How’s your will power?

Mine seriously sucks.

No joke.

Here I am in a house with a a box of Oreo cookies in the pantry, Raspberry Yogurt Popsicles in the freezer…. and a giant slice of this No-Bake Peanut Butter Tart in the fridge.

I probably shouldn’t tell you that I’m thinking of cooking up some bacon and accidentally dropping it on top of the peanut butter tart.

Good heavens.  Send help.

The way I see it, I have to solutions to my will power problem.

1.  I should move out of my house… since my space seems to be filled with cookies , sweets and bacon.

or

2. …Um.  Read a book about will power?  Maybe listen to a book on tape?  Maybe while eating a few Oreo cookies… just a few… to test myself.

Or maybe I should have let my Dad eat the last piece of Peanut Butter Tart instead of pretending I didn’t have a giant slice stashed away in the fridge.

It’s just that peanut butter…

and sweetened condensed milk…

aaaaand whipped cream are SO dang delicious together.

I got a little selfish.

You understand, right?

I love this pie.  This pie is certainly easy to love.

No oven required.  Bonus!

Creamy peanut butter filling encased in a crisp and buttery graham cracker crust.  Topped with whipped cream and mixed nuts.

Get outta town.

It’s seriously decadent and makes me feel like I want to skip dinner just so I have room for an extra slice.

Pot luck dessert?  Yes.  Labor Day holiday dessert?  Duh.

Crazy freakin’ delicious?  Clearly.

Well, don’t I just feel like an ungrateful brat.

I’ve got a skillet full of beautiful red plums.  I’ve got gorgeous, nutty browned butter.  I’ve got flour and sugar.

I’ve married everything and made just the most lovely skillet cobbler on the block.

And all I can think about?  The Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls.

I dream about those cinnamon rolls.  I keep her cookbook within arms reach just because of that cinnamon roll recipe.

The only problem?  The only thing I can’t seem to negotiate?

The recipe makes seven pans of cinnamon rolls.  Seven!

I can’t get my mind around that….

You and I both know that I’d gladly devour all seven pans.  I have no ranch of cowboys to feed.  This seems dangerous.

So for now…  I’ll stick the the Ree’s cobbler recipe and wait for the day… patiently wait for the day when I’m called by the good Lord to make those rolls.  I hope it’s soon.  Dang.

This is one of those church goin’ cobblers.

Do you know what I mean?

This is the kind of cakey, fruity, moist cobbler that Lord lovin’ church ladies bring to the Sunday picnic.

You can use just about any summer fruit like berries, peaches or apricots for this cobbler.

But you must… MUST… muuuust…

… brown your butter.

Browned butter must in the Bible somewhere.

It’s holy.  For real.

To brown your butter, place it in a skillet over medium heat.  Let it melt and cook down until just after it stops crackling.  That’s the water cooking out of the butter.  Once the crackling stops, the butter will begin to brown.  It’ll smell rich and nutty… like you want to stick your face right in the pan.  Don’t do that, though… duh.

Be sure to remove the pan from the heat just before the butter browns to a burn.  The pan sill stay hot and continue to cook a bit.

Beautiful, sweet, summery and so easy fruit cobbler.  Amen.

I’m not allowed to be vegan because:

I sometimes carry a pound of butter around in my purse.

I stir fry my tofu in bacon fat.

I seriously consider grating cheese on my pillow before I go to bed at night.

(ok… not really.  that’s just weird.)

I think heavy cream should be awarded its own national holiday.  I’d like that day off work too… sweet, thanks.

If a stranger handed me an egg.  I’d eat it.  I would.

Just because I’m not allowed to be vegan doesn’t mean that I can’t make a stellar vegan dessert from time to time.

This cobbler is such a delight… I’ll tell you what!

I made the whole recipe without measuring a thing.  Not one thing!  I looked at the recipe, read it through, then estimated the amounts.  A little of this.  A little of that… and BINGO!  Success!

I encourage you to do the same thing.  This recipe is loose enough for such brazen actions.

This vegan cobbler is simple and delicious.

Seasonal peaches and berries are baked with a bit of spice and loads of oat and maple topping.

Feel free to use any combination of summer fruit that excites you.

I made six mini cobblers, but you might want to bake up a9-inch square pan.  Don’t be shy.

Beautiful and simple summer food.  With cinnamon.  Do this.

And the bubbled over berry goodness?  Be still my heart.

Were you wondering how many pounds of Rainier Cherries I’ve eaten in the four days I’ve been in Seattle?  Well… just about six.  Six pounds of cherries.

Were you wondering if you can get a terrible tummyache from too eating too many Ranier Cherries?  Well… yes.  Yes you can.

Wait… I just realized that this recipe is similiar to the Banana Bourbon Bread Pudding I just made.  Yeesh.  I’m on a baked bread and fruit and sugar kick.  Bear with me.

I love a Brown Betty.  They’re so simple.  I imagine this is the sort of dessert I’ll make when I’m eighty, shuffling around the hosue wearing housecoats and slippers and lipstick.

This Brown Betty is cubed whole wheat bread, sugar, fruit and butter.  You have that stuff on hand, don’t you.

My sister saw me cubing bread for this dessert and swore that it would be a terrible waste of cherries.

I called her a good for nothin’ whipper snapper and went about my business.

Pitting cherries is sort of like murder… without the death.

Layers of sugar, butter, bread and fruit bake up to be a simply sweet dessert that is just nutty enough, thanks to the whole wheat bread, and with just the right amount of moisture and richness, thanks to generous amounts of butter.  I love cherries in this recipe, but you might want to try another summer fruit like : ripe peaches, raspberries or apricots.  Win.

Oh!  I had company while I made this Brown Betty.  This is Charles.  He doesn’t mind if you call him Chuck.  He likes tomato soup and potato chips.

I was ready to shovel this Betty in my mouth even before I put it in the oven…

… but warm from the oven, totally worth the wait.  I need ice cream.

These are pretty, right?  Hot diggity dang, I think they’re precious.  

In the middle of frosting these cupcakes I looked down at my hands.  No big deal.  I was simply looking down at the cupcake in one hand, and frosting covered knife in the other.  I had to see what I was doing, right?  When I looked down at this particular moment, I saw… my grandmother’s hands.  There they were, the worn and wrinkled hands that had absolutely fascinated me as a child… only now spotted with powdered sugar and tinted with food coloring.  

When I was a kid I would hold my grandmother’s hand in my lap and study it like it like I might study my favorite picture book.  Somehow her hands weren’t at all different from reading an intricate a story.  

So there I was, frosting a cupcake with my grandmother’s hands.  The image was so strong that I even put down the cupcake and knife and bent my left index finger with my right hand.  It ached a little.  I don’t know why.  And just like that… those hands were gone from me.  

That was simultaneously perplexing and so comforting.  I had to share that with you…  I now only hope that I live long enough for my hands to be read like a story book.  

Now let’s talk cupcakes!

Pretty.  Pretty.  Pretty.  Pretty.  Pretty.  Pretty.  Pretty.  Pretty.  Pretty.  Pretty… right?

I’m proud of these little gems.  I’m even more proud of the fact that it only took one stick (otherwise known as 8 tablespoons, 1/2 cup or 4 ounces) of butter to make both the cupcake aaaaaaaand the frosting.  That’s bonkers, right?  I know! Just three tablespoons of butter for the dozen cupcakes and 5 tablespoons for the buttercream. Who says you need a pound of butter for cupcakes?  

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

     adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

     makes 12 cupcakes

     Print this Recipe!

1 cup all-purpose flour

a scant 3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup whole milk

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or use a handheld beater and beat on slow speed until the mixture is a sandy consistency and everything is combined.  Gradually pour in half of the milk and beat until the milk is just incorporated.  

Whisk the egg, vanilla and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporated.  Scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side or the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Continue mixing until the batter is smooth.  Just a few minutes.  Do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into paper lined muffin tins, dividing between the 12 cups.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until light golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let the cupcakes cool slightly in the pan, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.  

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

     from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

     makes enough for 12 cupcakes, double this recipe to frost an 8-inch cake

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons whole milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat the powdered sugar and butter together in an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment on medium low speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.  Turn the mixer speed to low.  Combine the milk and the vanilla extract and slowly stream it into the butter and sugar mixture.  Once incorporated, turn the mixer to high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes.  The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes.  If you find that your frosting is getting to warm in the summer months, stop beating and set in the fridge for a few minutes.  Once chilled, hook the frosting back up the the mixer and beat once more until you reach the desired consistency.

Lovely friends… hi.  Dear readers… hello.

Let’s talk about keeping it classy.  Hot dang! I try hard to keep it classy.  Holy smokes… do I ever fail sometimes.

Let’s discuss classy versus not classy, and what the heck chocolate dipped bananas have to do with anything.

Classy:  a tastefully short summer sundress.  Not class:  booty shorts that awkwardly bunch in the crotch.

Classy:  gracefully switching from wine to water at the company picnic.  Not classy:  maybe getting drunk and punching the sous chef in the face.  Oops.

Classy:  How much I love listening to public radio.  Not classy:  How much I love to watch The Real Housewives of  New Jersey.  Guilty… but why do they yell so much?

Classy: Enjoying mini chocolate dipped bananas on a summer afternoon.  Not as classy:  Trying to gnaw your way through a giant chocolate dipped banana.  It’s just not pretty friends.  Let’s try to avoid this scene this summer.  I think we all know why.

In case you’re wondering what I’ll be eating all summer, the answer is homemade kettle corn and these little lovelies.  Gracious heavens, how have I not come to these sooner!?  Use the best chocolate you can get your hands on.  I used a Valrhona 70% chocolate.  How about nuts!?  Heck yes!  I liked chopped honey roasted peanuts, but walnuts or toasted pecans would be lovely too.

I still write letters.

I still hand write letters in a festive card with a return address sticker.  I might even decorate the envelope with a rubbe-stamped dolphin stampede.

I still write letters and I still have pen pals.

My favorite pen pal?   My grandmother.  I call her Mommom.  She’s rad.  I don’t know how she would feel about me calling her rad.  She writes me short letters during the break she takes on her morning walk.  These letters are usually written from her favorite bagel shop.  Letters always include some sort of loving greeting, an update about her walking adventures and the bagel shop, something about an upcoming trailer trip, inquiries about my little sister, and an abrupt closing.  Short, sweet and to the point.

The best part about being pen pals with Mommom is that she will not let me slack off.  If  I haven’t written her a letter in a few weeks, I’ll get another letter urging me to, if I know what’s good for me, write my grandmother back.  If for some reason I don’t get to that letter in adequate time… well, I’m liable to hurt my grandmother’s feelings.  Hurt grandmother feelings, of course, leads to all sorts of guilt from all sorts of family members.  News of pen pal activity, or inactivity travels fast in my family.

Letter writing isn’t a chore.  It’s a nice break from simultaneously writing an email and checking my blog stats and watching stupid cat videos.   Letter writing is not technology multi-tasking.  It’s easy, breezy, simple… all about just sendin’ a little love.

Then there’s cobbler, which couldn’t be any more simple and delicious.  This easy cobbler is like letter writing, in baking form.  Spend a little time baking up a little love with this cobbler.  Sit down with a nice warm slice and write a letter to someone.  It’s supreme.

This cobbler just couldn’t be easier to throw together.  I used delicious golden nectarines as the filing, but feel free to use fresh raspberries, blueberries, blackberries or peaches in any combination.  You can also use frozen fruit, although it should be thawed and drained before incorporated.  Enjoy summer the easy way.

Reason #457 why I love this warm weather, sunny spring that leads into summertime:  the ponytail.

It’s bouncy, it’s festive, it helps me look like I’m having a good time even when I’m just standing in line at the grocery store, and it makes me feel like a cheerleader… which is strangely satisfying.

The ponytail is simple and uncomplicated.  I think I’m going to make the ponytail, and the fun simplicity it represents, the theme for the lovely summer we’re working towards.

I think that summer fruit is so fun and just bursting with bright flavors.   Most need very little fuss when it comes to preparation.  Why complicate something that’s already lovely?

This Peach Brulee is just three ingredients and it’s a gorgeous way to start the day.  Make it for breakfast and top the warm peaches with thick Greek yogurt, or make enough peach halves to serve after a big dinner with friends and family.  For one or for many, this simple peach recipe shows off the best of what’s in store for us this summer.  Go forth and broil…. and please sport a ponytail this summer.  It’s rad.

Here’s a fun thing to do!  Take a few minutes to close your eyes and imagine yourself as an old person.  I’m not talking about late sixties.  That’s not old yet.  I’m talking about great great grandmother old.. pushing the mid-nineties.

Sounds crazy?  Why would you spend time picturing white hair in bobby pins, shuffling feet and rocking chairs?  I feel like getting old is a luxury.  Not everyone gets to do it, so why not sit and enjoy the thought a bit?

I imagine that I’m the kind of old lady that talks to her over fed cats, and yells across the house to her practically deaf husband.  I hope I’m the kind of old lady who has a piano in the house just so my grandchildren can come over and practice their scales while I shuffle around the kitchen baking them cookies.

I want to be the kind of old lady that always thinks a glass of champagne is a good idea.

I want to be the kind of old lady who always has something out on the living room table for that unexpected guest.  Maybe it’s those soft chalky mints.  Maybe a freshly baked pie.  Maybe it’s these Sweet and Spicy Baked Almonds.  These nuts, my friends, have me daydreaming of old lady times somehow… with a smile on my face.

So, you might be thinking… really Joy?  Nuts?  That’s all you’ve got for me today?  My answer to that… yes.  Nuts.  Live a little.

These nuts are simply almonds sprinkled in magic, aka fennel seeds.  They’re sweet.  They’re spicy.  They’re salty and crunchy.  They make a super yumtastic snack to have around the house, a snazzy hostess gift, or they’re great to bring to a cocktail party.  All around winners, that’s what these almonds are.

Not every morning in my life is filled with Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Pancakes and Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread… not when things like my ten year class reunion and bathing suit season loom just around the corner.  For real friends, those are two scary things.  At least I don’t have to go to my ten year reunion in my bathing suit.  Can you imagine the horror!?   Yea… so there’s always a silver lining.

I’d like to introduce you to Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread.  If this bread were one of your dear friends from high school, it would be that friend who wore old lady shoes because they were the most practical, and played the trombone, and was the super smart editor of the school newspaper.  This bread would be the friend that was super sensible, and sweet and just downright made you feel good about your day.

Go ahead, think of this Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread as your friend… and then it eat.  No, there’s nothing weird about that.

This bread is packed full of happy, heart-healthy oats, cinnamon spice and crazy ripe bananas.  It’s just the thing to throw together over the weekend, slice up, wrap individually, and freeze for breakfast for the entire week.  I just grab a slice from the freezer as I’m running out the door, and by the time I have a chance to eat it, it’s perfectly defrosted.  Of course the microwave and toaster oven work wonders too.