Its probably a bit too early for butterflies in our part of the country but these spring cookies are so special. Who could resist them when they’re naturally flavored with orange juice and zest and decorated with mandarin orange segments?
I have always loved cookies of all shapes, sizes and flavors. Today there are hundreds of cookie recipes throughout the world. Often geographic development was reflected in popular cookie recipes. It gave homemakers access to items not available previously. Around the turn of the century, the Kellogg brothers in the USA, invented cornflakes and cookies were made with cereal products. In the 1930’s, with the advent of electric refrigerators, icebox cookie recipes reached new heights of popularity. I’m sure that no one book could ever hold the recipes for all the various types of cookies that have been created.
These little filled cookies might seem quite basic but the flavor is amazing!
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Mandarin Butterfly Cookie Bites
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Instructions
Filling
In a saucepan, combine filling ingredients. Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, or until thickened and translucent, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Cool completely. Set aside.
Cookies
In a large bowl, combine butter & powdered sugar. Beat until light & fluffy. Add flour, orange zest & salt. Beat on low until a soft dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap. Chill 1-2 hours or until firm.
Baking
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls & place on lined baking sheet 2-inches apart. Flatten balls with the bottom of a glass; dipping glass in granulated sugar to prevent sticking. Using a fork, prick top of each cookie making 3 rows.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool completely.
Fill & Decorate
Spread about 1/2 tsp filling on bottoms of half of the cookies. Gently press bottoms of remaining cookies against filling to for 'sandwiches'. On the top of each sandwich put a drop of remaining filling. Carefully lay two (towel dried) mandarin orange segments on it to form a butterfly.
Recipe Notes
- We found these just got better after a few days.
Fresh fruit in the summer is one of life’s simple pleasures …. juicy, sweet and/or tart …. they’re like summer jewels.
The saskatoon berry is one of North America’s great unappreciated fruits. Although its easy to confuse them with blueberries, the two fruits are quite dissimilar. The most distinctive feature of saskatoon berries is their almond-like flavor. Saskatoons are in the same branch of the rose family that includes apples, pears, hawthorn and quince.
These little gems are a truly wonderful Canadian fruit with the bulk of their natural range being in British Columbia and the prairie provinces. Come July, many of the U-Pick farms in our area have fresh saskatoons ripening on their trees.
Pairing sour cherries with saskatoons in this dessert is a perfect match. One is tart and juicy, the other is sweet and plump making a good balance.
The (sour) ‘prairie’ cherry was developed in Canada for colder climates. It was cross pollinated with a Mongolian cherry resulting in very hardy, trees producing a sweet-tart cherry.
Our little cherry tree is about 12 years old now. Since I have both of these fruits on hand right now, there is no reason to not make this galette!
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Sour Cherry & Saskatoon Galette
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Instructions
Cornmeal Pastry
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, salt & sugar. Add butter & with fingertips, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water & combine only until blended, do NOT overmix.
Divide pastry into 8 equal portions & press into mini galette pan cups. Place in refrigerator until filling is ready to use.
Berry Filling
In a large bowl, combine berries, cherries & sugars. In a small dish, mix lemon juice with cornstarch & add to berry mixture.
Assembly
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Remove pastry from fridge. Mound the berry mixture in each galette cup. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown & bubbly.
Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Recipe Notes
- Don't hesitate to make this into one round galette instead of individuals or to use frozen puff pastry. It will all taste just as good, believe me!
As I mentioned in a previous blog, persimmons are definitely underrated. If you haven’t used them before, now is a good time to give them a try. Where we are, here in Canada, you start seeing them in the grocery stores around October. A bit pricey at first but they get better as the winter rolls along. There are unlimited ways to use them posted on the internet.
The persimmon is Japan’s national fruit. The most commonly found varieties are the ‘Hachiya’, round with a slightly elongated, pointed base and the ‘Fuyu’, smaller and more tomato shaped. When ripe, both have a red-orange skin and flesh, creamy texture and a tangy-sweet, vanilla like flavor.
Today, I’m using a Fuyu persimmon to make some nice little sticky buns. This recipe makes a small amount and tastes amazing.
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Pecan Persimmon Sticky Buns
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Instructions
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Butter 5 or 6 custard cups. In a small saucepan, melt 2 tbsp butter; add brown sugar. Stir until sugar is melted & begins to bubble. Divide sugar mixture between custard cups. Place a pecan half (upside down) in center of each cup. Place sliced persimmon quarters in a circular fashion on top of sugar & pecan. Set aside.
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Preheat oven to 350 F. In a bowl, beat remaining 4 Tbsp butter & granulated sugar until fluffy. Whisk in vanilla, egg & milk until fully blended.
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In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder & salt. Add to wet ingredients, mixing ONLY until blended. Carefully fold in chopped pecans.
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Divide batter between custard cups & bake for 20 minutes. Test with a toothpick. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in custard cups. Invert on serving platter & serve.
Spring is definitely in the air, so bring on those fresh spring flavors. One that comes to my mind is lemon — zesty and full of some spring ‘zing’. My first thought is to pair lemon with some wild blueberries. I realize we are a long way from blueberry harvest time but the good news is that WILD blueberries are as good frozen as they are fresh. None of the nutritional values or antioxidant goodness is lost by freezing.
Canada is the world’s largest producer of ‘low-bush’ blueberries, which is another name for the wild blueberries native to eastern North America. They grow best on treeless land or on land that has been burned over. Growers do not plant them but instead manage wild stands that spread naturally by means of underground runners. The berries are often not uniform in appearance since managed fields can have several distinct runner systems.
The wild blueberries have a sweeter, tangier more intense flavor than their cultivated cousins. Harvest time comes in late August to early September, generally only lasting a few weeks.
This simple little dessert lets us get into the summer blueberry ‘season’ a little earlier and still has all the flavor.
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Wild Blueberry Lemon Drops
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Votes: 1
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Instructions
Pastry
In a large bowl, combine butter & powdered sugar; cream well then stir in vanilla. In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients, gradually add to creamed mixture; blend well. Line the muffin pan size of your choice with paper cups. Divide dough into balls, placing one into each cup. With your fingers, press dough evenly up sides & on bottom of paper cups. Refrigerate until filling & streusal are made.
Streusal
In a small dish, combine streusal ingredients until mixture forms coarse crumbs.
Filling
Preheat oven to 350 F. Gently rinse & dry blueberries. In a small bowl, combine all other filling ingredients & whisk together until smooth. FOLD in blueberries. Divide filling evenly between pastry shells. Top with streusal & a spoon full of lemon curd. Bake about 25 minutes, (filling will rise slightly when set). Remove from oven. If you prefer, add a bit more lemon curd. Once tarts are cool, remove from pan. The paper cups will come off easily, leaving a pretty little corrugated design.
