Creamy Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles
Let’s all just sit and enjoy some lemonade, shall we? I don’t like summer, but I DO like ice cream a lot. Enter my new popsicle mold, which seriously was a long time coming. I constantly think to myself “oh, you should totally get one of those!” and then proceed to forget. Forever.
Anyways, I finally managed to buy this ice pop mold, which I love so far! It’s got that classic shape, and it’s simple. Does the job!
Moving on to one of the prettiest and best tasting ice creams I’ve ever made. Seriously, I was kind of surprised at how addicting it is. If you like lemon, this is perfection. The lemon flavor really comes through, even with so many strawberries in the mix. It’s tart and sweet and creamy, overall I’d say it’s the perfect summer treat to cool off with.
The process of making pops is fairly lengthy, but it’s mostly freezing time, so it’s low effort. Basically, for ice pops which are more water-based and use a thin liquid, you want to fill your molds, and partially freeze them. Then, you’ll place the sticks in, and fully freeze before removing them from the molds.
For this recipe, however, the ice cream base is thick enough on it’s own to hold up the sticks right away. That means you can simply spoon your molds full, place the sticks in, and freeze until completely solid. When it’s time to remove them from your tray, you’ll want to fill a large pan, that is high enough to cover your mold, with warm water. You can set the mold in the water for about 30 seconds, and then simply pull your pops out!
This recipe makes about 24 pops, so several batches of freezing. You can keep your ice cream mixture in the fridge between batches, or you can simply freeze the rest as a scoop-able ice cream for later!
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. fresh strawberries
- 1 tbs. cornstarch
- 2 tbs. sugar
- 1 tbs. water
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 3/4 cup lemon juice
- 3 tbs. grated lemon zest
Instructions
- Wash and hull your strawberries. Cut them in half. In a medium saucepan, cook the strawberries, cornstarch, sugar, and water until boiling.
- Remove from heat. Pulse in a food processor or blender until only small chunks of strawberries remain. Cool completely.
- Whip your cream until stiff peaks form, and then add in the sweetened condensed milk. Mix in the lemon juice and zest until fully incorporated.
- Mix in the blended strawberries until fully combined.
- Spoon mixture into your ice pop molds, add the sticks, and freeze until completely hard, 4-6 hours.
- Wrap each pop tightly in plastic wrap to store in the freezer!
Peach Blackberry Sorbet
Summer is here in Colorado, and it’s not playing nice about it. We’ve been in the 80s and 90s for a while now, and my swamp cooler is down currently, which means I need something else to cool me off.
Something you may not know about me- I don’t really prefer summer. I really love winter actually, and I hate what the heat does to my hair and skin. Also, I like all my winter clothes much better. (I know, I know, everyone thinks I’m crazy).
Alas, I still live in a state where the summer season and heat occurs right on schedule every damn year, so here I am with some sorbet to help us all get through it.
The first time I made this flavor of sorbet was because I was headed to a BBQ at a friend’s house, and she can’t eat dairy. Sorbet is maybe the best solution for a summer dessert without dairy, honestly. It’s mainly just frozen fruit, with a couple of small ingredients to throw in, and it turns into something super flavorful and awesome.
This is a no-churn recipe, but you do need a food processor or a blender that can handle ice. The main reason we churn ice cream is so that it freezes slowly, while moving, in order to lessen the amount of ice crystals being formed on the end result. similarly with sorbet, we want to work with frozen fruit. As you work through the recipe, the fruit will thaw a bit, but overall this will allow for that partially-freezed-before-the-freezer goal, and will result in a creamy delight.
If you aren’t in a dairy-free house or if you don’t like almond milk and don’t want to buy it, just use regular milk in place! You can also use soy milk if you prefer. I’m using a sweetened vanilla almond milk because that’s the kind I like best. Adding some form of a milk product helps the sorbet get a smooth, less crumbly and icy texture.
This is a 4 ingredient recipe, and just takes a few minutes to whip up.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 16oz. bag of frozen peaches
- 1 cup frozen blackberries
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 cup almond milk
Instructions
- In a food processor or ice friendly blender, pulse together the peaches, blackberries, and sugar until crumbly. The mixture should be a lot of small chunks of fruit, and should be even- no giant chunks hiding in the corners.
- Add in about half of the almond milk and pulse several more times.
- Add in the remaining almond milk, and scrap down the bits near the top.
- Blend until completely smooth. You may have scrap down the mixture a few times to ensure everything gets blended completely.
- Pour the mixture into a freezer-safe container, and freeze completely before serving.
Berry Crumb Lemon Bars
I don’t know how it is where you live, but in Colorado, it looks like we’re about to swing right out of winter! Today it’s 70 degrees, sunny, and totally perfect.
That being said, I’m starting to crave those summery treats that I’ve been missing out on all winter, and you probably are too! Enter berry lemon crumb bars.
I used to work a coffee shop for several years through college, and we served a lemon bar with a a layer of tart berries, and a delicate crumb topping, which is where I got the inspiration for these! Now, I have no idea how those ones at my coffee shop were made- we had them shipped in frozen every week- but I do know how I’ve always made traditional lemon bars, so that’s where I’ve started.
These sweet and tart little gems start off with a super easy shortbread crust. BTW, this same crust recipe can make the most amazing shortbread cookies! Just chill the dough for 30 minutes after mixing it up, and then roll, cut, and bake them until just golden!
In the meantime, make a full batch of these lemon bars with sweet and tart berries, and a light crumb topping to hold you over until summer comes full on! The berries add a whole other dimension of flavor that traditional lemon bars have never known, and you’ll love this variation on the classic!
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- For the Crust:
- 2 sticks softened butter
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- For the berries:
- 2 cups mixed berries (I used blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries)
- 1 tbs. sugar
- 1 tbs. cornstarch
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- For the Lemon filling:
- 6 eggs
- 3 cups sugar
- Zest of 3-4 lemons
- 1 cup lemon juice (5-6 lemons)
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- For the crumb topping:
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 3-4 tbs. melted butter
Instructions
- For the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a 9x13 pan with foil, and grease the foil.
- Beat together the butter and powdered sugar, then add in the salt and vanilla. Then slowly add the flour until a dough comes together
- Dump the dough into your lined pan, and press down until the dough evenly coats the bottom of the pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, and then pull out and cool.
- For the berries:
- While the crust is cooking and cooling, place the berries, cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Cook until the berries have softened. Puree the mixture in a food processor or blender until just chunky, not completely smooth.
- Pour the berry mixture over the crust and spread evenly.
- For the Lemon filling:
- Simply whisk everything together until completely smooth!
- Pour the lemon filling over the crust and berries, and place in the same 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.
- For the crumb topping:
- Mix together the flour and both sugars. Pour the melted butter in, and stir with a fork until crumbs form.
- After the bars have baked for 10 minutes, pull them out of the oven, and sprinkle the crumb topping all over the top.
- Return to the oven, and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the lemon filling has set.
- Cool completely before cutting and eating!
Classic Waffles & Berry Compote
Waffles. Harder to clean the dishes, but everyone knows they’re way better than pancakes. Everyone loves a crispy, fluffy waffle in the morning. Don’t get me wrong, I still love a good pancake. But if waffles are an option, they almost always win.
Unfortunately, waffle irons are fairly obnoxious to clean, and we didn’t even own one while I was growing up. But now that I have an iron of my own, I’m working towards waffles at least once week! It’s necessary.
I’m a big enthusiast of breakfast for dinner- I offer it as option to my husband nearly every night- he declines far too often. Basically, breakfast food is my favorite food, and a good waffle is near the top of my list. Whether it’s a savory or sweet version, I’m in.
So today I’ve got a great recipe for classic waffles, plus a super easy berry compote to serve right on top- today I’m going for a sweet version. If you know me, you probably know I’m not usually big on fruit. But if you cook down berries with sugar and lemon juice, it really turns into something even better than maple syrup. These waffles are perfect with just a little bit of butter, and the warm berry compote poured over the top- you won’t miss the syrup at all!
I actually just used these berries a few days before to make triple berry orange scones, and I was able to (for once in my life) effectively use the leftover berries for this amazing dish instead of wasting them! You can use any berries that you want, whatever looks good in your grocery store that week, or you can even add in some stone fruit or apples for something more hearty.
Enjoy!
Classic Waffles & Berry Compote
Ingredients
For the Waffles
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tbs. sugar
- 4 tsp. baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 3/4 cups milk
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 stick butter melted
For the Berry Compote
- 2 cups berries chopped to even sizes
- 2 tbs. sugar
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1 tsp. cornstarch
Instructions
For the Waffles
-
Preheat your waffle iron
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In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla
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Add the wet ingredients into the dry mixture, stir until just combined. Stir in the melted butter.
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Spray your iron with non-stick spray, and cook batter according to your waffle iron's instructions.
For the Berry Compote
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In a medium saucepan, add the berries, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Stir to combine.
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Cook on low-medium heat for 15 minutes, or until the berries have softened, and the sauce has thickened.
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Store in an airtight container in the fridge for one week.
Triple Berry Orange Scones
Hi everyone, and happy almost Friday!
I’ve recently changed my day job to another company where I get the privilege to work from home, which has been amazing. That being said, I pretty much work in my pajamas most days now, and most lady-like-ness has gone out the window on the day-to-day basis.
Just to be clear, working without having to get dressed, do makeup, hair, the whole thing, it’s the best thing ever. Seriously, I recommend it.
But in general, sometimes I need to feel like a lady again, and the bottom line here; scones make me feel like a lady. In fact, I may have some tea with my scones just to keep it classy.
Sometimes I like to feel classy on the go, and I recently grabbed a cranberry orange scone from Starbucks, which is what inspired this recipe. I love the slight back-flavor that orange zest and extract brings to the scones, and you can use any kind of berries that look good at the grocery store. Plus, if you’re anything like me, you probably buy berries for a recipe, but don’t use them all- this is your leftover berry recipe!
I’d say the best part of scones is really that they’re super easy. It’s basically a slightly sweet, flavored biscuit, and you don’t even need a rolling pin because your hands work just fine. I actually usually just use clean hands to cut the cold butter into the flour mixture- here’s what it looks like:
You can flavor scones with just about anything you’d like, and I’ve made an awesome chocolate chip version as well.
Brush the tops with cream to help brown them, and sprinkle some raw sugar on top before the oven to get that bakery-style crunch on top. Enjoy!
Triple Berry Orange Scones
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1 stick very cold butter
- 3/4 cup berries
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1/2 tsp orange extract
Instructions
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-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
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-In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
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-Using a pastry blender, fork, or clean hands, cut in the cold butter until mixture is crumbly. Then stir in berries
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-In a small bowl. mix together the egg, sour cream, and zest and extract until smooth. Add it into the flour mixture.
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-Stir together until dough starts to form. It will be fairly crumbly. Dump it onto a flat surface, and form into a disk about a half inch thick.
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-Cut into eighths. Place on a lined baking sheet, and brush with cream or milk, and sprinkle raw sugar on top if desired.
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-Bake at 400 degrees for 14-16 minutes, until golden.
