I love pastry, especially dense ones like coffee cake. This time of year, I especially love berries. There is nothing better than baking with fresh berries that are in season. This recipe is not a Claudia classic, but one that I felt was worth blogging about. It is adapted from Cooks Illustrated. The dense, lemon flavored cake mixed with delicious plump blueberries is a great dessert to feature in the hot summer months. It’s also extremely simple to make.
Claudia will be heading off shortly to the lovely state of Arizona. She reminds me frequently that the weather is averaging 80 degrees fahrenheit and that she will be basking in the sun’s rays for a few weeks, while I struggle to leave my home in -30 celsius weather here in Winnipeg. Therefore, I figured this dessert is perfect for the present occasion. Layered Lemon Bars not only remind me of summer evening BBQs at my parents, but are also a refreshing and light dessert that perfectly follows the heavier and hearty meals of winter.
This recipe is not a Claudia original. But these cookies are so delicious we had to share them immediately. One of my coworkers made these a few weeks ago and was nice enough to share one with me. After one bite I knew I had found cookie love. This recipe is from the Food Network Canada show Eat, Shrink and Be Merry. Not only are these cookies absolutely delicious with it’s creamy, gooey peanut butter texture and sweet gingersnap flavour, they’re also not that bad for you! In moderation of course. If you ate all 20 of these babies, you would probably need to do a little run on the treadmill…for 3 hours. Still…totally worth the 3 hour sweat.
My Baba is well known for 3 of her culinary endeavours in our household. #1 – Perogies. #2 – Spaghetti and meatballs. I have no idea where a Ukrainian woman learned how to cook Italian food, but it was amazing. #3 – This Bavarian Cheesecake recipe. It is to die for. I remember every summer when Claudia, my Dad, my brother and I came back from our 3-week stints in Saskatchewan, Baba would have a big batch of spaghetti and meatballs and this dessert to welcome us home. It was so comforting and definitely worth sharing. Apples, cinnamon, cream cheese, crunchy walnuts and my own optional addition – caramel sauce. How can you possibly go wrong with this rich delight? You will win friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, and probably even world wars with this dessert. Trust me, it’s a winner.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “I ate three times my body weight in holiday baking a mere month ago. Why would I want to bake and eat any more – especially when my New Years Resolution is to eat healthy?!” I hear what you are saying and feel the same way. Except when I am faced with these amazing chocolatey treats (like last night when I went over to my parents for dinner) and throw all my good eating intentions out the window.
Claudia has made these little treats for Christmas for as long as I can remember. I don’t know how it’s possible, but I seem to fall further and further in love with them every year. They are probably one of the simplest desserts to make and fulfill even the biggest chocolate cravings. Sweet with a hint of salty, these crunchy gems are a must try. You will thank me – I promise!
For as long as I can remember, Date Squares (aka Matrimonial Cake) were always on Claudia’s Christmas baking list. I’ll admit that when I was younger I didn’t fancy them too much and chose holiday desserts on the table that had a lot more chocolate on them. But as I get older (and wiser of course) I have grown to absolutely love them. The buttery crumbly layers and the sweet date filling makes this the perfect recipe for your own holiday baking list.
I realize that the spicy and savory taste of pumpkin is typically reserved for autumn when the weather becomes slightly cooler and you need something warm to pick you up – not when it’s +40 celsius with the humidity in August. As I mentioned in my last post, this is week two of Claudia being on vacation. This recipe is her most favourite that I bake and she requests it often. These scones are dense and almost exactly like the pumpkin scones you will find at your neighbourhood Starbucks. I was given this recipe from a friend of mine a few years ago. I’m actually not entirely sure where she found it, so I apologize if I’m not giving the proper recipe credits. In other words, please don’t sue me if this is your recipe. I’m just trying to be a good daughter, after all.
Although Claudia’s chocolate chip cookies were the ultimate staple dessert in our house while growing up, monster cookies were a close second. As you can see in the picture to the right, I was quite a fan of the cookie dough while baking. I’m not entirely sure where I got the idea that eating raw cookie dough was a good idea. I blame my Dad. After all, he was always the one who would say “Jaime, can you make me some cookies”. I was 5. All I knew in the end was that cookie dough tasted amazing, and so do these easy Monster Cookies.
This is one of the easiest and most delicious desserts in Claudia’s repertoire that I definitely needed to inherit. Although these are technically called “Special K” treats (I expect major props from Kellogg’s for the shout-out by the way), you can easily substitute any of your favourite cereals for this dessert. Rice Krispies would work well, but Claudia has insisted Special K is far superior to anything else out there on the market today. Enough said – you don’t question the expert, as I once again found out today. But more on that in a bit.
This dessert usually pops up as part of Claudia’s Christmas baking line-up. Each Christmas Eve, I raid the dessert platter to ensure the Frosted Chews are where they should be. Great frozen, these treats are still definitely much better when eaten when they are a little warm and melty from the assembly process. I simply cannot muster up the words to describe how amazing these little treats taste. For the little effort it takes to create these gems, I highly recommend you try these immediately.