Made with a sheet of puff pastry, a crisp apple, and just the right amount of spices, this puff pastry apple tart is an easy autumn dessert that’s delicious and elegant enough to serve to guests.
I know we’re only a few days into September and still have Halloween ahead of us, but I’m already thinking about the fact that the holiday season is coming up fast.
Even if you want to ignore that it’ll be Thanksgiving before we know it, there are lots of fall get-togethers and game days and all kinds of times when you’ll probably be entertaining guests.
Moist, buttery banana bread is studded with sweet and tangy pineapple in this delicious pineapple banana bread.
Some of my very favorite recipes to make are quick bread recipes. They’re easy to make, often don’t require a mixer or special equipment, and there are so many variations for all seasons.
Make these quick and easy homemade pop tarts in your own kitchen with just a handful of ingredients! Top them with colorful sprinkles to make them extra fun and extra adorable.
Every once in a while I get into a real nostalgic mood and just wanna remake childhood treats.
For such a simple recipe, I tested this one a whole bunch of times because I wanted to get it just right for you. I wanted to make sure you could get 8 pop tarts, that they wouldn’t leak while baking, and that they had just the right amount of filling.
My youngest was really happy about all of these tests because she was obsessed with these little pastries. I think she would be happy if I made them for her every single week – and honestly, they’re so easy that I totally could!
Think of these as pop tarts but better. The pastry is a little bit flakier, the filling is yummier, and I even think they’re cuter. They’re like the grown-up version of the boxed ones we ate as kids!
And this time of year, I’m making batches of zucchini muffins and these lemon raspberry muffins on repeat.
Sometimes I will store them in the freezer to enjoy in a few months when fresh raspberries are no longer in season, and sometimes I just bake them to share with my neighbors.
Either way, you can’t go wrong with these bright, beautiful raspberry muffins.
Layers of cake, rich vanilla pudding, and juicy strawberries make for a delicious and impressive no-bake dessert. Anyone who loves strawberry shortcake will be a fan of this easy strawberry trifle!
If you’re in my generation, there’s a certain 90s/early 2000s TV show that you probably think of when you hear the word “trifle.”
Listen, I do agree with Joey that all of the things that were in Rachel’s Thanksgiving trifle are good, but you won’t catch me eating them all together in the same dish, ok? Luckily, we can make a much better trifle ourselves.
I love making trifles because they are so easy but look so fancy! My brownie trifle is a big hit any time of year. I’ve also made ambrosia trifles at Easter and even pumpkin trifles during the fall.
My homemade banana pudding isn’t exactly a trifle, but it is beautiful when served up in a trifle dish. So we can let it into the trifle club.
This time we are making a fresh strawberry trifle. It’s a no-bake beauty that is perfect for summer gatherings or as a centerpiece for any holiday dessert table.
These mini fruit tarts are my newest mini dessert love affair. With the buttery tart shell, luscious vanilla pudding, and bright, fresh fruit, they are a whole lot of goodness in a single bite (or two).
Since I made these during the summer I was able to use a whole variety of my favorite fruits, but I can’t wait to try a berry version, a tropical fruit version, and even a citrusy version during the winter months.
Whether you’re making them for an on-the-go breakfast or an after-school snack, these easy and delicious banana bread muffins are sure to be a family favorite.
We make and eat muffins year-round at our house. But there’s still something about muffins that makes me think of back to school season.
I guess because I love digging into my muffin recipes and whipping up a batch as snacks for my girls. And they are always great for freezing for quick and easy weekday breakfasts, too.
Dominique Ansel’s banana bread is a family favorite around here, so I decided it was time to tweak the recipe and turn it into banana bread muffins.
I know I’ll be making these on repeat when my oldest goes back to school next month. If you are already anticipating a busy fall season, save this recipe to help simplify at least one area of your life.
I can’t solve all of life’s problems, but at least I can offer you some amazing muffins.
Made with homemade cherry pie filling and a simple batter, this easy cherry cobbler comes together in just a few minutes for a summery dessert that is perfect when topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Cobblers are a summertime favorite for a reason. They’re easy, delicious, and there are so many different ways you can make them!
This easy cherry cobbler is a take on my homemade peach cobbler. It’s quick to make and can be made any time of year thanks to using cherry pie filling.
I think I have something wrong with me. I seem to be afflicted with a particular malady that forces me to buy way too many summer fruits when they’re in season. It gets particularly dire when faced with apricots and cherries, two fruits whose seasons are much shorter than the others. The first fresh apricots I saw were back in upstate New York, around the…
I think I have something wrong with me. I seem to be afflicted with a particular malady that forces me to buy way too many summer fruits when they’re in season. It gets particularly dire when faced with apricots and cherries, two fruits whose seasons are much shorter than the others. The first fresh apricots I saw were back in upstate New York, around the 1980s, and I’d never seen them before. Someone brought us a basket of the tender, squishy little orange fruits to the restaurant that I worked at, and I remember being completely taken off guard, as the only apricots I’d ever seen were the dried ones. And while I loved the crinkly dried specimens, those fresh beauties with a red blush were a whole other taste entirely.
Then, when I moved to California, I discovered how abundant fresh apricots are (or can be), as they are in France. But no matter how abundant – or not – cherries are when the season is in full swing, I always consider them extra-special fruits and give a prominent place in my kitchen. At the beginning of the season, they’re incredibly expensive and rarely good. Then, as the season moves along, they start showing up in larger mounds at the market, and the prices get gentler, coaxing me to buy as many as I can heft.
This week, I was helpless when faced with an overload of summer fruits at the market. And in addition to a giant bag of apricots, two bulging sacks of tomatoes, and eight white nectarines, I bought 2 kilos (about 4 1/2 pounds, give or take a few cherries) of fresh cherries — and from the looks of the other shoppers, it was more than any normal person would buy. (Although I think I made the vendor’s day.) But I couldn’t help it. They were Burlat cherries and I’d bought a small bag from the same vendor last week at the market, and there he was again, tempting me with more. Once I got home, I got my cherry pitter out, and pitted half of them, saving the others to eat fresh. (Except I almost polished off the fresh ones I was reserving as I was pitting these!)
Fresh cherries are, of course, great fresh. But cooking them can deepen, and even improve their flavor, especially nice if you get home and find yourself with a bag of rather wan ones. Or ones that you might snag at the end of the market, when the vendors are trying to get rid of any extras that might not keep until the next market day.
In addition to being the answer to what the heck you (or I) are going to do with all those cherries, this recipe also deftly answers that age-old question: Can I freeze that? And the answer is a big, resounding, “Heck, yeah!” Once the compote has cooled, it freezes perfectly in zip-top freezer bags or other containers that you prefer to use, and will last up to a year. (You can also freeze pitted fresh cherries on their own as well.)
And let me tell you, it’s great to stumble upon a bag of cherry compote that may have moved to an unfavorable position in your freezer as summer shifted into fall – or winter, when they can become quickly forgotten. Once defrosted, and perhaps rewarmed, they’re terrific served with vanilla ice cream, plain yogurt, or alongside a cake, such as almond cake, gâteau de savoie, or angel food cake.
I like to boost their flavor with a handful of dried sour cherries, added midway during cooking, so they plump up and absorb the cherry juices, which add another dimension of cherry flavor. A shot of kirsch also dials up the flavor nicely.
Be sure to use a larger pot that you think. For 2 pounds (1kg) of cherries, I used a 6-quart (6l) pan. Since the cherry juices will foam up as they cook, using a larger pot – and removing the lid from time-to-time – will keep your from having to clean up a sticky mess.
I’ve didn’t use much sugar here, so you can add more to taste, if your cherries aren’t as sweet as mine were. If you can get sour cherries, feel free to add some in place of the sweet cherries. If so, you may need to increase the sugar a little, to taste as well.
Ingredients
2pounds (1kg)fresh cherries
1/4cup (50g)sugar
cup (40g)optional: 1/3 dried sour cherries
2teaspoonskirsch(or another fruit-based liqueur, or eau-de-vie)
1-2drops pure almond extract
Instructions
Stem and pit the cherries. Put them in a large, nonreactive pot or saucepan and stir in sugar. Turn the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, lifting the lid and stirring them frequently, to encourage juicing and to make sure the liquid the cherries exude doesn’t foam up and overflow.
After 10 minutes of cooking, add the sour cherries, if using, and cook for 5 to 10 more minutes, until the cherries are wilted and completely cooked through.
Remove from heat and stir in the kirsch and almond extract. Let cool before storing or serving. The juices will thicken as the compote sits.
Notes
Storage: The cherry compote can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It can be frozen for up to one year.
This Strawberry Cobbler Recipe is a classic Southern dessert! This easy strawberry cobbler recipe comes together quickly and bakes into a… 
