Raspberry Crumble Squares

Okay, so I think it's been a while since I mentioned how much I love and adore the Stonewall Kitchen Cookbook, and pretty much anything that Stonewall Kitchen makes.  As you may remember from earlier posts, I pretty much keeled over with excitement the first time I saw this:

In this case, however, I went for something that actually didn't involve chocolate, if you can believe that!  This recipe is a quick and easy one that is all about raspberries...and it works PERFECTLY with the frozen bags of raspberries you can get in the supermarket freezer section, and that is exactly what I used.  What's basically going on here is this: you make a super-simple shortbread recipe - flour, sugar and butter - and bake it until it is just set.  Then you heat up some raspberry jam just until it is melted, and you brush it onto the shortbread. (I used the spectacular Stonewall Kitchen variety.  Of course.)  Sprinkle on those raspberries, and then top the whole thing with a crumble topping of butter, flour and brown sugar.

Now pop it in the oven until the whole thing is golden brown and bubbling.  The next part is definitely the hardest: having the self-control to wait until it is fully cooled before you cut it into little squares fo raspberry heaven.  Now, these guys are very delicate and fragile and, well, crumbly when they are at room temperature, which is perfectly fine, but if you prefer your raspberry crumble squares a little less crumbly, they are equally wonderful cold.

That's my Stonewall Kitchen fix for today...but I'm still working my way through this fabulous cookbook, so I will probably be back, Stonewall Kitchen-wise.

Raspberry Crumble Squares, from Stonewall Kitchen Favorites

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 sticks cold butter, cut into 8 pieces

• 1/2 cup raspberry jam
• 4 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
• 3 tablespoons flour

• 1 stick cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, confectioner's sugar, salt and butter in food processor and pulse about 30 times, until the butter is the size of small peas or smaller.  Sprinkle the mixture into an ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan.  Press into the bottom of the pan and about 1/2 inch up the sides.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until firm and just beginning to brown.

2. Melt the jam in a small saucepan over medium heat until thinned and liquified.  In a medium bowl, mix the berries with 3 tablespoons flour until well coated.

3. For the topping, combine 1 stick cubed butter, 1 cup flour and brown sugar in food processor  and pulse until the mixture comes together.  

4. When the shortbread comes out of the oven, spread the liquid jam over the crust.  Sprinkle the berries and any remaining flour on top of the jam.  Sprinkle the brown sugar topping over all.  Return to oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden.

5. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting into squares.  Serve room temperature or cold.

Click here for printable recipe

Caramel French Toast

French toast is the teenager's all-time favorite, and I make it a LOT. I can almost make it in my sleep at this point, that's how often she comes into the kitchen with those puppy dog eyes and says, "Mommy, can you make me french toast?"



It's the "Mommy" part that just kills me. She's 17 and I still instinctively whip my head around whenever I hear a little voice call out "Mommy!!" in a crowded store.

Anyway. I thought I knew everything there was to know about french toast, but as it turns out, there was one vital trick I wasn't aware of, and that is that you can caramelize the outside of it with one very easy extra step. Yep, I said caramelize. Can you STAND it? All the creamy, comforting goodness of french toast, but with a thin, slightly crispy caramel coating on the outside.

Now, a few weeks ago I did a post on all fabulous Stonewall Kitchen goodies, and among other things I mentioned this stuff.

Which was the perfect accompaniment to caramel french toast. Although I wouldn't say no to good old Vermont maple syrup too. Drop some of the wonderful blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and/or strawberries that are springing up all around us right on top and you are in French Toast Heaven. The world's best breakfast, although to be totally honest with you, I made this for dinner. Breakfast for dinner. Does it get any better???

Caramel French Toast, from Bon Appetit

• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 8 1-inch-thick slices French bread
• Powdered sugar
• Fresh blueberries and raspberries
• Your choice of syrup

• Mix butter and brown sugar in small bowl to blend.
  
• Whisk milk, eggs, vanilla, and spices in large bowl to blend, and soak the bread slices in the milk mixture until they are good and soaked, at least 5 minutes. 10 is even better.
  
• Melt 4 tablespoons brown sugar-butter mixture in large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. (If you can't fit them all in one skillet then only use 2 tablespoons butter mixture and save some of the next batch.) Spread remaining butter mixture over bread. Add bread slices to each skillet, butter side UP. Cook until bottoms are deep brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn slices over. Cook until bottoms are deep brown, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Divide French toast among 4 plates. Sift powdered sugar over. Top with blueberries and raspberries; drizzle with syrup.

Click here for printable recipe

Raspberry Mess

Mmmm, berry season. Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries. I love them all. And looking over the list of recent recipes, it occurred to me that I don't have one single dessert recipe other than the banana cake, so it is high time I passed along one that is easy and seasonal and good and good for you, right?

While I am pretty vigilant about having a home-cooked meal on the table most nights, when it comes to dessert I usually let the troops fend for themselves. There is usually a plate or jar of homemade something on the counter that either Emma or I have made (Emma is getting to be an accomplished chocolate chip cookie-maker), and there is always ice cream in the freezer, but unless it is a special occasion I don't usually make a special dessert. But every once in a while I get inspired by either some seasonal ingredient or a particular recipe - or in this case, both!

First of all, Fairway had a stack of these gorgeous berries piled up right by the door, and look at them -- how could I resist? And then I remembered this recipe from Everyday Food that I torn out (mainly because of the name) and it was short and sweet enough that I was able to recall the needed ingredients right on the spot, which are: the berries, heavy cream, and a package of those meringue cookies -- you know, the little round ones that come in the plastic tub. This is the brand I usually find:

Meringue Cookies

And all you do is this: Whip up the heavy cream, crumble the cookies into chunks and fold the cookie chunks and some of the raspberries into the cream, puree the rest of the raspberries with a little sugar until they are liquified into a sauce and drizzle that on top with a few extra raspberries for garnish. Takes no time at all, it it comes out looking like THIS!

I mean, I ask you: where can you find a dessert that is more dramatically beautiful AND so easy to make? And it tastes every bit as good as it looks, I promise.

If you want to try this little number for yourself, here is the link to the recipe. My only adjustment was to add about 1/4 cup of sugar to the cream as it was whipping, otherwise I find it to be a little bit too plain. Aside from that, it is pretty close to being the perfect summertime dessert, if you are a raspberry fan like me!

Raspberry Mess