Feeling Peachy

This time of year always reminds me of summers spent at my grandparent’s house. They had a garden, a variety of fruit trees, and lots of scuppernong vines. Considering how much stimulation my children require, they would have thought how I spent my summers when I was their age as boring but I loved it. I'd go for long walks each morning with my grandma, then we'd pick corn, beans, and cucumbers, we'd shell beans, can tomatoes, pick apples and pears, and then I'd watch as she'd cook up something amazing. These experiences with my grandma created memories I will always cherish. She taught me that cooking was a fun, creative activity with delicious outcomes.

So when summer rolls around I like to take advantage of all the fresh fruits and vegetables which are at their peak. I love fresh fruit and vegetables, and even attempt to grow my own. Although I’m not the farmer my grandad was, I try. So far this summer I've grown plenty of cucumbers, three tomatoes, and lots of basil. The deer keep eating my bell peppers and most of my tomatoes, while my zucchini refuses produce anything. My tiny garden is a teaching me a lot of what not to do next year. Thank goodness for all the local farmers who know what they're doing and keep me stocked in fresh fruits and veggies.

One of favorite summertime fruits is the peach. Contrary to popular belief, South Carolina is the peach capital of South producing twice as many peaches as our Georgia neighbors. I know a good peach when I taste one and a ripe, juicy peach is pretty much perfection. How does one elevate a peach? Look no further than the perfect peach cobbler. Top that peach cobbler off with vanilla ice cream and you’ll have something so good you it will leave you speechless. If you've been looking for the perfect peach cobbler recipe then you'll have to give this one a shot. You won’t regret it. 

Perfect Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:

• 3 cups peaches, fresh or canned, halved then quartered
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• dash of nutmeg
• dash of cinnamon
• non-stick cooking spray

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2 quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Spread sliced peaches evenly into the prepared dish.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla until well combined. 
4. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a separate bowl until combined.
5. Stir the flour mixture into the sugar and egg mixture until just combined. The batter will be thick with a consistency similar to that of cookie dough. 
6. Spread batter over the peaches evenly trying to cover the peaches as best you can.
7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. 
8. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy on its own or ice cream or whipped cream. Prepare to have your taste buds rejoice! 

Quarantine Baking: Chocolate Cherry Blondies

It feels like we’re on day 649 of quarantine, and I have no idea what day or month it is. Everyday just seems to blend into one reoccurring day. Like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, I am living the same day over and over, the only difference is time is passing. While it feels like it should still be March, half the year has passed. How is it July already?

Well now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, how are y’all handling our current predicament? 

Me and my boys, the hubs included, are getting lots of bonding time so there have been lots of board games and a little too much tv. The other day Emmett mentioned that he wanted to take a cooking class and I jumped at the opportunity to take him up on this. We knew we wanted something sweet with basic ingredients that was simple enough that an 8 year old could make it. I searched Pinterest and came across this recipe from Averie Cooks for Chocolate Chip Cherry Bars. Her recipe was easy to throw together and the outcome is delicious. I added pecans and definitely recommend doing so if you have any on hand. This is a great base recipe so you could add any in number of things such as shredded coconut or any nuts you prefer. I used fresh cherries and think they work best as frozen may result in a soggier blondie. Emmett favorite part was shooting the pits out of the cherries using this pitter.

 

CHOCOLATE CHERRY BLONDIES

      Ingredients

• 
  

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, optional
  • 3/4 to 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
  • 1 cup, cherries, pitted and halved (fresh is recommended)
  • Instructions
    Preheat oven to 350F. Prep an 8-by-8-inch pan (or loaf pan, mine is 5-by-8-inch) with nonstick cooking spray. 
    Stir melted butter and brown sugar until well combined. Add egg and vanilla to sugar butter mixture and stir until well combined.  
    Next, add in the flour and salt, stir until just combined. It will be thick like cookie dough. 
    Fold in chocolate chips, cherries, and pecans into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan.
  • Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until edges begin to slightly pull away from sides of pan and center.  
  
  
  While it may be very difficult to wait, allow bars to cool before slicing. Store in an airtight container.
•  
  
  
  These blondies are delicious on their own, but serve them warm with a scoop of vanilla icecream a la mode to really take them to the next level. 
  
  
  
  
  Let me know if you make these and what you think. I hope you all stay healthy and enjoy this time with your family. While it may seem stressful, we are building memories with our kids that they will treasure for a lifetime. They won’t care about the shows they watched but they will remember the experiences you created and time spent together. 

Easy Spanakopita Bites

This weekend our neighbors hosted a Memorial Day party which was so much fun. One of my favorite things about where we live are our neighbors. I grew up seeing neighborhoods like this on tv but never imaged I would live in one. You can go next door if you need an extra cup of sugar or hang out for hours while the kids play and run from one neighbor's yard to the next. It's pretty fabulous and it makes me so happy that we are able to give this to Emmett and Oliver.
So back to the party. When we host these get togethers, everyone brings a dish. I like to bring something outside of the predicable chips and dip, but also easy to prepare and easy to eat. I wanted a finger food that would be good hot but also taste just as yummy when it cooled off. I decided to go with spanakopita but with a twist by making it as an easy to prepare bite size appetizer. This is not your traditional spanakopita (Greek spinach pie for those not familiar with it) but an inspired bite size appetizer. You whip up the filling, fill the mini fillo shells, bake, and enjoy. Let me warn you, these little nuggets of deliciousness will go fast. My husband ate four before we were even out the door! The saltiness of the cheese and the buttery, flakey shell are so indulgent and delicious. These little appetizers are definitely a winner that I'll have to make again.

Easy Spanakopita Bites

Ingredients

• 3 trays of mini fillo shells
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 green onion, chopped
• 1 egg
• 10 ounces of chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 6 ounces of crumbled feta cheese
• 1/3 cup shredded parmesan
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp chopped garlic

Instructions

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. Heat butter in a small pan on medium heat. Add onion and green onion. Saute until tender, about 5 minutes. 
3. While onions are cooking, in mixing bowl mix together egg, cheeses, salt, pepper, and garlic. 
4. Add cooked onions to mixture.
5. Spoon mixture into mini fillo shells and arrange onto a baking sheet.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until filling is cooked through. 

After filling and ready for the oven.

After baking the shells should be a nice golden brown.

The perfect little nugget of spanakopita goodness. 

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Sweets and Selfies

Happy Sunday! Here in Charleston we are having unseasonably warm weather and today was just perfect so we spent lots of time outside. I did have the morning with just Ollie so I was able to do a little shopping and baking.

I have always loved sweets, but I am partial to a great cookie and today I found that perfect, great cookie recipe. They have a soft center with slightly crispy edge. These cookies are buttery with a light cinnamon and sugar coating. What could they be? Snickerdoodles of course. I've never been able to make one that taste as good as the Great American Cookie but now I think I could give them a run for their money. I had to use all my self-control to only eat three today. I ended up giving away half of them so I wouldn't eat them all. So without ado, here is the recipe for the most perfect snickerdoodle you can make at home. All the credit for this recipe goes to Averie Cooks.

THE BEST SNICKERDOODLES 

INGREDIENTS:

Dough
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt, optional and to taste

For Rolling
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

For the dough: 

To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the butter, sugars, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined, about 3 minutes. 

Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well combined, light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the add the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, optional salt, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.

Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop or spoon, form approximately 14 equal-sized mounds of dough (2 heaping tablespoons each), roll into balls, and flatten slightly. In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, and stir to combine. Roll dough balls in cinnamon sugar mixture.

Place mounds on a large plate or lined cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to 5 days. Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.

Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place dough balls on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart and bake for about 10 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just set to keep the centers soft. For firmer cookies, bake a minute or two longer. Cookies firm up as they cool. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don't use a rack.

Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

I think this dough would be a great base for a variety of cookies, it is that perfect. Next I may double it and do some with chocolate chips or nuts or cranberries. 

Emmett approved ✓✓

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I also wanted to share a few of my awful mirror selfies. How cute are these jeans I found at Target for less than $9!?! So cute and perfect warm days like today.

jeans {sale is in store only, so run grab a pair}

blouse || jeans || booties

This post marks the end to a deliciously wonderful weekend. I hope yours was just as nice.