Greek Salad in America involves ingredients such as lettuce, olives, beets, peppers, and more. In Greece, not so much. The traditional Greek Salad is actually very simple. It's all about the few ingredients being of great quality and letting the ingredients shine. I should also mention that there is no such thing as lettuce in the OG salad. Yup, it's just veggies. But, don't let that scare you off. This easy traditional Greek salad is still so flavorful and has an amazing texture. It may be the easiest and quickest salad you make in your life.
Believe it or not, I was not a muffin fan as a child. I think that had to do with pure ignorance. My mother would always make the boxed muffins and to me, they just looked meh. Obviously, as I grew so did my willingness to try new things. Once I tried a real muffin, I was hooked for life. To me, a muffin doesn’t have to differ from what makes a cupcake special. Great cupcakes are known to be flavorful, moist, and fluffy. Muffins can and should have these same characteristics.
Fast forward to a few years ago when I shared my first muffin recipe. The muffins from my first recipe are delicious, but they are a little more reminiscent of the boxed muffins in texture and size. This time, I wanted to go big or go home. Let’s pack on the complex flavor. Let’s make it bursting with blueberries. Let’s make them tall and big. Let’s pack on the streusel topping. I took one bite into these bakery style blueberry muffins and the muffin angels were humming in my ears. These muffins are so great and so easy to make.
I've previously shared a lemon tart recipe on this blog. This one is a bit different. It's a bit more involved because we're using a yellow short dough instead of my sugar cookie dough. We're also adding in a bit of blueberry sauce on the bottom to bump up the flavor. It's a bit more work, but well worth it in my opinion. Spring is officially here and this tart is a great way to indulge in it.
One of my favorite movies of all time is The Sandlot. Real renegade, I know. I know it's a super popular and mainstream movie, but for me, it's a part of my childhood. I'm an early '90s baby, so it was literally everywhere when I was growing up. I'm pretty sure my first crush ever was Benny Rodriguez and I mean, who can blame me? And of course, it's just a really funny and fun movie. So, that's why I couldn't and can't resist the pull of The Sandlot. Pretty much every scene in the movie is my favorite and is super quotable, but one of most iconic in the movie is when Scotty aka "Smalls", is in the treehouse for a campout and is called out by "Ham" for not knowing what a s'more was. "I haven't had anything yet...so how can I have some more of nothing?" Ah, Smalls you fool. Your naiveté is quite hilarious. Regardless, The Sandlot is no doubt an All-American movie and the S'more is no doubt an All-American snack. Thus, to honor both one of my favorite movies and one of my favorite snacks, I've decided to share this full-proof recipe for delicious homemade s' mores ice cream.
Summertime brings all of the delicious lemon recipes to the forefront. From Pinterest to Instagram to Facebook, you're bombarded with lemon recipes. There is one that eluded me for years. I couldn't for the life of me find a recipe for lemon cookies that were the way I liked them. The taste wasn't right and the texture wasn't what I was looking for in a cookie. Personally, I like my cookies soft and chewy. Others prefer them crisp on the outside, but chewy on the inside. All the recipes I tried, provided a decent lemon cookie, but they definitely weren't what I wanted. So I did what I always do when I can't find a recipe that fits my needs. I made one up. I found a decent base recipe and tweaked it. The results were fabulous. The lemon was prominent and the texture was so perfect. Soft and chewy for days!
Ensure that the ingredients are at room temperature before getting started. In the mixing bowl, start by creaming the butter, cream cheese and sour cream all together for a couple minutes on medium speed until combined.
Add in the sugar gradually on low speed and then turn up the speed to medium and mix until light fluffy for about a minute or two. Scrape the bowl well. Add in the vanilla extract, lemon juice and zest and food coloring, if you're using it. Mix for about 30 seconds until combined on medium speed.
Scrape the bowl again. Add in the whole egg and let it absorb on medium speed. Then, add in the yolk and do the same.
Mix until uniform for about two minutes.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
On low speed, dump in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined, about 30 seconds. Flour will still be visible at this point.
With a rubber spatula, fold in the flour into the dough. The flour should be absorbed, but don't overmix.
Let the dough rest in the fridge for at least an hour, but you can rest it up to overnight.
Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or with parchment paper. I still spray with the mat or parchment with cooking spray, just in case.
I recommend using a cookie scoop to scoop out about 1 ½ tablespoon sized dough. Roll it between the palms of your hands until a round ball forms. Line them up about 2" apart.
Press down with your three fingers to flatten them slightly.
Bake at 350°F for about 9-10 minutes. It should look slightly under baked. Allow it to cool on the pan, out of the oven for about 5 minutes. Then move it to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once cooled completely, enjoy! Soft and chewy cookies. Just how they should be.
Watch how I make them.
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (½ cup [1 stick] plus 2 Tbsp), softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- zest of 2 medium lemons (about 1 tablespoon lemon zest)
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (about ½ medium lemon)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
- 1 tablespoon cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Ensure that the ingredients are at room temperature before getting started. In the mixing bowl, start by creaming the butter, cream cheese and sour cream all together for about five minutes on medium speed until combined.
Add in the sugar gradually on low speed and then turn up the speed to medium and mix until light fluffy for about a minute or two. Scrape the bowl well. Add in the vanilla extract, lemon juice and zest and food coloring, if you're using it. Mix for about two minutes until combined on medium speed.
Scrape the bowl again. Add in the whole egg and let it absorb on medium speed. Then, add in the yolk and do the same.
Mix until uniform for about two minutes. Scrape the bowl well.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
On low speed, dump in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined, about 15 seconds. Flour will still be visible at this point.
With a rubber spatula, fold in the rest of flour into the dough. The flour should be absorbed, but don't overmix.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rest in the fridge for at least a couple hours, but preferably overnight.
Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or with parchment paper. I still spray with the mat or parchment with cooking spray, just in case.
I recommend using a cookie scoop to scoop out about 1 ½ tablespoon sized dough. Roll it between the palms of your hands until a round ball forms. Line them up about 2" apart.
Press down with your three fingers to flatten them slightly.
Bake at 350°F for about 9-10 minutes. It should look slightly under baked. Allow it to cool on the pan, out of the oven for about 5 minutes. Then move it to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
You can keep the cookies stored in a covered plastic container for about a week. You can keep the dough in the fridge covered for about a week or in the freezer for about a month.