Strawberry Blueberry Yogurt Muffins

Here I am with another post for you. :) I'm home this evening, RESTING my ankle yet again. But lucky for you, that means another tasty recipe!

During some of my moments of restlessness this past weekend, I chose not to rest (oops) and baked instead. These muffins were a result of one of those times!

The original recipe that inspired these muffins was from the Cookin' Canuck, a blog I recently discovered. Her recipe is for strawberry yogurt muffins; yet, as evidenced by the title of this post, I made them into strawberry blueberry yogurt muffins. Ironically, I bookmarked this Cookin' Canuck recipe last week when our very own Boston Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks to win the Stanley Cup. Too funny!

The strawberries I had were fresh, but the blueberries were frozen (I had frozen some fresh ones I bought a couple weeks ago). Oh, and I coated the berries with a little bit of flour before adding them to the batter. That helps prevent them all from sinking to the bottom.

Now, the recipe for you! It differs slightly from the original... In addition to using two kinds of berries, I also made a change of using some white whole wheat flour in place of the all-purpose. I also did not use greek yogurt, but instead I used two different Dannon light n' fit flavors. This recipe was incredibly simple! And the final product was delicious. ;-)

Ingredients:

-2 cups white whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur Flour)

-1 cup all-purpose flour

-1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder

-1 and 1/2 tsp. baking soda

-1 and 1/2 tsp. salt

-1 tsp. cinnamon

-3/4 cup unsalted butter 

-1 and 1/3 cups granulated sugar

-3 eggs

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-12 oz. light yogurt (I used half Dannon vanilla & half Dannon strawberry banana flavors)

-1 cup sliced strawberries

-1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

With an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Turn the mixer on low speed, and alternate adding the dry ingredients with the yogurt, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Do not overmix. Fold in the berries.

Coat a muffin pan with cooking spray or line it with paper liners. Fill each cup 2/3 full with the batter. Bake about 15 - 18 minutes, until the muffins are slightly golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Is there anything better than a delicious, homemade muffin bursting with sweet, juicy berries?!

This recipe made 12 muffins and eight mini loaves for me. That's a lot! I would estimate that each mini loaf is about two muffins worth.

How berry good do these look? ;-)

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars

Greetings, friends! In my last Friday Favorites, I shared a preview of coming attractions...which was these amazing strawberry rhubarb crumb bars. Oh my goodness. They're my new love.

A few weeks ago when I was home in upstate NY, I was fortunate enough to take home some fresh rhubarb from a neighbor. Yummmm. When I subsequently returned to Boston, I sadly didn't have time to bake or cook with it at the time, so I sliced and froze it to use later. Then this past week strawberries were on sale at the store, so I knew it was time to "marry" the rhubarb and fresh strawberries to make these strawberry rhubarb crumb bars! 

The recipe is from an amazing blog, White on Rice Couple. Check out the photography on that blog. Wow!

Here's your recipe. ;-)

Ingredients

Streusel:

-1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted 

-3/4 cup packed brown sugar

-1/4 tsp. salt

-1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Bars:

-1/2 lb. rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (this was about 1 and 1/2 cups)

-1/2 lb. strawberries, hulled and sliced 1/4 inch thick (this was also about 1 and 1/2 cups)

-1 and 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar

-1 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

-3/4 tsp. baking powder

-1/2 tsp. salt

-3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

-1 and 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

-2 large eggs, beaten

-3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides of the dish. It may help to butter the sides of the pan before putting the parchment paper in so the paper will stick. Butter the inside of the parchment and flour it as well.

Make the streusel by first whisking together the butter, brown sugar, and salt. Add the flour and mix together with a fork or your fingers to make large crumbs. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the bars, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, brown sugar, and 1/3 cup of flour. Sift or whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixer, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly add the eggs and vanilla extract. Next, slowly mix in the combined dry ingredients until just incorporated.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan, then top with the strawberry rhubarb filling. Finally, crumble the streusel topping on top.

Bake for 50 - 55 minutes or until lightly golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool in pan, and then lift it from the pan using the overhanging parchment paper on the sides. Cool completely before cutting into bars of desired size. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream if you'd like...or enjoy as is! :)

Layers!

The crumb topping was deeelicious, and the strawberry rhubarb layer was obviously phenomenal. ;-) The bottom layer was rather cake-like...very light and fluffy. And the three layers together? Perfect!

Strawberry Scones

(Note: this blog post was originally published on May 11th, but due to system problems with Blogger, the post and all comments were erased. I had to re-create the post, so this is technically Strawberry Scones, Take 2! If you commented the first time, feel free to comment again. ;-))

You may remember a couple weeks ago when I included some delicious sounding strawberry scones from Annie's Eats in my Friday Favorites. I had mentioned them when referencing the Royal Wedding (oh my goodness, how beautiful was Kate's dress?? I seriously loved it). Anyway, back to these scones... :)

I actually made these the day after the Royal Wedding, but it's obviously taken me a little time to blog about them! These scones were simply delicious, and they were also quite simple to make!

(Strawberries, I ♥ you)

I had a really fun time baking these. That may sound silly, but it's true. The process of making them was very enjoyable...and I also couldn't wait for the final product to be done so I could try one of these flavorful, delicious treats. :)

Ingredients:

-1 large egg
-1/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
-1/2 cup milk (I used skim)
-1 tsp. orange or lemon zest (I used orange)
-2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I ended up using about 2 and 1/2 cups)
-1/4 cup sugar (plus more for sprinkling)
-1 Tbsp. baking powder (yes, it's one TABLEspoon)
-1/2 tsp. salt
-8 Tbsp. cold, unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
-1 heaping cup fresh, diced strawberries

Instructions:

In s small bowl, whisk the egg, yogurt, milk, and zest until blended, and set aside. In a bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pulse briefly to blend. Add the butter pieces to the bowl with the dry ingredients and pulse several times to cut the butter into the flour, until the largest butter pieces are the size of small peas. If you don't have a food processor, you can also mix the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and cut in the butter using a pastry blender or two knives or forks.

Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.

Add the strawberries to the flour mixture and toss to coat. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and gently fold together with a fork or spatula until a sticky dough has formed (I added more flour at this point because the mixture was too sticky/wet for me to work with). Knead a few times to ensure that all the dry ingredients are incorporated and the dough is cohesive. If you think it's needed, you can add one more tablespoon of milk at a time to hydrate the remaining dry ingredients).

Transfer the dough to a well-floured work surface and pat into a disc about 7 or 8 inches in diameter. Sprinkle lightly with additional sugar. Slice the disc into 8 wedges.

To bake the scones, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper (I used the latter). Place the shaped scones on the prepared baking sheet and bake until lightly browed on top, about 15 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before serving. To freeze, transfer the baking sheet with the shaped scones to the freezer and let them chill until they are firm, 30 to 60 minutes. Wrap the scones individually and store in a freezer-safe bag until ready to bake. Bake as originally indicated, adding a few minutes to the baking time (about 18-20 minutes).

I did freeze the scones for about 60 minutes before baking them. Annie from Annie's Eats recommended that you freeze them before baking if you're not planning to eat them right away (I was bringing these scones to a brunch the day after making them).

I really cannot wait to make these again this spring and summer while strawberries are in season. :) They were super delicious!!

See you again soon!

A Tribute to a Tradition: Homemade Pie!!

I have a confession to make. I have never made a homemade pie. Well, that is, until this past weekend, I had never made a homemade pie. Can you believe it??! Many people who know I love to bake find it pretty hard to believe when I tell them (or used to tell them!) I have never made a pie. I figured it was about time to put an end to that! And especially when I have a wonderful mother and grandmother who are amazing pie makers, it's about time I stepped up to the plate too!

You're in for a treat with this post... I'm going to share not one, but two pie crust recipes that my grandmother uses. Consider yourself pretty lucky! ;-)

The first crust recipe is the one I used for the very first pie I made this past Labor Day weekend (pictured above). It is taken verbatim from an email my grandmother sent me with the recipe. :)

-2 cups flour

-1 tsp. salt

-2/3 cups Crisco plus 1 T.

-1/2 cup cold water

Mix together flour and salt. Add Crisco. Mix with fork until crumbly. Add water and mix until it holds together. Chill for 15 minutes or more.

Mom's tip: Mixture will be just right when the dough forms into a ball and clears the bowl.

My hint: I put ice cubes in water and then measure l/2 cup water from that. More water may be added but too much water will make a tough crust.

Please note that this recipe is for one 9-inch crust. So you'll have to double the recipe for a double crust!

And here is recipe #2 from my grandmother, again taken verbatim from her email. :)

-4 cups flour

-1 and l/2 cups Crisco

-l Tbsp. sugar

-l Tbsp. vinegar

-l egg

-2 tsp. salt

-l/2 cup cold water

With fork mix together first four ingredients. In separate dish beat remaining ingredients. Combine the two mixtures until all ingredients are moistened. With hands, mold dough into ball and place in the fridge at least 15 minutes before rolling out. Makes a  9" double crust pie. This is a no-fail pie crust and easier to mold than the first recipe.

There you have a couple "famous" recipes! My grandma's pies are always amazing, so if you try one of these two recipes, I am sure you will be pleased!

Now, my all time favorite pie is, by far, strawberry rhubarb. Mmmmm, SO delicious. I was lucky enough to receive one of my favorite pies from my grandmother for my birthday this summer too! Below are a few pictures of it. I wish these pictures could magically turn into the real thing!! Honestly, this pie is just the best pie ever (especially when made by my mom or grandma!).




I asked my grandma about her strawberry rhubarb recipe, and she says she just follows the recipe on the Tapioca box! Who knew?! I certainly didn't. I bought some Tapioca this past weekend with the intention of making a strawberry rhubarb pie as my first ever pie. However, the store didn't have any rhubarb :-( so I had to improvise. I had some frozen blueberries (hand picked fresh by my mom earlier this summer!), so I decided to use those in my pie. I only had three cups of them though, so I supplemented with one cup of strawberries (four cups of fruit total is what's recommended on the back of the Tapioca box). In fact, I took a picture of the back of the box so you can see what ingredients and proportions are recommended for apple pie, blueberry pie, and strawberry rhubarb. Basically, I am feeling too lazy to write it out for you, so the picture of the recipes on the box is what you get! :)

As I mentioned earlier, for my "berry" pie, I used three cups of blueberries and one cup of strawberries. I added about 3/4 cup of sugar, I'd say, 1/4 cup tapioca, one teaspoon or so of lemon zest, as well as a couple teaspoons of lemon juice. That's it! Oh, and I also put a few very small dollops of butter atop the fruit mixture before baking. I followed the temperature and time instructions listed on the box.

Here are a few more pictures of the Barbershop's inaugural pie during its creation. :) I used the first crust recipe listed above, by the way!

There she is, the finished product!

And here I am serving it (not sure about that weird look on my face or why I'm hunched over like that!).




Mike's family were my guinea pigs, as I shared the berry pie with them when we visited them this past weekend for dinner. Unless they were just humoring me (which I don't think they were ;-)), they really liked it! I am definitely encouraged by my first pie making experience and plan to make many more! It wasn't really difficult at all. It was a bit more time consuming than other types of baked goods I often make, but I didn't find it too challenging (for some reason I think there's a myth about pies being hard to make??!).

Also, one more fun tip for you...  Whenever my mom used to make a pie, she'd make these delicious cinnamon sugar pie dough "strips" with the extra dough. Well, I thought they were cinnamon sugar strips, but apparently they were sprinkled with nutmeg, not cinnamon!  So, you can probably use whichever spice (or both) that you'd like. Anyway, I decided to use the extra dough I had from my berry pie to do this. All I did was roll out the dough, cut it into strips (or whatever shapes you'd like!), brushed them with melted butter, and then sprinkled with a cinnamon sugar mixture. Such a fun treat!

 Here is the raw dough with butter and cinnamon sugar, before popping them into the oven. I actually also just learned that my mom didn't brush them with butter either - another inaccurate memory of mine. Oops! You can make them however you please. ;-)




And here there are, fresh out of the oven and ready to be devoured! This is such a great memory of mine from when I was little. I loved when Mom made these for us!!







Well, that's all from the Barbershop this time. Looking forward to sharing more recipes with you soon!

Summertime Strawberry Dessert

Welcome back and happy 4th of July weekend, all! This is a special Barbershop post... Are you wondering why? Well, it's my 60th post! 60! And in honor of this milestone, I thought I'd share a yummy, cool summertime dessert that is red, white, and blue, which is obviously appropriate for the holiday! Here you go. :)

I was looking for something cool and summery to bring to a friend's going-away party. The recipe I ended up with is a combination of a couple different recipes. I did not follow one exactly to a "t," as you might say. What I ended up making was inspired by this Strawberry Pretzel Squares recipe and this Tropical Strawberry Cream Pie recipe.

Essentially, this dish was a graham cracker crust recipe, topped with a cream cheese/cool whip/sugar layer, which was then topped with a jello/fruit layer, as you can see in this picture below. :)

I'll share with you the ingredients I used as best I can... I have to honestly say that I did not always measure exactly! Since I wasn't baking something that is "scientific" (ya know, something that needs flour, baking soda, baking powder, etc.), I figured I could improvise a bit!

-1 and 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

-5 Tbsp. of butter or margarine, melted

-2 cups cool whip (I used light)

-8 oz. softened cream cheese (I used light)

-1/4 cup sugar

-instant JELLO gelatin, strawberry flavored (I used two packages that were each 4-serving size)

-3/4 cup boiling water

-1 cup ice

-1 cup sliced strawberries

-1 cup blueberries

Now, as far as the jello goes, you can certainly use whichever flavor you like! I actually used one package of strawberry flavored gelatin and one of raspberry; you can see their different colors here! They were also sugar-free.

You could switch up the fruit you use as well. It's your call! That's the beauty of recipes like this. Another change you could make is what you use for the crust. I used graham cracker crumbs, but the two recipes I worked from used even different items - one used crushed pretzels and one used crushed vanilla wafers. Yum to either of those options!!

Here are your instructions:

Mix the crushed graham crackers with the melted butter. Press this mixture into a 9-inch pan (I used a square glass pan, but you could probably even use a pie plate).

Next, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Then gently mix in the cool whip with a spoon or spatula. Top the graham cracker layer with the cool whip layer.

Add the boiling water to the gelatin and mix until the gelatin is fully dissolved; then stir in the ice until it's melted. The jello should be very slightly starting to solidify at this point.

Next, mix in your fruit and refrigerate the jello mixture for 5 minutes or until it's thickened but still "spreadable." At that point, top the cool whip layer with the jello and fruit mixture.

Refrigerate the entire dish for 4 hours or until set (mine was fine after 2 hours actually!). 

When I served this, I topped each slice with the remaining cool whip too...everyone got a dollop. I just really wanted to use the word dollop. :) This dessert was definitely a hit with our friends! I'm always a little nervous when I try new recipes for the first time, but once people had their first bites, I knew it was a keeper. Unless they were just trying to humor me, they indicated that this is a very delicious dessert! Perhaps the next time I make it I'll try different flavored jello or a new type of fruit! I bet peach jello with fresh peaches and pineapple would be good. Mmmmm, I can almost taste it now. ;-) And it tastes like summer to me!

See you next time, and once again, happy 4th of July!

Pound Cake with Fresh Strawberries & Strawberry Coulis

Hello! Can you believe that I had never made pound cake before? I can't! When I chose to make this recipe, it seemed odd to me that I hadn't ever made it previously in my baking days...but there's a first time for everything! Do you know how pound cake got its name? No, it's not because you gain a pound after eating it (although it's certainly not a "light" recipe). ;-) Actually, the name pound cake originated because the traditional recipe uses a pound of four ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, and butter. You can read more about that here if you'd like!

I looked at many different recipes before deciding on the one I used (I do this all the time - search for ages for just the right recipe!). I am pleased with my choice! I used the "perfection pound cake" recipe from Brown Eyed Baker. Yummm. The pound cake was going to be for a coworker's birthday, so I thought I'd need to dress it up a bit. How did I do that? With fresh, delicious strawberries!! It's almost Memorial Day, and this time of year screams fresh fruit (well, it screams fresh fruit in my head - maybe yours too? :)). 

Here are a few pictures of the batter as I was making it. If you ever make this, definitely follow the instructions closely. For certain steps along the way, you mix the ingredients for quite a while (e.g., the butter and sugar are mixed for 5 minutes). Be patient! At the very end though, it's important not to over mix when you add the flour. You only mix it until it's just incorporated (see the second picture below). Don't get me wrong though...the recipe was really super simple overall! Don't be intimated. ;-)

Here she is, all baked! I like its nice, light golden brown color.

Have you ever heard of a "coulis"? I hadn't until now! In my search for pound cake recipes, I came across one from Smitten Kitchen, a great blog. I did not use her actual cake recipe, but I did steal her strawberry coulis recipe. A coulis is a french sauce that can be sweet or savory, depending on the item with which it's paired. I want to make coulis more often!! This was really easy and yummy. The recipe is here (but remember, I did not use the pound cake recipe you'll see at that link). All you have to do is combine strawberries, water, lemon juice, and sugar in a blender until smooth, strain out the seeds, and then chill the mixture. Piece of cake!!

We enjoyed the pound cake, sliced strawberries (which I sprinkled with a little sugar and let them sit overnight to sweeten them a bit), and the coulis at work for a coworker's birthday, as I mentioned earlier. It was a hit!!

Here are the delicious toppings!

And the cake, half eaten!

Yummmm. I made sure to take a couple bites of the pound cake without any toppings, in order to form an opinion of the cake itself and see if I'd want to make it again. It was actually really tasty on its own! Since there aren't really too many flavorful ingredients in pound cake (other than vanilla extract really), I think it might get a bad rap of being not all that exciting of a cake. I would totally disagree! The cake wasn't too heavy; in fact, it was lighter than I thought it would be. It was also more moist than I anticipated...not dry in the least. So all in all, it was great! And of course, the strawberry toppings and cool whip helped quite a bit too. Any berries would be delicious with this really! :) 

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend, friends! See you next time!