Homemade Cherry Pie

February 17, 2019February 14, 2019 / Jodi / 56 Comments

Homemade Cherry Pie.

On a recent visit to an awesome new grocery store that opened up near us called Fresh Thyme, I discovered they carried big 2.5 lb bags of red sour pie cherries. I was so excited! This is something hard to find where we live. You can find dark sweet cherries everywhere, and they are delicious for eating, but to make a good old-fashioned homemade cherry pie, you have to have the sour cherries.

I snagged a couple bags and was excited to get to make a cherry pie for hubby for Valentine’s Day last week.

If you are lucky enough to find sour cherries, here is the simple, old-fashioned recipe I use to make a classic cherry pie.

Bake a little love!

Cherry Pie

Servings: 8
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Ingredients:

2.5 lbs (40 oz) Fresh or Frozen Red Sour Cherries
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 Tbsp tapioca
1 tsp almond extract
1 Tbsp butter
1 Double Crust Recipe (See our “Secret Family Pie Crust Recipe” here)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine cherries, sugar, tapioca, and almond extract. Mix well, and let sit while preparing pie crust.

Prepare crust and place bottom layer in pie plate. Fill with cherry mixture. Top filling with dabs of butter followed by top crust, being sure to cut slits or a shape to allow bubbling and steam to escape. Spread a small amount of milk or water on top crust, and sprinkle with an additional tablespoon of sugar if desired.

Place pie in oven. Cover loosely with foil to prevent over browning. Bake approximately one hour. Remove foil and continue baking until filling bubbles out of top and crust is beautifully browned.

Allow to cool completely to set. Serve with scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Red Raspberry Dark Chocolate Puff Pastry Tarts

November 1, 2018October 31, 2018 / Jodi / 53 Comments

Red Raspberry Dark Chocolate Puff Pastry Tarts.

Phew! That name is a mouthful….

But it really does say it all!

And I’m betting you would love a mouthful of these simple, but elegant and amazingly delicious treats!

I made these this past weekend for a Sunday family football dinner.

Would you believe me if I told you there are only three ingredients?!?!

Well – four if you count the powdered sugar you sprinkle on top.

Puff Pastry is such a dream to work with!

Keep these ingredients on hand and this recipe up your sleeve when you need a quick, but fabulous dessert or treat.

I’m betting you won’t be sorry. 😉

Red Raspberry Dark Chocolate Puff Pastry Tarts

Servings: 18
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Ingredients:

1 17.3 oz package Pepperidge Farms Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets (thawed)
1 jar red raspberry preserves or pastry filling
1 4.4 oz bar Moser Roth 70% Dark Chocolate (or your favorite), broken into 1 inch pieces.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out one sheet of puff pastry, and cut into 9 squares approximately 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. Place a teaspoon of raspberry jam in center of each square. Top with a piece of dark chocolate. Pull all four corners to center and pinch to seal.

Bake for 15-18 minutes on baking stone or cookie sheet until puffed and lightly browned. Remove to cooling rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Serve warm or cold.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Chocolate Chip & Dried Tart Cherry Cookies

February 22, 2018February 20, 2018 / Jodi / 57 Comments

Chocolate Chip and Dried Tart Cherry Cookies.

I have shared many versions of cookies here at The CreativeLifeinBetween.

In fact, in some homes (very few indeed), I am known as the Cookie Queen.

And it seems no matter what kind I make, the all-time favorite is the Chocolate Chip Cookie.

I often change it up a little, but when I add dried tart cherries, I know I am going to make at least one guy smile ( who happens to be my youngest son).

So this week, I made a batch that I hope will bring a smile to our busy family as we prepare for exciting days and years ahead.

New homes – growing families – lots of love.

Here is how I make them.

Chocolate Chip and Dried Tart Cherry Cookies

Servings: 4 dozen
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Ingredients:

4 sticks (1 lb.) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
5 cups all purpose flour
1 12-oz bags Nestle Chocolate Chunk Morsels (or your favorite)
8-oz Dried Tart Cherries (I used Trader Joe’s)

Directions:

With electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until completely incorporated. Add vanilla and eggs, and beat until light and fluffy. Add baking soda and salt, and mix another minute. Gradually add flour and beat until well incorporated, but do not overbeat.

Fold in chocolate chunk morsels and dried cherries. Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. With your hands, form a cookie dough ball about 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Place on baking stone. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake. Allow to cool on baking stone for 5-6 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Strawberry Chocolate Ganache Tart with Oreo Cookie Crust

February 16, 2017February 15, 2017 / Jodi / 50 Comments

Strawberry Chocolate Ganache Tart with Cookie Crust (No Bake).

You may recall seeing this dessert I made for our Valentine’s Couple Camp Party. I promised then that I would share the recipe.

I have to tell you… this dessert is not only beautiful and elegant looking, it is so simple, uses only five basic ingredients, and is possibly the most luscious chocolate dessert I have EVER tasted. And I’m really not exaggerating. I absolutely loved this tart!

I typically make dessert, but just taste enough to know it is okay to serve. This one, however… I not only had the evening of our party, I ate the last leftover slice!

I am certain I will make this tart again.. and again. It is a great dessert for ANY occasion, any season, anybody. I would take this to a summer picnic. I would make this for a birthday “cake.” I would make this for a Christmas dinner dessert. I would make this for ANY reason.

I originally came across this recipe posted by Mary at HomeisWheretheBoatis, and I only tweaked it slightly. Thanks for sharing Mary!

I so hope you will give this a try, and I cannot wait to hear how you like it!

Strawberry Chocolate Ganache Tart with Oreo Cookie Crust (No Bake)

Servings: 12
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Ingredients:

1 pkg. Oreo Cookies (approx. 32 cookies)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
12 oz. of Your Favorite Chocolate (I used Baker’s German Sweet)
1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream
Strawberries

Directions:

Place Oreo cookies in a gallon size Ziploc bag. Then place entire bag in another bag to double (so you can crush them without making a mess!) Crush Oreo cookies using a heavy rolling pin, your hands, or whatever way you prefer to smash them fine enough to make a crust from. (The original recipe calls for pulsing them in a food processor, so feel free to do that if you have one.)
Pour melted butter into the bag. Zip to close again and completely incorporate the cookie crumbs and butter using your hands. Pour crumb and butter mixture into an 11″ tart pan. Pat onto bottom and up sides of tart pan. Refrigerate to firm up for one hour before preparing and adding filling.
To make filling, break up chocolate and place in a heat-proof bowl. Bring heavy cream to a boil in a small sauce pan. As soon as it boils, pour over chocolate. Let sit for a couple minutes to soften the chocolate, then slowly whisk until until smooth and fully incorporated. Pour into chilled, firm crust. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours or overnight.
Garnish with strawberries (red raspberries would amazing too if you prefer!). Drizzle melted chocolate over all if desired. I also sprinkled just a tiny bit of sea salt flakes, which gave it an amazing, but subtle taste burst. And then – any cookie crust crumbs that fall off when you remove the tart bottom from the sides of the pan can be thrown on top too.

Enjoy! I know you will!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

A Valentine Couples Camp Party

February 13, 2017February 12, 2017 / Jodi / 55 Comments

This past weekend, a gang of our bestie couple friends got together to celebrate love and friendship.

My McHendy “sister,’ Jill, and I collaborated to plan what we called “Valentine’s Couple Camp.”

Those of you that have been hanging around here at TheCreativeLifeinBetween for a while might remember our first Couple Camp Weekend Retreat that I posted about here.

Unfortunately, we missed a year… I guess weddings, babies, life… got us too involved. But when Jill called a couple weeks ago and said we should do another Couples Camp for Valentine’s Day, I was all in and offered to host at our home.

And so we did.

Bubby and Glenn were assigned appetizers, and boy did they rock the theme! Check out all the ways you can make food into hearts!

I created a special “Love Potion” cocktail to toast the beginning of our time together. I mixed 1/3 Grand Marnier Signature Collection No. 2 Raspberry Peach with 2/3 champagne and garnished with a fresh red raspberry. Yum!

Jill is our illustrious “camp” activities director. After a silly group photo,

Jill and I sent the rest of the gang to the bar, while we laid out the all the materials for everyone to create their own “Love Shack” out of chocolate graham crackers and candy (a Valentine gingerbread house of sorts). Everyone was given a flag to name their Love Shack and 20 pennies to distribute into shot glasses after everyone finished and presented their masterpieces to vote on the best.

We had some serious creativity going on. Check it out!

Hubby made his into “Camp Happy Beginning” reminiscent of the early days of love and not having much but feeling like everything is a rainbow …. or something like that… if you can imagine…

Mary made hers into “Mary’s Cozy Cottage” decorated with a comfy couch and chairs and a big colorful outdoor patio…

I was much busier laughing and taking pictures under the guise of “hosting” to focus too much on mine, but came up with this pretty lame “McKinney Love Shack.”

Bubby lovingly created the “McKinney B&B.”

and her Glenn created “Glen’s Gang Bang Getaway.” No explanation here. You can use your own imagination.

Jim cracked us up with his creation. Simple, but with a funny and politically-inspired statement. His “American” themed love shack had three characters involved… “I’m a Russian” on his way to the love shack, “Himalyan” in the love shack, and “He’s a Finnish” leaving the love shack…

Jill’s was a fabulous “Jill’s Sweet Shack” with a candy paved lane.

But Todd stole the show with his outhouse-themed love shack complete with cut out crescent moon doors.

We assigned Mary the entree knowing she would make all of our tummies happy, and she did not disappoint! In fact, we were so into her amazing stuffed shells, meatballs and spare ribs in homemade Italian sauce, I forgot to photograph it! Thankfully, she left a few for us to enjoy for dinner the next day, so I took a quick photo of our leftovers. Which, by the way, tasted just as magnificent! Thanks Mar!

I made a simple salad and sliced up some fresh bread to accompany Mary’s entree,

and we gave another toast to friendship!

I had fun preparing for our guests by tidying up the guest rooms,

including a quick convert of the nursery with an air mattress bed,

and placing heart-shaped Dove Red Velvet Chocolates on pillows.

I set the table with red plates and chocolate heart treats…

and even little heart shaped spoons!

Aren’t they adorable!

I was assigned dessert, so a chocolating I went. You already know about my chocolate-dipped wafer cookies and Ultimate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookies which I had out, but I also made a bouquet of chocolate-dipped strawberries,

and the most amazing and simple No Bake Chocolate Ganache Cookie Crust Tart I saw on another blog.

I’ll share this recipe soon. It is seriously amazing and uses only a couple simple ingredients!

We talked the guys into playing Couples Scattegories and had fun staying up late drinking and talking until later than any of us ever stay up.

Hubby made omelets to order the next morning after we all awoke… later than we usually get up.

What a joy to have such wonderful friends to share time and our home with!

And quoting Jill from last time, I once again share:

“I recommend that all of our friends coordinate a Couple’s Camp weekend. Great fun. Lots of laughter. Many life stories shared. And the realization that life long friends and connections are priceless! So go make some memories!”

Thanks for the memories dear friends!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Summer Vegetable Tart

August 25, 2016August 24, 2016 / Jodi / 41 Comments

My sweet friend Janet found a recipe for this amazing summer vegetable tart, and I told her she had to come over so we could make it together and enjoy.

And that we did one evening this week.

Besides being so great to see her and spend time in the kitchen slicing and chopping and chatting….

O. M. G. – this turned out so delish!

With summer coming to an end and the abundance of zucchini and red-ripe tomatoes and eggplant and squash, this recipe is a must-do for a hot August evening dinner or Sunday lunch or brunch – or anytime really!

Anything smothered with Parmegiano Regianno is a winner in my book, but this savory summer vegetable tart is seriously a new favorite. Dare I admit I had 4 pieces?!

I think you are going to want to try this, so here is the recipe.

Summer Vegetable Tart

Servings: 1 tart
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Ingredients:

1 medium zucchini squash, thinly sliced
1 medium yellow squash, thinly sliced
1 medium eggplant, thinly sliced
2 large tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (or pie crust or crescent rolls)
1/4 cup tomato or pizza sauce
1 cup freshly grated Parmegiano Reggiano Parmesan cheese
Olive Oil
Salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out puff pastry or pie crust or crescent rolls on a baking stone or cookie sheet to rectangle or circle to form “pizza” tart crust.

Thinly slice vegetables with mandolin or sharp knife. Lay out on parchment paper or paper towel. Sprinkle with salt, and let set for 15 minutes. Pat dry with paper towel to absorb excess moisture.

Spread tomato sauce on pastry. Layer with vegetables. Drizzle with olive oil. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until crust is golden brown, vegetables are tender, and cheese is melted and browned. Let set for 5-10 minutes, cut, serve, and enjoy!

Happy Eating!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Blueberry Shortbread Tart

August 2, 2016August 1, 2016 / Jodi / 56 Comments

I thought it would be nice to make a sweet treat this past weekend for the guys since I had been away for awhile. I didn’t have enough blueberries to make a pie, but I had a nice amount to make this yummy blueberry shortbread tart.

What could be bad about a shortbread crust, some jam and blueberries, fresh lemon juice and zest, and a crumbly topping?!?!

It went together easily, only took 30 minutes to make, and was a hit! (Hubby said it reminded him of a toasted blueberry Pop-Tart (and that was meant as a compliment – lol!)

I can’t recall the last time I bought Pop-Tarts, but this is a tart, and it is filled with fruit, and it is baked, so I guess that pretty well qualifies it to taste a bit like it. I can imagine this would also be great with many other fruit fillings (aka Pop-Tart flavors) – Cherry, Raspberry, Blackberry, Peach, Apple & Cinnamon, Strawberry, or Peach – to name a few.

My guys topped theirs with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, because, well…. just because!

It was a great dessert to end a hot summer day and meal of grilled sausage sandwiches with onions and peppers on hard rolls, fresh sweet corn on the cob rolled in butter and sprinkled with Old Bay Seasoning, and a cucumber and tomato salad fresh from the garden drizzled with tangy red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Hungry yet?!

Blueberry Shortbread Tart

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, room temperature
½ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
2⅓ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
1 cup blueberry preserves or jam
1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease 9-inch tart pan.

Beat butter, sugars, lemon juice and zest with electric mixer approx. 3 mins until well incorporated. Add flour and salt, and mix until well blended and forming clumps.

Press 2/3 of the mixture evenly into the prepared pan and going up sides.

Spread with the blueberry preserves or jam evenly over the dough, leaving a ¼-inch border. Sprinkle with blueberries.

Crumble the remaining dough into large crumbs and sprinkle evenly over filling.

Bake 30 – 40 mins. until lightly browned.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

*recipe slightly adapted from Erren’s Kitchen

Fresh Red Raspberry Puff Pastry Tart

May 28, 2016May 27, 2016 / Jodi / 52 Comments

If you are looking for a fresh, light, simple, yet surprisingly impressive dessert to take to a holiday picnic or serve for a simple weekend dinner party, I’ve created this quick, but scrumptious and beautiful fresh red raspberry puff pastry tart using fresh fruit combined with the convenience of frozen puff pastry.

For the Memorial Day holiday weekend (or Fourth of July or Labor Day), you could use some blueberries in this one too for a red, white, blue theme.

Here’s my easy peasy recipe that is bound to to get rave reviews!

Fresh Red Raspberry Puff Pastry Tart

Servings: 6
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Ingredients:

I pint fresh red raspberries
1/4 cup apricot or raspberry or your favorite jam (I used apricot, because it is what I had, and it made a nice combination of flavors)
1 sheet Pepperidge Farms Frozen Puff Pastry (thawed 40 mins. at room temperature)
1 Tbsp Honey
Powdered Sugar for Garnish

Directions:

Unfold and place sheet of puff pastry on baking stone or baking sheet and turn up edges on all sides to create a crust edge. Poke center with fork 6-8 times to prevent center from raising up too high. Bake at 400 degrees F for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown.

While still warm, spread jam on bottom of baked puff pastry. Place half of fresh raspberries on top and mash with a fork. Allow to cool completely.

Once cooled, place whole fresh red raspberries on top. Drizzle with honey, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

To serve, cut into 6 pieces and garnish with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Hope you enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Chessy Caprese Tarts

January 20, 2016January 19, 2016 / Jodi / 43 Comments

In honor of National Cheese Lovers Day today, (you knew that – right?!) I am sharing a yummy new Cheesy Caprese Tart recipe I made this past weekend for the family while we got together to watch football playoff games.

This recipe could also be great for brunch, lunch or even a light dinner. It would be a well-received snack to take to a Super Bowl Party too, I am certain!

Does anything beat ooey, gooey, chewy fresh melted mozarella cheese?! Especially when topped with sweet juicy tomatoes and some lovely fresh basil?! And everything is yummy when on top of golden, flaky puff pastry – right?

This recipe is really simple, yet it turns out looking so impressive, you are going to be a Cheese Lover’s ROCK STAR when you make this!

Caprese Puff Pastry Tarts

Servings: depends on how hungry you are!
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Ingredients:

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 lb fresh mozzarella cheese
Fresh ripe Campari (my favorite!) or cherry tomatoes
Fresh basil
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Roll out the puff pastry sheet and cut into four squares. Top with sliced fresh mozarella and then sliced tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil, then salt and pepper to taste. Bake in 375 degree F oven for approximately 15 minutes or until puff pastry begins to puff and turn golden brown and cheese is melted and bubbly brown. Remove from oven and top with freshly chopped basil. Tastes wonderful hot or cold.

For small bite-sized tarts, you could cut into 16 squares and do same. You could also do one large “pizza” by not cutting the pastry sheet at all.

ENJOY, and Happy Cheese Lover’s Day!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart

July 28, 2015July 27, 2015 / Jodi / 29 Comments

I had a wonderful vacation!

But I have to admit…. Once home, I couldn’t wait to get in the kitchen and bake.

So Sunday morning, after a quick trip to the grocery store, I took some time to leisurely make this beautiful, amazingly delicious Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart.

Oh the wonderful smell while it baked…

The juicy, ripe apricots drizzled with honey made my heart happy.

And watching Hubby enjoy it….

even better.

I found a recipe for an Apricot Pistachio Tart that I used as a baseline to create this recipe I think is well worth saving!

I summoned enough willpower to enjoy only a bite, but oh that bite…

This is such a special treat. I hope you will try it and enjoy it or share with someone you know that loves fresh apricots.

Apricots are one of Hubby’s faves, so I enjoyed making it for him after enjoying a week away at GFC. A little “thank you” of sorts.

After baking this, I whipped up some cookie dough and made a fresh caprese pasta salad.

Kitchen fix complete.
Life is good.
Home sweet home.

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart

Servings: approximately 8
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Crust:

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup raw, unsalted, sliced almonds, crushed

1 stick butter, cut into small chunks
1 tsp almond extract Apricot Creme Filling:
10-12 small ripe fresh apricots
3/4 cup sour cream
1 large egg yolk
3 Tbsp honey

Directions:

Preheat to 350º.

In a medium bowl, mix powdered sugar, salt and flour to combine. Add the crushed almonds (I simply placed in a ziploc bag and rolled over them with a marble rolling pin), the chunks of butter, and the almond extract. Blend with a pastry blender until the mixture just begins to clump together. Dump the crumbs into an 8 or 9-inch tart pan and press evenly. Freeze the crust until firm for about 15 minutes.

Prick the crust about 10 – 12 times with a fork, and then place the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet for easy maneuvering. Bake for approximately 15 minutes until lightly browned.Halve the apricots and remove the pits. Arrange them, cut side up, in the warm tart shell in circles starting with the outer layer and moving inward.In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg yolk, and 3 tablespoons of honey. Pour the custard evenly over the apricots.

Sprinkle with some additional sliced almonds.Bake the tart until the custard is set when you shake the pan, approximately 45 minutes. Let the tart cool completely, and then refrigerate to fully set.Just before serving, drizzle some additional honey over the top.

ENJOY!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

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the creative life in between

cherishing the moments and exploring my passion for creativity… through art, photography, food, and writing

tart

Homemade Cherry Pie

Cherry Pie

Red Raspberry Dark Chocolate Puff Pastry Tarts

Red Raspberry Dark Chocolate Puff Pastry Tarts

A Valentine Couples Camp Party

Summer Vegetable Tart

Summer Vegetable Tart

Blueberry Shortbread Tart

Blueberry Shortbread Tart

Fresh Red Raspberry Puff Pastry Tart

Fresh Red Raspberry Puff Pastry Tart

Chessy Caprese Tarts

Caprese Puff Pastry Tarts

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart

Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart

Cherry Pie

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Summer Vegetable Tart

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Blueberry Shortbread Tart

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Fresh Apricot Almond Creme Tart

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