Mommie Cooks!

Sometimes Simple, Sometimes Grand, Always Declicious

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Peach Pistachio Praline Trifle

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August is a month I look forward to for more reasons than one.  Aside from sending the kiddos back to school (love ya boys but I can’t argue with education), we enjoy the much anticipated arrival of fresh, local peaches.  Let me reassure that living in the South, you quickly learn to appreciate a tasty stone fruit.  In recent years Georgia and South Carolina have pitted themselves against each other, both claiming that they produce the better yield.  All I can say to that is; you won’t see this mama taking sides.  I’ve had peaches from both ends of the border and can safely declare that both are winners in their own rite.   But if you decide you still want to perform a bit of your own research on the subject, the New York Times put out an interesting article highlighting their take on the situation.  I also found a fun video from the CBS Early Show discussing the heated rivalry.

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Lemonade Scotchies

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Lemons are a hot commodity in our house.  I buy them by the bagful at the beginning of each week and I’m lucky if they last long enough to squeeze a wedge on my Friday night fish dinner.  Alex, my middle child, especially loves the tart juicy fruit.  He’ll happily grab up a hunk of lemon and eat it like an orange, leaving only the rind in his path.  My husband enjoys them as well with the rather large exception of dessert.  Lemon bars – won’t touch ’em.  Lemon meringue pie – forget about it.  Lemon sorbet – you’d think he might make an exception, but you’d be sadly mistaken.  Personally, I think he’s nuts but the result is usually more dessert for me (and the kids of course, if and when I decide to share).

With this week’s stash of lemons, I determined that I would attempt to create some form of lemon cookie.  Alex was beyond excited with the idea of a lemony baking endeavor.  After all, he knew he would have a few squeezed lemon hunks he could compost for me after the fact.  My husband, bless his heart, didn’t share my five year old’s excitement, but I promised him some form of chocolate decadence would enter the next dessert creation, so he relented.  In the end, the beloved lemonade scotchie was born.

A perfect combination of tart lemon and sweet butterscotch, these cookies are a match made in heaven.  If you’re feeling the need to satisfy your lemon craving, the first step you’ll want to take is to cream up a little butter and sugar.  To that mixture you’ll add in a little almond and vanilla extract and an egg.

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Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream

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Summer definitely made itself known this week.  The heat peaked at record levels in many areas around the country and trying to stay cool became the name of the game.  Seeing as I am a frosty weather kind of girl, this swelter can, in my most humble of opinions, take a much needed hike straight outta town.  I prefer a sweater to a swimming suit any day of the week but that’s just me.  Needless to say, I live in an area that is guaranteed to be steamy this time of the year so I need to create ways to make it through until the cooler weather reappears.

One of my favorite approaches to this is through the creation of homemade ice cream.  Seriously, why buy the pre-made stuff with gosh knows what’s in it when you can easily create a delicious, you control your own destiny, homemade version that is not only healthier but tastes miles better.  With cherries in season and gracing the front stands of my favorite produce sections, I simply needed to create a cherry inspired dairy treat.  Watch out with this stuff; it’s seriously good.  You’ll find yourself doing away with the bowl in favor of a spoon and an ice cream bucket.

Start the batch going with a quick and dirty homemade cherry sauce.  Add in some of those fresh summer cherries along with a little sugar, lemon juice, and water.  Bring it to a boil and cook down.

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Cranberry Pistachio Butter Cups

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My husband is a sucker for Reeses peanut butter cups.  Don’t tell him I told you, but he has a secret stash hiding out in the garage.  In case you’re ever at our house, you can find it nestled between the mini fridge and the toolbox (not that I’ve ever snagged one, of course).  It began with a quick corral of all the individual sized cups from the kid’s Halloween loot last fall and grew from there.  No matter, because I’ve created a chocolate indulgence of my own and hid it far from little (and big) boy prying hands.  My more adult version utilizes a high quality dark chocolate paired with home spun pistachio butter and dried cranberries.   And no, you won’t find these little beauties hidden out in any old garage, so don’t even try to come knocking.

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Caramel Coffee Banana Bread

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I must admit, I hadn’t planned on putting up the recipe for Caramel coffee banana bread until next week, but the excitement on my facebook page was so great that it caused me to rethink the upcoming lineup.  One glance and you can see why it moved up.  Just check out those divets of caramel in that end slice up there.
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