Raspberry Orange Popsicles

Holy. Cow. 


It has been absolutely crazy hot outside. So hot that you could bake cookies in your car (very possible).


A wall of humidity and suffocating heat hits you the moment you crack the door open. 


But I really should not complain. 


Summer is Summer. And Summer is oh-so-glorious. 


Popsicles are oh-so-glorious. Especially when it's melt-your-face-off type of weather.

Whether they're rocket ships, original fruit flavored (choose grape, orange, or red -what flavor is that anyways), creamsicles, or push ups, popsicles are the quintessential summer food. 

Strawberry Upside Down Cake

Oh the joys of summer! Sleeping "x" amount of hours, spending time with friends and family, and of course all the fresh fruit you can eat! 

 

M spoke earlier of our July 4th tradition of picking cherries, but the plus side (one of the few...) of living in the middle of nowhere is the abundance of farms!


Not excited yet?



Lots of farms means many chances to pick fresh fruit!


Strawberries, Blueberries, Cherries, Apples, Galore!


With our cousin in tow, we went strawberry picking with a few friends. Armed with a tub of water and paper towels, we ate our way through the patch while slowly filling our baskets with bright red strawberries.

We literally camped between the rows and snacked on fresh sun-ripened strawberries. Coming across the giant mutated berries always gave the most satisfaction! 


But if you're like us, you might end up picking more fruit than you can eat before it all spoils. 


But never fear! There is hope! This strawberry season, M and I decided to take some of our leftover strawberries to make a dessert and some smoothies for the family.

Flour's Classic Carrot Cupcakes

Whoaaaa

July?? When did that happen??

Time Summer passes way too fast.  I hope the next couple of weeks pass ever so slowly...

In the last post, I wrote about having extra leftover ingredients.  It's a pet peeve of mine, having leftover spices or ingredients.  So when I made my first layer cake, this Red Velvet Cake, I had a large cup of frosting leftover.  What to do with a large amount of extra cream cheese frosting?

Make carrot cake!

Well...  carrot cupcakes!

Em made an awesome carrot cake with cute little carrots for her recital almost a month ago.  These cupcakes may not be as pretty and decorated, but these cupcakes were super delicious! Plus, they were from Joanne Chang's Flour book!

After L said that the carrot cake she made was one of the best she has ever tasted,  I knew that I had to try it for myself! While my favorite carrot cake is made by a friend as one of our Thanksgiving traditions, this cake on the same level as the Thanksgiving cake perfection.  

Chewy Ginger Chocolate Cookies

Happy Fourth of July everyone!!

A July 4th Em&M family tradition is going cherry picking!! Around this time of year, the family would pack up the car, take a tub of clean water and drive an hour to the orchard. The orchard is filled with endless rows of cherry trees filled with sweet ripe goodness. Simultaneously, we would fill our wicker baskets and our tummies with the cherries! 

Over the years, family and friends would join our cherry adventures or one of us would be sadly have to miss the fun. Traditions are becoming more difficult to fulfill, but it's still heartwarming to know that they are still something we look forward to. 

On an entirely different note, ever end up with an entire bottle or box of something that you really only needed a teeny tiny bit of?

That's how I feel about molasses.

I bought an entire jar for Flour's Ginger Molasses Cookies and I have been looking for other recipes that incorporate molasses ever since. 

These cookies are essentially ginger molasses cookies with chocolate chips. The resulting combination is both flavorful from the molasses and spices and sweet from the chocolate. The chewiness is perfect, although bake them for a bit longer they will be crispy as well!