love is...a blueberry galette

today was a wonderful day. some of my italian family came over for lunch and what a lunch it was! [more to come about our delicious meal in my next post] my job is always to make a dessert. i know it's coming...my dad asks me what i am going to make and i automatically freeze and draw a blank and usually resort to some of my staples: fruit tart, cookies, peanut butter pie, etc. but this time...this time was going to be different! i was going to be more creative with my baking. see...i am sticking to my new years resolution :)

because i knew we were going to have an extravagant lunch, i wanted something that was light. preferably something fruity and simple. i picked my brain (and pinterest..) for the perfect dessert and came across a simple 6 ingredient blueberry galette. incase you are confused on what a galette is, the proper definition is: 

a flat round cake of pastry often topped with fruit.

basically, an open faced pie.

let me just stress how EASY this dessert was. it came out tasting beyond fresh and delicious. my family could not stop raving about it. we accompanied it with some homemade lemon whipped cream (recipe at the bottom of page) and REAL italian...like straight from italy...limoncello gelato. amazing.

ingredients:


1 9inch store bought pie crust, thawed
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons corn starch
dash of cinnamon
juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 egg, beaten

1. preheat oven to 450F

2. lay out the thawed pie crust on a baking sheet covered in foil

3. combine blueberries, sugar, cornstarch cinnamon, and lemon juice. 

4. pour the blueberry mixture onto the pie crust leaving about 1 inch of the crust to fold over

5. fold the edges of the pie crust over the edge of the blueberry mixture

6. take the beaten egg wash and brush it over the edges of the crust with a pastry brush or clean paint brush. this will create a golden crust

7. bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the the crust browns. if you feel the crust is getting too brown way before the end of the baking time, cover the galette with foil

8. enjoy with a dollop of whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or lemon ice cream. yummy!

lemon whipped cream recipe:

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

2-3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

combine all ingredients and with a hand or stand mixer, beat until stiff peaks form!

i am fully aware that it is january, but this is a perfect summer dessert. 

xo, lisa

recipe adapted from: http://www.dinneralovestory.com/five-reasons-to-make-a-berry-galette/

love is...gluten and [almost] sugar free banana oatmeal cookies

so part of my news years resolution is to eat healthier. the other part is to really expand on my baking. clearly i did not think that one through! solution: expand on HEALTHY baking...problem solved :)

i decided to give gluten free baking a whirl and the outcome was surprisingly delicious! never did i think i would bake something WITHOUT flour AND sugar. who woulda thunk? even though they probably still had a good amount of calories in them, they are full of wholesome ingredients that give you energy and make you feel full. my dad called them a protein bar...i immediately fired back with "no! these are healthy cookies papa!" 

call them what you may but i like the sound of cookies way better than protein bar!

the only sugar that is in these cookies is from the sweetened coconut and the chocolate chips. that is why they are [almost] sugar free :)

ingredients: makes about 20 cookies


1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup sweetened (or unsweetened if you prefer no sugar) shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup peanut butter (can use almond meal instead but it's hard to find)
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter (can use coconut oil if you have a dairy allergy)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

the goods

1. preheat the oven to 350 F

2. in a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients [oats, coconut, salt, cinnamon, almonds, raisins, cranberries, chocolate chips]

dry ingredients. looks like a yummy trailmix!

3. in another bowl, combine mashed bananas, peanut butter, eggs, melted butter and vanilla. stir into the dry mixture

wet ingredients

i sucked my papa into helping me :)

4. place about 2 tablespoons of the mixture on the cookie sheet for each cookie. lightly press down so they are about 1/2 inch thick. the cookies will not spread so you can fit multiple on a sheet.

don't forget to press them down!

5. bake for about 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. 

yummmmmyyyy

enjoy and don't feel guilty! if you would like to make them a little bit bigger, add a few minutes to the bake time. they make great on the go breakfasts or quick snack. 

ps: these have officially been approved by my gluten free/dairy free friend! [thanks liz!]

xo, lisa

recipe adapated from: http://www.naturallyknockedup.com/oatmeal-cookies-no-sugar/