Pie Oh My! Class at Portland's Culinary Workshop

My birthday gift from Adam this year was a set of 3 different cooking-related classes at Portland's Culinary Workshop. Among those 3 was a pie-making class called "Pie Oh My!" In this class, we made two different pies from scratch - Chocolate Cream and Strawberry Rhubarb - all while learning different tips and tricks on making tasty pies!

Oh...and we got to take these pies home to enjoy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. =)

My work station

Chocolate Cream Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I left this class feeling absolutely inspired and more confident in my pie making skills! Stay tuned for my very own pie in the near future. ;)

Blueberry Cream Cheese Bread

The past 5 days have been spent visiting family and friends down in the Bay Area. It's been wonderful seeing my loved ones and getting to catch up with everyone!

Last night I made Blueberry Cream Cheese bread for my family. It's definitely a nice treat to have for the spring time, especially because the orange zest adds the citrus kick it needs!

What you need 

Filling
- 8oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon orange zest

Glaze
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon water

Bread
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 egg whites
- 1/4 cups sugar

What you do

**Before doing anything: preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grease & flour a loaf pan!!**

Filling

1. Mix the cream cheese (8oz), sugar (1/2cup), flour (1tbsp), egg, and orange zest (1tbsp) until smooth. Set aside.

Glaze

1. Stir together the sugar (2tbsp), vanilla (1/2tsp), and water (1tsp). Set aside.

Bread and Assembling

1. In a small bowl, combine flour (1 1/2 cups) and baking powder (1tsp) Set aside.

2. In another bowl, cream butter (1/2 cup) and sugar (1/2 cup) until mixed. Add salt (1/4tsp) and vanilla (1tsp). Add egg yolks (2) and mix until combined.

3. Add half of the flour mixture into the wet batter and mix until slightly combined. Mix in the milk (1/3cup), and then mix in the rest of the flour mixture.

4. Coat berries with flour (1tbsp) and add them into the mixture.

5. In another separate bowl, beat egg whites (2) on high speed until soft peaks form. Then add in sugar (1/4cup) one tablespoon at a time until stiff peaks form.

6. Using a spatula, fold in the egg whites mixture into the bread batter.

7. Pour half the bread batter into loaf pan, then the cream cheese mixture, and then the remaining bread batter. Pour the glaze over the unbaked bread and bake for 55-60 minutes (or until an inserted knife comes out clean).

8. When bread is done, take out of the oven and let it cool completely. 

To be honest, making this is slightly more challenging than other recipes I've done in the past. But it was well worth it, and I am very happy that my family is enjoying this tasty treat!

Extra tips:

- Feel free to use lemon zest instead of orange zest. Lemon and blueberries pair very well together.

- If you want to make the glaze a little more runny, add a tad bit more water and stir. 

-If using frozen berries, make sure you thaw them and then pat dry before adding in.

**Original recipe found at The Keenan Cookbook**

A Voodoo Donuts Surprise!

Adam brought home a nice surprise this evening: Voodoo Donuts!

For him: the Bacon Maple Bar

For me: the Portland Cream (Bavarian cream-filled donut with chocolate)

MmmMmm! You can never go wrong with some Voodoo!

Oreo Cheesecake Cookies

Earlier this week was Adam's birthday! I asked him if he had any special baking requests, and right away he asked for the Oreo Cheesecake Cookies. Fine by me! These cookies are one of my favorites for many reasons: they're soft and chewy, they are covered in Oreo crumbs, and the cookie itself reminds me of the Oreo cream filling! No joke!

I won't lie, I did burn the first batch because I wasn't paying attention to the time. Grr! I couldn't live with myself if Adam had to eat burned cookies for his birthday, so I made another batch. Luckily the cookies came out better than ever!

What you need (serves between 12-15 cookies)
- 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 3 oz softened cream cheese
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup Oreo cookie crumbs (about 11 Oreo cookies)

What you do

1. Crumble up Oreo cookies in a large Ziploc bag until you get small crumbs. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper

3. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter (1/2cup) and cream cheese (3oz) until well-combined and smooth.

4. Add in sugar (1cup) and vanilla extract (1tsp) and mix until well-combined. Add in flour (1cup) and mix until flour is incorporated. Then, fold in both the semi-sweet (1/2cup) and white (1/2cup) chocolate chips.

5. Scoop cookies into about 1 1/2 to 2-inch balls and then roll into cookie crumbs. Place the cookie balls on your baking sheet and flatten out slightly. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges are so very slightly golden. **Tip: Cookies won't look completely done (when they actually are) so don't wait until you are actually seeing golden edges if you want a softer cookie all-around.**

6. When cookies are done, they won't actually look done or be firm. No need to worry! Let them cool for a few minutes before enjoying.

Easter: Fancy Pop Tarts

Yesterday's Easter dessert was 'Fancy Pop Tarts' (aka raspberry cream cheese tarts). I figured a fresh, tart treat would be perfect for this spring holiday! I found this recipe from People magazine, but you can find the original one here. These mini-pies came out very well with a sweet filling/frosting and flaky crust. I would recommend this type of dessert for a small springtime gathering- whether it's for a birthday, Sunday brunch, or holiday!

And they really do taste like Pop Tarts!

What you need (makes 10 tarts)
- 1/2 cup plus 10 fresh raspberries (frozen is fine too...make sure they're defrosted!)
- 1/4 cup whipped cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 package refrigerated pie crust
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

What you do

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, mash together raspberries (1/2 cup), cream cheese (1/4 cup), and honey (1tbsp).

2. Unroll pie crusts, and using a large cookie cutter (I used a circle but you can use whatever fits your fancy), cut out 20 shapes. Top 10 circles with teaspoons each of the raspberry mixture, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Lightly brush the borders with water (using your finger works just fine). Cover with remaining circles. **Make sure you carefully unroll the pie crusts, as they can rip!**

3. Using a fork, gently press down on edges to seal. With the tips of your fork, poke holes in the tart. Place tarts on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, place the 10 remaining raspberries in a strainer and set over a bowl. Press down on the raspberries to release the juice. Whisk in milk and powdered sugar until icing is smooth. Spread over cooled tarts.