Category Archives: Sweets

Lemon Poppyseed Sweet Rolls

Lemon poppyseed sweet rolls. Looking for something to do with your excess summer lemons? Look no further.

This citrusy spin on a cinnamon roll is filled with lemon curd.

Sweet, tart, & crispy, smothered with lemon cream cheese icing. Perfect for brunch & dessert alike.

Lemon Poppyseed Sweet Rolls

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups of flour
  • 1 cup of milk (warm)
  • 1 stick of butter (softened)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 lemon worth of lemon juice
  • 1 TSP of baking soda & salt
  • 2 TBSP of poppyseed
  • 1 pack of yeast
  • 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup of lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup of butter
  • 1/4 cup of agave
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/2 block of cream cheese (softened)
  • 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar
  • 1/2 lemon worth of lemon juice
  • Yellow food dye (optional)
  1. Add packet of yeast to 1 cup of warm milk. Wait 5 minutes until frothy and activated.
  2. Add milk, granulated sugar, two eggs, 1/2 lemon worth of lemon juice, baking soda, salt, softened butter & poppyseed. Combine until incorporated.
  3. Add flour slowly a cup at a time.
  4. Form into a ball and let dough rise until double in size.
  5. Add 1/2 cup of lemon juice, 1/4 cup of butter & agave to pot. Heat on medium until fully incorporated.
  6. Add two egg yolks and slowly whisk. Whisk frequently until thickened.
  7. Remove and let cool.
  8. Roll dough.
  9. Add thin layer of lemon curd.
  10. Roll from the long side of the dough until fully rolled.
  11. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
  12. Place into greased baking pan.
  13. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until Golden brown.
  14. Add softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup of lemon juice, 1/4 of agave into bowl.
  15. Whisk until fully incorporated.
  16. Spread evenly on slightly cooled rolls.
  17. Serve & enjoy!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pop-tarts

Next on the tour of unconventional pop tart flavors, chocolate covered strawberry poptarts.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pop tarts

4 oz of strawberries, sliced

1 cup of water

4 oz of strawberries, sliced

1/2 cup of sugar

1 cup of water

1/2 cup of sugar

2 1/2 cup of flour

1 cup of butter

1/2 TSP of salt

3 TBSP of cold water

1/4 cup of chocolate chips

1/4 cup of confectioners sugar

1 TSP of cream of tartar

3 TBSP of water

Pink food dye and sprinkles (optional)

Strawberry Filling:

  1. Add strawberries, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup of sugar to pot and bring to a boil. Stir to mix and dissolve sugar.
  2. Once water is at a boil, lower to simmer.
  3. Simmer for 10-12 minutes or until substance thickens.

Pie Crust:

  1. Cube cold butter.
  2. Mix flour and salt in a separate bowl.
  3. Add cubed butter and flour and salt mixture to the food processor.
  4. Pulse until crumbly.
  5. Combine into a single ball, wrap and plastic wrap, and cool in fridge for at least 1 hour.

Pop Tart Assembly:

  1. Roll pie crus out.
  2. Cut vertically, equal portions approximately 2 inches wide.
  3. In the upper portion, spoon approximately 1 TBSP of strawberry filing per rectangle.
  4. Top each with approximately 1/2 TBSP of chocolate chips.
  5. Brush outer portion of crust surrounding the filing.
  6. Fold lower half of pie crust to cover the portion with the filing.
  7. Seal with fork around the edges and brush with remaining egg whites.
  8. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
  9. Allow to cool before icing.

Decor & Icing:

  1. Add confectioners sugar, 3 TBSP of water, and food dye.
  2. Mix until fully incorporated.
  3. Dip top portion of tart into icing.
  4. Add sprinkles.
  5. Serve & enjoy!

Carrot Cake Poptarts

Your favorite childhood dessert + the dessert you thought you hated as a child = this recipe.

Poptarts are the ultimate snack of our childhood. But what if Poptarts were more than you typical strawberry, blueberry & brown sugar?

Enter, carrot cake. Unfairly abhorred by those who hone in on the word ‘carrot’.

Making homemade Poptarts may seem like tedious work for the sake work itself. Admittedly, making this recipe for a late night snack may not be convenient. But if you have the time it is well worth it.

Carrot Cake Poptarts

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/4 cup of flour
  • 1 stick of butter cold
  • 3 TBSP of cold water
  • 1 TSP of salt
  • 4 oz of softened cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup of finely shredded carrots
  • 3/4 cup of confectioners sugar (separated into 1/4 & 1/2 cup)
  • 1 TSP of cinnamon
  • 1 TSP of cream of tartar
  • Orange food dye and sprinkles (optional)

Pastry:

  1. Cube butter. Place butter, flour, salt and water into food processor. Pulse until crumbly.
  2. Combine into single ball and wrap air-tight.
  3. Cool in fridge for 1 hour minimum.

Filling:

  1. Combine softened cream cheese, finely shredded carrots, 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar, and cinnamon.
  2. Mix until fully incorporated.

Poptart Assembly & Baking:

  1. Roll pie crust into thin single layer.
  2. Cut the rigid edges of the pie crust to create symmetrical rectangle.
  3. Cut vertically into even rectangles.
  4. Apply filling into top half of sectioned off rectangles.
  5. Apply egg wash on the edges of the filling.
  6. Fold over empty portion of pastry.
  7. Use fork to press along the edges and secure.
  8. Add additonal egg wash to sealed tart.
  9. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
  10. Remove from oven to cool.

Icing & decorating:

  1. Combine confectioners sugar, water, cream of tartar and food die in a bowl until fully incorporated.
  2. Place in shallow bowl.
  3. Dip cooled tarts into icing to cover central area.
  4. Add sprinkles immediately after.
  5. Allow icing to dry, serve & enjoy!

Firework Swirl Cheesecake Bars

Inspired by fireworks in the sky – swirls in a cheesecake bar.

Cheesecake, while being a top tier dessert, in it’s typical cake shape while easily sliced is not stackable and snack-able. These cheesecake bars require no silverware, or plates and are poised to be staked upon the edges of a charcuterie board or a plate on their own at the dessert table.

The swirl. Do not be intimidated by the swirl! Swirling in flavors is simple way to elevate the appearance of a baked good while elevating the flavors. All that is necessary to ensure the swirliest swirl is:

  • A teaspoon
  • A skewer or toothpick

Swirl Tips:

  1. Dollop a teaspoon of blueberry and or cherry mixture into the cheese cheesecake.
  2. Alternatively dollop blueberry or cherry mixture throughout entire cheesecake leaving approximately 3/4th an inch between each dollop. The key is to have the dollops not so close together that the colors bleed, but not too far away that you cannot distinguish the two.
  3. Take the pointy tip of skewer and swirl one dollop at a time. Start from the most concentrated part of the dollop and move the swirl into the surrounded plain cheesecake mixture.
  4. Alternate shapes. Alternate shapes when swirling dollop to create complexity of shape.
  5. For this recipe, I tried to prevent the cherry & blueberry mixtures from mixing as much as possible to preserve the “firework effect” of each different color.

The Graham Cracker “crust” is crucial to the structural integrity of these bar. Best of all it does not require the tedious but worth while process of crumbling the graham crackers and mixing with other ingredients. Simply layer the entire graham cracker at the base of the baking pan.

Firework Swirl Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:

8 oz of cream cheese (softened)

1 cup of fresh herries (pitted) & blueberries

1 cup of sugar (separated in half)

2 cups of water (separated in half)

1 cup of confectioner’s sugar

1 TSP of milk

1 egg

1 TSP of vanilla

1 pinch of salt

1 box of graham crackers

Blueberry & Cherry Compote:

Complete this portion of the recipe once for the blueberry and cherry compote.

  1. Add blueberries or cherries into a medium pan.
  2. Add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil.
  3. Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
  4. Lower to medium-low heat so mixture is at a low simmer.
  5. Simmer until mixture thickens and sticks to the back of a spoon without being too runny.
  6. Remove from heat and let cool.
  7. Once cooled, add to food processor to fully incorporate.

Cheesecake Bars:

  1. Heat oven to 350.
  2. Line baking pan with parchment paper.
  3. Layer full graham crackers filling up the baking pan to be as full as possible.
  4. In a bowl combine softened cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar, egg, vanilla, pinch of salt & milk. Mix until fully incorporated. Use your discretion to add a touch more of milk to make the mixture less lumpy.
  5. Slowly layer cheesecake mixture on top of graham crackers. Be careful to not disrupt the graham cracker’s arrangement.
  6. Swirl in cherry & blueberry compote. See above swirl tips for perfect swirling.
  7. Place in oven and make for 30-40 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick is clean upon sticking the center of the cheesecake.
  8. Let cool, cut , serve & enjoy.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Shortbread Cookies

Favorite summer cake meets favorite Christmas cookie. A strawberry shortcake is the ultimate summer cake. The perfect showcase for sweet & delicious strawberries. Enter linzer tarts, a Christmas cookie classic and wa-la so the Strawberry-Rhubarb Shortbread Cookie is born.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups of flour

1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar (separated)

1/2 TSP of salt

2 sticks of cold butter, cubed

5-6 large strawberries

1 medium stalk of rhubarb

1/2 cup of sugar

1 cup of water

Shortbread Cookies:

  1. Combine flour, 1 cup of powdered sugar, and 1 TSP of salt.
  2. Add cubed butter. Combine in a food processor until dough is crumbly.
  3. Remove dough from food processor and mold together.
  4. Roll dough into 1/2 thick sheet. Use circle cookie cutter to shape cookies. Use smaller shaped cookie cutter on half of the cookies to create hole in the middle.
  5. Place shaped cookies onto parchment lined cookie tray.
  6. Cool cookies in fridge until cookies are solidified.
  7. Heat oven to 325. Bake cookies at 325 for 13-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
  8. Remove from oven and cool.

Strawberry Rhubarb Filling:

  1. Core and slice strawberries.
  2. Cut rhubarb into 1/2 thick pieces.
  3. Place strawberry slices and rhubarb pieces into a sauce pan. Add water and sugar.
  4. Bring to a boil and reduce to medium low heat.
  5. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes or until mixture thickens.
  6. Remove from pan and cool.

Combination:

  1. Take two cookies, one with a hole and another with out. Press cookies in remaining powdered sugar.
  2. Take strawberry-rhubarb filling and smear approximately 1/2 TBSP per cookie sandwich.
  3. Press the cookies together, serve and enjoy!