Cocoa crepes

Yesterday I made some crepe mix and baked only part of it. I made the rest today and thought of giving it a new coat by adding 1 tbsp cocoa to the mix.

For the filling I used the usual farmers cheese, adding sugar, shredded coconut, some golden raisins, mini chocolate chips and mini marshmelows. Tasted great!

Blackberry cobbler

For this cobbler I used some leftover fruit: 1 peach, 1/2 box blueberries, 2 boxes blackberries.

I found THIS recipe some time ago and I was craving for it since the first moment I saw it. I'm so glad I tried the recipe, because it tasted heavenly!

Definitely will do it again, sooooon!!!!

Adding sugar, lemon juice and zest to the fruit...

Laying the cobbles until the fruit is covered, sprinkled with sugar...

Fresh from the oven...

Served strictly with vanilla ice cream... Heavenly!!!

Apricot Sesame Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup sesame seeds
• 6 tbsp apricot jam

In a large bowl beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in extract. Combine flour, salt and baking powder, gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well.

Roll into 1-in balls, roll into sesame seeds. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Using the end of a wooden spoon handle make an indentation in the center of each ball, fill with jam.

As you can see it in the pictures, I mixed half of the dough with 1 tbsp cocoa. Tasted just as great. I rolled some in coconut flakes. Delicious too.

Bake them at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes until lightly brown.

Believe it or not, there's only 5 pieces left of it... It's easy to make and they really melt in your mouth!

Taste of Home, Baking Classics, p. 321

Bagel

There was a time when, for months, I had a bagel for breakfast. Either with cream cheese or bacon and egg. Or cheese and ham. Or just toasted with some butter. I couldn't get bored with them.
One of these days I noticed on someone's blog the making of bagels and got me curious, so I started looking for more recipes. For some reason I decidedto try this one, and made my bagels more or less according to this recipe.

They tasted just like the ones from the bagelshops. The only difference was that the next day these were just as soft as after baking them, while the bought ones get harder even packed in ziplock bags...

Have fun!
:)

Resting the dough before shaping:


After shaping resting again for 20 minutes:

Boiling them for a minute on each side:

Sprinkled according to your tastebuds:

After baking them for 20 minutes:

Deffinitely will do it again!

No Name Souffle

No Name, because I didn't use Cointreau as in the original recipe. I used some of he tiny little bottle of liqueur I've found hidden on my pantry shelf. Still, I'm soooo happy for the result, it was very delicious. And it was my first souffle ever!

I followed this recipe.

Summer shortcake

I found this cake in Martha Sterwart's Living magazin, July 2007. We celebrated yesterday with our relatives from Switzerland and I chose this cake also to celebrate 1 year of my arrival to the States as a wife... :)

I liked this type of cake and plan to make is sometime again using different cutting shapes and fruit.

For the biscuits:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 8 oz cold cream cheese cut into 2-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup buttermilk, plus mor for brushing
• raw sugar for sprinkling

For the filling:

• 2 pints blueberries
• 2 pints strawberries, hulled
• 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Make the biscuits: in a food processor pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt until combined. Add butter and pulse until the largest pieces are the size of peas. Add cream cheese, pulse again until large pieces are the size of peas. Add buttermilk, pulse until dough comes together. Transfer to bowl, knead into ball. cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

Divide dough into half. On a lightly floured work surface roll into a 10-inch round. Transfer to baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush biscuits lightly with buttermilk, sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake until dough has risen and golden brown, for 12-15 minutes in 400 degrees preheated oven. Bottoms will brown sooner, that's why I placed another empty baking pan underneath.

Repeat with other biscuit. Using a 2 1/2 inch cutter cut out, but do not remove shapes, while it's still warm. Let cool.

Make filling: combine strawberries and bluebberries and 2 Tbsp sugar, let macerate until juicy, for 10 minutes.

Just before serving beat cream to medium peaks with remaining sugar and vanilla. Assemble cake: spoon half the berries over uncut biscuit, spread the whipped cream, top with remaining berries, reserve a few for decoration. Place cutout biscuit on top, fill out stars with reserved berries. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 3 hours.