Summertime Desserts

By Kelly Ross

I’m going to start with a couple of recipes focusing on “snatch and grab” desserts, which are perfect for any picnic, potluck or just to have banging around in your kitchen for a quick treat. First off is a great cookie combining the combo of 2 favorites of most, peanut butter and jelly. These cookies have a crisp outer exterior and an ooey gooey center with its creamy jam filling. This also includes miso, which adds a great balance to baked goods with a great salty-sweet flavor. If you haven’t seen it or heard of it, you can usually find it in any refrigerated section of any supermarket, usually in either the produce section and/ or often stored near tofu. It also works great in sauces and marinades. Prep and cook time is less than a half hour although the dough needs to be refrigerated for an hour in between, plus these need to chill at room temp for an hour before popping in your mouth. This should give about 30 cookies.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

For the Cookies

2 ¼ cups flour

¾ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp fine salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp

1 cup packed light brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup white miso

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¼ cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

3 large egg whites, divided

Sesame seeds for garnish, optional

For the Filling

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp

1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar

1 tbsp milk

2 tbsp jam/preserves, like Concord grape, strawberry, or your favorite

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set it aside. Cream together the butter, brown and granulated sugars, miso, peanut butter, and vanilla in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until lightened in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Whisk 2 of the egg whites in a small bowl until foamy, then add to the ingredients in the stand mixer, mixing just until combined. Add the dry ingredients in 3 increments, mixing on medium-low speed after each addition, until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly to bring it together in a cohesive mass. Roll the dough out until it is about ¼ inch thick. Cut out the cookies with whatever shape cutter you like, although I prefer to use a 2-inch round cutter, and transfer to the prepared baking sheets.

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You can re-roll the dough and cut it as many times as you need. You should have about 60 total cookies depending on the size of your cutter. Brush the top of each cookie lightly with the remaining egg white, then sprinkle with sesame seeds if you would like to. Bake until golden brown around the edges, rotating and switching the position of the trays halfway through, 8-10 minutes. Let cool completely on the sheet pans on racks. While the cookies bake, prepare the filling. Beat the softened butter in the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until it is light in texture. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix on low until almost combined. Add the milk and jam, then continue to beat the mixture until fluffy and aerated. Once the cookies are cooled, either pipe or spread the frosting on the bottom side of half of the cookies, then sandwich with the remaining halves. These will hold well for days in an airtight container at room temp. If you prefer softer cookies, I suggest storing them in your fridge.

I’m all about bar-type desserts, and a much bigger fan of blondies over brownies, and this one is outstanding with an incredible pecan praline touch to them. You can have these finished in 45 minutes and it will get you 12 squares. These are crunchy, chewy, rich, sweet, and buttery.

Praline Blondies

6 tbsp melted butter

2/3 cup light brown sugar

½ cup pure maple syrup

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 egg

¾ tsp salt

1 cup plus 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

For The Praline Topping

2 tbsp butter

½ cup light brown sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, or a combo if preferred

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the butter, sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the egg and whisk until smooth again. Add salt and flour. Stir just until combined. Pour the batter into the parchment lined pan. For the praline topping, in a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the sugar and the vanilla. Add the nuts and stir to coat well. The mixture should be very thick. Stirring frequently, cook for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture begins to sizzle and bubble. Spoon the praline mixture over the blondie batter. Bake for 20-24 minutes, until the blondies are lightly browned, and the middle is set. Allow the blondies to cool completely before slicing. Use the parchment to lift the cooled blondies from the pan. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container at room temp for a few days if they all didn’t get inhaled the first time around.

OK, I can’t help myself, I want to share another fun bar-type dessert, and this time, we bring fresh strawberries into the mix. This strawberry Oreo cheesecake no-bake bar recipe will be a hugely popular choice for your crowd. When I say Oreo, this uses the golden Oreos as opposed to the traditional chocolate version. You can have these done in a half hour, although these also need to chill under refrigeration like so many desserts today until it completely sets up. You’ll get at least a dozen bars out of this.

Strawberry Oreo Cheesecake Bars Recipe

For The Crust

2 ½ cups Golden Oreo cookie crumbs, about 26 Oreo cookies

6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For The Cheesecake

16 oz cream cheese, room temp

1 cup powdered sugar

2 cups heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

For The Strawberry Sauce

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2 tbsp water

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped small

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

For Garnish, more crushed golden Oreos

To make the crust, finely crush the cookies in a food processor, add melted butter and blend until it is all moistened. Press crumb mixture onto bottom of the prepared 9 x 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, leaving an overhang on each side for easy removal. Lightly grease the edges of the pan with cooking spray, set in the freezer to firm while making cheesecake layer. In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy, set aside. In a separate bowl, whip heavy cream until soft peaks form, then add vanilla extract and continue mixing until stiff peaks form. Add cream cheese mixture into beaten heavy cream and mix on low speed just to combine. Spread cheesecake filling over the crust. Set in the fridge to firm by refrigerating for at least 3-4 hours or until set. For the strawberry sauce, combine water and cornstarch together to make a slurry and add to a medium saucepan. Add sugar and strawberries and set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes. During this time the strawberries will release their juices and then thicken slightly. Stir in lemon juice. Use a slotted spoon to scoop strawberries out of the saucepan and spoon on top of the cheesecake into an even layer. Some liquid will still be in the pan once you’ve removed all the strawberries. You can discard or save for another use. Set the pan in the fridge to firm up. When the cheesecake is completely set, pull the overhang of the foil to lift the cheesecake from the pan and transfer onto the cutting board. Cut and garnish with crushed golden Oreos and dig in and smile.

There are two specific items that show up for a brief time locally every year, fiddleheads and rhubarb. Since I don’t know how to incorporate fiddleheads into a sweet treat, I’m going to bring rhubarb into the next couple of recipes. The first marries the rhubarb with its favorite flavor partner, strawberries, into a tremendous no-bake cheesecake which is awesome, although I know not everyone is a rhubarb fan as it can be bitter, but when combined with the right sweetness, the tart and the sweet become one, and in a decadent way. Plan for a half hour to put this together and then another 4 hours+ to set. This will get you 9 hunks of goodness.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cheesecake

For The Crust

9 whole graham crackers, 1 sleeve, finely crushed

½ cup sweet cream butter, melted

1 tbsp granulated sugar

For The Cheesecake Layer

16 oz cream cheese, room temp

8 oz frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Strawberry Rhubarb Topping

2 cups chopped fresh rhubarb, ½ inch chunks, room temp

2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped, room temp

¾ cup granulated sugar

3½ tbsp cornstarch

1½ tbsp fresh lemon zest from 1 lemon

1½ tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the crust, lightly spray an 8 × 8 or 9 x 9-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Set it aside. Using a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and granulated sugar. Press the crust mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Set it aside. For the cheesecake. using a stand mixer on medium-high speed, beat the softened cream cheese and vanilla for 1-1½ minutes. Add in the whipped topping and continue to mix just until combined. Add the powdered sugar and continue mixing until completely incor-