Brown Sugar Strawberry Cobbler

August 15, 2025 Sarah

Strawberry season comes back in mid-August, as the ever-bearing varieties start producing their second crop. It’s the perfect time to enjoy a cobbler.

Pop it in the oven while you make dinner, and dessert will be waiting for you when you’re done.

Brown Sugar Strawberry Cobbler

Ingredients:

1½ sticks unsalted butter, cold
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup brown sugar, packed
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 pounds fresh strawberries, washed and sliced (about 7 cups)
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°.

Cut one stick of butter into 8 pieces and add to a 9×13 baking pan. Place in the oven for 10 minutes to melt.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt together.

Dice up the remaining 4 Tablespoons of butter and add it in, working with your fingers until finely crumbed.

Add the milk and vanilla, stirring until well mixed.

Toss the strawberries, maple syrup, and cornstarch gently.

Spread ¾ of the berries in the baking dish. Pour the batter over. Do not mix. Sprinkle the remaining berries over the top.

Bake for about 50 minutes, till golden.

Let it cool and enjoy warm or cold.

~Sarah

Recipes

Lemon Cream Cheese Icebox Cake (Carlota De Queso y Limón)

May 29, 2025 Sarah

I saw this idea and had to make it, knowing how much our middle son loves lemon-inspired desserts. It’s a straightforward recipe, perfect for hot days when you want something without having to bake and heat the house.

Goya Maria cookies are often sold in grocery stores, in the “ethnic” aisle with other Hispanic foods. You can use any similar digestive biscuit or cookie, or even graham crackers, in a pinch. I can find the Maria cookies in a 3-pack locally for under $5, in the Mexican food section.

In this recipe, do use fresh lemons and limes – the flavor from them is what makes the dessert pop.

Lemon Cream Cheese Icebox Cake (Carlota De Queso y Limón)

Ingredients:

8-ounce brick full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
1¾ cups cold heavy whipping cream, divided
¼ cup lemon juice (about two lemons)
3 Tbsp lime juice (1-2 limes, depending on size)
zest from lime
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 7-ounce or 4 3.5-ounce packages of Goya Maria cookies (about 44 cookies)

Directions:

Blend the cream cheese, condensed milk, ¾ cup of the heavy whipping cream, lemon juice, lime juice, lime zest, and vanilla till smooth.

Lay nine cookies across the bottom of an 8×8″ glass baking dish.

Spread 1 cup of the cream cheese mixture over the cookies.

Continue repeating this process until you have 4 layers of cookies, spreading the final cup of cream cheese over the top, and then topping with a 5th layer of cookies.

Take the remaining 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and beat it with the sugar until medium peaks form (where the whipped cream stands on its own and doesn’t flop over).

Spread over the top evenly.

Cover with plastic wrap loosely and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight. The longer it sits, the more the cream cheese sauce soaks into the cookies.

How many servings depends on how big one’s sweet tooth is.

~Sarah

Protein Chocolate Mousse

May 5, 2025 Sarah

Four ingredients and a couple of minutes of prep = a dessert with 16 grams of protein per serving.

Yes, it does have added sugar from maple syrup. If that is an issue, consider using sugar-free maple syrup if you want it keto-friendly. I went with locally produced West Virginia maple syrup.

The dessert isn’t very sweet, has a nice dark chocolate flavor, and doesn’t taste like cottage cheese. It’s nice and thick, so make sure you buy a cottage cheese with a clean ingredient list and that it isn’t watery (which is why I go for 4% and not 2%).

Protein Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

1 cup cottage cheese, 4% fat
3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Add ingredients to a high-speed blender (I used my Vitamix 5200). Start processing on low and increase the speed until the mixture is smooth and fully blended. You will likely need to scrape a few times and keep blending if using a regular blender.

Scrape with a spatula into two custard dishes.

Chill for an hour before serving. For best results, eat the mousse the day it is prepared; if storing, cover it and consume within three days.

Serves 2.

~Sarah

Recipes

Handcrafted Lemon Bars

December 1, 2024 Sarah

Our middle son made these lemon bars the other day while I was out. At 14, he is a talented baker. I was highly impressed with these bars, some of the best lemon bars I have ever tasted. I was so good that I only ate one square, no matter how much I wanted to wolf them down. They are not diet-friendly, to say the least, and quite high in sugar. A treat here and there is OK, and this I really enjoyed. But it’s a very rare treat!

Handcrafted Lemon Bars

Shortbread Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp fine sea salt
2 cups + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Lemon Filling Ingredients:

2 cups granulated sugar
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
6 large eggs
1 cup lemon juice

Optional:

Powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325° and line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper (leave a little for overhang).

Mix the shortbread ingredients together; it will be thick. Press firmly into the prepared pan, so it is even.

Bake for 20-22 minutes until the edges are lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and poke holes on the top (but don’t go through to the bottom).

Set aside.

Meanwhile, to make the filling:

Sift the sugar and flour into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice until combined.

Pour the filling over the warm crust. Bake the bars for 22-28 minutes or until the center is relatively set and no longer jiggles like gelatin.

Let cool completely at room temperature, then chill for 1-2 hours before cutting.

Once chilled, lift out by the parchment paper onto a cutting board and cut into squares.

Dust with powdered sugar (use a small sieve to shake it through) over the bars.

Store chilled, and eat within a day or two for best results.

~Sarah

Recipes

Banana Honey Muffins

November 14, 2024 Sarah

These banana honey muffins are easy to mix up and bake and are a great way to use up ignored over-ripe bananas. Not too sweet and nicely moist. Be sure to measure your mashed bananas to ensure you are not short, as you will get a drier muffin.

Banana Honey Muffins

Ingredients:

3-4 ripe bananas (1 1/3 cups mashed)
1/3 cup honey
1 large egg
¼ cup avocado oil
¼ milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1¾ cups of all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 12-count muffin tin with parchment liners.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the banana, honey, egg, oil, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until smooth.

Stir in the baking soda and flour till just mixed.

Divide between the cups evenly (use a 2 Tbsp disher)

Bake for 20 minutes and check; they should be lightly browned on top and not look wet.

Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove from the pan and let cool on a wire rack.

Note:

The muffins can be frozen in plastic freezer bags or glass containers. Thaw on the counter, covered,

Makes 12 muffins.

~Sarah