The Perfect End of Summer Treat: Fruit Pizza

Labor day is coming up and you're going to need some dessert to top off your weekend of fun! The best part of this treat is that you can really great creative and use whatever fruit that you like or is in season. Plus, you can make it the night before to have it ready for your guests. It's a recipe that is easy to duplicate and even easier to eat! Enjoy!

Ingredients
Crust

• 1 Cup of Butter
• 1 ½ cup of White Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 ½ Cups of Flour
• 2 Teaspoon of Cream of Tartar
• 1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
• ½ Teaspoon of Salt
• 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

Topping

• 16oz Cream Cheese, softened 
• 1 Cup of Sugar
• 4 tsp of vanilla extract
• Fresh fruit. (You can use whatever you want. I like to use seasonal fruits, but canned peaches work well when drained!)

Directions
Crust

• Preheat oven to 350° Conventional Oven. (You're on your own with convection!)
• Cream Butter and Sugar using a hand mixer or stand mixer. 

• Add eggs and beat. 

• Add the rest of the ingredients, gradually to combine.
• Press dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet with a lip. 

• Bake about 10 minutes or until golden.
• Let cool. Meanwhile, make the topping. 

Topping

1. Mix Cream Cheese, sugar, and vanilla until creamy.
2. Use a spatula to frost the crust.
3. Place fruit, as desired, over the cream cheese topping.

Sprinkles at Home!

Most would agree that the Beverly Hills Sprinkles bakery started the cupcake craze that's in full swing today. I have been to the original location and tasted a variety of flavors including the chocolate and red velvet. With hesitation, I admit to being underwhelmed at first bite. I thought, perhaps, the hype of the first insanely popular cupcake shop had gone to its head and the product had lost its spark. Luckily, before I swore off Sprinkles forever, a friend suggested we try making Sprinkles Vanilla Cupcakes at home with their baking mix from Williams-Sonoma. Boy, am I eating my words!

You'll get step-by-step directions on how to make the cupcakes, a recipe for their fluffy vanilla frosting, and Sprinkles signature confectioners dots. Be patient and precise and you will be rewarded with some of the most flavorful vanilla cupcakes you've ever had. Here are a few parts of the Sprinkles process which I think makes a huge difference:

#1: Let the milk, eggs, and butter come to room temperature! Having cold ingredients really disrupts the smooth texture of the cupcake.

#2: Let the batter (which is more the consistency of a dough by the end) absorb each portion of the milk fully before adding the next portion.

#3: Each package of mix makes only 12 cupcakes. It seems like the cups are too full, but believe me the division of batter is right on!

#4: Try your hand at making the signature swirls around the outside of the cupcake. Sprinkles has graciously included their frosting tricks and tips. Go for it! Even though you're at home, give yourself the royal treatment!

Have you tried any of Sprinkles cupcakes at home? Comment and let me know! As for me, I cannot wait to try out another flavor!

Breakfast for Dinner

I am currently the house guest of a fellow foodie which means new recipes, tricks, and foods everyday! Today my host, Emily, suggested breakfast for dinner! She whipped up pancakes and syrup from scratch! She was gracious enough to share her recipes:

Emily's Ultimate Pancakes 
Ingredients

• 2 c. buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c. canola oil
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tbsp. sugar*
• 1 tsp. salt (if you're using sea salt, cut the amount in 1/2)
• 1 1/2 c. flour (no need to level it) 

Directions

1. Heat non-stick griddle to medium-high heat.
2. Mix buttermilk, eggs, oil,  baking soda, sugar, and salt together.
3. Add flour gradually. Mix until no longer lumpy. (How easy is that?!)*
4. Ladle or pour batter onto griddle to form whatever size pancake you like. 
5. Cook until bubbles break the surface of the pancakes and the underside is golden brown. 
6. FLIP!
7. Cook other side until golden brown. (Time varies on size of pancake.)

Tip: Put your own spin by adding fruit, chocolate chips, or nuts. Add after Step 4!

Warning: These pancakes melt in your mouth. You will need serious self-control when preparing and enjoying this recipe. I lack such self-control resulting in the consumption of no less than 6 pancakes. 

This syrup is nothing but calories, so best not to eat it everyday. Whip it out for holidays, birthdays, or breakfast for dinner! It's foamy, rich, and quick to prepare. (For those who have been so lucky to go to Magelby's  in Utah County, this syrup will look and taste very familiar!)

Syrup

Ingredients

• 1 c. butter
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 2 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. Karo syrup
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. baking soda

Directions

1. Mix butter, buttermilk, sugar, and Karo syrup. Boil 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. 
2. Remove from heat and add vanilla and baking soda. 
3. Pour over piping hot...anything!

Note: This makes twice as much syrup needed for the pancakes made...depending on how use syrup! Store the excess in a glass jar and put it in the fridge immediately!

For those of you who partook of these tasty pancakes, vouch for me and comment. They are simple to make, but pack a punch! This will definitely become your go to recipe. Two batches, Seven people...Zero leftovers!

* Corrections made. Apologies! I'm sure if you tried to make these already, they turned out beautifully, but just imagine if I had given you the right amount of sugar and reminded you to add flour! Thanks for being such great blog followers!

Feels Good To Be Out West!

BEFORE

AFTER

UPDATE: Dog Days of Summer

COSTCO NOW SELLS THEIR OWN BRAND OF GELATO! I walked into a Costco today and a woman was walking out with what looked like a triple scoop ice cream waffle cone. Where did it come from?! I looked over to the food court and saw that Costco now sells Kirkland gelato in three flavors: pistachio, strawberry, and stracciatella (vanilla with chocolate shavings). The price cannot be beat; $1.50 for a triple scoop in a waffle cone or $4.99 for a quart to go. Two words: HOME RUN! This gelato is so creamy and tasty! The pistachio is smooth, the chunks of strawberries are juicy, and the chocolate shavings in the stracciatella are rich. Costco...you think of everything!

Dog Days of Summer

Whether it's custard, gelato, frozen yogurt, or old fashioned churned ice cream...nothing says summer like a frozen treat on a cone. Sometimes I love to pig out at home with a pint of Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Caramel Fudge or Haagen Daz's Five: Mint, but the best way to enjoy ice cream is with friends!

Here are a few of my favorite places to cool down:

• Nielsen's Frozen Custard- Get creative in concocting a custard concrete ASAP. It's worth the calories, trust me!
• Thomas Sweets- Producing hand-crafted small batches of ice cream and chocolate daily...(p.s. some locations are cash-only!)
• The Dairy Godmother- Located in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia. Check out their Flavor of the Day Forecast and drop by for frozen custard.
• Tasti D-lite- Once only available in NYC, it's now spreading it's low-calorie creamy goodness across the country. 
• Red Mango- I love this all natural, non-fat frozen yogurt all year long, especially when I can meet up with my dear friends Sarah, Ben, and Ali! Make sure to get a club mango card to earn reward points! (Look out for the seasonal flavors, my favorite is Pumpkin!)

What are some of your favorite places to cool off? (FYI all you silent followers, this is not a rhetorical question!)

Dear Top Pot, I Love You!

Top Pot's hand-forged gourmet doughnuts are the best doughnuts I have tasted to date. Yes, I said it, these Seattle made doughnuts are the best! The maple bar, old fashioned,  and pink feather boa each taste like they were labored over for hours with love, skill and style! Beyond the hand-roasted coffee and forty varieties of doughnuts available, the Top Pot experience is one of a kind. Top Pot creates "a vintage aesthetic with a gourmet spin on the traditional coffee and doughnuts pairing."

I was first introduced to Top Pot on the Travel Channel's Donut Paradise and I was instantly obsessed! This doughnut paradise began when the founders desired to create an environment where Seattleites could relax and reflect while enjoying coffee and doughnuts from a 1920s family recipe in a modern but cozy atmosphere. Mission accomplished! I sat down with my rich, but light maple bar in the modern library/den and I did not want to leave. I asked the extremely friendly barista if my doughnut came with slippers... O.K. I didn't, but I wanted to!

Bottom line Top Pot, I'll be back!

Love,

Laura

* Map above features all the Top Pot locations courtesy of www.toppotdoughnuts.com.