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Blueberry Peach Crumble
This comforting recipe for Blueberry Peach Crumble needs little introduction. Cobblers come in all sorts of varieties, but one of my favorite fruit combinations is blueberry and peach. The fruity filling consists of the usual components, sugar and cornstarch, along with a delicious twist – lemon juice, freshly grated lemon zest, cinnamon and almond extract. The combination is heavenly. To top it off I made a traditional crumble of brown sugar, butter, four and salt. It’s easy to make and a guaranteed hit. Once baked it will be crumbly on top and oozing with warm fruit on the bottom. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or dollop of freshly whipped cream. It’s the perfect end to your summer meals.
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Heavenly Cheese Danish
The ultimate crowd-pleaser, my recipe for Heavenly Cheese Danish is an easy treat to be enjoyed for breakfast, dessert or any time of day. This recipe uses refrigerated crescent rolls in place of puff pastry, making the preparation easy and quick. The filling is a creamy and sweet cream cheese mixture, with a hint of fresh lemon juice and vanilla extract. Once out of the oven, golden and crispy on top and drizzled with glaze, you will be amazed at the finished danish that truly tastes better than a bakery. The texture is very light and has far more creamy filling than any pre-packaged danish you’d find in the stores. Make this ASAP for your family and friends – I guarantee you’ll be making your second one shortly after! 😉
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Orange Date Oat Bran Muffins
I had some extra dried dates around (see Pan-Latin Picadillo), so I decided to put them to good use by creating a healthy oat bran muffin recipe that features this delicious dried fruit. I love dates for a special reason. They remind me of my unforgettable trip to Istanbul last summer, where bazaars overflowed with hundreds of plump dried figs, apricots and dates around every corner of the city. For this recipe, I used oat bran and whole wheat flour as a base and Greek yogurt and applesauce as a substitute for oil. The finishing touch is the addition of freshly grated orange rind and, of course, chopped dried dates for a Middle Eastern-inspired health muffin.
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Perfect Key Lime Pie
Tart and creamy, my recipe for Perfect Key Lime Pie is the perfect finish to a summer meal. Key limes are native to the Florida Keys and luckily there are delicious bottled key lime juices out there that are just as good as squeezing fresh key limes by hand. My favorite is Nellie’s, one of the “originals” bottled right in sunny Key West, Florida. This pie has a crunchy homemade graham cracker crust, custardy key lime filling and fluffy whipped cream topping. Perfection!
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Drizzled Dark Chocolate Sheet Cake
I am thrilled to share one of my favorite recipes for a decadent easy dark chocolate sheet cake. This recipe uses a dark chocolate fudge cake mix and fluffy vanilla buttercream frosting, topped with melted unsweetened chocolate drizzle to complement the sweetness of the cake. Best served chilled, the cake is great for a party because it can be cut into small or medium-sized squares and served as finger food. Best of all, with it’s geometric drizzled chocolate pattern, the Drizzled Dark Chocolate Sheet Cake is a beautiful work of art… 🙂 Check out the recipe here…
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Walnut Rooibos Tea Loaf
Cooking with tea is one of the latest trends in the culinary world, so I couldn’t wait to try out a fantastic and healthy recipe for Walnut Rooibos Tea Loaf. I used a premium brand of loose tea from the luxe tea production company, Le Palais des thés. Based in Paris, Le Palais des thés sells teas harvested from the finest crops around the world and is renowned for their all-natural tea blends called, “Les Créations.” Trust me, when you taste these teas you will immediately recognize the difference between Le Palais des thés and everything else…
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Decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake
My fiancé and I invited our families over for dinner last weekend, so I decided to bake one of my favorite desserts, a Decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake. Many die-hard chocolate-lovers out there are familiar with this fudgy type of cake baked with only chocolate, eggs, sugar, and butter, and not a trace of flour. The combination results in a souffle-like cake, with a moist inside and flaky cracked top. As with many desserts, the quality of ingredients you choose to put into this recipe is crucial to getting the result you want. In this case, the most important ingredient is the chocolate, so I used none other than Callebaut chocolate – a favorite of professional bakers around the world. It’s imported from Switzerland and of the finest quality. You can find this special type of chocolate at Whole Foods or search for other stores near you on their website.
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Chocolate Chip Banana Bites
If you are looking for the perfect home-baked, bite-sized, sweet snack, you are in luck with these adorable Chocolate Chip Banana Bites. This is actually a Weight Watchers recipe that I tweaked and modified just a bit. Made in mini muffin pans, these banana bites are low in fat since they do not contain any oil or butter. The mashed ripe bananas provide moistness and bind the muffins together along with vanilla yogurt and oats for texture. The addition of mini chocolate chips makes you really feel like you are indulging, but without the guilt. Enjoy!
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Happy Easter!
Wishing all a very Happy Easter! I just baked this traditional Italian Easter pie and had to share. With layers of flaky, buttery phyllo surrounding a creamy ricotta center, flavored with fresh orange zest, vanilla and pine nuts.
Check out the recipe for this delicious pie here, courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis.
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No Butter Fluffy Spring Vanilla Cupcakes
I wasn’t looking to reinvent the cupcake – after all, it is perfect the way it is. But being cupcake-obsessed and someone who watches her calories, I had to bake something to satisfy both. I had a couple of things in mind when setting out to bake a healthier version of a cupcake today – first off, I wanted to incorporate plain Greek yogurt, because every time I substitute yogurt in my baking, it comes out spectacular. Secondly,