Gingerbread for Summer !

 
We love our gingerbread cookies around here.  Poor, neglected gingerbread....it only gets trotted out in December, but it's so, so good.

How about a summery spin on gingerbread?  It's completely EASY and you won't have to wait for December for your gingerbread fix.

Lemon Cream Gingerbread Cookies

You Will Need:

• your favorite gingerbread cookies
• royal icing flavored with lemon extract
• marshmallow creme
• lemon curd

 
Make the cookies and let cool.


Mix up some royal icing, flavor with 1/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract and tint with AmeriColor Bright White (if desired).

Top half of the cookies with royal icing. Add yellow sprinkles if you have 'em.

{Or do like I did and spend 30 minutes picking through jars of multi-colored sprinkles for the yellows. THAT would be a good project for your kids when you hear the dreaded "I'm Bored" this summer.}

 
Stir together 1/2 cup lemon curd (jarred or homemade) with 1/3 cup marshmallow creme.  Adjust the amounts based on how lemon-y you like it.


Then...

Plop some filling on the plain cookies and sandwich together.



Don't want to make the filling?  Skip it!  Top the cookies with a squiggle of lemon royal icing and a bit of yellow sanding sugar.  Voila! Gingerbread cookies for summer!

Do you love gingerbread?

Desserts for Dudes : Nutter Butter Brownies with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Ganache

If you happened to pop by Bake at 350 last June, you may have noticed that the entire month was declared "Desserts for Dudes month."  Well, I kinda dropped the ball this year, but I'm going to sprinkle this June with "Desserts for Dudes" every now and then.

Chocolate + Peanut Butter.  Dudes love it.
{OK, chicks love it, too....but let's focus on the dudes.}

I actually had a dream about these brownies last week.  It's apparently not enough that I think about food every minute of every WAKING hour....now I'm starting to DREAM about recipes.  Hey...that's a-ok with me!  It beats my reoccurring nightmare of forgetting to wear makeup to my own wedding. 

These brownies are super easy to make and they are super rich to eat.  And they are super quick to make me want to burn my bathing suit.

For the brownies, you'll just need a box of Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Brownie mix (the BEST boxed brownie mix EVER), and...

...Nutter Butters.

Nutter Butter Brownies with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Ganache

1 box Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix
1/4 c. water
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 egg
9 Nutter Butter cookies

Preheat oven to 325.  Spray or lightly grease an 8 x 8 metal pan.

Follow the instructions on the box by mixing the brownie mix, water, oil and egg just until combined.

 Spoon 1/2 the batter into the prepared pan.  Add 8 Nutter Butter cookies on top.


Add the remaining batter on top and smooth with an offset spatula.  Place one cookie on top.


Bake for 39-43 minutes.  The brownies may look under-baked, but will be fully cooked as they cool.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Ganache
{adapted from The Culinary Life)

2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 & 1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
1/4 c. peanut butter (I use Skippy Natural Super Chunk...'cause I like to say "super chunk")
pinch coarse salt

Place the chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl.

 
Combine the cream, peanut butter and salt over low heat.  Stir until smooth.  Increase the heat to medium-low and, stirring constantly,  heat until bubbles form along the edges of the pan.


Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for 5 minutes.  {See how the chips look all melty?}


Gently whisk the chocolate chips until the mixture is shiny and combined. Over-whisking will cause the ganache to look bubbly and grainy, so stop once combined.


Let the ganache sit to thicken up to spreading consistency.  If you're in a hurry, place the bowl of ganache over a bowl of ice water.  Stir every 15-20 minutes or so until thickened.


This is called and "ice bath."  And with temperatures reaching 100 already, it doesn't sound like a bad idea.

Spread the ganache over the brownies with an offset spatula.  Hide the leftover ganache in the fridge...in the BACK of the fridge, because you'll be tempted to eat it all with a spoon.

Here's what kiddo said upon finishing his....
"That is the best dessert I've ever eaten. I'll be dreaming about that for the rest of my life."

See?  Desserts for Dudes! ;) 

{If you like Nutter Butters, be sure to try Homemade Nutter Butters! They're dreamy, too.}

I'm linking these to my friend Cheryl's "I'm Lovin' It" party.

Kiwi & Strawberry Sorbet Parfaits

{Have you heard of Kitchen Play? Each month Kitchen Play hosts a unique Progressive Party with six food bloggers assigned one of the following courses: cocktail, amuse bouche, salad, appetizer/soup, entrée and dessert. This month, I have dessert!}

Recently, I started adding something new to my grocery list.  Kiwi...or kiwifruit.  I'm not sure why it wasn't a regular in our fruit drawer because I always love eating it in fruit salads and on fruit pizza.  Kiddo and Mr. E love them, too.

Let me show you a little something special you can do with your kiwis.  And I'm going to be honest here...even though this is technically dessert, I ate it for lunch twice this week.  It's such a refreshing treat on a hot day!


Kiwi & Strawberry Sorbet Parfaits

Sorbet:
{modified from The Ultimate Ice Cream Book}

1 c. sugar
3/4 c. water
4 Zespri kiwifruit
1 c. sliced strawberries
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp vanilla

Parfaits:
whipped cream or whipped topping
chopped Zespri kiwifruit
chopped strawberries
sliced and toasted almonds

Make the sorbet:

Heat the sugar and water over low heat in a small saucepan.  Stir until the sugar dissolves.   Raise the heat and boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Peel and quarter the kiwi.  Halve the strawberries.  Combine the fruit, cooled sugar syrup, lemon juice and vanilla in a blender on low speed.  Blend until smooth.  Refrigerate several hours, until cold.


Process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.  Transfer to a freezer-safe container, pressing plastic wrap down onto the top of the sorbet.  Freeze a few hours until it becomes more firm.

For the Parfaits:

Place one scoop of sorbet in each glass. Top with whipped cream/topping, then chopped fruit and toasted almonds.  Repeat 2 more times.

What is your favorite way to eat kiwi?

{This post was sponsored by KitchenPlay & Zespri Kiwifriut.  Wanna check out the other courses?  Come on over!} 

 Each month Kitchen Play also features a contest to involve as many additional bloggers as possible. Visit the Contest page at Kitchen PLAY for more details on how you could win $100 for trying this recipe and posting about it.

Super Simple Summer Seashell Cookies

{***remember those "blogger fonts" that Kevin and Amanda posted? This is the "Bake at 350!" Very strange and cool to use your own handwriting as a font!***}

I have news for you...

IT'S JUNE!!!  Yes, JUNE!

Kiddo's last day of school was today.  Is it me, or are the school years getting loooooonger? I'm pretty sure when I was a kid, we got out in mid-May and school started again after Labor Day.  (And we walked to school uphill BOTH ways, in the snow, in Houston.) ;)

Anyhoo...kiddo & I decided to go with summer themed cookies as a little thank-you gift for his teachers.

The shells and sand dollar cookies are so simple to make, but I really love them.  Sometimes simple is good.

To make the cookies, you'll need:

• seashell-shaped cookies
• royal icing tinted with AmeriColor Bright White and Turquoise
• icing tip #2 
• disposable icing bags
• squeeze bottles
• toothpicks

 
With a #2 tip, outline the shell shape in turquoise.

Thin the white & turquoise icings (reserve a bit for later) with water, a little at a time, until it is the consistency of thick syrup.  Cover with a damp dishtowel and let sit several minutes.

Stir gently with a rubber spatula to pop any large air bubbles that have formed. Transfer to squeeze bottles.


Flood one side of the shell with thinned white icing.  Use a toothpick to guide into corners and edges and to pop and air bubbles.


Flood the other side with turquoise.

Let the cookies sit at least one hour.


With a #2 tip (I used a PME tip 1.5), pipe the detail.  Either lines....


....or dots.

Let dry overnight.

PS.....did I mention it's JUNE?!?

Learning Something New . . . Works for Me Wednesday

I did not make this cake:


You see, decorating cakes is not my forte.  Exhibit A and B.

But, you're never too old to learn, right? RIGHT?!?

Have you heard of MyCakeSchool.com?  It is a beautiful site filled with videos and tutorials all about making gorgeous cakes.

Melissa, the owner of My Cake School, is a natural teacher. Watching her videos makes me think, "Hey, I can DO that!"  It's like having a personal instructor right in your very own kitchen.  (Even though, I think I'd trade my kitchen for hers.) 

For $30 a year, members have access to 100's of videos (don't take my word for it; here's a list).  Learn everything from a basic crumb coat to gumpaste to buttercream flowers.

The video on scrollwork alone opened up a world of possibilities!
 
(And I can't wait to learn to make a pretty ruffle cake. I've been thinking about Amanda's ruffle cake since December!)

Guess what?  Melissa is offering TWO Bake at 350 readers year-long memberships!  Yay!  Come learn along with me! 

To enter: 

giveaway closed! Congrats to Rachel & Chelsea!!!

• Leave a comment with a technique you would really like to learn (here's a list with some ideas)

Let's make some pretty cakes together! Works for me!

DIY Coke Icee

I don't know about you, but when I was a kid, there was only one flavor of Icee for me: the Coke Icee.  No cherry...and don't even get me started on the Blue Raspberry flavor.  It was Coke Icee or nothin'.

So, when I saw this recipe in the little booklet that came with my new ice cream maker, I had to try it.

You'll need: 4 cans of cold Coke and an ice cream maker.

Pour the cold Coke into the frozen bowl and process for about 20 minutes.

Have your glasses and straws ready.

Ta-da!  That's it!

Now, I think they might add a little something else to Icees, because it tastes close, but not exactly like the real thing.  But hey, Icees at home? I'll take it! 

{The little recipe booklet says you can make this with any soda, as long as it's not made with artificial sweeteners.}

So, if you're having people over for Memorial Day (or any day for that matter), give it a try.  I think I'm going to try Ginger Ale Icees next!