Mini Cherry Lattice Pies

Oh these are just too freakin cute! I am falling more and more in love with my mini muffin pan with every recipe I make. I am also a huge new fan of the blog Picky Palate . I have around 10 of her recipes starred in my googlereader and had to stop myself at that, otherwise, I would have added everything in her blog! It has also been a secret new goal of mine to bake a pie. I say secret because I'm not a big pie fan and pretty much swore to myself that I would never make one! It's slowly creeping into my interest for the sole fact that I love the look of a lattice top. Hopefully, these have cured my desire for a little while as I weed through the other 100's of desserts I have on my, 'to make' list.

The original recipe called for peanut butter and jelly instead of cherry, but I'm in spring fruit mode and not a huge fan of PB&J so I opted for a little change. The lattice tops didn't turn out quite as cute as I had hoped because when they were baking, they rose and lifted the tops. I softly patted a couple of them down when they came out of the oven and it helped. Overall, the slightly wonky tops didn't throw off the yummy taste and I strongly encourage you to try these when you have a pie craving!

Mini Cherry Lattice Pies

Source: Inspired by Picky Palate

Ingredients

1 roll Pillsbury pie dough

1 small jar of cherry pie filling

1 egg white whisked with 1 teaspoon of water for egg wash

powered sugar for sprinkling on top

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll pie crust onto a lightly floured surface. Use a 2 1/2 in round cutter to cut out circles in dough (I used my 1/4 c measuring cup). Lightly press dough rounds into a greased mini muffin tin. Roll remaining scraps of dough to an even thickness then use sharp knife to cut thin 1/8 inch strips to create lattice tops.

Spoon 1/2 tablespoon of cherry pie filling into each of the pie crusts. Using the pie strips, form lattice top. Cut excess dough from edges and brush tops lightly with egg wash. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from tins with the tip of a knife. Dust with powered sugar and enjoy!

Yields 12 mini pies.

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Brulee

Strawberries are my favorite fruit so anytime I can incorporate it into a recipe I am in love. I have also been trying to try some new breakfast recipes that aren't as heavy as a casserole. This oatmeal brulee was the perfect dish both because it was light and I got to use the kitchen torch the hubs gave me for Valentine's Day!

I thought this oatmeal was very good but it defiantly taste like original oatmeal. I am more of a maple and brown sugar kind of gal. So next time, I think I will try adding more brown sugar to bring out the taste.

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Brulee

Source: Annie's Eats

Ingredients:

3 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups old fashioned oats

3/4 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pinch of ground nutmeg

Swirl of honey

1 banana, sliced thin

6-8 strawberries, sliced thin

Granulated sugar

Directions:

Combine water and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the oats and reduce to medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes while stirring occasionally and allow liquid to become mostly absorbed. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and honey.

Divide oatmeal between serving bowls. Top with sliced bananas and strawberries in an even layer. Sprinkle the sliced fruit with granulate sugar in thin layer. Heat with a kitchen torch until the surfaces are golden brown. Serve immediately.

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

One of my favorite memories growing up was when my mom would have the day off (usually the first or last day of school) and she would make us breakfast! Until she became her amazing Carmel rolls, 'blueberry muffins with the crunch on top,' was always the most popular request. Funny thing was, they were from a box! Those muffins never disappointed but for the past couple years I have been unable to find them in the store! Tragic, I know. Lately, I have been searching for some tasty breakfast foods that I can take to class with me and I can't stop thinking about those muffins! I did a quick search and of course I found a recipe on Annie's Eats that looked like it could do the trick! These were very easy and made amazing, moist cupcakes! I made a double batch and even had them for supper one night when the hubs was gone. Best part is, you don't even need to spread butter on to make them delicious! Great huh, I consider that calorie counting ;)

Blueberry Streusel Muffins
Source: Annie's Eats
yields 16 muffins

Ingredients
3 cups flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2 cups blueberries

streusel topping
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons and 4 teaspoons flour
4 tablespoons butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line 16 muffin wells with liners.
2. Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. In a 2 cup measuring bowl combine vegetable oil, eggs and milk, enough to fill the bowl. Combine with flour mixture and proceed to fold in blueberries.
3. Fill muffin tins to top.
4. Make the steusel topping by combining the listed ingredients and mix well with a fork until mixture becomes crumbly. Sprinkle generously over muffins.
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Peach Crunch Cake

Believe it or not, I can control myself around chocolate. Yes, I think it is one of God's gifts to man but it is also something that I can take a couple bites of a set aside. Now fruit desserts on the other hand, are a major weak spot. One of my all time favorite desserts, besides cheesecake of course, is my Grandma L's apple bars! Amazing! A pan of those little devils never last long. The other day I had a mouth watering craving for a fruit dessert and came across Bakerella's recipe for Peach Crunch cake. I made it, ate it, gave some away and polished off the dish by the weekend. Ouch! Like I said, bars, cookies and cakes can get stale but I planed my day around when I would get to have another piece of this amazing treat. I anticipate myself making this several more times and probably for a couple pot lucks...served warm...oh my goodness, I am struggling not to make this again right now!

Enjoy, I dare to say that you will not regret making this!

Peach Crunch Cake

Source: Bakerella

Ingredients:

24.5 ounce jar of sliced peaches in light syrup (The jar I found was a little bigger and used it all. Still good)

1 yellow cake mix

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) cut into tablespoons or smaller

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place ingredient in a 9x13 and layer ingredients in order as listed above, starting with the peaches.

Cook for 40 minutes

Can serve warm or cold and with or without ice cream. But believe me, warm with ice cream...ahhh...did you hear my stomach growl?

Fruit Bruschetta

I have had this recipe starred on my google reader for weeks now just waiting for the perfect time to make it. I am so glad I tried these! The other night I hosted a Thursday night/Fun night will some of my classmates as we don't have classes on Fridays. My best friend Jenna was looking for something she could bring and I was so excited to help her make this! Since we were making this for a crowd and I got an adorable fruit and veggie tray for Christmas, we decided to have a, "Build your own Bruschetta." The fruit you choose to use is up to you! We used our favorites and what was available. It was also my first experience with Greek Yogurt, which will be a great new favorite.

Build your own Fruit Bruschetta
Source: Annie'sEats

Ingredients:
Sliced bread rounds, we used french bread
grapes
kiwis
strawberries
raspberries
butter
cinnamon and sugar
Plain Greek yogurt

Directions:
Wash and slice fruits. Turn oven on to broil and place rack on top level. Lay bread rounds on cookie sheet. Butter bread rounds and lightly cover with cinnamon and sugar. Place in oven and cook until toasted (could take seconds to 1-2 mins). Remove from oven, top with thin layer of Greek yogurt and serve with fruits.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

I saw these posted on StephanieCooks, was so excited and made them the same night! I have been looking for a healthy-ish quick breakfast that I can grab on my way to class and with her reviews on these, they looked perfect. However, the original recipe called for raspberries which I am not as fond of as strawberries so I decided to change it up a bit. I also took her recommendations and made it with all whole wheat flour. The result was a bit more of a dense muffin than I was originally looking for, still tasty but much softer. So the next time I make this I plan to use the original 1/2 wheat and 1/2 all purpose. But like I said, they were still pretty dang good and have been great for curbing the morning growlies!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins
Adapted from: StephanieCooks where it was adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:
1/3 cup 1/3 less fat cream cheese
2.5 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg white
1/2 large egg
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 cup fresh or froze strawberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine cream cheese and butter in a large bowl. Beat with mixer at med-high speed until well blended. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add vanilla, egg whites, and eggs; beat well.

Lightly spoon flour into measuring cups; pack and level with knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and buttermilk to cream cheese mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Gently fold in strawberries.

Line 12 muffin cups with liners. Spoon batter evenly into liners. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack.