Ingredient: all purpose flour, sifted

Chocolate Trail Mix Oatmeal Cookies

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Chocolate Trail Mix Cookies

Many people think of trail mix as a dry, chewy form of nourishment nibbled on during hiking or camping. Let me say that I think of trail mix as a highly customizable luxurious snack. That’s because I love to make my own delicious, personalized trail mixes by choosing my favorite additions. No hate to raisins and peanuts, but gorp is not allowed here. Chocolate covered nuts and fruit, step forward. Almonds, pecans, macadamias, pistachios, and cashews, please enter. Dried cherries and blueberries, welcome friends. White chocolate chips and caramel chips, you made it. Chocolate espresso beans, we’ve been waiting for you.

I took my love of personalized trail mixes to the next level by creating these Chocolate Trail Mix Oatmeal Cookies. Everything I love about those wonderful add-ins is combined in cookie form, then dunked in melted chocolate. They become beautiful when you decorate the tops with the add-ins. I used freeze-dried raspberries for my cookie tops because of the tartness and vibrant red color. Feel free to choose your favorite combination of add-ins and get creative when decorating the tops. Your additions combined, minus the oats, should be about two cups.

Chocolate Trail Mix Oatmeal Cookies

Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 24 cookies

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ¾ cups (7 7/8 oz or 223g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • â…“ cup (1 oz or 30g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup (8 oz or 227g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (2 3/4 or 78g) quick oats (not instant)
  • ½ cup (2 oz or 57g) coarsely chopped almonds, preferably toasted
  • ½ cup (1 oz or 28g) unsweetened coconut chips
  • ½ cup (2 oz or 57g) dried cranberries or cherries
  • ¼ cup (1 oz or 28g) pistachios, preferably toasted
  • ¼ cup (1 oz or 28g) shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
  • 8 ounces (227g) melted semisweet or dark chocolate
  • 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or vegetable shortening
  • A few handfuls of freeze-dried raspberries, whole almonds, pistachios, coconut and pumpkin seeds to decorate tops

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
  • In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
  • Beat in the eggs and vanilla in three separate additions, making sure each one is incorporated before adding the next.
  • On low speed, beat in the flour mixture just until combined.
  • Fold in the oats, almonds, coconut, cranberries, pistachios and pumpkin seeds.
  • Place 1 1/4 ounce round portions (about 2 tablespoons) three inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
  • Bake until the tops are set and no longer shiny, about 10-12 minutes.
  • Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  • Combine the melted chocolate and coconut oil in a small deep container, wide enough to fit the width of your widest cookie. Dunk cookies about halfway into chocolate. Top with nuts and seeds.
Keyword chocolate oatmeal, cookies

Butterscotch Bread

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

What’s better than the smell of chocolate chip cookies baking or of fresh coffee brewing? The aroma of this warm, sweet buttery loaf of Butterscotch Bread is so heavenly that I’m convinced that angel grandmothers bake this on a regular basis in heaven. The rich scent is accompanied by a soft, tender bread topped with a silky butterscotch glaze.

It all starts with browning your butter first. It adds a nutty, deep butter flavor. When browning your butter, use a light colored saucepan so you can see the visual clues. You’ll see it start to foam and brown specks will collect on the bottom of the pan. It will smell nutty and fragrant. Keep a close eye on it. It can go from brown to burnt in a quick second. When your brown butter has cooled to room temperature, the rest of the recipe comes together quickly. You can also brown your butter a day ahead and keep it in the refrigerator. Bring it to room temperate before using.

This delightful bread goes well with coffee or tea and is just as delicious the next day. Store covered at room temperature.

 

Butterscotch Bread

by Mari Vasseur
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients
  

Butterscotch Bread

  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter
  • 1 ¾ cups (220g all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine seat salt
  • 1 cup (200g) brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup (177ml) buttermilk

Butterscotch Glaze

  • ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter
  • ½ cup (100g) packed brown sugar
  • â…› teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ cup (59ml) heavy whipping cream
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions
 

Butterscotch Bread

  • In a small saucepan, cook the butter over medium heat until brown and fragrant. When brown specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan, immediately transfer the butter to a small bowl. Let cool to room temperature.
  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the bottom of an 8 x 4-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the insides.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, beat the brown butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and buttermilk until smooth and creamy. Stir in the flour mixture in two additions. Mix just until combined.
  • Transfer the batter to prepared baking pan. Bake until the top is deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 38-43 minutes.
  • Let the bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, them turn it out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Top the cooled cake with two coats of butterscotch glaze.

Butterscotch Glaze

  • Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and salt. Continue stirring over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil for two minutes.
  • Turn the heat down and slowly stir in the heavy cream. Keep stirring until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
  • Transfer the butterscotch glaze to a small bowl and let cool until thickened.
Keyword butterscotch, cake, loaf

Blueberry Crumble Bars

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Crumb bars with fruit are classic, rustic bars that are easy to make and so delicious. These Blueberry Crumble Bars happen to be the best I’ve ever tasted! With a tender, almost addicting shortbread crust, the filling is perfectly sweet and blanketed with plenty of crisp crumb topping. They’re perfect to pack in a lunch, take on a family picnic or as an addition to a backyard cookout. Everyone who tries these comes back for seconds!

 

Blueberry Crumble Bars

by Mari Vasseur
The best Blueberry Crumble Bars ever! Tender shortbread crust topped with sweet blueberry filling and generous crumb topping
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

Crumb Topping

  • 1 cup (128g) all purpose flour
  • â…“ cup (66g) packed brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons (38g) granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cubed

Crust

  • 1 ½ cuts (191g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (42g) powdered sugar, sifted plus extra for sprinkling on top
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¾ cup (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature

Blueberry Filling

  • 3 ½ cups(454-510g) blueberries
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • â…” cup (131g) granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Instructions
 

Crumb Topping

  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon and salt until well combined. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips, until it looks sandy, with no large pieces of butter remaining. Press the mixture together to form chunks. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Crust

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, overlapping the ends a couple of inches. These will be handles to lift the bars out of the pan.
  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, baking powder and salt until well combined. In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Add the flour mixture and beat just until combined.
  • Press the dough evenly into the baking pan. Bake until the surface looks light golden brown, about 15-20 more minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

Blueberry Filling

  • In a large bowl, toss the blueberries with the lemon juice. Mix in the sugar and cornstarch. Pour the blueberry mixture over the warm crust. Top evenly with the crumb topping. Return the pan to the oven and continue baking until the topping is golden brown and the filling starts to bubble, about 28-33 minutes. Let cool completely before removing the bars from the pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Keyword bars, blueberry crumble

Perfect Pumpkin Cake

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Pumpkin Cake

This Perfect Pumpkin cake brings back memories. The tender, moist texture reminds me of the pumpkin cake bars I used to make in junior high. I got the treasured bar recipe from an old children’s cookbook. I lent the cookbook to a neighbor and never saw the book or the recipe again. Through trial and error, I came up with this perfectly spiced, soft fluffy cake, which I think is even better! It’s so delicious it doesn’t need frosting, but the classic pairing with cream cheese frosting takes it over the top.

Perfect Pumpkin Cake

Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

Pumpkin Cake

  • 1 cup (128g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, preferably freshly ground
  • 1 cup (200g) sugar
  • â…” cup (150ml) avocado oil or neutral oil of your choice
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (227g) pure pumpkin purée Not pie filling

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 6 tablespoons (85g) cream cheese, softened
  • 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
  • 1 pinch fine sea salt
  • 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1-3 teaspoons heavy cream, room temperature

Instructions
 

Pumpkin Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 325ºF (165ºC). Line the bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan* with parchment paper**. Grease and flour the insides.
  • In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg until well combined.
  • In a large bowl, beat the sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and pumpkin purée with an electric mixer or by hand with a whisk, until smooth and well blended. Stir in the flour mixture, just until combined.
  • Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 38-43 minutes. Cool the cake in pan for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from pan and transfer to a cooling rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixer, until creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract and salt until well combined. On low speed, beat in the powdered sugar. Keeping the mixture at low speed, beat in the heavy cream a little at a time until your desired consistency is reached. Stir with a spatula to smooth out any bubbles.

Notes

*To find the cake pan I used, click here.
**To find the parchment rounds I used, click here.
Keyword cake, pumpkin

Harry Potter Inspired Pumpkin Pasties

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Pumpkin Pasties

Even though the weather is warm where I live at the moment, I’m dreaming about all the delicious fall treats I’ll be baking this year. Let’s look forward to cool, crisp weather, the smell of pumpkin or apples baking, and sipping a warm mug of something spicy while we wait for our bakes to come out of the oven.

Inevitably, every fall, the Harry Potter movies come on at my house and it’s nice to have some popcorn and sweet treats to enjoy while watching the movies. And these Harry Potter Inspired Pumpkin Pasties are perfect for that! If you’ve read the Harry Potter books, you may remember the Pumpkin Pasties being mentioned. There are many interpretations out there, but I imagined them to be crispy and flaky on the outside with a sweet pumpkin filling. I included a delicious flaky pie crust recipe here, but feel free to use store bought pie dough if you want to streamline the process. I sprinkled mine with raw turbinado sugar before baking which provides a sweet delicious crunch. You can also use maple sugar or sparkling sugar. To find the sugar I used, click here. And as a magical touch, I added some edible gold star glitter. To find the edible gold stars, click here.

Pumpkin Pasties

Harry Potter inspired sweet pumpkin filled hand pies
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 12 hand pies

Ingredients
  

Pie Crust

  • 2 â…” cup (340g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons (25g) sugar
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ cup (50g) vegetable shortening
  • ¾ cup (170g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • ½ cup (118ml) ice water
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) apple cider vinegar

Pumpkin Filling

  • ¾ cup (170g) canned pure pumpkin purée Not pie filling
  • â…“ cup (66g) sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) heavy cream
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • â…› teaspoon ground nutmeg preferably freshly ground

Assembly

  • egg wash 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon (15ml) of water
  • coarse sugar

Instructions
 

Pie Crust

  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Work the shortening into the flour mixture with your fingertips until evenly dispersed throughout.
  • Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips, creating flat dime size pieces.
  • Mix the ice water and vinegar together. Sprinkle over the flour mixture a little at a time, stirring until dough comes together. You may not need all of the water depending on your climate.
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over onto itself a few times. Do not overwork the dough! Form the dough into two disks. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least two hours or up to overnight.

Pumpkin Filling

  • In a medium-size bowl, mix together the pumpkin purée, sugar, egg, heavy cream, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg until well combined.

Assembly

  • Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut the dough into twelve 5-inch* rounds, re-rolling the scraps as needed. Place the dough rounds a couple of inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.
  • Place about 2 tablespoons of filling on each round, leaving a half-inch border. Apply egg wash to the edges of the rounds.
  • Fold the dough over and press the edges together. Crimp the edges with a fork. If any filling oozes out, wipe it up with a paper towel or it will burn.
  • Brush the pasties with egg wash. Cut a half-inch slit into the top of each pastie. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
  • Bake until golden brown, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Notes

*To find a 5-inch round cutter, click here.
Keyword pastry

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie with Herb Crust

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Pot pies belong to everyone. They date back to ancient times and many cultures worldwide have various versions of savory pies. It’s a very popular comfort food dish here in the U.S. and many people already have a favorite recipe. The recipe I’m sharing here isn’t the only way to make a pot pie, but it’s one way to do it that happens to be delicious! I usually bake pot pies in a casserole dish, and you can certainly bake this one in a casserole dish if you want to. But I thought it would be nice to save a step and try baking one in a skillet. I love baking other things, such as cornbread, in a skillet so I had a feeling it would be good. I used an 8-inch cast iron skillet. Click here to find the skillet I used.

I had a ton of fresh herbs on hand, so they ended up in my pie crust on a whim. I was very pleased with the results. Feel free to switch up the herbs and use your favorites. Typically when you bake or roast something with fresh herbs, they tend to turn black and crispy. But don’t worry, they’ll be safely nestled inside the crust. And speaking of the crust, this one is tender and flaky due to my grandmother’s method of working the fat into the dough with your fingertips. You want to end up with flat dime size pieces throughout. A little vegetable shortening helps to add structure and flakiness and the butter makes it taste good. A touch of vinegar helps to inhibit gluten formation, so you’ll have a tender, flaky crust rather than a chewy one. And if you’re one of those people who tends to over work your dough, the vinegar can help with that. But please do yourself a favor and don’t over work your dough!!

Now I’m going to give you the best piece of cooking advice my grandmother ever gave me: Taste as you go! Taste everything as you are preparing it, not just when it’s done. So when you’re making your filling for this pot pie, add the herbs, salt, pepper and sage a little bit at a time until it tastes good to you.

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie with Herb Crust

Skillet chicken pot pie with fresh herbs baked into the crust
Print Recipe
Course Main Dish
Servings 3

Ingredients
  

Herb Crust

  • 1 â…“ cups (6 ounces) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
  • 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
  • ¼ cup ice water
  • 2 teaspoons white vinegar

Filling

  • 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup (1 ounce) diced onions
  • â…“ cup (1 1/2 ounces) chopped celery
  • ½ cup (2 1/4 ounces) sliced carrots
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups chicken broth
  • â…“ cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon pepper or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon ground sage
  • 2 ¾ cups (11 ounces) shredded cooked chicken
  • â…“ cup (2 ounces) frozen peas
  • egg wash 1 egg beaten with one tablespoon water

Instructions
 

Herb Crust

  • In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Work shortening into the flour mixture with your fingertips until evenly dispersed throughout.
  • Work butter and herbs into the flour mixture with your fingertips, creating flat dime size pieces.
  • Mix ice water and vinegar together. Sprinkle over flour mixture a little at a time, stirring until dough comes together. You may not need all of the water depending on your climate.
  • Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough briefly by folding dough over onto itself a few times. Do not over work dough! Form dough into a disk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour or up to overnight.

Filling

  • In an 8-inch cast iron skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Sauté onions, celery and carrots until onions are translucent, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with flour and cook one to two more minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Stir in chicken broth slowly. If your sauce seems lumpy, use a whisk and vigorously whisk until smooth. Simmer on low until thickened. Stir in heavy cream. Add herbs and seasonings to taste. Add a splash of chicken broth if your sauce seems too thick.
  • Mix in chicken and peas. Remove form heat. Set aside until skillet is cool enough to handle.

Assembly

  • Preheat oven to 400ºF.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to a 10-inch round. Place dough over filling, tucking ends under and crimping with your fingers or with a fork. Brush pie with egg wash. Cut a 1-inch X in the center of pie to allow steam to escape.
  • Bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Cover edges of crust with strips of foil if they start to brown too fast.
Keyword chicken pot pie, pastry

Pumpkin Cinnamon Mini Muffins

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Pumpkin Cinnamon Mini Muffins

My mom had a cupboard in the kitchen containing a few old cookbooks that she rarely used. As a child, I used to enjoy perusing them and looking at the baked treats. Some of the cookbooks were so old, they had black and white photos or even just drawings of the food. The ones with drawings interested me because they often depicted smiling children enjoying the treats.

When I started learning to bake, I found a recipe for French Breakfast Puffs in one of those old books. The title sounded so fancy, but they were really just simple muffins dunked in butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar. I have no idea what the name of the cookbook was or what happened to it, but the delicious muffin recipe stuck around for a while. I’ve tweaked the recipe so many times over the years, and most recently, I added pumpkin to it. These Pumpkin Cinnamon Mini Muffins are one of the best versions I’ve created. The inside texture of the muffins is soft and moist and it contrasts nicely with the slight crunch you get from the cinnamon sugar on the outside. They look so cute too, like little pumpkins, and they definitely make children smile!

To watch the Instagram video of these mini muffins being made, click here.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Mini Muffins

Soft, tender pumpkin mini muffins rolled in cinnamon sugar
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Servings 22 mini muffins

Ingredients
  

Muffins

  • 1 ½ cups (190g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, preferably freshly ground
  • ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • â…“ cup (80ml) vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup (113g) canned pure pumpkin purée Not pie filling

Topping

  • â…” cup (132g) granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 6 tablespoons (85g) melted butter

Instructions
 

Muffins

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Grease and flour a 24-serving mini muffin pan.* Do not use muffin liners. (The muffins need to form an outer crust. This prevents them from absorbing too much melted butter later in the recipe.)
  • In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg until well combined.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, egg and pumpkin purée until smooth and well combined. Stir in the flour mixture just until combined. The batter will be thick.
  • Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, filling the muffin cups about 2/3 full. (I ended up with 22 muffins.)
  • Bake until toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean, about 10-13 minutes. Do not over bake! Be diligent, since over baking can happen very quickly with mini muffins. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Turn the muffins out and place on a cooling rack.

Topping

  • Whisk the sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow bowl until well combined.
  • Briefly dunk the warm muffins in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar.

Notes

To find the mini muffin pan I used, click here.
Keyword muffins, pumpkin, pumpkin spice

Chocolate Turtle Drop Cookies

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

A chocolate turtle is a confection made with caramel and pecans. The shape resembles a turtle, which is how it got the name. This is my version of a turtle cookie, loaded with plenty of delicious add-ins.

Chocolate Turtle Drop Cookies

Chocolate cookies loaded with chopped chocolate, caramel chips, and toffee bits, topped with pecans.
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Servings 20 cookies

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups (9 oz or 255g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • ½ cup (1 1/2 oz or 43g) unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ cup (4 oz or 113g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup (3 1/2 oz or 100g) granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup 5 1/4 oz or 150g) packed brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (6 oz or 170g) coarsely chopped dark or semi-sweet chocolate (not chips)
  • 1 cup (6 oz or (170g) caramel chips (not bits)
  • 1 cup (6 oz or 170g) toffee bits or chopped candied pecans
  • 20 pecan halves

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
  • In a separate large bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together with an electric mixer at medium speed, until light and fluffy.
  • Beat in the eggs and vanilla in three separate additions, making sure each addition is incorporated before adding the next. Beat in the flour mixture just until combined.
  • Set aside 20 chunks of the chopped chocolate. Fold the remaining chopped chocolate, the caramel chips and the toffee bits into the dough.
  • Place twenty 2-inch size portions of dough about 2-inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. (I used a #24 portion scoop*)
  • Top each cookie with a chunk of the reserved chocolate and a pecan half. Bake until the surface of the cookies is set, about 10-11 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute then transfer to a cooling rack.

Notes

To find the portion scoop I used, click here.
Keyword chocolate, cookies

Peaches and Cream Loaf Cake

Posted on by Mari Vasseur

Every peach season, I get excited by the abundance of peaches at my local farmers market and I end up buying way too many. So if you’re like me and you have ripe peaches sitting on your counter, turn them into peach purée. I love adding peach purée to my iced tea or adding it to desserts like this moist, tender cake. This is one of my most popular cake recipes on social media, and for good reason. It does not disappoint! To watch the TikTok video, click here.

Peaches and Cream Loaf Cake

Moist, tender peach cake with peach cream cheese icing
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients
  

Cake

  • 1 ¼ cups (5 1/2 ounces) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • â…› teaspoon ground nutmeg, preferably freshly ground
  • 1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
  • â…” cup vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup peach purée, divided (About 1 1/3 cups peeled, sliced peaches puréed in a food processor or blender)
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • â…› teaspoon pure almond extract

Icing

  • 2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) powdered sugar, sifted
  • ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • pinch fine sea salt
  • 1-2 tablespoons reserved peach puree
  • 2 tablespoons diced peaches

Instructions
 

Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line the bottom of an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the sides.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  • Set aside 2 tablespoons peach purée for icing.
  • In a large bowl, beat sugar, oil, eggs, remaining peach purée and extracts until smooth.
  • Add flour mixture and beat just until combined.
  • Transfer batter to prepared baking pan. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 38-45 minutes.
  • Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Spread icing on cooled cake.

Icing

  • In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth.
  • Add powdered sugar, salt, vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of peach purée. Beat until smooth. Add additional peach purée, if needed, until desired consistency is reached. Fold in diced peaches.
Keyword cake, peach

Pineapple Scones with Cream Cheese Icing

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Pineapple Scones with Cream Cheese Icing

I had pineapple smoothies two days in a row. There’s something so vibrant and refreshing about pineapple. It feels sunny and tropical. Should scones ever feel sunny and tropical? I’m going to say yes, why not? Scones deserve a vacation too. They can take a break from tea parties and coffee shops and enjoy a little sunny picnic with iced tea or a beachfront breakfast or brunch with mimosas.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised when you experience your first bite of a scone with a burst of pineapple flavor. I immediately thought, “Why isn’t this a thing?” There are probably other pineapple scones out there in the universe, but they’re definitely not well known, like the very popular blueberry scone for example. I’m going to go so far as to say, pineapple scones are better than blueberry scones. And this is coming from a person who loves blueberries!

 

Pineapple Scones with Cream Cheese Icing

by Mari Vasseur
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings 8 scones

Ingredients
  

Pineapple Scones

  • 1 ¾ cups (223g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons (25g) sugar
  • 1 tablespoon (14g) baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 7 tablespoons (99g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • ½ cup (118ml) cold heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) pineapple juice
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (170g) chopped pineapple, fresh or canned in juice Chop into 1/2-inch pieces. If using canned pineapple, drain well and reserve the juice
  • Egg wash 1 egg whisked together with 1 tablespoon water

Cream Cheese Icing

  • 2 tablespoons (28g) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup (57g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) pineapple juice

Instructions
 

Pineapple Scones

  • Preheat the oven to 375ºF. (190ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until well combined. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips or with a pastry blender until pea size pieces form.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, pineapple juice and vanilla. Stir the heavy cream mixture into the flour and butter mixture until a shaggy dough is formed. Gently stir in the pineapple.
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over onto itself a few times. Do not overwork the dough. Pat or roll the dough into a 7-inch round. Cut the dough into 8 wedges.
  • Place the scones about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush the scones with egg wash. Bake until golden brown, about 18-22 minutes. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack.

Cream Cheese Icing

  • In a medium-sized bowl, stir the cream cheese with a spatula until smooth. Add the butter and beat until smooth and well combined. Whisk in the powdered sugar and pineapple juice until smooth. Drizzle the icing over the cooled scones.
Keyword pineapple, scones

Cherry Cutie Pies

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Cherry Cutie Pies

Cherry season is highly anticipated at my house. We love enjoying a bowl of fresh cherries during the summer. We also love fresh cherry desserts. These cute little hand pies are a family favorite. They have the most delicious fresh cherry filling, surrounded with buttery, flaky crust and topped with vanilla icing. The small size makes them perfect for sharing or taking them along in a picnic lunch. I like to make the crust and the filling the day before, which makes them come together quicker on baking day. I decorated mine with bright red maraschino cherries for the photo, but my favorite cherries to top them with are Italian-style maraschino cherries.

 

Cherry Cutie Pies

by Mari Vasseur
3-inch cherry hand pies with flaky crust, topped with vanilla icing
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 20 hand pies

Ingredients
  

Pie Crust

  • 2 â…” cups (340g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons (25g) sugar
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ cup (48g) vegetable shortening
  • ¾ cup (170g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • ½ cup (118ml) cold ice water
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) apple cider vinegar

Cherry Filling

  • 12 ounces (340g) fresh cherries, pitted, halved and stems removed (about 1 3/4 cups after prep)
  • â…“ cup (66g) sugar
  • 1 tablespoon (10g) cornstarch
  • â…› teaspoon almond extract
  • Egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of water

Icing

  • 1 ¼ cups (150g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • ½ teaspoon meringue powder (optional)
  • 2-3 tablespoons (30-45ml) whole milk
  • ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 dash fine sea salt
  • Pitted cherries for garnish (optional)

Instructions
 

Pie Crust

  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Work the shortening into the flour with your fingertips until it's evenly dispersed throughout. Work the butter into the flour mixture, creating flat dime size pieces.
  • In a glass measuring cup, mix the ice water and vinegar together. Sprinkle the liquid over the flour mixture a little at a time, stirring until the dough comes together. You may not need all of the liquid depending on your climate.
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over onto itself a couple of times. Do not overwork the dough. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions and form into disks. Wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Cherry Filling

  • In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the cherries, sugar and cornstarch. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the cherries start to soften and the juices are thickened, about 5 minutes. Transfer the cherries to a bowl. Stir in the almond extract. Set aside to cool completely.

Icing

  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, meringue powder, 1 1/2 tablespoons (22ml) of milk, the salt and the vanilla extract. Add additional milk as needed to achieve the desired consistency. (If you decide to omit the meringue powder, you'll need less milk.)

Assembly

  • Preheat oven to 375°F (190°). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to about 1/8-inch (.3cm) thickness. Cut out 20-22 3-inch (7.6cm) rounds. Transfer half of the rounds to a baking sheet, placing them about 2 inches (5cm) apart. Using a slotted spoon, place the filling onto rounds to within 1/2-inch (1.3cm) of the edges. Using a small pastry brush or your finger, apply egg wash to the edges. Top with the remaining rounds. Press the edges to seal & crimp with a fork. Brush the pies with egg wash. Cut a small x in the top of each pie.
  • Bake until golden, about 18-24 min. Transfer the pies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Brush icing on the cooled pies with a pastry brush. When the icing is almost set, top the pies with pitted cherries if desired.
Keyword cherry, pastry, pie

Lemon Scones

Posted on by Mari Vasseur
Lemon Scones

Yellow is the color of happiness and sunshine. These adorable Lemon Scones will bring you a burst of lemony brightness even on the grayest day. The pretty, vibrant yellow sparkling sugar adds a pleasant crunch to the tops. It’s a nice contrast to the soft, tender interior of the scones. These little gems would shine on any breakfast or brunch table. I served them with blueberry jam and green tea, which was so delightful, I’m still smiling.

 

Lemon Scones

by Mari Vasseur
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings 12 scones

Ingredients
  

Lemon Scones

  • 1 ¾ cups (223g) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ cup (50g) sugar
  • 7 tablespoons (99g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
  • Zest of 2 medium lemons
  • â…” cup (156ml) cold heavy cream plus more for tops
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) lemon juice
  • Yellow sparkling sugar*

Icing

  • â…“ cup (40g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon heavy cream
  • 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice

Instructions
 

Lemon Scones

  • Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar until well blended
  • Work the butter and lemon zest into the flour mixture with your fingertips or with a pastry blender until pea size chunks form.
  • Stir in the heavy cream and lemon juice until a shaggy dough is formed. If your dough seems too dry, you can add 1-2 more teaspoons of heavy cream.
  • Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the dough over onto itself a couple of times. Do not overwork the dough.
  • Pat or roll the dough into an 8-inch round, about 3/4-inch thick. Cut out rounds using a 2" or 2 1/4" inch round cutter.**
  • Place the scones about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush the scones with heavy cream. Sprinkle generously with sparkling sugar.
  • Bake until the edges are golden brown, about 16-19 minutes.
  • Cool completely on a wire rack. Decorate with icing.

Icing

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream and enough lemon juice to form a stiff icing.
  • Transfer the icing to a piping bag or a plastic zip bag. Snip off the tip of the bag. Pipe lines in a spoke pattern onto the scones.

Notes

*To find the sparkling sugar I used, click here.
**To find the cutter I used, click here.
Keyword lemon, scones