Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler

I'd always been intrigued by rhubarb but never had an opportunity to try it, until today. It was on sale and it seemed like a perfect time to try to do something with it. My excitement was cut short when I got around to preparing it. It was like cutting celery. Stringy. And it had the mild aroma of cut grass. I was not impressed. I didn't want this in my dessert. But I pressed on because I wanted to say I tried it at least once. I'm glad I did because this cobbler is delicious!
This recipe is based off of this one, although I made some changes based on my personal taste and the ingredients I had on hand.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

 2 cups chopped rhubarb
 2 cups strawberries, chopped
 1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
 1 tablespoon lemon juice

 Cobbler crust:
 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 • Preheat oven to 350° and coat a 9in square pan with butter.
 • You want to clean and thinly slice the rhubarb and get rid of any strings that are easy to remove. I used 3 stalks to get the chopped 2 cups. For the strawberries, clean them as you usually would, then chop them the same size as the rhubarb.
• In a large bowl, mix the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice together and let sit while you mix the crust.
 • For the crust, mix all the dry ingredients together. Mix the butter into that and when it is evenly incorporated, add the milk, egg and vanilla. Mix quickly.
 • Now it's time to assemble the cobbler. Put the rhubarb-strawberry mixture into the baking dish. Then spoon the cobbler crust over the fruit evenly.
 • Bake for 30 minutes and eat with ice cream, if you have some!

Caramel Cake

This cake is so yummy. Caramel being one of my all-time favorite flavors makes this one of my top picks for cake.

Caramel Cake

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk (coconut milk perferred)
2 tablespoons butter

Glaze:
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2/3 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup milk

• Preheat oven to 350° and butter the bottom and sides of an 8x8 cake pan.
• For the cake, you want to first mix the eggs, sugar and vanilla with a wisk until well combined.
• Add flour, baking powder and salt to the egg mixture and mix lightly.
• In a small saucepan, you want to bring 2tbsp butter and the milk to a light boil, then add to the cake batter and mix thoroughly. Pour in the cake pan and bake for 20 minutes.
• While that is in the oven, you're going to mix the glaze together and when the cake is done, you want to pour the hot glaze over the cake.
• This next step is optional but worth it : After the glaze is poured, place the cake under the broiler for only 45 seconds to one minutes.
• Let the cake cool for as long as you can then eat!

Also: this cake is also perfect for a layer cake, you'll just want to double the recipe.

Caramel Apple Crisp

This is a great fall recipe. Its incredibly easy and its cooked in the same pan that it is assembled in. I make this in a 10 inch cast iron pan. If you don't have one, I'm sure you could just use another pan of the same size but I gotta say, you should really consider getting a cast iron skillet. It is the best and my favorite thing in the kitchen (other than the food).

Caramel Apple Crisp

3 apples, thinly sliced
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Crisp:

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt

• Starting with the filling, melt the 1/4 cup of butter in the skillet over medium heat.
• When the butter is melted, all the brown sugar and cook for 1 minute. Add the milk.
• When the milk is thoroughly combined, add the sliced apples and toss lightly to coat them. Cover for three minutes.
• Add cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix and set aside.
• In a small bowl, mix crisp ingredients together until combined.
• Evenly sprinkle over apples.
• Place skillet in a 375° oven and cook for 25 minutes.
• Let cool for at least 15 minutes.
• Eat with ice cream!

No pictures because it was just too good! Serves 4.

Brown Sugar Wafers

I love these cookies. I wanted to name them "simple and delicious cookies" but that's not very descriptive. With only 5 ingredients, these might be the easiest cookies I have ever made.

Brown Sugar Wafers

1/4 cup shortening*
3/4 cup salted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour

* You could use replace the shortening with butter if you wanted to.

•Cream together the first three ingredients until well mixed.
•Add the egg and continue to mix. You could add some vanilla if you wanted to (I did).
•Mix in the flour one cup at a time.
•When everything is combined, cover the dough and refrigerate until the dough is chilled (about 30 minutes).
•When it's ready, take about a tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball with you hands. Drop dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.
•Flatten dough with a spoon.
•Bake in a 350° oven for ten minutes.
•Immediately remove from sheet and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Crusty Peach Pie

This is a recipe for a good old fashioned Peach Pie (with a deeeelicious, buttery crust).

The recipe I used to make the crust can be found at Smitten Kitchen . I'm sure you could use a store bought crust but we both know it wouldn't be as tasty!

Peach Pie

1 large can of peaches
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg and cinnamon, each
1/2 cup brown sugar

•Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
•Transfer the peaches to a large bowl, leaving most of the juice in the can. Then add the rest of the ingredients and stir well.
•After rolling out the first dough, press it into the pie plate and add the peaches.
•next, roll out the second dough and top the peaches with the crust.
•bake in the oven for 20m the turn the oven to 375 and bake for an additional 50m.
•Cool for as long as you can and eat!

Lightly Lemon Bars

These lemon bars are shortbread cookies with lemon curd and a crumble. Very tasty and easy to eat!

Shortbread Cookie:
1 stick butter (softened)
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Lemon Curd:
About 1/2 cup (I used it from a jar instead of homemade and it was just as good)

Crumble:
2 tbsp butter (softened)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp rolled oats

•Preheat oven to 375 degrees

•Spray an 8x8 square dish with cooking spray, then line with parchment paper (or wax paper) so it hangs over the sides (for easy removal). Spray paper with cooking spray and set aside.

•Next, mix together the ingredents for the shortbread cookie, starting with butter and brown sugar. Gradually add flour, half cup at a time with the salt. I used my hands to mix because it was the quickest way (and kind of fun)

•Press the crumbly mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Prick with a fork about 6-10 times. Then bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

•Prepare the crumble while the shortbread is cooking. Just throw the ingredents into a bowl and mix. Nothing fancy. You can even use your fingers again.

•When the shortbread comes out, spread the lemon curd on top while it is still hot.

•Evenly distribute the crumble on top.

•Bake for an additional 10 minutes.

• Remove the bars and allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan. The, remove the bars using the paper as a handle and place on top of a wire rack to finish cooling.

•Once cool, cut into bars and enjoy!

Makes 16 bar cookies.