Popsicle Cookies DIY

Summer wouldn't be complete without the ultimate poolside treat - a Popsicle. But, honestly, who wouldn't love a Popsicle sure to melt in your mouth and not down the front of your perfectly pristine bathing suit? These Popsicle cookies by my dear friend Jennifer Vogelpohl do just that. They are great for gifts or a day at the beach where you just don't have a freezer handy!

Sugar Cookies

  • *Preheat oven to 375
  • Cream together until fluffy: 1 Cup Butter 1/2 Cup Sugar
  • Add and set aside: 1 Beaten Egg 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
  • Mix Together: 3 Cups Plain flour 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder 1/8 Teaspoon Salt

Stir flour mixture into creamed mixture gradually. It works best to mix with your hands. Roll into a ball and chill for 15-20 minutes. Roll out about 1/4” thick using powdered sugar instead of flour to prevent sticking. Cut with the cookie cutters of your choice and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet. Remove before edges brown. Cool and decorate as desired.

Royal Icing:

  • 3 Tablespoons Meringue Powder
  • 4 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • 6 Tablespoons Water (adjust as needed)

Mix all ingredients with a hand mixer on low until smooth. For icing cookies you want a thin icing that creates a ribbon on the surface of itself that can be seen for about three seconds. Divide and dye with gel food colorings as desired. Pour into decorating bottles and create!

DIY // Juli Vaughn 

Photography // Rustic White

Banana Butterscotch Cream Pie Recipe

Banana Butterscotch Cream Pie Sometimes, a pie can be the solution to all your problems. So why not try this cream pie this Tuesday?

Ingredients:

¼ cup Butter 1 ½ cups Brown sugar 1 cup Heavy cream ¼ cup Cornstarch 1 Tablespoon All purpose flour 3 Egg yolks 1 Whole egg 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract 1 ½ cups Whole milk 1 teaspoon Gelatin 3-4 Bananas

Method:

In a boiler add butter and 1 cup of the brown sugar over medium heat and cook until it has changed in color and smell, slightly dark brown and smell burnt, immediately add heavy cream slowly, it will sputter and rise up in the boiler, set aside.

Put gelatin in a small bowl and add 1 Tablespoon of cold water and set aside.

In another boiler heat milk until scald, meanwhile add the remaining brown sugar (½ cup), cornstarch, salt, flour, egg yolks, whole egg and vanilla to sugar-cornstarch mixture and whip with a whisk until fluffy (1 min).

Now temper scald milk into (a small amount) into the egg-sugar mixture and mix until completely combined, add rest of the scald milk, next add the brown sugar-butter mixture and cook over medium heat until it is thick and bubbling.

Now remove from heat and add gelatin to the hot mixture it will melt and mix completely (do not overmix).

Next peel and slice bananas about ½ inch thick and fold the bananas into the custard and pour into a fully baked prepared pie crust, take a piece of plastic wrap and cover directly the top of the custard, refrigerate until cold.

Remove plastic, decorate with white and dark chocolate.

Recipe // Pastry Chef Alan Carter

Strawberry Nectarine Açaí Bowl

Acai Smoothie Bowl Açaí is one of the most delicious ways to start your day (and a healthy one at that!) My favorite part about açaí is of course, açaí smoothie bowls, and the fact that you can make them your own depending on what you have available. I like to go for seasonal produce – for example, in November I would make pumpkin açaí bowls, and in summer it’s all about fresh berries. This Strawberry Nectarine is one of my favorite variations on the bowl so far – give it a try!

Ingredients:

- 1 Sambazon unsweetened smoothie pack - ½ banana (use frozen for creamier consistency) - 1/2 cup strawberries - ½ nectarine - 2/3 cup coconut water - Optional: 1 tablespoon of liquid chlorophyll (to get your dose of greens without even tasting them!)

Ingredients for Topping:

- 1/3 cup granola of choice (I used Purely Elizabeth Blueberry Hemp Ancient Grain Granola) - ½ nectarine - 2 strawberries - ½ banana - 2 tbsp coconut chips (Such as Dang)

Directions:

Blend all the ingredients in the first section, then top with ingredients from the second section. Enjoy!

Trick of trade:

The order in which you load the ingredients into your blender matters! For the best result, start with liquid, then add fresh solid ingredients and powders, then frozen ones. Blending will be much easier and faster this way.

Recipe // Breakfast Criminals (Follow them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!)