I have always loved to bake.   You know this.  I’ll also be the first to tell you that my great love of it has taken on a whole new meaning in the last five years because I’m forever shadow boxing my son’s nut allergy.  He’s never had things like peanut M&M’s, Chunky Bars, and various other beloved treats of mine, and I feel bad about that sometimes…like he’s missing out.  And because I can’t stand that,   I feel I have to make sure he gets as close to taste perfection as he possibly can.  And no, that doesn’t mean that dessert items with nuts are my favorites over and above other treats.  It’s just a ridiculous pity driven complex I’ve developed.   In fact, if given the choice between every candy bar available, I’d choose a KitKat or Mounds.  So, there ya go.

Nevertheless, I’ve been on a quest for the perfect brownie for a long time, and it certainly pre-dates my son’s allergy.  I just became stupidly more determined to find one after he was diagnosed.   I don’t like cake-y brownies.  Never have.  My Mom used to bake the Hershey’s Cocoa can recipe as her go-to brownie.  Gack.   It just doesn’t work for me.    It isn’t chocolatey or chewy or fudgy enough for me.

Backing things up a bit – Years ago, when I first moved into my condo (1997, to be exact), the first thing I baked was a batch of brownies.  They were ok.   I mean, brownies are rarely bad.  And these weren’t bad.  They were just cake-y.   Again.

After experimenting, tasting, and joining a cookbook club, I discovered that melted chocolate chips taste infinitely better as the fudgy base than cocoa could any day of the week.  Several tweaks, and a few years later, this is the final result.

This recipe requires no frosting, nuts or chocolate chunks to make it perfect.  If you want to add them, fine.  Go ahead and insult their perfection.

I will say, though, these brownies provide an excellent homemade base for a brownie trifle.  I’ll post that next.  It’s super easy, and a crowd favorite.  

O  Pineapple, Pineapple! wherefore art thou Pineapple?
Deny thy father, and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Coconut.

Errr….or something like that.  At least, that’s how I feel when I eat these yummy Coconut Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes.  It makes me weirdly quote Shakespeare.  No really, it’s that kind of love…

Things are slowing down, so I’m veering off the beaten path again.  And don’t you just love the road less traveled? I do.  Probably more than you’d believe, I’m sure, with my Type A personality.  My mother, who dutifully reads all my drivel,  will no doubt be thrilled to know that when I think about roads less traveled, I think of Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken.”   It’s a favorite.  So yes Mom, I did pay close attention to the example you set, and am a far better person for having been graced by your presence for nearly 40 years.   Aaah yes, as many of you know, I adore my mother and could carry on like this all day and night…but I won’t.

Well, what can I say?  It’s probably obvious that I’ve always got a lot on my mind.  Lately, it hasn’t been as thoughtful or intense as Robert Frost’s poetry.  Hardly.  I’ve been doing some mental planning that includes all sorts of summer goodies.  I have somewhat grandiose ideas for a Kiddie Carnival party in the spring, and a Luau themed party in the summer.  Oh, and I already know there is nothing better in a crisp early October evening than a Clam Bake.    Hmmm, and mayyyybe an elaborate Halloween party to wrap up all of the outdoor summer fun coming our way?  Perhaps.  Or I should say, I certainly hope so.

For now, though, I’m only thinking about fun summer desserts.  One that comes to mind instantly is Strawberry Shortcake.  Oh my….And  like everything else, I’d love to say that I mill my own wheat for the flour to make the shortcake.   Bhaha!  We both know that would never happen.  I don’t even use flour.  Bisquick.  Bisquick solves all sorts of seemingly insurmountable baking complexities.  As a matter of fact, I think our government could solve many more problems if they’d just start a bipartisan luncheon with Cheeseburger Pie.  I figure that whatever they’re doing isn’t working, no matter the administration, so maybe that would help?  I kid, of course, but I do rely heavily on Bisquick to overcome many of my own baking shortfalls and think highly of its capacity to do so.  Clearly.

So after eating mountains and mountains of  Bisquick-based strawberry shortcake, I thought of something.  What if there were a way to take my favorite dessert up a notch by making it portable?  You see, now that teeny feet and tow heads are in my midst, I’ve learned that food is best enjoyed AND actually eaten by little people in motion.  This recipe is a perfect kid-friendly adaptation, as well as a perfect dessert addition to our Kiddie Carnival Party!  As I always do for my family, I’ll be offering these on a platter with a cup of cool whip in the middle – a serving style reminiscent of a chip & dip tray.

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

Ingredients:

1 – 14oz package of fresh strawberries, hulled and cut into quarters.  Cut quarters in half if they’re large.
1 – tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp coarse salt
6 cut tablespoons cold butter
2/3 heavy cream (for cakier cookies, use slightly more – around 1 cup.  You can also substitute skim milk.)
Coarse sugar (sanding)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• In a small bowl, combine strawberries, lemon juice and two tablespoons of granulated sugar.
• In a large bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup sugar and whisk until combined.
• Cut butter into mixture with a pastry cutter until it is well combined.  It will still appear mostly dry and powdery, yet slightly crumbly.  Just be sure it’s well incorporated with no butter chunks throughout.
• Add cream, then stir until mixed.  If the mixture is still too dry, add more cream.  I generally add enough (around one cup) so that my mixture is a bit more cake-like in the end.
• Stir in strawberries until evenly distributed.
• Using an ice cream scoop, drop dough onto parchment lined baking sheets.  While I usually have three rows of something like chocolate chip cookies, I have two rows when I bake these.  They spread.
• Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
• Bake 20-25 minutes until the edges are golden.  If you bake them like I do with added milk (I only use cream for company.), they’ll be very soft when they’re done.  The strawberries get very hot during baking, so the batter will be fully baked even if it doesn’t appear so.
• You may transfer them to a wire rack for cooling.
• Store covered in the refrigerator up to 2 days.
• Yield: 18-24 cookies

No, I did not eat that gigantic chunk.

Cheese Danish.  Is there anything more perfect?  I’ll answer that for you because the bottom line is that if you’ve gotten this far, you already know the answer.  No, there is not.  I’ll also be glad to tell you precisely when it isn’t glowing with perfection though – when there is only a drizzle of cheesy goodness in the middle of a dry cake with scant glaze.  Oh, the horror.  Isn’t that the worst?

Once upon a time, in the land of no nut allergies, I spent a good ten minutes in the grocery store poring over the Entenmann’s display in search of the perfect cheese danish.  You know, the heaviest one with the most cheese and glaze?  To pathetically attempt to atone for my greed, I’d buy the driest looking one to give to my boss at work.  It’s probably not a huge surprise that I’m better off blogging than working.  Hah!

Well, you know I can’t buy them anymore because of the nut issue.  Nope, you don’t need to make  a because I have since come up with the PERFECT cheese danish.  Like I always say, there is a silver lining in everything.  We’ve found many along the way on this journey.

But before I tell you all about the fab one, let me tell you how I used to make them.  And no, they’re not bad at all.  Just different.

You know I love my Taste of Home subscription because I tell you EVERY time there’s a deal on it.  I’ve had my subscription since my aunt, who has since passed, got it for me in…1995?  I can’t recall exactly now, but it was definitely in the early or mid-90′s.  In hunting around the TOH website, I see that this recipe was originally published in 2004.  Yep, I still have the issue because I used to make these ALL THE TIME.

Photo Credit: Taste of Home

I won’t give you the details on this recipe.  You can check that out on the TOH site, if you’d like.  These Peachy Cheese Danishes are much prettier than their tastily perfect counterpart, but they’re perfect for company.  If you want to impress your friends and family with your Sunday brunch skills, you’ll want to add them to your menu.  FYI: The recipe says to use preserves, but I have used pie filling, preserves or Henry & Henry fillings.  The H&H fillings can be found at a bakery supply store and really provide a good center AFTER baking.  There is a definite processed flavor quality to some of them, so keep that in mind.  I would generally use these if I wanted additional cheese while baking, but still wanted a flavored topping, too.  I would add it after they had baked and cooled considerably, but before glazing.

But because these were still too dry for my taste, my mission for the perfect Cheese Danish was born.  This recipe, like most of mine, is extremely uncomplicated.  It IS, however, so very perfect.  Have I mentioned it’s perfect?  ;)

Double Cheese Danish

Ingredients:
2 packages Crescent Rolls – I prefer the Pillsbury Seamless Crescent Rolls, so I don’t have to pinch the portions together.
2 8oz packages Cream Cheese (allow to soften or microwave for 30 seconds)
1 cup Sugar
1 tsp Clear Vanilla Extract (you can use regular vanilla, but it tints the filling slightly.)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 egg

Glaze

Ingredients:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tbl milk
1/2 tsp clear vanilla extract

Directions for Danish:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Grease or spray a 9×13 pan.
• Unroll one package of crescent rolls and pinch the perforated pieces together unless you’ve bought the seamless variety.
• In a medium mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice.  If the cream cheese isn’t well softened, use a hand mixer to blend any lumps.
• Add the egg last and mix well again.
• Pour the mixture in the crescent roll prepared pan.
• Cover the cream cheese mixture with the second package of crescent rolls.  You can pinch together the rolls before you place it on top of the mixture, if you like.  It’s easier than doing it after it’s already on top of the yummy filling.
• Bake 35-40 minutes until golden.

Directions for Glaze:
In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, milk and vanilla.  After the danish has cooled, you can cut it into around 20 pieces (yeah right) and then drizzle the glaze over the top of the entire pan.

Note: If there is too much cheese here for your taste, you can cut the cream cheese quantity in half and bake for 25 minutes.  You can also substitute Neufchatel or 1/3 less fat cream cheese for lower fat options as well.

This looks like it’s going to become a regular feature.  Instead of spending my daughter’s nap finishing Rite Aid, I’ve been all over Pinterest and the web looking at all sorts of oddities.  Oh, and I still need to pull together my Handpicked post on my nifty rain barrel.  Yep, I’m on it…sorta.  So while jumping from subject to subject, I fell into the baking gutter.  I desperately want cookies, or more specifically, GIRL SCOUT COOKIES.  If you were here a few months ago, you’ll recall that I ate them morning, noon, and night.  Actually, they were breakfast, lunch, and dinner, if you must know.  So here I am….Girl Scout wishing the day away when it hits me ~ *Google them, you fool.*  Yep, I’m making my OWN thin mints, thanks to Katrina and her awesome kitchen skills.    Oh, and this is N-O-T-H-I-N-G.  She makes Cookie Dough Magic Shell and her very own Cheez-Its…which, by the way, I just spent the last hour consuming more of the boxed variety than anyone ever should to compensate for the lack of cookies.  :/

Photo Credit: In Katrina's Kitchen

Thanks, In Katrina’s Kitchen!  You’re fabulous!