresh lemon sage pasta

How:
Bring a pot of water to boil. In the meantime, melt butter in a saucepan. Once melted add in zucchini, squash, artichokes and garlic. Saute for a few minutes until soft and then add in tomatoes. Once the water boils cook your pasta for no longer than 2 minutes if using fresh, if not, follow package directions.

Plate the pasta and top with vegetables. Garnish with basil. The kids added cheese to theirs, we did not. Serve with cheese if you wish.