Mini Peach Tarts

Here's another recipe perfect for the seasonal produce right now. Peaches are just reaching their juicy peak. It was pretty tough to decide what to make. I love peach cobbler and peach pie. But, I decided to take the fast and simple route with this one and it worked out great. I mean, you really can't go wrong with puff pastry!

Mini Peach Tarts
Makes: 4 servings

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
2 medium peaches
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp orange juice

• Leaving the skins on, slice the peaches into 1/8" thick slices. You want them to be very thin so that they'll actually cook in the short cooking time required for puff pastry.
• Toss the peaches with the sugar and flour. Set aside.
• Roll out the puff pastry and cut it into 4 even squares using either a sharp knife or a pizza cutter.
• Place the puff pastry on a lightly greased baking sheet. With a fork, poke holes around the edges, about 1/2" in from the sides.

• Top the squares with the peach mixture. You can either place the peaches on there carefully in a pattern or just heap them on there for a more "rustic" look. It's up to you.
• Bake at 400° F for 20 minutes.
• Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

 

And because I try to be transparent with my readers, here are the two ugly ones that normally wouldn't make it into the blog haha!

Brown Sugar, White Sugar, Powdered Sugar - Oh My!

Just what is the difference between brown sugar, white sugar, and powdered sugar? Why would you use one over the other? Which one is the best? If you've ever found yourself wondering about this mystery, wonder no more! I'm going to break it down for you.

First of all, which one is best? It depends! They each have their own unique characteristics which are useful in different applications.

Ok, so what's the difference and when would you use one versus the other?

Brown Sugar

• Brown sugar was historically unrefined sugar with residual molasses left in the sugar. However, modern methods refine the sugar first, removing the molasses by spinning it in a centrifuge, then add molasses back to the sugar. This allows for more control over molasses content which creates consistency in the product.
• There are two common types of brown sugar: light brown and dark brown. Light brown is the most common type and it contains 3.5% molasses; dark brown sugar contains 6.5% molasses. The only real difference is in flavor. If you prefer a lighter more delicate flavor, choose light brown. If you prefer a stronger flavor, choose dark brown.
• Molasses has hygroscopic properties which means that it is attracted to water. This is useful in recipes that you want to keep moist such as cakes, cookies, brownies, or granola bars. Use this type of sugar if you prefer chewy cookies versus crispy cookies.
• Molasses has a slight caramel flavor to it. This makes it great to add a hint of caramel to recipes such as apple pie, fried apples, bananas foster, etc.
• The proper way to measure brown sugar is to firmly pack it down into the measuring cup. You should always assume that brown sugar should be firmly packed unless the recipes specifies otherwise.

White Sugar

• Also known as granulated sugar. 
• Granulated sugar is commonly used in cakes, cookies, simple syrup, and caramel.
• Granulated sugar tends to give the final product a crispier texture. You'll want to choose this type of sugar if you prefer crispy cookies versus chewy cookies.
• The grain is pretty large and the sugar can be pretty heavy. This sugar is not ideal for delicate foods such as meringue or whipped cream.

Powdered Sugar

• Also known as confectioner's sugar or icing sugar.
• Powdered sugar is white sugar that has been very finely ground (even finer than "superfine" sugar). It has a soft, light, powdery texture, almost like wheat flour.
• Powdered sugar is useful in recipes that require a very smooth texture such a frosting or other cake decorations. It is also very light weight and is ideal for delicate foods such as meringue or whipped cream.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

We go through bananas like gangbusters in this house. Lola loves them and so do Matt and I. However, every now and then I'll buy a few too many and we can't eat them all before they get too ripe. Not that I mind because it just gives me a great excuse to make banana bread!

I had some overripe bananas the other day but instead of making banana bread, I decided to make some cupcakes with an homage to banana bread. Keeping that in mind, of course I used cream cheese frosting on the cupcakes!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
with Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes: 18 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 overripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
3 tbsp milk
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Frosting:
16 oz (2 bricks) cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Make the cupcakes:

• In a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer on medium, cream together the butter and sugar. Whip until light and fluffy.
• Mash the bananas with a fork. Add them to the butter mixture along with the vanilla, egg, and milk. Mix until combined. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Gently fold the flour mixture and the chocolate chips into the butter mixture.
• In a cupcake pan prepared with cupcake liners, fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full with batter.
• Bake at 350° F for 20 - 25 minutes.
• Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Make the frosting:

• In a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer on medium, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and sugar.
• Add the vanilla and continue to whip on high for about 2 - 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

This made a little bit too much frosting for the amount of cupcakes that I had. But I, uh, took care of that problem... haha

Also note, this recipe, along with all banana bread recipes, really come out better if you use overripe bananas. That way they're nice and soft and their sugars are well developed. Here are the bananas I used for this recipe:

Blueberry Cheese Blintzes

In case you missed it, here's my first post about cheese blintzes which gives a little bit of background. Matt was begging me to make cheese blintzes again so I finally decided to oblige him. This time, I happened to have some dried blueberries hanging around so I decided to make blueberry cheese blintzes. The results were delicious!

Blueberry Cheese Blintzes
Makes: 8 cheese blintzes

Crepes:
2 cups milk
6 tbsp butter, plus more for cooking
3 eggs
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup flour

Filling:
8 oz cream cheese (1 brick), softened
2 tbsp sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp dried blueberries

Topping:
1 egg plus 1 egg white
1/4 cup brown sugar

  

• To make the crepes, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and salt until the eggs are pale and fluffy, about two minutes. Set aside.
• Combine the milk and butter in a small sauce pan. Place over medium heat and stir constantly until the butter in melted.
• In a slow steady stream, gently pour the hot milk mixture into the eggs while whisking constantly.
• Add the cup of flour to the egg and milk mixture. Gently whisk until just combined.
• Preheat a skillet over medium-medium high heat.
• Once the pan is very hot, add a small amount of butter to the pan, then ladle in about 1/2 cup of batter. Swirl the batter around in the pan so that it spreads to all edges.
• Cook for about one minute per side until dark brown.

• Once all of the crepes are cooked, make the filling. Whip together the cream cheese and sugar in a stand mixture or in a bowl with a hand mixer on medium until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg yolk and vanilla (save the egg white for later). Mix until well combined.
• With a spatula, fold in the dried blueberries.

• Place two tablespoons of filling in each crepe, about the size of a golf ball. Spread the filling along the middle of the crepe, then fold it in half. Then fold the ends in and continue rolling up the crepe; just like you would with a burrito.
• Now whip together the egg white and another egg.
• Once all of the crepes are assembled, hold the crepe with the seam side toward you. Dip the crepe in the egg, then the brown sugar.
• Lay the crepes, seam side down (sugared side up) in a lightly greased 13" x 9" glass baking dish.
• Bake at 375° F for 25 minutes.
• Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. These are actually best served room temperature... If you can wait that long!

Verte Montagne Cupcakes

Time for dessert! To be honest, I'm not much of a baker. Matt is a much better baker than me. But, I figured I need to at least have some dessert recipes on my blog. So here we go!

My inspiration came from my love of Andes candies. I thought, "wouldn't that be delicious to have a cupcake stuffed with Andes?" Yes! It would! If you're one of those weirdos who don't like chocolate and mint, you should turn around and go back to where you came from. We don't take kindly to folks like you around here.

Truth be told, I'm not totally thrilled with how these came out. The Andes ended up sinking to the bottom. I may try this again and stuff the candy into the cupcake after it has been baked. I'll let you know how that goes.

Verte Montagne Cupcakes
Makes: 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 package boxed cake mix
eggs
water
vegetable or canola oil
8.5 oz package of Andes chocolate and mint candy

Frosting:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp peppermint extract
1/4 cup heavy cream

Make the cupcakes:

• Mix the cake batter according to the directions on the package. Mine called for 3 eggs, 1 1/4 cups water, and 1/2 cup oil. Yours might be a little different. I know, I know - boxed cake mix! I told you I'm not a great baker ha!
• Unwrap the Andes candies. Then cut each in half, two at a time, making four squares.

•  Now stack the four squares.

• Now insert the stack into each cupcake sideways.

• Bake the cupcakes according to the directions. Mine took 18 minutes at 325° F. To test when the cupcakes are done, you'll need to gently tap the top of a cupcake. If it bounces right back then it's done. The toothpick test won't work with these cupcakes because the melted chocolate in the center will make it seem like they are still wet in the center. You don't want to overcook your cupcakes - that will make them dry.
• Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Make the frosting:

• Resist the temptation to stick the butter in the microwave to soften it. I'm the biggest offender of this rule but this particular recipe really won't work out if you do it that way. You've got to just let the butter sit on the counter for about an hour to let it soften.
• Sift together the sugar, cocoa, and salt. Set aside.
• Whip the butter in a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) on medium for about two minutes until it is light and fluffy.
• Add the sugar and cocoa mixture, mixing on slow. Mix for about one minute until it is completely combined and a dry crumbly texture.
• Add the vanilla, mint, and heavy cream.
• Mix on high speed another two minutes until the frosting is smooth and light and fluffy.
• If the frosting seems too thin, add some more sugar. If the frosting seems too thick, add some more heavy cream.
• Frost the cupcakes with an off-set spatula or with a piping bag fitted with a star tip.

Mexican Sweethearts

Time for another Cupboard Cleaner!

Growing up, my dad used to make us a treat called Mexican Sweethearts. I have no idea if this is actually a traditional Mexican dish - and I have my doubts considering this is the same man who convinced my sister and I that tofu was Chinese bacon... ha! Anyways, Mexican Sweethearts are a great way to use up left-over flour tortillas. There always seem to be a few stragglers after making tacos, enchiladas, etc.

Mexican Sweethearts
Makes: 6 sweethearts

6 flour tortillas (any size)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
butter or margarine

  

• Mix together the cinnamon and sugar, set aside.
• Heat up a non-stick skillet over medium-medium high heat.
• Once the pan is very hot, place one of the tortillas in the dry pan.
• Cook for about 5 - 10 seconds on each side until they puff up and brown.
• Remove from heat and spread butter on the tortilla so that it melts.
• Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of the cinnamon and sugar mixture over the tortilla, then roll it up like a cigar.

This recipe is so simple but your kids will love it and it will clear out all of those extra tortillas hanging out in your cupboard!