I absolutely, positively adore peaches. I can’t get enough of them. I guess it stems from my love of peach cobbler, or maybe it’s just because of their sweet, juicy, slightly tart nature. The best fruit, in my opinion. So naturally, when Erin of Milk and Honey, chose “Summer Fruit” for this month’s ‘You Want Pies With That?’ theme, I knew immediately that I would make a peach pie. No contest. In fact, I’ve been waiting a LONG time to make this pie! I saw this recipe on Taste of Home a loooong time ago, and have been waiting until peaches were in season to make it! Finally, the time came- thank my lucky stars! This is one FABULOUS pie. And I’m not just saying that- WOWEE! One bite and I knew I had a real winner of a recipe on my hands. The filling is thick and rich, but not at all too sweet. The topping is crisp, crumbly and slightly scented with cinnamon- it’s what gives a lot of the sweetness to the pie. YUM. I’ll most definitely be making this over, and over, and over again! I’m absolutely thrilled to submit this to July’s ‘YWPWT’ challenge!
Peach-Blueberry Sour Cream Pie
-adapted from tasteofhome.com
Pastry for single-crust pie (9 inches)
3 cups sliced peeled peaches
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons peach preserves or jam (I used plum)
1 cup sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
TOPPING:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
Line a 9-in. pie plate with pastry; trim and flute edges. In a large bowl, combine peaches, blueberries and jam. Transfer to pastry. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar, sour cream, egg yolks, flour and vanilla. Pour over peaches.
Bake at 425° for 30 minutes (keep an eye on it because it will brown quickly around the edges- you may need to cover them with foil if they’re getting too brown). Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the flour, sugars, pecans and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly; sprinkle over pie.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean and topping is golden brown. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent over-browning if necessary. Cool completely on a wire rack for 3 hours before serving. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 8 servings.
My mom made these for our 4th of July party. They’re insanely good. So good I was lying in bed around midnight that night wishing I had another one. I’m not sure what else to say here- those are the cold hard facts. Make these. Make them soon.
BBQ Bacon-Wrapped Jalapenos
20 fresh jalapenos, cut in half and seeded
2 blocks of cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 pound bacon, cut into thirds
BBQ sauce
toothpicks
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Spread some of the cheese mixture in each jalapeno half. Wrap each piece with a slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Brush with BBQ sauce, and place on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until bacon is nicely browned.
No doubt you’ve heard of cake balls, and Oreo truffles, and cookie dough truffles; and most likely, you’ve even made your own cake balls, Oreo truffles, etc. I know I’ve definitely made my fair share of all kinds. And that’s exactly what these are- more ‘dessert balls’. But these are oh-so much better than the run-of-the-mill Oreo truffles or cake balls! You all know how Oreo truffles work- crushed up Oreos, cream cheese and chocolate coating. These are essentially the same thing, except made with freshly baked sugar cookies and the zest and juice of lemon and lime. I must say….pretty darn tasty. These taste like key lime pie- they’re super tart, chewy and insanely rich. As soon as my hubby got home from work, I immediately shoved one into his mouth and his exact response was, “oh my gosh, these are AWESOME!!!” My family was inclined to agree- since there were so many, my grandmother took them to my aunt and uncle’s house where they were quickly devoured (so I’m told). They even passed the test of all tests- my cousin Ethan loved them. If Ethan loved them- they’ve got to be good! I have big plans to try these in all kinds of flavors- strawberry, peach, maybe even apricot. But for now, the lemon-lime is the flavor of choice!
Lemon-Lime Sugar Cookie Truffles
1 batch of sugar cookie dough (I used a store-bought mix, but you can use any recipe you like!)
zest and juice of 1 large lemon and 1 large lime
1 1/2 blocks cream cheese (12 ounces) at room temperature
1 package white chocolate candy coating
colored sprinkles or coarse sugar, for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the cookie dough as directed on package or recipe; add in the zest and juice of the lemon and lime and mix well. Spread the cookie dough in a greased 9×9 baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until cookies are fully baked. Cool completely.
When cookies are cooled, using your hands, remove from the dish and crumble into the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor (small chunks are fine). Add in the cream cheese and mix until the cookie crumbs and cream cheese are completely mixed together. Roll into 1-1 1/2 inch balls and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
When the balls are thoroughly chilled, melt the white chocolate candy coating in the microwave, or over a double boiler. Carefully dip each ball into the white chocolate and turn to coat. Remove with a tooth pick and set on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Top with sprinkles. Repeat until all the balls are coated. Store in the refrigerator.
The 4th of July is such a great holiday, I think. I mean, aside from the whole “winning our independence” thing, which is obviously the most important, this is such a fun-loving, happy holiday. Who doesn’t love grilling/eating hot dogs, watching baseball, setting off fireworks and being with friends and family? That’s what it’s all about, to me. When I was a kid, we had a lake house where we would spend every single 4th of July- we’d sit out on the boat dock eating watermelon and shooting off fireworks. I always loved the sparklers. Some of my very happiest memories come from those 4th of July celebrations out at the lake house. Such good times. This year (like last year), we’re going to a baseball game – baseball, hot dogs and fireworks- is there anything more American? We just love it! In honor of the good ‘ol 4th – I decided to get a little patriotic in the kitchen and bake up some red, white and blue cupcakes. Nothing fancy, just simple white cake with a kick-butt buttercream. As always, I chose Dorie Greenspan’s recipe for her perfect party cake- it never fails. I also went with the standby Magnolia Bakery buttercream and topped it off with some patriotic sprinkles. Happy 4th of July, everybody- ENJOY!
Red, White and Blue Cupcakes
-Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home to Yours
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees. Fill cupcake pans with cupcake liners.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the buttermilk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the buttermilk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the buttermilk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Using a small spoon, fill each cupcake liner 1/2 full with the batter.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes are well risen and springy to the tough – a toothpick inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cupcakes to cooling racks and cool completely before frosting them.
Vanilla Buttercream
-Magnolia Bakery
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used a good Mexican vanilla and it was fantastic!)
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading or piping consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.
**For red, white and blue cupcakes- separate the cake batter into 3 different bowls. Add blue food coloring (I use gel) to one bowl, the red to another, and leave the third bowl as is. Fill each cupcake liner with a small, even layer of blue, then white, then red on top. Mine didn’t exactly come out perfectly straight- I ended up with more of a “wobbly” effect, but it really doesn’t matter as long as you get the three colors! I thought it looked kind of fun, actually! 🙂
In the Summertime, you grill. Period. If you don’t know how to grill, you better learn, because as far as I’m concerned, it’s not Summer without grillin’. Of course, that’s just my own personal opinion; I have lots of them. Probably way too many. Just ask my hubby. Or my mom. Or my second grade teacher.
Honestly, one of my favorite grilled things to eat is chicken breast marinated in my favorite marinade, Lime Ponzu. It’s so amazingly simple, and the chicken turns out so sweet and juicy. We were having company recently and I thought the Ponzu marinated chicken would be great to serve along with my grilled corn salad and pineapple rice. Then I took it a step further and thought, “why not do a Ponzu shish-kabob with red peppers, red onions and pineapple?” Perfect! So that’s what we did and boy am I glad! Those kabobs were amazing! The chicken was perfectly tender and juicy, and the peppers, onions and fresh pineapple paired so well with the Ponzu- almost kind of a “Hawaiian” flavor. Totally delicious! We’ve made them twice since then! If you’re looking for a great grilling meal- look no further, because these are as easy as they come, yet really, really flavorful and delicious!
Easy Grilled Chicken Shish-Kabobs
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1/2-3/4 cup Lime Ponzu (You can find this in the Asian section of the grocery store, next to the soy sauce)
3 red peppers, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 large red onion, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 fresh pineapple, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
freshly ground black pepper to taste
skewers (wooden or metal- if you use wooden, make sure to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling so they won’t catch on fire)
Place the cut up chicken in a large ziploc bag with the marinade. (*Save 2 or 3 tablespoons of the Ponzu for later use.) Refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours.
Take out the chicken and dispose of the marinade. To assemble the kabobs, place the red pepper first, then the chicken, then the pineapple, then the onion, then repeat with the same order. Try to fit two of everything on each skewer. You’ll end up with around 12-14 skewers.
Grill the kabobs over medium-high heat for about 8-11 minutes, turning 3 or 4 times, until the chicken is cooked through. Occasionally brush with the reserved marinade and season with the pepper. Remove from heat. Serve with rice and a cold salad and enjoy! Serves 4-6.
