raspberry season

So...it's been quite some time since I've written anything here and I've missed it. In the last 2 years lots of things have gone on in our lives and I'm not going try to do a recap or anything. Let's just say that we moved into a new house and are now a family of 4. WFR is getting ready for pre-school to start in a few weeks and Henry is perfecting the art of running.

That all being said, it's raspberry season and I'm going to start trying some new recipes and posting again. The boys and I are going to a family reunion this afternoon and I made these raspberry breakfast bars to take. I liked this recipe because it calls for a whole pound of berries but they turned out soggy. I have a few ideas why this happened (my errors) and will have to try them again.

the easy road

I have to admit that I am a teeny tiny bit jealous of Pillsbury Bake-Off winners' monetary prizes and kick ass ovens. Also, that I usually pride myself on making things from "scratch".

This past week I picked up a copy of their book from the library and found it had 2 raspberry recipes. Did you know that I am scouring the internet and cookery shelves for raspberry recipes? Lucky me it had TWO! And they both included canned bread!?!?! I thought to myself...Can I really serve something that I popped out of a cardboard tube? Well, when you have no more than 5 minutes in a row to do anything I decided to go for it and honestly they were delicious.

It's a shame really. Should I be amazed that I was able to "bake" twice this week? Or should I be disgusted with myself for selling out and embracing the Dough Boy? Could I be over analyzing? Maybe, but when I get a compliment I feel guilty and a almost embarrassed. I am compelled to blurt out "I didn't really bake them, the crusts are biscuits from a can". Like, no they're not really THAT good, they can't be! Then I wish I had made that Lemon Bundt, the one with the zest of 6 lemons from Cooks' Illustrated. Now there's a cake to be proud of but I probably would have to hire a babysitter to make it during the week.

These are really good and I might make them again....

raspberry-nut dreams

1/2 c. macadamia nuts
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1 c. frozen raspberries, thawed, drained and liquid reserved
1 can (16.3 oz) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 16 regular-sized muffin cups with cooking spray. In food processor, pulse macadamia nuts until coarsely chopped. Add brown sugar; process till combined. Place in small bowl and set aside.

2. In same food processor, process cream cheese, 2 Tbs nut mixture and 2 Tbs raspberry liquid till smooth.

3. Separate dough into 8 biscuits; separate each into 2 layers, making a total of 16 rounds. Lightly press each round in bottom and up side of muffin cup. Spoon about 1/2 Tbs cream cheese mixture into each dough lined cup. Top each evenly with raspberries and 1 Tbs remaining nut mixture.

4. Bake 14-22 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes before serving.