Not as pretty as my last pie on Friday, but it tastes just as good. And is just as juicy. It is the season for pies – well, what season isn’t pie season — as I am a huge fan of berry pies. Blackberries come closer to the end of the berry season and I am happy that I’ve found some good ones this year. Very juicy. The almonds, toasted separately, add a lovely crunch too.
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll say it again: If I were to ever open a bakery, I’d name is The Cheeky Little Tart. For some reason, I just find that funny. 🙂 And today, I made this cheeky little tart. My roommate has been working crazy long hours and I thought thought that maybe she would appreciate a little pie in her life. And she loves blueberries. Pie cures most ills, as I always say (although in her case, maybe sleep would be good too!)
A few weeks ago, I made Red Currant Crumble Bars. They were delicious. They were originally adapted from a Raspberry Crumble bar type, so I thought, what the heck, this must work with pretty much any fruit or berry, so I gave it a shot with apricots. Added the hazelnuts on a whim, and they added a nice crunch.
We interrupt this summer of fresh flavors do to a year-round recipe: Roasted Cashew Chocolate Heart Cookies. Based on a recipe for peanut butter cookies, I thought I’d swap out the type of nut butter. This does not always work well. Some nuts have greater protein or more or less oil than others, so it’s not exactly a precise science. In fact, I ended up having the add an additional half cup of flour to make this come together correctly, and even so, they spread more than I would have liked. That said, they *taste* even better to me than peanut butter cookies. Yum Yum!
Sunday was another neighbor’s birthday and you know me, that is just another excuse to bake something yummy. In all honestly, I actually hadn’t remembered that it was his birthday and was going to make this cake anyway, but now I had an excuse to give it to someone. Because of the currants, it’s got that whole sweet and tart thing going, but mostly it is an overload of whipped cream (not a bad thing!). Because I really suck at actually frosting cakes (much better at cupcakes), I decided to go with the rustic, exposed sides.