By Linda Carol Wilson

Lemon Drop Cookies, photo by nsdis

These Lemon Crisp Cookies are not overly sweet but offer a light, tangy, refreshing taste. Perfect for after a meal or as a snack, these cookies are sure to be winners. They are as at home in a lunchbox as they are at afternoon high tea. Make some to share with your family and friends; you will be surprised how easy they are. Not only are they tasty and easy to make, they are pretty enough to decorate any table.

LEMON CRISP COOKIES

1 stick butter (unsalted is best), softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp finely grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour*

DRIZZLE:

1 cup powdered sugar
5 or 6 tsps lemon juice
Yellow sugar sprinkles

*For a healthier cookie use 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together for two minutes or until fluffy. Beat in the egg, lemon juice, lemon peel, vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat the mixture until well mixed. On low speed, beat in the flour/flours just until blended. Do not over beat the dough!

Drop the cookie dough onto ungreased baking sheets using a teaspoon. Place cookies approximately 1 1/2-inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown. Allow to cool on the baking sheets for about a minute then remove to wire racks to cool completely. When cookies are cool, make the drizzle by stirring the powdered sugar and lemon juice together in a small bowl. Use just enough lemon juice to made mixture thin enough to drizzle without being runny. Drizzle over the tops of the cookies and sprinkle the yellow sugar candies over all.

Enjoy!

Berry Stuffed Crepes, photo by Brisbane Falling

As a child I was always barely waiting for my mother to make crepes and eat them filled with home made sour cherry preserves! Back then is when I learned how easy it actually is to make the crepe batter whether you are mixing it by hand or using a food processor or blender. Just follow a few basic guidelines and you’ll always have perfect crepe batter!

Making the crepe batter requires a different technique based on the tools you have at hand to make it. If you have a blender or food processor you can just put all the ingredients together and mix until you get a smooth consistency. If you mix it by hand using a whisk start by beating the eggs then add a bit of flour and milk at a time. Sifting the flour will also help avoiding the flour to clump up but if you don’t have access to a sifter just add the flour one tablespoon at a time and try to spread it all over the batter surface rather than dumping it all in one place. Doing it this way is a bit more tedious but it will ensure that your final batter will be smooth and free of flour clumps.

Consistency wise, I prefer having the batter a bit thicker when using a spreader tool on a heavy cast iron crepe pan or an electric crepe maker, or runny if I use a light pan and spread the batter by tilting the pan. The best consistency is achieved when you poor the batter from a ladle 8 to 10 inches above the batter into the rest of the batter and it forms a continuous stream which does not splash when falling in the rest of the batter. Also you have to keep in mind that if you are refrigerating the batter for a couple hours to leave the flour absorb all the liquid, you will end up with a thicker batter. To compensate for this I usually check the consistency before cooking the crepes and add more milk to achieve the desired consistency.

The basic ingredients and quantities for the basic crepe batter are as follows:

• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Salt to taste

This will create a thicker batter best suited for use with a spreader. Add about 1/2 cup of milk for a thinner batter that will easily spread by tilting the crepe pan.

This batter will work for both sweet and savory crepes but if you want to make just sweet crepes you can add a bit of sugar and vanilla for more flavor!

Bon apetit!

Do you love crepes? So does the author who blogs about them and electric crepe maker machines at http://electric-crepe-maker.com.

By Ryan C Wilson

We like and love our chocolates almost to death. Well, no surprise there as chocolates are the ultimate food when it comes to satisfying our sweet tooth, not to mention that it definitely makes for warm, fuzzy and mellow feelings that can either relax us or arouse us. Plus, chocolates definitely have their health benefits. But being human as we are, we must experiment with the stuff. And so, we have come up with the idea of pairing chocolates with fruits, specifically with coating various types of fruits in rich chocolate. Here then are just a few of the favorites.

Frozen Chocolate Covered Bananas

Many have gone bananas over chocolate-covered bananas and we bet that you will, too. The creamy goodness of chocolate perfectly complements the natural sweetness of banana for an explosion of goodness few other chocolate treats can equal. Plus, you get the nutrition benefits of the banana, too. If you want to replicate it at home, you have to freeze the bananas to preserve the flavors and then dip them into melted chocolate. You may sprinkle finely granulated peanuts or other nuts of your choice for an extra crunch. Or you can just buy it for an instant chocolate fix.

Chocolate Dipped Pineapple

Who would have thought that the naturally tart sweetness of pineapples can be paired with the gooey goodness of chocolates? Well, whoever it was that did think up of the unusual pairing, we have so much to thank for her – yes, we are assuming that it can only be a woman and that’s a compliment – ingenuity. You can choose from milk chocolate and dark chocolate for the dipping. Either one is good in itself but it will always be up to your taste buds which one is the all-time favorite.

Chocolate Apples

And then there are the chocolate-dipped apples that are a huge hit for many kids and adults. These concoctions evoke memories of childhood summers filled with sunshine, games and friends, all of whom may be distant memories amidst a busy life. Well, you can always come back to those summers by dipping tart and sweet apples into gooey chocolate! Then sprinkle on the nuts and other favorite toppings for an extra treat that will really hit the spot – your sweet tooth, that is. Or you can order them for special occasions. Think along the lines of birthdays, baby showers and even anniversaries as sweet treats for the young and the not-so-young.

Chocolate Covered Orange Peels

Don’t throw those orange peels just yet. You can actually dip them into melted chocolate although the process before doing so can be a bit laborious. Basically, you will cut and juice the oranges, remove all pulp and pith, slice into strips, blanch the peels, make them into candy before baking. It is only after these steps that you may now dip the candied orange peels into the chocolate. If that sounds too labor-intensive for your lifestyle, then just buy them. You may then give them away as thoughtful but inexpensive gifts.

There are other fruits that make great pairs for chocolate. We can name strawberries, oranges, grapes and pears but you can always experiment with your own pairings. Buy all these super-delicious pairings of fruits and chocolate at http://www.indulgeinchocolate.com/ today.

By R Snyder

This is, hands down, the most amazing cookie I have ever tasted! The name is a mouth full, but don’t worry, you won’t be able to say it anyway because your mouth will be full of the cookies! It’s got everything you need for the perfect cookie, and it’s still wheat free! It is full of antioxidants, protein, and good fats. I never thought I would find a cookie that tastes as good as these that is still very healthy. Enjoy!

What you need:

1/2 cup of Dark Chocolate Dreams All Natural Peanut Butter from The Peanut Butter Co. (available at Kroger)

1/2 cup of Kroger blended Raspberry yogurt

1/2 cup of packed Kroger Light Brown sugar

1/2 cup of egg whites

1 cup of oat flour (ground from whole oats in food processor)

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

2 cups of quick cooking whole oats

1 cup of sweetened, dried cranberries

How to make them:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Add dark chocolate peanut butter, yogurt, brown sugar, egg whites and vanilla to blender and mix until everything looks creamy. I use the whip setting on my blender. This should only take about a minute, if that. Mix flour and baking soda together in a bowl and then add the mixture from the blender. Mix well. Add whole oats and cranberries to the bowl and mix well. Scoop out rounded teaspoonfuls of batter and place on ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake about 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for a minute or two and then finish cooling on a baking rack. Make several batches and freeze the left overs (if there are any!) for a great healthy snack.

http://www.blenderbreads.blogspot.com

By Lorelie Carvey

You are forced to become really creative when you have to. So as I made my way to professional cake decorating, I used easy cake decorating techniques to get through. Here are some simple ways to look like an expert if you are still in the midst of honing your skills.

• I utilized fresh flowers from the garden or even from a nearby field or roadside. You can find tiny little wild flowers that can be placed on the cake. Or can be sugared with a little egg white and fine sugar. (which will preserve them) ferns and tiny greens are awesome on a cake.

First get one egg white and whip the white a little with a fork until it starts to get frothy. Have a small artist brush ready.Put some super fine sugar in a bowl or on a plate and have a spoon ready. Next get a piece of waxed paper and spread that out next to your egg and sugar.

Now gather up your flowers and leaves. Do not wash them because they will wilt. Brush the egg white onto the petals and poor the sugar over the flower or leaf. Place on a piece of waxed paper to dry for a few hours. Arrange them on the cake.

Fresh fruit is another winner. Again you can sugar small fruits in the same way as the flowers.

• Toasted nuts chopped finely and coconut toasted is a really great way to cover the sides. If you need help covering a messy frosting job this is the way to go.You can also use untoasted coconut.
• Textured icing like the fluffy white waves you make while swirling the icing around in circles is fun and easy and looks great? (This is if you are not skilled yet at icing a cake smoothly.)
• If you want to wow people with your skills basket weaving is a basic cake decorating technique. It is the first thing I teach to my students after they learn how to frost a cake. I have directions on my web site with cake decorating videos and tutorials.
• Ribbons are fabulous.

Make little loops and attach them to wire. Stick the wires into the cake without the ribbon actually touching the cake. This way the material will not absorb the grease from the frosting. These look best when added to a small bouqeut of flowers on your cake.

• Fondant, which can be purchased at Michaels or other craft stores is fun to play with.

Roll out and cut into shapes. If you get the gum paste cutter set it includes directions for cutting and shaping.

• Always work with frozen or very cold cakes. This makes it so much easier to frost and decorate. The cake will thaw inside the icing which will help to keep it moist.

Only attempt butter cream roses after you practice working with butter cream and piping bags.

• Simple borders in the beginning would be dots and rosettes, using a round tip or shell tip.

It is not easy to make it look really nice in the beginning. So practice a lot. Use different angle and pressure until you get the hang of it. Or cover mistakes by adding a piece of sugared fruit, flowers nuts or bits of chocolate on each rosette.

• Chocolate is another great medium to work with. Here are a couple of easy but impressive techniques.

Melt the chocolate either carefully in the microwave or over a double boiler. Using a fork swirl the chocolate over your cake randomly.Or try this Place a piece of waxed paper on a tray and swirl the melted chocolate over the paper. Put it in the fridge for a few minutes until it hardens. Now remove carefully the pieces of the swirled chocolate and arrange in the center of the cake. You can make it three dimensional by propping them up against eah other or sticking them straight into the buttercream.

Practice enough and you are on your way to professional cake decorating. It just hapens!!! But until then try these simple “decorating a cake” ideas…

Lorelie Carvey’s website http://www.wedding-cakes-for-you.com, shares her expertise with aspiring cake decorators how to make a wedding cake. Bridesmaids and brides get free resources to help plan your unique wedding and shower celebration. Lorelie invites you to submit your best cake decorating ideas and sweet stories. Go to http://www.wedding-cakes-for-you.com/cakedecoratingcontest.html

Strawberry Shortcake, photo by kkimpel

There are two distinct camps on strawberry shortcake. The original strawberry shortcakes were made with a biscuit dough. The berries were sweetened and spread between layers of biscuit, then topped with plain or sweetened whipped cream.

Another way to make the shortcake is to use a sponge cake as a base for the shortcake. The berries are sweetened and served in the same way as the biscuit version. I prefer the sponge cake version, or even better,  I make it with pound cake.

When choosing berries for this recipe, look for ripe berries without soft spots or blemishes. Store them in a cool dry place, without washing. When ready to prepare them, wash them gently by dipping them into a large bowl of water briefly. Remove the berries from the water, leaving the dirt and sand at the bottom. Do not hold under running water, the force of the water can bruise the berries.

Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

• 3 cups strawberries
• confectioners sugar
• 6 biscuits or servings of sponge cake
• whipping cream

Crush the strawberries lightly with a fork or slice them. Add sugar to taste and set aside to macerate for 30 minutes or more at room temperature.

Prepare the biscuits or the sponge cake. When baked split the biscuits or slice the cake thinly. Layer the strawberries between the layers of biscuit or cake, then top with more berries.

Whip the cream with just enough sugar to sweeten until soft peaks form. Dollop the whipped cream on top and serve garnished with a whole berry or a sprig of mint if desired.