Fruit Pizza

 What's not to love about Fruit Pizza? There's a huge sugar cookie topped with creamy filling and fresh fruit and berries and a yummy glaze over all. I don't know when it first began showing up in kitchens in America, but it was given to me in the mid 1980's by a friends mother. She brought it to a church dinner and it was an instant hit. Most recipes call for purchased cookie dough, and mine did as well. But I soon decided to use one of my sugar cookie recipes instead, because it would work with a larger pan. This recipe is very popular around this area for family gatherings and pot luck dinners. It is usually the first dessert to go. I love that you can use just about any fruit or berry. My recipe has a cooked citrus glaze which not only adds a bit of sheen to the fruit, but it also keeps some fruits from turning brown. I almost always include bananas in my Fruit Pizza, and have not had a problem with them browning. But I don't think I've ever had this dessert longer than 2 days, so I don't know how much longer bananas would last. One of my favorite combinations is strawberry and Kiwis, along with bananas. This time I got a little patriotic with blueberries and strawberries. It was so yummy!

 I use my own cookie recipe and spread it evenly over the pan. I use a Baker's Half Sheet, about 17 inches by 13 inches. I just dot the pan with dough and smooth it out with my fingers. It doesn't have to look fancy, just get it to all the sides and corners. Bake for 12 minutes and cool. Then comes the cream cheese filling, then a layer of fruit, and lastly the glaze. The citrus glaze adds flavor, helps set the fruit, and helps prevent browning. I think the glaze also dresses this dessert up some. Think of Fruit Pizza as a large tart.

 I like adding lots of fruit and berries, placing them closely together. You  can do a design with the fruit or just place it randomly. It will taste fantastic either way! Use whatever fruit or berries are available. I've used strawberries, Kiwi, apples, bananas, blueberries, oranges, etc. Here's how I make Fruit Pizza. You can use your own sugar cookie recipe if preferred.

Fruit Pizza
Recipe from Lynda's Recipe Box and friend

Sugar Cookie Recipe
3/4 cup shortening, or you can use soft butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cream shortening and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Combine dry ingredients; add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Spread all the dough into a Half sheet baking sheet(about 17x13 in.). Bake in a preheated 350 degrees oven for 12 minutes. Cookie dough may not look done, but it will set up as it cools; don't over bake or it will be too hard. Cool completely.

While cookie bakes, make the citrus glaze.
Glaze:
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Heat juices in a saucepan.. Dissolve cornstarch in water and add to the hot juices. Stir continuously and cook until thick and clear, about 1-2 minutes. Cool. Glaze can be luke-warm when used, but if it thickens too much when you try to glaze the Fruit Pizza, just warm it a little and stir and it should be easy to brush.

Make filling while the cookie and glaze cool.
Filling:
1 1/2 bars, (12 ounces) 0f room temperature cream cheese
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until creamy.
(Note: If you want a thicker filling, use 16 ounces cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. )

To Assemble Fruit Pizza:
Spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the cooled cookie. Arrange fruit and berries over the filling, pressing in slightly just to set.
(I used about 1 quart of strawberries, halved, and almost 1 quart of blueberries, and 2-3 (I can't remember!), large bananas for this pizza.
Use a pastry brush to spread the citrus glaze. Topping the blueberries was a bit tricky, so I ended up dolloping the glaze on and spreading it gently.  The glaze needs to set before you cover the Fruit Pizza, so place in the refrigerator to chill, and cover in about an hour. Keep chilled until ready to serve. Enjoy!

NOTE: The cookie  layer can be baked a day ahead, if desired, and kept covered with foil until ready to assemble.

Strawberry Almond Coffee Cake

 I love a good coffee cake, especially when it's not too sweet first thing in the morning. This Strawberry Coffee Cake is dense, yet tender because of the addition of sour cream, and bursting with strawberries. There is a light glaze on this breakfast cake, but it isn't sugary sweet. I love that this cake is small, which is perfect for my husband and I now that we are empty nesters. The original recipe was made with raspberries, but I had strawberries I needed to use. I'll definitely be making this again. If you enjoy coffee cake, this one is delicious and quick to prepare. Hope you'll give it a try.

Strawberry Almond Coffee Cake
Adapted from Noble Pig

Cake Ingredients:
1 cup strawberries, diced
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup sliced almonds

GLAZE:
1/4 cup powdered sugar
about 1 1/2 teaspoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8 inch round cake pan.
1. In a small bowl, toss the strawberries and thee brown sugar together. Set aside.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, soda and salt together.
3. In bowl, add the egg, sour cream, melted butter and vanilla together.
Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and mix well. Batter will be very dense and thick.
4. Spread half the batter over the bottom of the prepared cake pan. The easiest way is to drop small spoon fulls around and then smooth it out over the bottom of the pan. You'll think there isn't enough batter, but it really will come together just fine.
5. Spoon the strawberries and sugar over the batter. Again, spoon small amounts of remaining batter over the strawberries and bottom layer. Carefully spread the batter out as best as possible, with a swirling motion. I used a large spoon to spread batter, but an off-set spatula will work too. Sprinkle with almonds.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes until done when a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean, and cake is lightly golden.
7. Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of pan before inverting cake onto serving platter. Mix together glaze and drizzle over the cake. Enjoy!
Can't wait to try this with blueberries, and also raspberries.

Strawberry Quick Bread

 This Strawberry Quick bread is full of moist, strawberry flavor. It is a perfect accompaniment with your morning coffee, and equally good with afternoon tea. Strawberries are my favorite berry, but I usually find ways to use them fresh. But this quick bread is excellent in flavor and texture. I normally add pecans to this bread, but left them out this time and it's still delicious. If you are a strawberry addict like me, and enjoy a good slice of bread, you need to try this Strawberry Quick Bread. I think you will really enjoy it. This bread would be great to make for Mother's Day also.

STRAWBERRY QUICK BREAD

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

zest of 1 lemon

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cup mashed strawberries- I used 1 1/3 cups

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the nuts, flour, sugar, soda, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, eggs, mashed strawberries and oil. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, just until combined and flour is incorporated.

3. Pour batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 55-60 minutes, until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan to a rack to cool.

For best flavor, moistness and easiest slicing, wrap the bread and let it sit overnight before cutting. Quick breads are best when they are allowed to rest overnight. It somehow gives them time for the best flavor and moistness to develop. Then enjoy a slice or 2 of this fantastic bread!

NOTE: King Arthur Flour also gives directions to make this into Rhubarb Bread.



Strawberry Mousse

 Strawberry season is almost here and I can't hardly wait! I know, strawberries have been in the supermarkets for awhile now, but they are just not as flavorful as local, home grown berries. I've had this recipe for Strawberry Mousse bookmarked for awhile, trying to wait until I could get my hands on some beautiful local berries. But I became impatient this week. I made it with the store bought berries. And it was still creamy and delish. It has a nice creamy and light texture, just as I hoped. That means that it will be fantastic made with local berries! I had to add a bit more sugar, as my berries weren't as sweet as home grown will be. My husband was less enthusiastic about this recipe-he thinks it needs more cream! But he always buries his desserts in whipped cream, so I'm not sure his opinion matters here! haha!
This recipe is so easy. The hardest part is waiting for it to chill so you can eat it! Give it a try if you love strawberries like I do.

Strawberry Mousse
Adapted from a Family Circle recipe here.

Ingredients:
1 envelope unflavored gelatin- I used Knox gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
2 cups hulled, sliced strawberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 2 more tablespoons (my addition)
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
3 tablespoons confectioners sugar
strawberries for garnish

Directions:
1. Add water to small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand for 1 minute to soften. Stir mixture over low heat until gelatin is dissolved, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
2. Placed hulled, sliced strawberries, all the granulated sugar and gelatin mixture into a food processor or blender. Whirl to puree. Pour into a bowl and chill until mixture just begins to mound when dropped from a spoon. I chilled it for about 30 minutes, although the recipe said to chill 1 hour. Don't over chill or the mixture won't fold into the cream easily.
3. Beat the cream and confectioners sugar in a chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Stir about 1/4 of the cream into strawberry mixture. Then gently fold in the remaining cream, just until combined, taking care not to over stir.
4. Spoon the mousse into 6 dessert glasses, dividing evenly. I actually had to use 7 glasses, and they were pretty full. Chill 2 hours before serving. I hope you enjoy!

Got Strawberries? Make Strawberry Yogurt Muffins or Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler!

The strawberries have been so good this season, so thought I'd re post a couple of wonderful recipes using these sweet berries. I posted these delicious Strawberry Yogurt Muffins last year and they are so good. Soft, tender muffins filled with strawberries are perfect with your morning coffee! I've made them often, and they've become one of our favorite muffins!

If you like strawberries with rhubarb, you'll love this tasty Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler with a tender biscuit like topping. Sprinkled with coarse sugar, this dessert is really delicious. Add some whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream to make it even better!

Hope you enjoy!

April's Family Recipes; Memories of Family, Food and Fun- And a Spinach, Romaine, Strawberry Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Before I get to this delicious salad, I want to mention this months round up for Family Recipes; Memories of Family, Food and Fun! I am hosting for the month of April. Make a dish that is a favorite of your family's, whether it's yours, your moms, an aunt, cousin or whoever, and submit it to me, (Lynda), at whatscookin52 at sbcglobal dot net. Post it on your blog between now and April 30, 2010 (USA EST). All submissions must be in English, please. Provide a link in your post to this page. Email me with the recipe name and the URL of the post. I also need the URL of your blog and your location. New posts only please. You can send a photo, or I will grab a photo from your post. For complete rules, go here.
Now for this salad. When the weather warms up, I love having a large salad for lunch most days. Since it has been around 80 degrees for the past several days, a nice cool salad just hit the spot. I put together this main dish salad using ingredients I had on hand. I had some left over Rotisserie Chicken from Walmart, so I added it too. I love romaine lettuce as the basis for my salads, and then I pile on whatever else is in my fridge. The strawberries have been so good, so I decided to include them. There's not really a recipe as it depends on how many salads you are making and what ingredients you have. Here's what I did.

Spinach, Romaine and Strawberry Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette:
from Lynda's Recipe box

Romaine lettuce, washed and torn or cut
baby spinach leaves, washed
toasted, sliced almonds
shredded rotisserie chicken
diced red onion
sliced strawberries
shredded Parmesan, or other cheese of choice

Balsamic vinaigrette: I only made a small amount to last a few days. I used 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, pinch of salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon sugar. I placed all ingredients in a jar with a lid and shook until well combined. Other vinegars may be subbed for the balsamic, and canola oil may be used instead of olive oil. This is a cool and delicious salad with the strawberries and balsamic vinegar. Hope you'll give it a try!

Strawberry Yogurt Muffins

I'm addicted to strawberries. Have been since I was a little girl. My favorite way to eat them is right off the vine, but when they are no longer in season , I'll definitely buy them from my local grocery store. They aren't as good as the farm fresh berries, but when you're an addict you'll take what you can get! When I saw this recipe for Strawberry Yogurt Muffins from Culinary Wannabe awhile back, I knew I'd have to try them. Then, the people from Stonyfield Farm contacted me to see if I wanted to try their Oikos Greek Yogurt, and of course I said, yes! So, I made these delicious muffins with the yummy, creamy Oikos Greek Yogurt. These muffins are the perfect addition for breakfast, brunch or anytime snack and have so much flavor, plus with the yogurt and whole wheat flour, they are a very healthy choice. Enjoy!

STRAWBERRY YOGURT MUFFINS

1 cup AP flour

1 cup whole wheat four

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup chopped strawberries (I used 1 1/2 cups, I'm an addict, remember!)

2 eggs

1 cup yogurt, I used Oikos organic nonfat Greek yogurt,

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl mix the flours, sugar and baking soda together. Add the chopped strawberries and stir to coat. In another bowl, mix together the eggs and yogurt, then add the butter and vanilla. Gradually add the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Don't over mix, but the batter is going to be very thick. Distribute dough evenly into 12 greased muffin cups. Since I used more strawberries, I had 14 muffins instead of the 12. Muffins will be full. I sprinkled some coarse sugar on top of the muffins. Bake at 375 degrees for about 2o-25 minutes
until golden. Betcha can't eat just one! They are sooo good!

I used paper muffins liners for these muffins, but we had trouble with them sticking to the muffins when we first tried them. However, the next morning the liners came off much better. I'll probably just spray the pans with baking spray from now on. And I will be making these strawberry muffins again, many times. They are just that good! Any strawberry addict will love them!

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

First off, I need to explain my unplanned absence the last few days. My mother-in-law was rushed to the hospital several days ago, so that's where I have been. Thankfully, she was able to leave the hospital yesterday afternoon and go back to the assisted living facility where she now lives. Whew, that always scares us, as she is 89, but I guess she is tough! I am blessed to have a wonderful MIL and I have enjoyed our relationship so much!
I hope you all are having an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend! We are getting ready to visit some family graves, hopefully before the rain gets heavy! Both my Father and my FIL were World War 2 vets, so we take not only flowers, but flags to their grave sites.
Yesterday after noon, I finally got to do a little cooking; I've been wanting to make a strawberry and rhubarb pie for quite awhile, but with all the busyness, I decided a cobbler would be so much quicker. Besides that, my husband is a proclaimed rhubarb hater, so I didn't want to go to a lot of trouble, if he really doesn't like it! I told him he had to try it, to be a good example to his picky son! Well, he did have some last night with a couple of huge scoops of vanilla ice cream and he stated that it was OK. That's better than hating it! Besides, I loved this so much, that I wouldn't mind at all if I had to eat the whole thing! Hehe, all to myself! That would be fine by me! But I'm sure he'll have some more, as long as there's ice cream to have with it.

I had forgotten that rhubarb is considered a vegetable, but it is very tart so it really needs the addition of sugar to make it tasty. And paring it with strawberries is a delicious match. The leaves of the rhubarb plant are considered poisonous, so be sure to remove them before cooking! I didn't have a recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler, but I thought I remembered seeing one at Elsie's site, Simply Recipes, so I used hers, with wonderful results! I did adapt the recipe some, as I didn't have the amout of rhubarb the recipe called for, so I used more strawberries.
STRAWBERRY RHUBARB COBBLER
For the fruit mixture you need;
3 cups rhubarb pieces, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 cups strawberries, stemmed and sliced or quartered
1/2 cup sugar, (I could have used a little more, 3/4 cup total)
2 T quick cooking tapioca
1 tsp. grated orange peel, (I didn't use this)

Cobbler crust;
1 cup flour
2T. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a bowl, mix the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar and orange zest, if using and let set, or macerate for about 30 minutes.
In a another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk and egg together until just blended.
Pour fruit into a 8x8x2 inch baking dish. Drop the batter on top of fruit and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes, until golden. Serves about 6. Top with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired! Delicious! If you like your fruit really sweet, you may need to increase the sugar.
Do you like rhubarb?

Strawberry and Pomegranate Smoothie

I hope everyone is doing well after these winter storms have gone through. We had lots of snow on Saturday, but it stayed warm enough that the snow melted as it fell. But I know many of you probably still have the white stuff! How much did you get? I hope this was the last winter weather for this season! Now, for a recipe. I love a good smoothie. Not only do these Strawberry and Pomegranate Smoothies taste good but it just makes me feel better knowing that I drank something that is so healthy! The folks at POM WONDERFUL contacted me to see if I would want to try their juice. Since I love Pomegranates, I was happy to try it. Pomegranates are full of antioxidants that are good for our bodies, plus they just taste so good! I love to break open the fruit and pull out those delicious juice filled seeds. I use them in fruit salads, but now we can use the juice for cooking other dishes.POM WONDERFUL is 100% pomegranate juice, no fillers at all,and it comes from California, not imported. You can find a lot of recipes and other info at http://www.pomwonderful.com/ . And, no, I'm not being paid to say this. Now, back to this yummy smoothie. I sent my daughter off to college with one this morning. She has a habit of not eating breakfast unless I put something in her hand. It was hard getting a good picture as it is so dark and gloomy outside which makes it that way inside as well. This is a very tasty smoothie, but next time I make it I'll use a bit more Pom juice. It's very easy to make, so grab your blender and get ready!

Strawberry and Pomegranate Smoothie
In a blender add:
2 ounces Pomegranate juice
1 cup of strawberries
1 6 ounce container of strawberry yogurt, that has been frozen(if desired)
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
hand full of crushed ice
Blend well, pour in glasses and enjoy!
I think that the next time we make this I'll try blueberry. It sould be really good too.
Do you ever use pomegranates in your cooking?