Summer Fruit Crostata
From Barefoot Contessa At Home cookbook

For the crust:
1 cup flour
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup cold butter, diced
About 3 tbsp ice water

For the filling:
1 lb peaches
1/2 lb black plums
1/2 pint blueberries
1 tbsp + 1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp + 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon orange zest
2 tbsp orange juice
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup cold butter, diced

Instructions for the crust:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and butter. Use a pastry blender (or a fork, or your hands) to mix the butter into the dry ingredients. Add the water, one tablespoon at a time, just until the dough comes together. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the filling. Then remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll into an 11-inch circle. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Instructions for the filling:
Slice the peaches and plums into wedges. Place in a large bowl with the blueberries. Add one tablespoon of flour, one tablespoon of sugar, the orange zest, and orange juice. Place the fruit in the middle of the dough, and leave a one-inch border.

Combine the remaining flour, sugar and butter in a small bowl. Mix the ingredients together with a pastry blender or your fingers until it comes together. Spread the mixture evenly over the fruit. Fold the border of the dough over the fruit. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

I served with whipped cream. It would be great with vanilla ice cream too!

Now I’m not one to shy away from complicated recipes, but I saw Alton Brown make baklava on Good Eats on the Food Network once and it was really time consuming, not to mention that I have no idea where you would find the rose water his recipe calls for. If you love baklava like me, but don’t want the hassle, try this recipe. You could make it even simpler by buying those phyllo dough mini cups they sell in the freezer section of the grocery store.

Simple Baklava
from Giada DeLaurentiis, Makes 24

1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of salt
1 stick of butter, melted, divided
3 tablespoons honey
12 sheets phyllo dough

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Finely chop the almonds, walnuts, apricots, bread crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt in a food processor. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the melted butter and the honey and stir to combine.

(You can skip this step if using the pre-made phyllo dough cups) Place 1 sheet of phyllo on your work surface. Using a pastry brush and the remaining melted butter, brush the entire sheet of phyllo with melted butter. Cover the first sheet with a second sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter. Continue until there is a stack of 6 sheets of phyllo. Cut the stacked phyllo rectangle into 12 equal pieces.

Gently press each cut piece of phyllo into a mini-muffin pan. Press 1 tablespoon of the nut mixture into each of the phyllo cups. Gather the ends of each of the phyllo squares and twist to make a sachet shape. Continue shaping the remaining sachets in the other mini-muffin tin. Bake until the edges of the phyllo are golden, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in muffin tins.

According to her book, this was one of the most famous menu items at Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa store. To impress your friends, pipe the frosting on in a circular motion using a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Note: I did cut this recipe in half to make 10 cupcakes, but I’ve included the original recipe below.

Coconut Cupcakes
from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, makes about 20 cupcakes

3/4 lb butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
14 oz sweetened, shredded coconut
Cream Cheese icing (see below)

Heat oven to 325. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes) then add the eggs one at a time. Scrape the bowl frequently. Add the almond and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and powder, and salt. In 3 additions, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter. Mix until just combined (you don’t want to overbeat cake batter!). Fold in the coconut.

Line a muffin pan with liners and fill each cup with the batter (an ice cream scoop works will for this). Bake 25-35 minutes until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Cool completely on a baking rack. Make the icing.

Cream Cheese Icing
1 pound cream cheese (room temperature)
3/4 pound butter (room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar (sifted)

Beat the first 4 ingredients together, then beat in the sugar and mix until smooth. Frost the cupcakes and top with additional coconut.

Peanut Butter Crispy Bars
Makes 9, from the Baked cookbook

For the crispy crust:
1 3/4 cups rice krispies
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 tablespoons melted butter

For the peanut butter layer:
5 oz milk chocolate, chopped
1 cup creamy peanut butter

For the chocolate layer:
3 oz dark chocolate
1/2 teaspoon light corn syrup
4 tablespoons butter

Crust:
Spray a 8×8 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Put the cereal in a bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, stir together 1/4 cup water, the sugar, and corn syrup. Cook over medium-high heat until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage (235 degrees – use a candy thermometer). Remove from heat, stir in the butter and pour over cereal. Quickly stir together and press into the prepared pan.

Peanut butter layer:
Over a double boiler (place a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water) melt the chocolate and peanut butter together until smooth. Pour over the crust. Put into the refrigerator until firm.

Chocolate layer:
Again over a double boiler, melt the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter, stirring until smooth. Pour over the peanut butter layer.

Place the bars in the refrigerator until the chocolate layer hardens. You may have to let them come to room temperature so that you can cut them into squares and serve.

Apple Crisp
Adapted slightly from my mother-in-law, Kathy

6 cups apples, peeled and chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/8 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
A pinch each of nutmeg, cardamom, and cloves

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter

Combine apples, lemon juice, flour, sugar, and spices. Put in greased 9×13 baking dish.

Mix the remaining ingredients using a pastry blender or your fingers, mixing until crumbs form. Spread over apples. A few nuts may be added if desired. Bake for approximately 1 hour at 350 degrees, or until the top is crispy and golden brown and the apples are soft.

Here’s some pictures to document our accomplishments…

Applesauce – super easy to make from scratch

Apple Pie - look at that PERFECT crust Rachel made – amazing!

And Apple Muffins – these got taken to work for my co-workers

I’d love to hear what are you doing to enjoy all the awesome flavors of Fall!

These cookies are fairly simple to make and I’m sharing my mom’s recipe with you today. One of the great things about these cookies is that you probably have all these ingredients in your pantry (although I did not have shortening because I don’t use that much for baking).

Snickerdoodles
Makes about 2 dozen

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

For topping:
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix butter, shortening, sugar, and eggs. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and then mix until combined. Shape into balls using a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop. Roll in the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Place on cookie sheets and bake 10-12 minutes.

Have I mentioned you NEED one of these? This small ice cream scooper is probably one of my favorite gifts ever! It helps ensure your cookies are evenly sized which makes them look nice and pretty.

Here’s what they look like before they are baked… Ok, you also NEED a Silpat. It’s a silcone-coated baking sheet which helps things not stick to your pans. Another one of my favorite things!

And here’s what they look like all done!

Peach-and-Blackberry Crisp
Adapted into 2 servings from Food & Wine Magazine

2 peaches, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
10 blackberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup oats
3/8 cup flour
3/8 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
Pinch of nutmeg
4.5 tablespoons cold butter, cubed

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the peaches and blackberries in a small bowl with the granulated sugar. Evenly distribute the fruit mixture into two ramekins or small baking dishes. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and cut the butter into the mixture using a pastry blender or your fingers. Top the fruit with the topping. Bake for about 25 minutes, until top is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Note: I made this rhubarb-strawberry crumble earlier this summer that called for turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw) in the topping. I like the crunchy texture this adds, so I added about 1/2 teaspoon to the tops of these desserts before baking. If you have turbinado sugar laying around, I’d highly recommend adding it.

Molten Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling
Makes 4 – From Food & Wine magazine

1/2 cup butter (plus more for brushing)
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/4 cup flour
6 oz dark chocolate (recommended: Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chips)
16 raspberries
4 teaspoons raspberry jam
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
Pinch of salt
Powdered sugar (for dusting)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Brush 4 ramekins or small baking dishes with butter. Dust with cocoa powder. Place ramekins on baking sheet.

Melt the butter and chocolate over low heat in a small saucepan. Once melted, remove from heat and let cool slightly. Meanwhile, mash the raspberries and jam in a small bowl with a fork.

Beat the eggs and sugar at medium-high speed for a few minutes until pale yellow and thick. Add the cooled chocolate and butter mixture. Fold in the flour and salt, leaving no streaks.

Spoon 2/3 of the batter into the prepared ramekins. Add raspberry filling in each, then top with the remaining batter.

Bake for 16 minutes, until tops are cracked and centers still slightly jiggly. Cool for 10 minutes. Invert onto plate. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve with vanilla ice cream and high-quality chocolate sauce (recommended: Guittard brand).

Here’s my deepest secret: I can’t make pie crust. The last time I tried, which was about 4 years ago, it was a disaster. Ever since then, I’ve been buying the pre-made stuff that you can find in the refrigerated section of the grocery store (near the dinner and cresent rolls). Maybe I’ll try my hand at Pate Brisee again, but don’t hold your breath.

Chocolate Caramel Tart
(Adapted from the Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics)

1 pie crust
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (divided)
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 oz bittersweet chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the pie crust to fit in a 9-inch fluted tart pan. Prick with a fork all over. Bake for about 10 minutes until lightly golden brown. (The original recipe says to blind bake the crust with pie weights, but I don’t have any so I skipped this and it turned out fine.) Toast the pecans on a sheet pan at 350 for about 10 minutes.

Next, make the caramel. Put the sugar, salt, and water in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and cook (swirling the pan, not stirring) until the caramel is an amber color. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup of the heavy cream, butter, and vanilla. (Be careful: when you add the cream, it will bubble up!)

Stir until smooth. Pour the caramel into the baked crust, and top with the toasted pecans. Refrigerate while you make the ganache.

Put the chocolate in a bowl. Bring the remaining 1 cup of cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour over the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. Then stir until smooth and pour over the caramel crust.

Refrigerate until set, then serve! Make about 12 servings.