Simplest Cherry Pie

Cherry pie is my favorite dessert in the whole wide world. When I was younger (in like my 20's) I knew I would have it made as an adult when I could knit socks and make a really fantastic pie crust. 

so Far,  I am still working on the pie crust.  

You can use this recipe with any fruit that you desire , peaches, apples, plums, strawberries, or a mix.... Doesn't Peach Raspberry sounds just Heavenly? 

I used a prepared crust, but if you want to make your own, there is a recipe for a 

Whole Grain Pie Crust. Here. 

You can even use the fancy French name for the Galette, I couldn't even pronounce it, let alone hope people to know what I was meaning when I talked about it. 

so thaw out a pie crust, or better yet, whip one up really quickly and use some of the delicious summer fruit that you picked up at your farmer's market and impress your family, friends and strangers on the internet with your French dessert making skills. 

Red Monster Smoothie

I just love this Red Monster Smoothie - I am still trying to love the green ones as much as the rest of the whole world does. 

 

 I really like to buy lots of berries when they are in season and freeze them for making smoothies and nice cream. Berries never seem to last as long as I would like them to in my fridge. 

If you are using frozen fruit, go ahead and leave out the ice - you'll have a plenty frozen smoothie. And I really do like to use water in mine, anything else just adds sugar and calories that you won't miss. And adding more water, which your body will thank you for! 

 

Watermelon Raspberry and Lime Pops

You know those times when you buy a watermelon and it just isn't as good as you want it to be.  You don't want to waste it, but it isn't going to be delicious to just eat.  I have a solution for you - add some raspberries and lime and make popsicles!

It's a genius idea, refreshing and cold it is everything a summer treat could need to be!

The perfect way to enjoy that watermelon that you swore was going to be perfect and then turned out to be a little bit less than. 

Ginger Melon with Mint

 

I grew up loving Honeydew melon. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a highly agricultural area and so there were lots of farm stands and neighbors growing gardens.   I always loved these sweet green melons and I was shocked when I married Joseph and he didn't like them at all. 

Sadly, his experience was much different than mine and he was used to the hard, tasteless, not ripe / store bought melons that are used as filler in fruit salads with lots of sugary dressing. 

I think I am converting him though. 

I very rarely will buy melons at my local grocery store / super market.  I don't think they are nearly as yummy as the ones you can get from your farmer's market or farm stand.  

When you shop at a farmer's market, you are getting food that is at its peak for taste and nutrition. It has been grown, picked and is now ready for you to eat it! Your farmer can help you pick out a melon that is ripe and juicy and delicious and you'll wonder what in the world you were eating before that was calling itself a melon. 

Photos courtesy of Bite Delite

Whole Grain Chocolate Waffles

When I whipped these up on Sunday morning everybody thought I was making dessert for breakfast. But the truth is, these couldn't have been more simple or better for us. 

Since I added cocoa powder to my waffles, I was able to boost the flour to 100% whole grain instead of the 50/50 blend that I normally use with all-purpose flour. (Because the cocoa made the waffles a nice chocolate brown and that totally hides the whole grain color from my family. (mostly the teens!)

I sliced up the last of the berries that I had in the fridge and the ones that I had to cut up because one side had gone a little "mushy" got put into a sauce pan and cooked down to make a delicious syrup - who's only ingredient was mashed up berries. 

 

You could serve these with sliced bananas, or other fresh fruits. You could even serve them as dessert waffles and not tell a soul they were eating something really good for them. 

They did turn out a little Cake-y for the waffle purist in our family, but when I heated one up the next day in the toaster over it was crispy on the outside and perfect on the inside....  I might just say these are Better the next day. But I'll need to make a few more batches and do lots more chocolate waffle research. 

Healthy Pumpkin Pound Cake

There are two kinds of  pumpkin bakers in this world. - There are the kind who go crazy gung-ho with pumpkin during the autumn season and there are the kind who back with pumpkin all year long. 

I am actually the kind who bakes with it all year long, but it only really makes sense to share it here during the fall months. 

This is a great basic quick bread recipe, you'll notice it has not butter or fats in the recipe, you use the pumpkin for that - isn't that awesome!

The spiciness of the bread makes for an amazing disguise if you are introducing whole grain flours to your family. 

This bread smells like the holidays when it is baking - all kinds of pumpkin goodness with cinnamon and cloves. It is the best recipe for the time between Halloween and all the pumpkin spice goodness and Thanksgiving and Christmas with the delicious gingerbread spices and tastes. 

Apple Pie Scones

Here is a yummy recipe for using those sweet apples in baking. This recipe doesn't use a lot of sugar and you can use whole wheat pastry flour  or use a half / half mix. 

Bring on all the wonderful fall baking. 

Ingredients

1 large egg

1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1 tsp lemon juice 

1 Tbsp sugar

1 medium apple

2 cups all-purpose flour (plus a small amount for dusting) 

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

5 Tbsp cold butter 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Wash the apple, peel and cut it. Use a box grater or large holed cheese grater to shred the apple.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, apple sauce, lemon juice, sugar, and shredded apple.

In a separate large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and ginger. Once combined, add the butter and work it into the flour until it resembles coarse, damp sand.

Finally, pour the bowl containing the apple egg mixture into the large bowl with the flour and butter. Stir just until a dough forms and no more dry flour remains on the bottom of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a 6-8 inch wide, 1.5 inch thick disc (sprinkle more flour on your hands and on the surface of the dough if needed. The dough may be slightly sticky). Cut the disc into eight wedges.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the cut scones on top. Bake the scones for 18-20 minutes in the fully preheated oven, or until they are just slightly golden brown on top. Allow the scones to cool completely.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

I can't think of a single thing in the whole world that isn't more delicious with pumpkin added. If you consider the healthy benefits of adding pumpkin, I can't think of a single reason not to add pumpkin to everything that comes out of the kitchen. 

Ingredients

Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups old-fashioned whole rolled oats
1 and 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 and 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree

Glaze
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 and 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 Tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the oats, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice together in a medium bowl.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large bowl. Whisk in the granulated sugar and brown sugar until combined. Whisk in the egg yolk and vanilla extract until combined, then whisk in the pumpkin.

Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. The cookie dough will be thick and sticky.

Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop cookie dough into balls (about 2 heaping Tbsp of dough each) and place 3 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Slightly flatten the balls out since the cookies won't spread much unless you help out.

Bake for 14-15 minutes or until lightly browned and set on the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before icing.

Make the icing: Whisk together the icing ingredients until smooth. Dip the top of each cookie into the icing.