Blackberry Lime Bars: Pucker Up!

What tastes like a pie, but is not a pie? What looks like jello, but is made of real fruit? And how is a raven like a writing desk?

The answer is a berry bar.

Well, that's the answer to the first two questions anyway. The answer to the third question haunts me still as one of life's great mysteries, right up there with the question of how did that horse make that woman go to college? But I digress.

I initially noticed this dessert's bright color and promise of fresh summer fruit flavor on Pinterest from places like ImprovKitchen and Sophistimom's recipe. I had never heard of berry bars like this before, so I had to give it a try.

Vegan Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

My first introduction to rhubarb was at the scenic home of a South African professor with a classy accent. He welcomed our writing club to his countryside home, complete with honey bees, nature walk through the forest, and flower-covered gazebo. While we worked, he supplied scones, pie, and coffee from a real French press. He was a one of the really good professors.

So when he handed me a strawberry pie that appeared to contain some kind of celery, I wanted to prove myself sophisticated, worldly, and knowledgable and not reveal my ignorance as to why anyone would put a vegetable in a fruit pie. Maybe it was a South African tradition, I thought.

Blue Moon Cupcakes: Recipe Face-Off

What could make dessert better, but the addition of beer!

The Blue Moon cupcake has been circulating around the interwebz long enough to become a new classic, so dozens of versions of the recipe are floating around. How to know which one to pick?

Well, I don't mind taste-testing cupcakes, so I've tried a few and would like to share my review of two opposite approaches to the Blue Moon cupcakes: one recipe from scratch and one recipe for speed!

April Fools! Chocolate Avocado French Macaron

Here eat this...don't you trust me? Is it because it's green? Is it because of April Fool's Day?

The guinea pigs, er, I mean, the lunch crowd at work are notorious sugar fiends. Any one of them would be willing to trudge through a calorie-burning walk in the snow every break just for an extra doughnut. Of course, so would I!

But many of my taste-testers are also a bit Dutch, which means an instinctive distrust for green things, exotic things, flavors which no sane grandmother would ever think to combine. So, naturally, I wanted to scare their taste buds.

Especially when I saw this! This delicious recipe came from Steph over at Raspberri Cupcakes, who is such an inspiration to me as a baker and as a blogger. She takes such experimental risks with flavors and is so creative with the presentation. Learning new recipes and putting them to the test is my goal here on Tried & Twisted, so how on earth could I resist such a unique new flavor combination?

Would such a daring flavor combination as avocado and chocolate ever possibly be accepted by my taste-testers?

March of Macarons: Beginner's Shortcut

Parisian macarons are the sort of tempting, tantalizing dessert that many people love to look at, but would never dare to try at home.

The reason is not always the challenge, but because of all of the prerequisites needed before you can even begin. You need to buy almond flour, you need a kitchen scale, you need a piping bag; the list gets so long and daunting that some home bakers can't invest in all the fancy do-das necessary just to try a dessert they may have never even eaten before.

Maybe you can't manage to bake macarons the "right way", but what if there were a short cut?

I can't say it will be an easier way. It is far easier to make macarons when following the correct method with all of the necessary equipment. But if you want to put macarons on your plate as hassle-free as possible, here are a few tips for your shortcut route.

March of Macarons: Blueberry Macaron Flop Fruit Dip

I am a sucker for old movies. Theatrical, dramatic, no CGI -- the actors had only their talent to rely on. So the other day, I was rewatching The Agony and the Ectasy, which is based on the story of how the Sistine Chapel ceiling was painted by Michelangelo under the direction of Pope Julius II. Man, Charlton Heston and Rex Harrison have such a fiery dynamic in that film. You just have to see it!

So why do I bring up an obscure old film in the middle of my March of Macaron series? 

Early in the movie, Michelangelo is downtrodden and frustrated. The ceiling is being done exactly to the Pope's direction, but it's just not right. It's not inspired, not perfect yet. Michelangelo goes to the bar to get drunk in his despair, but he finds that even the wine at the pub isn't good. He complains and the barkeep dumps his entire tank full of wine, stating that if the wine is bad, throw it out! With those words, Michelangelo is inspired to take the mediocre ceiling, throw it out, and start again to make what would become one of history's most famous frescos.

In the creative process, there will be failures, but you have to let it go, so you can try again next time with a fresh start.


When dealing with a dessert that's notoriously challenging to learn, you have to expect that every batch will not be perfect. Even professionals sometimes make less than perfection -- just look at Michelangelo. But there's no reason to give up creating or making macarons. All you have to do is start again!

When dealing with a dessert that is just so sweet and tasty, it's an awful shame to throw it away just because it doesn't look perfect. So why not reinvent it?

March of Macarons: Happy Macaron Day!

Ah, the first day of spring! March 20th, a day of warm sun, dainty spring buds, green grass, fresh fruit, pastels, and macarons!

Since Piere Herme first began the tradition eight years ago, the first day of spring has shared the title of the Jour du Macaron or Macaron Day, an international celebration for the classy meringue cookie, the French macaron.

Since I do have a minor macaron obsession, I thought I would encourage you all to celebrate by visiting your nearest participating patisserie and by picking up your own macaron for free. And it's for a good cause too!

Here's a post listing some participating patisseries to help you find your mac for the day!

Sadly, I cannot make the four hour drive to the nearest patisserie on a whim...or can I?

Au Revoir!

Strawberry Jam & Buttercream French Macarons

The other day, I shared an in-depth tutorial on the process of making the finicky, but rewarding dessert: the French macaron. Several of the photos in that tutorial featured a gorgeous ruby red macaron. Who was that lady in red? That was the strawberry jam & vanilla buttercream macaron, and today I'll introduce you to her recipe.

This recipe reminds me of days long ago with my Grandma, eating all varieties of fruit jams and jellies preserved in jars in her farmhouse cellar. The super sweet strawberry flavor always made me feel like I was getting away with eating dessert for dinner, like eating a strawberry ring pop in a sandwich.

While I do often challenge myself to make the jam from scratch, for this batch of strawberry jam macarons, I cheated and bought my jelly at the grocery store. Will you ever forgive me? Will you still respect me as a food blogger if I admit this? I promise I'll make it up to you with a jam recipe from scratch...eventually.

March of Macarons: French Macaron Tutorial

Hungry for macarons after reading my first March of Macaron post? This month, I welcome all adventurous at-home bakers, curious novices, and macaron addicts looking for insight into the Parisian macaron. Here you will find solace that you are not alone with your confectionery obsession.

The French macaron can be a difficult dessert to perfect since it involves many steps and several techniques. I've been baking macarons for almost a year, but some batches still don't turn out perfectly. Have no fear! Every failure is a learning opportunity, and even if the screw-ups may not look perfect, they still taste delicious. All it takes to master baking macarons in your own home is patience, time, and a little practice.

March of Macaron: St. Patty's Whiskey & Mint Macaron

Let's add a little spirit to our French macarons for St. Patrick's Day with the Irish whiskey and mint macaron.

The whiskey is a surprisingly subtle flavor hidden underneath the mint, so you may wish to add more or less whiskey to your personal taste.

Overall, this is a simpler macaron recipe, once you've mastered the technique, relying on a few drops of peppermint flavoring and whiskey buttercream to jazz it up and make it special for the holidays. Care to give it a try?

First Try: A Doughnut for Fasnacht Day

In the south, they celebrate with the wild and crazy parties of Mardi Gras. But here in Pennsylvania, we celebrate with the sweet doughy goodness of the Fasnacht.

Every "Fat Tuesday" or Shrove Tuesday, the Pennsylvanian Dutch break out the lard and warm up their deep fryer to make the sweet dessert that is a heavy-weight of the doughnut world. As part of the tradition of Lent, they emptied their pantries into one heavy delectable dessert.

To celebrate this tradition, many around town enjoy doughnuts and fasnachts alike. I have yet to learn the traditional family recipe for fasnachts, but I am learning how to bake doughnuts, thanks to my mother-in-law's generous gift of a doughnut-baking starter kit. Today, in the spirit of the donut holiday, I tried out a scratch recipe for a basic glazed doughnut based on Food.com website. The glaze recipe came from The Pioneer Woman.

First Try: Patachou Pastry

Not everything works out at the first try. An important lesson in baking is not to expect perfection and allow for the little lessons that come with each new treat. 

However, I'm always the last person to remember this lesson. This dessert I originally planned to show you was supposed to have a delicious fig filling, but sadly the filling turned too stiff and the process of filling the pastry was trickier than I expected. But, lesson learned and I'm sure I'll be able to produce a fantastic treat on my next try. In the meanwhile, these pastries are just as delicious in their own right and worth sharing with you all. 

Patachou or Pate a choux is a puff pastry that's airy and eggy, sweet and versatile. It's the pastry you'll commonly find surrounding your eclairs or beignets. The dough can be used for savory or sweet variations, but today we'll be looking at the sweet.

I based my recipe on master-chef-mixalot Alton Brown's recipe, but I also took guidance from Martha Stewart as well, for added tutelage.  This recipe will make about a dozen.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Prepare for a gooey sugar rush from the gods: Sticky Toffee Pudding!

This classic British cake-like dessert is served warm with toffee topping and ice cream on the side. Considering it's made of dates, you can practically claim that it's healthy. It contains fruit!

Ok, so maybe it's not healthy and maybe you don't really want to know how much butter is in it, but I promise this is a dessert worth bending your new year's resolution.

Candy Cane French Macaron

How cruel am I to show you those gorgeous candy cane macarons and not share the recipe? My friend at CookieHolic, her husband, and I made this batch for Christmas, and in all the hustle and bustle, I didn't take detailed in-process photos. But, I promise to one day explain the delicate process of making parisian macarons in more detail.

Credit for the basic macaron recipe goes to my fellow macaron-enthusiast, Kathleen, from Pinterest and her instructor, Clemence Gossett of The Gourmandise School in Santa Monica. Thank you so much to her for sharing!

A few details were tweaked, including the addition of cream of tartar, which according to her Lady Martha Stewart, duchess of culinary perfection, should be used since it helps to strengthen the meringue. Ok, let's dive in!