White Chocolate Strawberry Cookies

If you're looking for a one-of-a-kind way to use up some fresh strawberries, then you've come to the right place.  These cream cheese cookies are bursting with fresh strawberry flavor with a touch of zesty lime while the white chocolate adds just the decadent touch to make these soft textured, unique cookies a colorful addition to a summer menu.  For best results, use only fresh, ripe strawberries chopped shortly before adding to the dough. Enjoy!

Click here for printable recipe.  

White Chocolate Strawberry Chunk Cookies
Recipe by  admin 

The ingredients:


(oops, I forgot the white chocolate chips and two limes in this  picture)

1 cup butter, softened
1 pkg. (8-ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 Tbs. fresh lime juice
Zest from 3 limes, finely chopped (about 1-1/2 tablespoons)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 cups fresh strawberries, finely chopped to about the size of chocolate chips (NOTE:  don't chop the strawberries until shortly before you're going to add them to the dough)
1  pkg. (12-oz.)  white chocolate chips

 Directions:  In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese, and 2 cups of sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and lime juice and lime zest.  Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well.   Gently fold in chopped strawberries (drain any accumulated juices first) and white chocolate chips.

Gently scoop into balls on a greased baking sheet (or a parchment paper lined baking sheet) and bake at 350° for 8-10  minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.  Cool 1 minute before removing to wire racks.    Makes 4 dozen cookies.  These are best eaten fresh (right out of the oven is good) or within a couple of days. 

Enjoy! 

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Key Lime Bars

I first sampled these tangy, but cool and creamy bars at a baby shower for a good friend.  I’ve always loved key lime pie, so it was no surprise that these easy bars struck such a chord with me.  After tracking down the recipe from my friend Alex, who had gotten the recipe from Cook’s Illustrated, I was determined to give them a try at home.  They came together in a jiffy and ended up being every bit the citrusy taste of spring I had been hoping for!   They would make for a great party food, since they’re simple to make and hold up well (once they’ve been refrigerated).  In addition, this recipe doubled fits just perfectly into a 9x13-inch baking pan.  Enjoy! 

Click here for printable recipe.

The ingredients:

CRUST: 

1-1/4 cups crushed animal crackers (about two and a half of the little 2 ounce boxes)
3 Tbs. brown sugar
pinch of salt
4 Tbs. butter, melted and cooled slightly


FILLING: 

2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 Tbs. grated lime zest, minced
pinch of salt
1 can (14-ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice


GARNISH:
3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut, toasted until golden and crisp


Directions:  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line 8x8-inch baking pan with foil , folded and hanging over the sides (so that the overhang can later be used as handles in removing the bars from the pan).  Spray foil with non-stick cooking spray.    (NOTE:  recipe can be doubled  and baked in a 9x13-inch baking pan if desired)


For making the crust:  In a large bowl (or in the blender jar if a blender was used to crush the animal crackers),  add the crushed animal crackers, brown sugar, salt and stir well.  Stir in melted butter.  Press crumb/butter mixture evenly and firmly into bottom of foil-lined pan.  Bake until deep golden brown, 18-20 minutes.  Set aside and allow to cool, while you prepare the filling. 

For making the filling:  While crust cools, in medium bowl, stir cream cheese, lime zest, and salt with rubber spatula until softened, creamy, and thoroughly combined.  Add sweetened condensed milk and whisk vigorously until incorporated and no lumps of cream cheese remain; whisk in egg yolk.  Add lime juice and whisk gently until incorporated. 

Pour filling into baked crust; spread to corners and smooth surface with rubber spatula.  Bake at 325 degrees until set and edges begin to pull away slightly from sides, 15- 20 minutes.  Cool at room temperature for 1 to 1-1/2 hours.  Cover with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours. 

Loosen edges with knife and lift bars from baking pan using foil "handles"; cut bars into 16 squares.  Sprinkle with toasted coconut, if using, and serve.  Store in refrigerator.  Makes 16 bars (or 9 if you want them to be big). 


Enjoy! 

Key Lime Bars

Like lemon bars?

I invite you to expand your horizons.

Meet the key lime bar!



Yes, they look like a lemon bar, but ... they taste like key lime!

This is what happens when you find a bag of key limes price reduced at the grocery store! I got 17 key limes for 89 cents!




Key Lime Bars - Adapted from Patrick and Gina Neely

Crust
1/2 C butter (I used 1/4 C butter, 1/4 C applesauce)
1/4 C powdered sugar
1 C flour (I used white whole wheat)

Filling
2 eggs
1 C sugar
3T flour
1/8 C + 1 T lime juice
1 tsp. lime zest

In a medium bowl, combine flour, powdered sugar, melted butter and applesauce.



Mix until a moist dough is formed.  Press dough into a lightly greased 11x7 baking dish.



Bake the crust at 350 for about 20 minutes until lightly browned.



Meanwhile, squeeze those limes to make some lime juice!





Go ahead and zest a few too...





Then, combine in a medium bowl: eggs, sugar, and flour and mix well.



Add in the lime juice.



And, stir in the lime zest.





Pour the topping over a slightly cooled crust.



Bake at 350 for 25 minutes until the center is set.



Allow to cool completely before serving and sprinkle with powdered sugar.



This post is linked to:

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
• Food Network Chef's Cooking Challenge

Honey Mustard Lime Chicken

Although we eat primarily vegetarian around here (just because we like veggies), chicken is our favorite meat. I grew up eating a lot more white meat than red, and while Frog Prince grew up eating the opposite way (more red than white), we've converged on our meat of choice being chicken.

We enjoy lots of chicken dishes, but one thing I grew up eating that I haven't had in YEARS is chicken legs. I don't know why, but we just don't make them very often. With my family in town this past week, I wanted to try something new for them, so we made honey mustard lime chicken legs in the crock pot and they were excellent!

Honey Mustard Lime Chicken Legs (Crockpot Style) - Modified from Kindra at Meal Planning 101

8-10 chicken legs
1/3 C spicy brown mustard*
3 T honey*
2-3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 T soy sauce
4 T lime juice (and some lime zest, if you have some)

In a medium bowl, mix together the honey/mustard, garlic, lime and soy sauce.

Place the chicken breasts in the crockpot (I was lazy and left the skin on, which was easy to remove after cooking!).




Pour some of the sauce over the bottom chicken legs, then top with the remaining chicken legs and the remaining sauce.




Cook on low for 6-8 hours.



The chicken gets super tender this way. I like it like this, but, if you don't want your chicken falling off the bone, then I might suggest cooking it for a little shorter amount of time, until the chicken reaches 180 degrees.



Serve with rice and green veggies!
*You can also use 1/2 C honey mustard (either mustard or salad dressing varieties should be just fine)

For more chicken-filled recipes, visit Life as a Mom's Ultimate Recipe Swap! And, for more slow-cooked recipes, visit Slow Cooking Thursday hosted by Sandra.  If you're looking for soy sauce recipes, visit Eat at Home!