Quick and Easy Nutella "Frosted" Cherries

 

Heyyyy. Long time no see. Yeah I know, I know. About half of my posts say that. And for that I am sincerely sorry. I've been so busy with things around the clock, and even though I say that I could start posting again, last minute things ALWAYS come up. Ugh, I'm realllly sorry.

Anyways, so I was sitting around one Sunday morning anticipating the soccer/football final between Germany and Argentina (I'm SO happy Germany won btw), and though it was like 8:30 in the morning (lol the game was in more than 4 hours), I wanted to make something sweet. Not eat something sweet (I was fasting), but make something that would be sugary and delicious. And after scourging through the fridge and pantry for 30 minutes, I came to the unfortunate conclusion that there was nothing at home to make anything.  So with a desperate attempt (I didn't want to go to the store, hah laziness), I opened my cupboard (the one thing I never open) and found an unopened jar of nutella. WHAT. I did not know it was in there. Dear lord, if I did know, it would've been gone by now. So anyways, I took out the nutella, and I sniffed at it for twenty minutes, looking at it dolefully and wishing that I could just eat one spoon of that creamy, chocolaty, hazelnutty perfection. Eventually, I decided that cherries would go great with chocolate. Why? Because the only alternatives were melon and mango. And my beloved Nutella just wasn't feeling those fruits. Anywhooo, the problem was that if I dipped it in the nutella itself, it would be just one layer of chocolate. And since I was sort of craving the chocolate more than the cherries, I decided to go ahead and make the runny chocolate spread into a more  "moldable, frosting" consistency, just so it would be easier to build up the layers of chocolate.... it isn't actually frosting, its just that the texture is like frosting.

 

 

I picked tart cherries because I figured that they would go better with the nutella. You know, "sweet and sour"

 

I melted the Nutella so that it would be a bit more runny.

 

I wasn't exactly sure how much water to add, but through estimation, I guessed that a little less than 1/4 cup would be good. I figured that it just depends on how you thick or thin you want the consistency to be

    

 

   

  

I quickly added the water in while the mixture was still liquid-ish and warm, stirring it in.

 

 

    

 

So after I took it out of the microwave, I stirred it. It looks kinda weird here, but I swear it eventually looks normal and that it still tastes magical. Plus, the consistency is very frosting-like

 

 

   

 

 

___________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

This is how the final result turns out to be. Its not perfect, but it does have more layers of chocolate to it than if it were dipped . It definitely was a simple recipe and literally takes only 10 minutes or so.

 

 

 

 

 I made these on Sunday, the day of the final game, and since I was rooting full-heartedly for Germany (one of my two favorite teams), I decided to just throw in some German flag-colored sugar sprinkles. Nope, I did not have black. 

 

 

   

Haha it doesn't really show up on camera, but I promise they were there.

 

I froze them for about 30 minutes and then let them thaw.

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

Cherries ( I thought tart ones worked better)

 

 bit less than 1/4 cup of water

 

2 very large tablespoons of nutella

 

**optional- sprinkles, colored sugar sprinkles, etc.

 

 

 

Directions:

 

1. Thoroughly, wash a bowl of cherries and leave it out in the open to dry.

2. Take the nutella and microwave it for about 10 seconds.

3. stir it and add the water quickly

4. Put it back in the microwave for another 10 seconds.

5. Take it out and stir until it becomes a frosting-like consistency

6. Take each cherry and mold the cherries around it, adding on thin layers. Work quickly, the chocolate dries fast.

7. After completely the molding, freeze the cherries for around 30-ish minutes and thaw for about 2-3 minutes, since nutella thaws super quick.

 

Enjoyyyy:)

                             

 

 

The Ever-So Scrumptious Peach Pie

Scrumptious is a big word. With an exciting definition. Its a word that I use rarely, mainly because it leaves my mouth with an extremely awkward feeling that I don't necessarily crave. I don't why I get that feeling, but I do. But when I say something is scrumptious, then its gotta be delicious. No doubt.

Oh no.  I'm rambling about words and my feelings about them....... again. But honestly, I can't help it. The peach pie was so good, that I wasn't finished with just one slice. Or...... just 3 slices. I'm sorry, Not Really Peach Pie is one of my weaknesses. Oh, don't give me that look..... its gonna be one of  your weaknesses too. :)

Also, this recipe was adapted from many different sites: Taste of Home, Food,Nita's Peach Pie (PD)

                First, chop up the peaches and toss them all into a bowl. I usually get my peaches  from                 the local grocery store, but you could definitely try the farmers market. And about the chopping, you may cut to your own desire.  :)

           In the meantime, in a separate bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. The cinnamon, flour, and the sugar...

Just pour all the dry ingredients into the very patient bowl of chopped peaches. Give it a few tosses, and be very careful to make sure the dry ingredients aren't all stuck on the bottom. 

Ta-da! ; )

This is  my semi-thawed  pie crust. Its store bought. Why? I think I was feeling lazy that day or something. 

But don't worry, my top crust is homemade.

So I take out my pre made pie dough, that was lying in the refrigerator ( psst! Look for my Pie Crust Recipe on my previous post). I take out a rolling pin and a cutting board, and roll out my dough in order  to prep for the lattice pattern that going to go on the top.

Unfortunately, my latticing skills just weren't  on spot, so it was a bit funny. Hehe. Please don't judge me. 

After crimping the edges, and forgetting to cover the edges with foil (a mistake I deeply regretted later), the pie went into the oven. Trust me, it was a glorious moment. :)

Tadah! This is the finished product, and it was delish! And also, sorry about the terrible mistake...it was solely on my bad memory. Enjoy!

***************


Ingredients:

- 1/2 -1 cup sugar (Depends on whether you have a sweet tooth or not; also keep aside 2 tbsp of sugar for later)

 - 5 cups of  fresh peaches, approximately 4 large  peaches.

- enough pastry dough for a double crust 9-inch pie

- 1/2-1/3 cup of all-purpose flour

-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-2 tablespoon of butter

***********************************************

Instructions:

- Preheat the Oven to 425 degrees F.

-Into  a bowl, stir the cinnamon, flour, and sugar together, and set  it aside.

- Wash and slice  up the fresh peaches ( peeling is optional)

- Mix the peaches with the dry mixture that was  set aside.

- Put the mixture into the pastry-lined pie tin and dot it with butter.

-If you want to do the lattice pattern, roll out the top crust, cut into strips accordingly (roughly 3/4 wide),  and  place them in a "one over, one under" pattern.

-After placing/latticing the top crust, sprinkle the top with sugar

- Cover the edges with aluminum foil to prevent browning (oops!); remove foil for last 15 minutes of baking.

-Bake for around 30-45 minute, or until the crust browns and juice begins  to bubble through the slits in the crust.

Fresh Peach Smoothie

When you hear the word "fresh", you'd probably think of the word "farm" or "cows". At least, I do. But when it comes to peaches, "fresh" means it came from my refrigerator. Not a farm. Well, not for the last 3 weeks . And somehow we're going to have to deal with that. And an amazing smoothie. <3




                                                             Hopefully.

                               

         Cut them peaches after washing them for 30 seconds. Also throw in the blueberries, milk, ice, and everything else.

                                                                                                                               

                     
                      This is what the...... mixture (?) looks like after 10 seconds into blending.
                     

                        

                                                      The view after 30 seconds.

I decided to rebel and add in some extra h-honey

And mix the honey in.

                                                         And you're all done! :)

You will need:

1 large peach - cut into slices

2/3 cup of milk

1 banana

A handful of washed blueberries 

1 1/2 tablespoon of honey ( adjust to your needs)

1-3 cups of ice ( again, adjust to your needs)

How to do it:

1. Mix all the ingredients to together- (after peeling the banana, slicing the peaches,etc)

2.Mix the ingredients together, on high, for 1-2 minutes depending of your blender or until it is smooth and creamy.

 (By the way, I use Vitamix)

3. Enjoy!

xoxo,

~ Raida Khan

Orange Heaven Milkshake

This is a match-made in heaven for the folks who love oranges. Or milkshakes. I know that I'm not particularly a fan of orange milkshakes, but trust me, this is really good and strong!

 1 1/8 Cup  Milk

1/4  Cup Ice Water

1 12 oz can of frozen orange juice concentrate (thawed) or 3 cups of orange juice

8-10 pieces of ice

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup of honey

1 banana (ripe works just fine)

How you do it:

*Makes three servings.*

Simply put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into three-four 12 oz. glasses

Tip: If you want it to be milkier and a bit thinner, add more milk. If you want it to be frothy and frosty, add slightly less milk

The ingredients:)

Mix em' all together. Here I'm using my Vitamix Blender to do the magic.

After mixing for about a  minute and a  half, it turned bubbly and frothy.  Just perfect.

Yummy  <3

Strawberry Buttercream

 Yes, Buttercream doesn't always turn out perfect.. Sometimes it could be the slightest bit curdled or maybe it turned out a bit light. It doesnt have to be pretty, it just has to be yummy! :)  Anyways I got this recipe from Addapinch.com, but I added a slight variation to it. And it turned really good!

Ingredients:

1 cup of butter (unsalted)

4 cups of powdered sugar (sifted)

4-8 tablespoons of strawberry preserves

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons whole milk 

Instructions:

1. Cream the butter with the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time.  After each cup, add 1 tablespoon of the preserves.After that add the vanilla extract and beat on high for 45 seconds.
2 After that, slowly add in the whole milk and beat until consistency is to its peak. Add a pinch of salt and beat for 10 seconds. Cover with plastic wrap and store for up to 3 days Enjoy!