Nectarine Raspberry Crisp with Limoncello

So, I just realized that I'm going to a food blogger conference in a couple of weeks, and I haven't actually blogged about food in awhile! I'm failing miserably as a Midtown hipster. To rectify the situation, I rousted my fiancé out of bed and spirited him off to the hipster mecca: the Midtown Sacramento farmers market. We bought homemade organic dog cookies, collard greens (fiancé wrinkled his nose at that, until I told him I'd be cooking it in bacon), nectarines, and raspberries. Oh and we did some wine tasting too - we discovered that Heringer Estates in nearby Clarksburg makes an excellent Malbec, so we got a bottle of that, too. Then it was time to sherpa everything home and bake!

We're having a BBQ tomorrow with the fiancé's family, and I decided to bring fiancé's favorite: peach - raspberry crisp (with nectarines, because I don't actually like peaches... Texture thing... Fuzz...usually when I make something that involves peaches, I use nectarines).

So, this is a super easy recipe. There is minimal fuss (and no fuzz) involved.

I sliced up about six nectarines (skin on, because no fuzz or fuss) and placed them in a 9 x 11 casserole dish that had been coated with butter, then dumped in a 12 oz container of (washed) raspberries.

Pretty, huh?

To create a juicy syrup and keep the nectarines from drying out, I mixed half a cup of limoncello with a teaspoon of cornstarch and poured that over the nectarines and raspberries. 

Next, I melted one stick of butter (unsalted, because that's what I always buy, but salted would be fine too). And I went ahead and browned it, because yum. And then I threw in a teaspoon of vanilla, so my kitchen was smelling pretty incredible. Next, I combined one cup of rolled oats, half a cup of sugar, half a cup of flour, and a teaspoon of salt in a mixing bowl, then poured in the melted butter and mixed until it came together in a crumbly consistency. 

That buttery goodness got sprinkled over the nectarines and raspberries. Then I chopped up another two tablespoons of butter and sprinkled that on top too, for good measure. 

This went into a 400-degree oven for about 35 minutes. The time might vary depending on how much fruit you're starting with, elevation, etc. but you know it's done when the fruit mixture is bubbling and the crumble is golden brown and crispy.

Now if this can just make it til the party tomorrow...


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Limoncello Raspberry Cream Sandwich Cookies

Pillowy lemon cookie sandwiched with luscious tart raspberry filling...Yes, I died and went to heaven.  I never knew a sandwich cookie could be this easy and this decadent. 

The pudding in the cookie helps keep them soft and adds richness.  The raspberry filling is kicked up a few notches with the addition of raspberry puree and Frambroise.  We wouldn't be bakin' it with booze, otherwise!

An elegant cookie, yet so easy to pull together.  Heaven.

This recipe is from my super creative and ever imaginative blogger buddy, Dorothy at Crazy for Crust.  She comes up with some very special treats like...Avocado Frosting, Cherry Icee Cupcakes, Cakeball Cookies and PB&J Tart.  She also runs a weekly party, Crazy Sweet Tuesday, where lots and lots of food bloggers show their creative wares.  Her Whatever Friday features a weekly wrap-up of her recipes and what's happened in her life.  She is The Iron Blogger!  :)

I've learned so much from Dorothy and thankful that I met her in blogger land...

Please check out Dorothy's blog when you can...You won't be disappointed.  Ever. 

Creamy lemony cookies with tart raspberry centers. 

Heaven. 

I'm sharing this over at Cake of the Week's Baking with Spirit Challenge for May: Limoncello! 

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Blueberry pie with limoncello lemon curd

Blueberry and lemon are two of my very favorite flavors, and together? It's a winning combination. Blueberries are delicious, but I think their subtle sweetness is even better when juxtaposed with tart lemon. With the deep blue color of the berries plus a little creativity with the crust, you can make a patriotic pie to show off at your Memorial Day BBQ.

These beautiful berries are just begging for booze, aren't they?

Since I was planning to add lemon curd, I wanted to make sure the blueberries wouldn't be overpowered. I've gotten accustomed to adding a little booze to my pie crust, to make it extra crispy. In this case, I substituted 2 Tbsp of water with blueberry vodka - just to add extra emphasis on the blueberry flavor.

Limoncello Pound Cake

Limoncello pound cake

I am on a mission to make a (successful) lemon meringue pie...Wait, what? This post is supposed to be about limoncello pound cake! Yes, yes it is. Bear with me here.

So, lemon meringue is my all-time favorite kind of pie - and I really, really love just about any kind of pie. I made a gorgeous lemon meringue pie last summer, and followed the directions precisely, but the darn pie never set. It was a beautiful lemon meringue soup, which I ended up spilling all over the driveway, my shoes, and my dog as I struggled to carry way too many things to the car. I was horrified and traumatized and haven't been able to summon the nerve to try again - until now. Armed and dangerous with a brand new recipe, I set upon my task. The pie did, indeed set, but I decided the recipe was awful. Again, it looked gorgeous, but it wasn't nearly lemony enough for my taste. So the search continues for the perfect lemon meringue pie recipe. I'm determined to find it! I did find, on this particular afternoon, a good way to use up the extra egg yolks I had left over from my lemon meringue pie mission. And that brings us to this lovely, bright, lemony limoncello pound cake.

Limoncello Sugar Cookies

Are you ready for the Easter Bunny?

Light and lemony and a little bit of Spring!

 

The Easter Bunny hasn't been at my house in YEARS, but I still love this holiday.  And, if you really think about it, Easter is the mid-point between Halloweens.  Better than Christmas because there is no big crazy shopping frenzy.  Plus, it really is what it's all about in terms of Christianity, right?  With no rise, there would be no need for Christmas.  All the more reason to celebrate the coming of Spring and The Bunny!

In case you haven't notice, I have this fascination with almost anything Italian...Food, clothes, jewelry, landscapes, art, wine...And, Limoncello.   I first discovered baking with Limoncello when Jacqueline made these cupcakes and I made this cake.  All good.  All Limoncello.  Makes a killer lemon drop BTW...Just sayin'. 

So, with the coming of Spring and the ~still~ abundant California lemon crop, I decided to make the Italian liqueur version of my favorite sugar cookie recipe.  Same great recipe, new and refreshing lemony twist!

And, as you can see, I like the rustic-Italian look to my frosted sugar cookies...
We all know that Italians LOVE sprinkles!

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Lemon Drop Cupcakes

 















  
     These bright, cheerful lemon drop cupcakes are like a little bit of sunshine - with a little bit of booze. Although we've enjoyed lots of unseasonably sunny weather this January, it looks like the winter weather has finally caught up with us. These cupcakes are a fun way to make use of the beautiful lemons that are in season right now.

Limoncello-Lemon Upside Down Cake

Your Daily Dose of Vitamin C in a Cake!

Lemons are every where right now, on the trees, in stores, in cocktails, and on baking blogs.  This recipe comes from two sources: Nestle® and A Girl and Her Fork, a fellow Sactown blogger.  I used the basis for the cake from the Nestle® pound cake recipe and the upside down part from inspiration from AGAHF's recent post for Meyer Lemon Upside Down Cake.  This cake was moist and lemony.  I liked the punch of the Limoncello which added a depth of flavor to the lemons on the top.  This was my go-to breakfast all week.