When you say “yes” to hosting a shower or even just bringing dessert to a party, Party Day always seems so blissfully far away. Weeks. Months! All the time in the world to master macarons or practice piping those frosting bluebirds so it doesn’t look like our cupcakes are covered in piles of Smurf barf. The problem is, we have other things to do. People to see. Laundry to launder. And we really, really need to catch up on “Game of Thrones.”

Besides, how hard could it be to squeeze frosting into recognizable a bird shape?

Take it from your Aunt Julie, it’s crazy-hard, y’all.

So, boom! The Day of Reckoning arrives, and, since we forgot to master macarons, we do the drive of shame to the nearest grocery, grabbing random boxes of frozen appetizers, a plastic-covered cheese plate and whatever looks OK in the bakery section, silently promising to do better next time and praying that the frozen mini quiches don’t come out tasting like day-old grass clumps.

Here’s a simple-but-pretty party idea for you: Mini Strawberry Napoleons. They’re double-decker dessert sandwiches, made with layers of flaky puff pastry, pillowy vanilla filling (a combination of whipped cream and instant vanilla pudding), and as many sliced ripe strawberries as you can pack on without toppling each pastry over. Dust them with confectioners’ sugar, add a few mint leaves (if you’re feeling fancy), and you’ve got a dessert worthy of a special occasion. Something that says “Happy birthday!” or ”Congratulations!” or “Happy Mother’s Day!” instead of “Ooh, sorry about that.”

You could make your own puff pastry for the recipe, but I recommend taking the shortcut and grabbing a box of Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry. It’s quick, it’s dependable, and it comes folded in thirds, so you don’t even have to whip out a tape measure to divide it into the 12 rectangles you need. High-five!

Using the puff pastry as a foundation, you can get as creative as you want with this dessert. Try experimenting with different fruits and fillings. Blueberries with lemon pudding or lemon curd. Raspberries with chocolate pudding. Bananas with coconut cream pudding. Keep the strawberries and trade the vanilla pudding for lemon, cheesecake or white chocolate. Skip the fruit, mix together some peanut butter and marshmallow cream, and create the World’s Fanciest Fluffernutter. Drizzle your pastries with melted chocolate, or plate each one on a pool of hot fudge sauce.

Or, just roll with the original recipe. It’s delicious and pretty in a way that makes people smile. And making people smile is really what dessert is all about.

Let someone else go cake-pop psychotic. Slackers, unite!

Mini Strawberry Napoleons:
Note from Julie: Feel free to play around with this recipe and substitute different fruits and pudding flavors – blueberries with lemon pudding, raspberries with chocolate pudding, bananas with banana or coconut cream pudding, strawberries with cheesecake or white chocolate pudding, etc.

Makes 8 pastries

1/2 OF A 17.3-OUNCE PACKAGE PEPPERIDGE FARM® PUFF PASTRY SHEETS (1 SHEET), THAWED
1 PACKAGE (ABOUT 3 OUNCES) VANILLA INSTANT PUDDING AND PIE FILLING MIX
1 CUP MILK
1 1/2 CUPS SWEETENED WHIPPED CREAM (SEE BELOW) OR THAWED FROZEN WHIPPED TOPPING
1 1/4 CUPS SLICED STRAWBERRIES
CONFECTIONERS’ SUGAR

Heat the oven to 400°F.

Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Cut the pastry sheet into 3 strips along the fold marks.

Cut each strip into 4 rectangles. Place the pastries onto the baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.

Let the pastries cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Split each pastry into 2 layers, making 24 in all.

Prepare the pudding mix according to the package directions except use 1 cup milk. Fold in the whipped cream.
Reserve 8 top pastry layers.

Choose 8 bottom pastry layers, and spread 2 tablespoons pudding mixture on each. Top each with 1 tablespoon strawberries and another pastry layer. (Note from Julie: I spread a little of the pudding mixture on the bottom of each second pastry layer to help “glue” it to the strawberries.)

Top each of the second pastry layers with the remaining pudding, strawberries and the reserved top pastry layers. (Again, spread a little pudding under those pastry layers so they’ll stay put.)

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

Serve immediately or store for up to 4 hours, covered and refrigerated.

To Make Sweetened Whipped Cream:
Beat 3/4 cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Oh boy. So this apple cake is pretty awesome, but what really takes the...er...cake is the sauce. But first, we'll talk about the cake. It's a simple cake made with shredded apples and pecans. It's moist and flavorful with a lot of cinnamon and a little almond extract. It's fall in a cake, and it's really easy to make. No mixer required.

But the sauce...oh the sauce. It's browned butter, which if you've never had, is amazing. It's nutty and awesome. In addition to the browned butter are vanilla and rum extracts. It's a warm, friendly, comforting sauce. I wouldn't mind curling up with a book and this sauce. I realize that sounds super weird, but it's that good. Paired together, it's the perfect easy fall cake. And, since the sauce uses rum extract instead of rum, it's a cake you can serve to everyone.

I halved the recipe and ended up with thinner slices, but it was perfect. If you're serving more people, I would make the full recipe so you have a taller cake.

Apple Cake with Browned Butter Rum Sauce Recipe
Makes a 9x9 pan

For the cake:
4 cups shredded apples
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans

For the sauce:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon rum extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

To make the cake, in a large bowl combine the shredded apples and the sugar. (I shredded mine using a cheese grater, but you also could chop them finely.) Let sit for 5-10 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, canola oil, and almond extract. Add to the apple mixture and stir to combine. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Pour into the apple mixture and stir until combined. Add in the pecans and stir. 

Spray a 9x9 pan with cooking spray. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

To make the sauce, in a medium saucepan melt the butter. Stir and watch as it gets foamy and then starts to turn brown. When it turns into a dark honey color and smells nutty, quickly stir in the sugar, flour, and salt. Gradually add the water. Bring to a boil and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add in the extracts. Serve warm.  

I usually spend the last hours before many get-togethers scrambling to find a suitable dessert that’s sweet enough for my friend Emilia (a diabetic) to enjoy without feeling cheated but still healthy enough to not knock her blood sugar out of whack. I found the recipe for Chocolate Crackles in The Big Book of Diabetic Desserts.

Chocolatey, sweet, chocolatey – the cookies were almost brownie-like in their consistency and should come with a warning label: Chocolate! Do not drink without a glass of ice cold milk! Did I mention they were chocolatey? And with a pretty fractured coating of powdered sugar, they present nicely in a pretty cookie tin.

Chocolate Crackles

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup Ideal (or Splenda, but I think Ideal is much better than Splenda for baking)
1/2 cup butter, cubed and at room temperature
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

Cream brown sugar and butter on med-high until light and fluffy. Add in Splenda, one egg at a time until well combined, and add the vanilla.

Switch mixer to off, add dry ingredients, and turn to low until mixed, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Place powdered sugar in a bowl. Drop one tablespoon of dough into the bowl, turning to coat, and roll the ball around in your loosely cupped hand - this forms the dough into a ball without pressing the powdered sugar into the dough and allows the excess powdered sugar to fall back into the bowl.

Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet 1-inch apart. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely and store in an air-tight container.

So, in an effort to start living a healthier lifestyle, I've decided to start adding healthier meatless options once a week.. Now, don't get your panties in a knot, I'm still going to make and post amazing and delicious desserts.  I'm a Pastry Chef for crying out loud! But, on Monday's I'm going to be giving you meatless options.. Don't worry, I promise they will be delicious!  Here comes the first entry for Meatless Monday's!

Apple Onion Cheese Gratin:

There’s a scene in “Tombstone” when Doc Holliday says to his lady friend, “It’s true, you are a good woman. Then again, you may be the antichrist.” And that’s how I felt while I was making this Apple Onion Cheese Gratin. That it was either going to be surprisingly good or nasty enough to bring the End of Days.

Savory apple dishes are a little outside my wheelhouse. Here, if you see apples on the dinner table, they’ve most likely been cooked in butter and brown sugar. That’s not a complaint.

But my mind kept wandering back to this recipe until I finally had to try it. It’s a casserole for people who love contrasts – the sweetness of the apples and onions versus the sharp bite of the Cheddar cheese, the creaminess of the nutmeg-spiked roux versus the crunch of the chopped pecans and crispy bread crumbs.

Serve it as a main dish on Monday, then as a side on Tuesday, preferably next to a big pork chop. I don’t care what Peter Brady says. Applesauce is for people who don’t have teeth.

Apple Onion Cheese Gratin

Serves 4 to 6

1 CUP MILK
1 TABLESPOON BUTTER
1 TABLESPOON ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
1/2 TEASPOON GROUND NUTMEG
1/2 TEASPOON SALT
PINCH OF GROUND CLOVES
4 CUPS PEELED, CORED, AND SLICED APPLES
1 CUP CHOPPED ONION
2 CUPS GRATED CHEDDAR OR GRUYERE (OR 1 CUP EACH)
1 CUP CHOPPED PECANS
1 CUP BREAD CRUMBS
2 TABLESPOONS BROWN SUGAR (OPTIONAL)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 11 x 7-inch baking dish.

In a small pot, scald the milk over medium heat, bringing it almost but not quite to a boil.

In another small pot, melt the butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour.

Slowly add the scalded milk to the flour, whisking continuously until the sauce starts to thicken. (Whisk slowly so you can feel the change in the sauce.)

Add the nutmeg, salt, and cloves, and stir for about 4 minutes, until thick. Remove from the heat, and set aside.

Spread the apples and onion evenly in the prepared dish.

Sprinkle on the grated cheese, and pour the sauce over the top.

Scatter on the pecans and bread crumbs (seasoned with 2 tablespoons brown sugar, if you like).

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, until the top is golden and crisp.

Nutritional Info Per 6.5-Ounce Serving – 326 calories, 12.1g protein, 21.6g fat, 24.1g carbs, 3.9g fiber.

What’s one way to turn your regular banana bread into something truly delicious? How about a hefty dose of Nutella?! That’s right, that irresistible hazelnut spread that makes you weak in the knees!  I’m a bit obsessed with Nutella, so when I spotted this banana bread I knew it would just be a matter of time before had to give it a try.

When I walked into the kitchen the other day and saw some brown speckled bananas sitting on the counter, I got really excited and immediately thought of this recipe. Moist and tender with a deep banana flavor, crunchy hazelnuts and a ribbon of Nutella swirled though the loaf. Seriously, does it get any better? How about I tell you it’s from Cooking Light Magazine? Oh yeah…now we’re talking!

Chocolate-Hazelnut Banana Bread

Ingredients:

6.75 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons Nutella
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon canola oil, divided
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 medium ripe bananas, sliced
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup whole buttermilk
1/4 cup hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease bottom and sides of one 9 x 5-inch loaf pans; dust with flour, tapping out excess.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, espresso powder and salt ; set aside.

In a small microwave-safe dish combine Nutella and 1 teaspoon oil; microwave at high for 30 seconds or until melted. Stir.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat 3 tablespoons oil, butter, brown sugar, and banana on medium-high speed until well blended.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beat in vanilla extract. Beat in buttermilk and one-half of dry ingredients until combined, about 30 seconds. Beat in remaining flour mixture until just incorporated.

Pour half of the batter into the the prepared pan and top with the Nutella mixture.

Spread remaining batter over Nutella mixture.

Using a toothpick, swirl batter.

Sprinkle batter with hazelnuts. Bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing loaf to a wire rack to cool completely.

I've been on a Maple kick for a few weeks now and when I stumbled upon this recipe for maple pecan biscotti a quick glance at the ingredients and I knew that they would totally fit the bill. Loaded with rich maple flavor and crunchy pecans, this twice-baked biscotti is perfect for dunking in your morning coffee. Because everyone SHOULD have cookies for breakfast! 

Maple Pecan Biscotti

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon imitation Maple extract
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
1/4 cup melted white chocolate, for drizzling or dipping.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon; set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugars until combined, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add vanilla and maple extract and beat until combined.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Stir in pecans.

On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a 3x8 inch log. Set the logs lengthwise on the prepared baking sheet, evenly spacing them apart.

Bake until the logs are golden brown and slightly firm to the touch, about 30 minutes. Let the logs cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes.

Transfer the logs to a cutting board. With a serrated bread knife, cut each log diagonally into slices ½ inch thick.

Place the cookies, cut sides up, in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake until the biscotti are firm, about 15 minutes, flipping them midway through baking. Let cool completely.

Once the biscotti is completely cool, dip or drizzle with white chocolate and chopped pecans.

Recipe Note: The biscotti tastes best during the first few days, but will keep for up to a month in a sealed air-tight container.

When I give my Cinnamon Biscuits as a quick alternative to cinnamon rolls recipe out to people, I learned something very important: many cooks are yeast-phobic. And I get that. There’s nothing like uncovering a bowl of would-be pizza dough (after hours of waiting) and finding a sad, unrisen, murky pool of nothing.

What we need is a baby step. Something that has the flavor of yeast but doesn’t require all the wishing and hoping and proofing and folding. Something foolproof and delicious.

That’s Beer Bread. Simple. Quick. And so good with a schmear of honey butter or vegetable spread. And a big bowl of soup.

The process takes just a few minutes: whisk the dry ingredients, add a bottle of beer and stir. Then pour a little melted butter into your loaf pan, spoon in the batter, and top it off with the remaining butter.

Bake. Eat. Love.

The batter won’t look like much at first, but after 50 minutes in the oven, the planets will align, and you’ll have a perfectly risen loaf of bread. The tablespoon of baking powder makes all the difference. Beer breads made with baking powder tend to be lighter, taller and less brick-like than their baking powderless-cousins. As for all that butter, it adds tons of flavor and moisture (to keep the bread from becoming brick-like) and helps the bread turn a beautiful golden brown.

How you serve the bread is completely up to you. I’ve seen it sliced. I’ve seen it cut into rough cubes, so that every piece has plenty of that buttery top or bottom real estate. And I’ve been at dinner parties where everyone just pulled a hunk of bread off the loaf.

Delicious, yet lacking in pretension. And fussiness. So appreciated.
 

Beer Bread

3 CUPS ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
3 TABLESPOONS SUGAR
1 TABLESPOON BAKING POWDER
1 TEASPOON SALT
1 BOTTLE (12 OUNCES) BEER
1/2 CUP (1 STICK) UNSALTED BUTTER, MELTED (NOTE: FEEL FREE TO REDUCE TO 1/4 CUP.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-x-5-x-3-inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer into the dry ingredients until just mixed.

Pour half the melted butter into the loaf pan. Then spoon the batter into the pan, and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter. Slide a baking sheet onto a lower rack to catch any butter that might overflow from the loaf pan.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Is it wrong to eat bread pudding for breakfast? If it is, don’t tell me, because I’ve got a little streak going over here. A small dish of Blackberry Bread Pudding with a very large cup of coffee.

Dessert for breakfast? Oh, yes.

For every 29 days of steel-cut oats, you need something dusted with powdered sugar. Something that makes you feel like you should be strutting around the house in a red velvet robe with an evergreen crown on your head, like the Ghost of Christmas Present.

People say you can use whatever bread you want for bread pudding, but that’s a dirty lie. If you want your bread pudding to be a transcendent experience, you’ve got to get your hands on a small loaf of brioche or challah. Both breads are slightly sweet and rich, so when you toast the cubes and bathe them in half-and-half, cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla, they don’t get mushy and fall apart. They soak in every blessed spoonful.

If you closed your eyes and tasted the pudding fresh from the oven, you’d swear it was cake.

That is, unless you got a bite studded with blackberries, and then you probably wouldn’t say anything at all.

It’s OK to moan. Really, I won’t tell.

The magical thing about this recipe is that any berry, fresh or frozen, will work. Add a few big handfuls of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or cranberries. Or, pick up a bag of frozen mixed berries, and go wild.

You could make the pudding with low-fat ingredients and all sorts of healthy substitutions, but the easiest thing to do is to share it. Invite your friends over. Take it to work. Strap it into your passenger’s seat, and drive it to your mom’s house.

Spread the joy. Eat dessert first.

Blackberry Bread Pudding

8 OUNCES BRIOCHE OR CHALLAH (THAT’S ABOUT 1/2 OF ONE LARGE LOAF OR AN ENTIRE SMALL ONE.)
6 LARGE EGGS
1 CUP GRANULATED SUGAR
2 CUPS HALF-AND-HALF
2 CUPS HEAVY CREAM
1 TEASPOON PURE VANILLA EXTRACT OR VANILLA BEAN PASTE
1 PINCH SALT
1 TO 1 1/2 CUPS BLACKBERRIES (FRESH OR FROZEN)
CONFECTIONER’S SUGAR, FOR DUSTING

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a deep 9×13-inch baking dish, and set aside.

To Prep the Bread: Cut the crusts off the bread, and slice it into 1-inch cubes. (You should have about 3 1/2 cups of bread cubes.) Scatter the bread cubes on a baking sheet, and toast them in the oven until light golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. (Check them every 5 minutes to make sure they don’t brown too much.) Set aside to cool, but leave the oven on.

In a large bowl bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, half-and-half, cream, vanilla and salt.

Add the bread cubes to the bowl, toss gently, and let them soak until they absorb the custard, about 30 minutes.

Pour half the bread mixture into the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle with half the blackberries. Repeat with the remaining bread mixture and berries.

To Create a Water Bath: Place the dish in a large roasting pan, and carefully fill it with enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish.
Bake until the pudding is set and golden brown on top, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the water bath, and serve immediately, or let cool to serve warm or chilled. Serve by the large spoonful, dusted with confectioner’s sugar.

Spring has sprung in most parts in the country.  Record highs, baby animals. Everything’s flowering, and everyone’s sneezing.  But, here in Idaho, it's 30 degrees. So, to offset the chill in the air these Luscious Lemon Bars are a close second to Spring.

 These lemon squares are a new recipe for me, but one that I am adding to the rotation. They are easy to make and bursting with lemon flavor. The bottom layer is a thin sweet crust that bakes for 10 minutes – the perfect amount of time to whip up the filling. As soon as the crust comes out, pour in the filling, and bake for another 15 minutes or so. If you eat them while they’re still warm, they are messy, so I recommend chilling them in the fridge for about an hour before you serve them. They’ll be much easier to slice, and they’ll actually hold together.

Crust:
1 CUP ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
1/4 CUP CONFECTIONERS’ SUGAR
1/2 CUP UNSALTED BUTTER, SOFTENED

Filling:
2 EGGS, LIGHTLY BEATEN
1 CUP GRANULATED SUGAR
2 TABLESPOONS ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
2 TABLESPOONS FRESH LEMON JUICE
1 TEASPOON LEMON ZEST

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

To Make the Crust: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and sugar. Add butter, and work into the flour mixture with your fingers or a pastry blender until it forms a dough. Press the dough into the bottom of an ungreased 9-inch square pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

To Make the Filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, flour, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Pour over the warm crust.
Bake until the filling is set but not browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

Place the pan on a wire rack to cool. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, and serve immediately. Or, wrap them in plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator before serving.