Lemon Mousse Tart

Last night was girls night at a friends house. Sadly we don’t get to do this more often but when we do it is always a great time. I was asked to bring dessert and here is what I whipped  up.

Ingredients ( Serves 6)

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 cups lemon curd or lemon pie filling
• 1  9in refrigerator  pie crust
• 1 tart pan
•  Assorted mixed berries

Directions (Preheat oven to 425)

Press pie crust into your tart pan. with a fork press small holes into the bottom of the pie crust (this will help the crust from bubbling up). Put into your preheated oven for 10-15 minutes. The crust should be lightly browned. Remove and let cool.

While the crust cools place one cup of heavy whipping cream, and 2 tablespoons sugar into a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Mixed on high till your cream forms soft peaks. Add your lemon curd and slowly whisk till incorporated. Spoon this mixture into your cooled pie crust. Top with assorted fresh fruit, and chill till serving time.

Brown Sugar Banana Cake

Last night I spent my evening with a great group of woman supporting the nonprofit organization Dining for Women. This months featured program was the Children of Vietnam. In a nut shell everyone brings a tradition dish to pass from the country that we are supporting. While we eat, we learn about the county and what our money will do to help support the women and children. At the end of the meeting you have the opportunity to donate if you feel so inclined. There is also wine and mingling, which is always good in my book!  If you don’t know much about this charity follow my link above. It’s a great organization that donates to a deserving cause each and every month.

With all the great food that was shared last night, I was inspired to get into the kitchen. While this recipe is far from ethnic I felt it was perfect for my day off.  And with a slight chill in the air I knew I needed to get my oven fired up. I also had 3 bananas that are about to go bad, so that was really the driving factor 🙂

Ingredients (Makes 8 servings)

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Topping

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Stir to combine

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour  a 9in pie dish.

Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.

Pour batter into your prepared pan and top with brown sugar and cinnamon topping.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Slice and top with a slab of butter and enjoy

Recipe was adapted from foodnetwork.com

Cranberry Crumble Cookies

Guess what it’s my day off again, and yes i’m back in the kitchen baking! I found this recipe on Pinterest while looking for Rhubarb recipes. Sadly when I went to the store they were  out of rhubarb, so I decided to get creative and sub in cranberries. I figure they will be a great addition to this cookie, because they have that same tartness that I was looking for. The recipe is adapted from OX Breakfast .

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients ( Makes about 20 mini cookies)

1. 2 Cups Fresh or Frozen Cranberries
2. 1/4-1/2 Cup Sugar ( I used 1/4 cup because I like my mixture more tart)
3. 1 Lemon Zested
4. 1 Lemon Juiced
5. 6 Tablespoons Butter, melted and cooled
6. 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
7. 1/2 Cup Rolled Oats
8. 1/2 Cup Flour (whole wheat works)
9. 1/2 Cup Chopped Almonds (optional)
10. a big pinch of salt

Fruit Directions

Combine the first 4 ingredients on a baking pan, and place in oven once it has preheated. Baked until cranberries have softened and liquid has evaporated by half (about 20 minutes). Remove from oven and allow to cool. Reduce oven to 375 degrees.

Cookie Directions

Combine ingredients 5-10 in a mixing bowl, then fill silicone baking cups with 1 tablespoon of this mixture ( Substitute a mini  muffin pan if you don’t have the baking cups. I bought mine at the dollar store, so they really aren’t a huge investment if you want to go out and buy some).

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and place a spoonful of cranberry mixture on top of each cookie. Sprinkle a small amount of the left over cookie mixture, and place cookies back in the oven for an addition 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven, and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the baking cup. Transfer cookies out of the baking cups using a spoon, and place on a cooling rack.

These cookies are so easy and have such a bright flavor spring flavor!  Who knows, maybe the Easter Bunny will be making a special delivery of these cookies to some friends in the near future….