Sweet Cherry Pie.

This past weekend, I was invited to one of my girlfriend's homes for afternoon coffee. I was super excited about getting together with my friends and I wanted to bring some homemade treats with me for us to share, but I was really in a time crunch and didn't have time to make a dessert from scratch.

Thank goodness I had some pie dough I made a few weeks ago stored away in my freezer and ready to go! I cut one corner and bought a canned cherry pie filling to go into my dough for the sake of time, but despite it not being homemade, it was still delicious.

I still wanted to put my own spin on the pie so instead of making one giant pie, I made mini individual sized pies! They were so cute and easy to distribute to whoever wants them without cutting into a whole pie and making a mess. I also made a lattice crust to give it that extra aesthetic to make it look like a miniature pie. It's super easy!...

After making the pie crust (recipe at end of post), use a cookie cutter or a cup to cut circles from the dough that are 4 inches circles. Place the circles into buttered muffin/cupcake tins and fill them with the cherry filling, 1/4 of a cup.

Photo courtesy of tablespoon.com. 

Then get to work on the lattice crust! Use a pizza cutter to cut small even strips of dough and use basic weaving over and under techniques to create a rustic look with the lattice. With this size of a pie, I used 6 dough strips in total: 3 horizontally and 3 vertically. Brush the top of the pie with an egg wash (a beaten egg) to give it that golden finish in the oven.

I baked these babies at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cherry filling is oozing and voila!

These could have come out a little prettier, as my lattice crust needs a little work, but these pies tasted like perfection. Little personal cherry pies with sweet, juicy cherries wrapped in a soft, buttery crust. These are sure to appeal to your guests tastebuds as well as their eyes!




Pie Crust Dough

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour (sifted)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup butter (cold)
• 5-7 tablespoons cold water 

Directions:

1. Put flour into a mixing bowl with the butter.
2. Using a pastry cutter or dough hook, cut the butter into the flour.
3. Add the salt and water. 
4. Mix until dough is formed.
5. Cut the dough in half and wrap both separately in saran wrap.
6. One can be used for freezing. The other should be put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to cool before rolling it out to use. 

Miniature Cherry Pies

Ingredients:

• Pie crust (recipe above)
• 4 cups of pie filling (the filling can be altered at your choice i.e. apple, blueberry, peach, etc.)
• 1 egg, whisked

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 12 muffin tins with butter or cooking spray.
2. Roll out a single pie crust on a flat surface. Use a large cookie cutter or a cup to cut out circles that are 4 inches. Press each circle into the bottom of the muffin tin so that a tiny rim of dough sticks out at the top. Repeat with the other 12 tins.
3. Fill each cup with 1/4 cup pie filling, or until the filling nearly fills the cups. 
4. Use the remaining dough to cover the tops of the pies. To make a lattice crust, use a pizza cutter to cut out thin strips of dough, then lace together to form a lattice. To make a standard crust, cut out a circle of dough large enough to cover the top of the crust. Use your fingers to gently press the top crust to the bottom crust until they stick together and no gaps remain. 
5. Use a pastry brush to brush the tops of each pie with the whisked egg.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the filling begins to bubble.
7. Remove and let cool for at least 15 minutes. Then carefully use a knife to loosen the edges of each pie and gently lift each pie out. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate. 

Fancy Ass Hot Chocolate.

Isn't it supposed to be getting warmer here in LA? I'm spoiled with the weather here, so I'm still trying to cope with it. One of the ways I do this is through comfort foods and drinks...and what's more comforting in this cold than hot chocolate?! The powdered stuff is okay, but nothing comes close to the way I make my "fancy ass" hot chocolate. I use milk and diced dark chocolate to make this magic happen.

Ingredients. 

So yummy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of milk (I use skim milk, but whole milk makes it more decadent)
• 1 stick of cinnamon 
• 1 tablespoon of white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 3 ounces chopped dark chocolate
• 1 pinch of Ancho chile powder (optional)
• 1 pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Heat the cinnamon stick in the milk  mixed with sugar and vanilla in a medium saucepan under low heat.
2. Heat until the milk mixture gently simmers then take off the heat. Let it steep for 10-15 minutes.
3. Remove the cinnamon stick and discard. 
4. Chop the dark chocolate into small pieces and place in a microwave safe bowl. Heat the chocolate in the microwave 30 seconds at a time, mix after every 30 seconds until it is completely melted.
5. Place the steeped milk over medium low heat and add the melted chocolate to it. Whisk until completely incorporated and mixture is hot. 
6. Add a pinch of salt and Ancho chile powder.
7. Divide between mugs and top with marshmallows.

Makes 2 cups of hot chocolate. 

Voila!

Nutella Cheesecake Bars.

The other night, I decided to have some friends over to watch movies and I wanted to have some really delicious treats for us to snack on. I had an extra large jar of Nutella and decided to use it to make a cheesecake. I cut up the cheesecake into small bar in order for it to be portable/hand held for everyone to easily eat.

Ingredients.

I used Oreos for the crust instead of graham crackers because...well, who can't get enough of chocolate? So I layered the cheesecake into 3 levels: the Oreo crust, plain cheesecake, and Nutella cheesecake.

3 layers of deliciousness: Oreo crust, plain cheesecake, and Nutella cheesecake.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of Oreo crumbs
• 1/4 cup melted, unsalted butter
• 16 ounces of cream cheese at room temperature (very important!)
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup Nutella

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and butter an 8x8 baking dish and line with parchment paper making sure the parchment is well pressed in the corners.
2. In a food processor, pulse Oreos until they become crumbs. Add in melted butter and pulse until moistened. Press Oreo mixture evenly into the bottom of the baking dish and bake until the crust is set about 12 minutes. Set aside.
3. Mix cream cheese, eggs, sugar, 1/4 cup heavy cream, and vanilla until its smooth. Put 2/3 of the mixture in a bowl and set aside. Add Nutella  and a tablespoon of heavy cream to the remaining cream cheese mixture. Pulse until smooth.
4. To assemble, spread the plain cheesecake mixture over the cooled Oreo crust. Then pour the Nutella cheesecake layer on top of the plain cheesecake layer and spread evenly. 
5. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 35 minutes or until the center slightly jiggles.
6. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a cooling rack. Then refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
7. When ready to serve, lift the cheesecake out of the pan and cut into 16 squares and serve.

Voila!

Perfectly Sweet.

I took a break for an afternoon treat today at this spot my friend, Fadia, had told me about. I love sweets, but not so much when they are overly sweet, and this place had the perfect marriage of sugar and deliciousness in their pastries and desserts. It's even in the name...Perfectly Sweet! It's a small drive to Alhambra, but totally worth it. This sight is something to make your eyes widen 0_0

Dulce de Leche cake, fruit tart, and Tiramisu custard cup.

Donut Man.

Alright, so as many of you can see from previous posts, I have a growing obsession with donuts so when I heard about this place, Donut Man, I knew I had to try it. I heard a buzz about their strawberry donut so I went there already knowing what I was going to get, and it definitely did not disappoint! This is an iceberg of a donut, guys, and a little piece of donut heaven...

This thing is literally filled with what seems to be a whole bushel of strawberries and drizzled in a glaze that has the perfect amount of sweetness. And the powdered sugar on top just pulls it all together. It's served with a knife and fork, and trust me, you'll need them! Donut Man is on Route 66 on the road to the middle of nowhere, but its very much worth the visit.

Sprinkles.

Summer time is coming and that means its time for everyone's favorite treat...ice cream! But what's better than ice cream?..Mixing cupcakes and ice cream together. Sprinkles, a long time favorite cupcake spot of mine, added an ice cream parlor next door to a few locations last year and I have been addicted since. I've gotten my ice cream fix there twice this week already. With delicious flavors and even more delicious toppings, you can't go wrong here. For all you red velvet lovers, you can even enjoy a red velvet waffle cone or red velvet cupcake crumbles in your ice cream cup.

Cookie toppings.

Sprinkles sundae: cookie dough ice cream with a red velvet cupcake. 

Locations: Beverly Hills, CA and Newport Beach, CA