I LOVE strawberries and apparently so does my daughter {did you see the pics from our strawberry farm excursion?  Hilarious}.  Once we brought our berries home I immediately had to use them for this crumble recipe.  I swear you will not be disappointed.  We basically inhaled it.  Which I must disclose that sweets are typically inhaled in our household.  BUT…this one was particularly delicious. (:

:: Strawberry Crumble

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 tsp baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
2 sticks (½ lb) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg
4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
4 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp of lemon juice {I used REAL lemon}

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place flour, 1 cup of the sugar, baking powder, and salt into your food processor.  Place all the butter that has been cut into pieces into the food processor.  Pulse until crumbly.  Then, drop the egg in and pulse until blended.  (You can also do this the old school way – with a pastry blender or two butter knives.  BUT…make your life easier {and your belly happier, faster} by putting all of this in the food processor.

Take out about half of this mixture and press it into the bottom of a 9×11 glass dish.  This will be the bottom crust.

Place all the strawberries, the 1/4 cup of {remaining} sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice into a separate boil and stir.  Pour the strawberry mixture over the crust.  Sprinkle the top with the remaining crust mixture.

Bake for about 45 minutes.  Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.

I had the opportunity to try out Kraft Philadelphia Indulgence Chocolate Spread.  Since it is humanly impossible to turn down chocolate, I’ve had fun trying it on anything and everything in my kitchen/pantry/fridge.  I mean…really.   This stuff is so good, you could spread it on a flip flop and be thrilled with the result!

Lately, it has become my “mama snack” during the late hours of the evening when the kiddos have gone to bed.  I savor it spread on top of fresh, local strawberries.  Sure, I’ll share it.  Eventually.  But, right now…its all mine.  I predict my chocolate-lovin’ three year old will discover it soon and then we’ll have trouble keeping it in the house.

So, besides being fabulous spread on fresh fruit, I think this would make a delicious filling for cream puffs.  My sister-in-law has a weakness for cream puffs so I can’t wait to surprise her with this yummy dessert next time they visit. (:

My Inspiration from The Cooking Photographer

:: Chocolate Cream Cheese Puffs

1 package of frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 cup of heavy cream
1 tsp sugar
1 (8 oz) tub of milk chocolate indulgence philadelphia chocolate spread (at room temperature)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Unfold the puff pastry and cut 9 circles using a 3 inch cookie cutter or the rim of a glass. Place the puff pastry circles on an ungreased baking sheet. Cut the remaining sheet of puff pastry into 9 more circles and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes and allow to completely cool.

Meanwhile, Whip the heavy cream with the sugar to make whipped topping. Fold the chocolate spread into the whipped topping. Cover, and refrigerate until you’re ready to use it.

Cut the puff pastry in half horizontally. Spoon in (or pipe in with a pastry bag) the chocolate whipped topping into the bottom halves of the puff pastry cream puffs. Place the top back on. Serve immediatly. Or, if you can stand it, you may refrigerate until you are ready to serve them.

These are best made and eaten on the same day – so lucky for you they are both easy to make AND delicious! (:

*Disclosure: I am a Walmart Mom. This post is sponsored by Walmart. Walmart has provided me with product and/or compensation in exchange for my time and efforts in creating this post. My participation is voluntary. As always, my opinion is my own.

Throughout its more than 100 year history, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas has earned its reputation as a manufacturer of the finest extracts in the world. The full line of Nielsen-Massey’s Pure Vanilla products include: Vanilla Beans and Extracts from Madagascar, Tahiti and Mexico; sugar and alcohol-free Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Powder; Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste; Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Sugar and Certified Organic Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract and Beans.

My personal favorite is the Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Paste.  As a matter of fact, it is so good I’d like to use it in every recipe in place of regular vanilla extract.  It has the specks of vanilla bean all through out it so it makes sauces, butters, and ice cream absolutely beautiful, besides the fact that it is delicious.

If you are looking for a delicious dish this winter I’ve got one to try:

Nielsen Massey Vanillas’ Vanilla Cinnamon Apples

The recipe, found below, combines the savory flavor of Nielsen-Massey’s Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste with the delicious tart taste of fall apples to create a treat that is overflowing with gooey goodness. (Just don’t forget the napkins.) It is a beautiful presentation and is so delicious your guests will be lining up for seconds!

Vanilla Cinnamon Apples

4 baking apples
3 tbsp. butter
¾ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. allspice
1 tbsp. brandy
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup walnuts
Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat the bottom of a shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cut a thin slice from the bottom of each apple so it will stand upright. Scoop out the core of each apple from the top down with the small end of a melon ball cutter, making sure not to core all the way through the apple.

Combine the butter, brown sugar and vanilla paste in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat until the butter is melted, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and stir in the cinnamon, allspice, brandy, raisins, walnuts and salt. Fill the apples with equal amounts of the filling using a teaspoon. Place the apples in the prepared baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes or until caramelized and fork tender.

With the right vanilla, vanilla desserts will be far from bland. Check out my recipe for Vanilla Brioche with Vanilla Honey Butter.

Disclosure: I received some Nielsen Massey products to review as part of this post.

My family celebrated Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles last week and I made lots of yummy treats with the help of my sous chef, Judah to share with our friends.  One morning Judah and I made our favorite recipe for caramel corn.

We pop organic popcorn all the time for a healthy snack and taking it from yummy snack to decadent treat doesn’t take much more effort.  Making homemade caramel corn isn’t hard and doesn’t take a lot of time either.  If you’ve never tried it, you’ll be surprised!

This time I wanted to make the treat a little more special and turn it orange in honor of fall.  So, I added a little orange Wilton food coloring gel.  It is the same food coloring you use to color icing for cakes and you can find it at Walmart.  You don’t have to use the food coloring, but I think it added a fun element.  And, you could turn it any color for any event for that matter!

:: Caramel Corn

1 tsp coconut oil
1/4 cup unpopped popcorn (I use organic from the bulk bins)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
2 Tbsp unsalted butter (I use organic)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Warm the oil over high heat in a large pot. Add popcorn, cover and cook, shaking pot, until all the popcorn is popped. Put the popped corn into a large bowl and set aside.

In another large pot combine 1/4 cup water. sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce temperature to medium and allow to cook without stirring until the mixture turns the color of iced tea (a light amber color).

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla, and salt (and if your using it, now is the time to stir in food coloring gel as well.

Pour the caramel over the popcorn and stir quickly to coat the popcorn. Pour the caramel corn out onto the prepared baking sheet and allow to cool and harden about 15 minutes before breaking into pieces. Enjoy!

* A Note from Wholesome Mommy

I tripled this recipe for our party.  It made a ton!   This recipe is a good amount to share with your family.  I’ve made a single batch and it was enough for my family to enjoy for a week.  It will keep for a while if you put it in a covered container.