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This is one of my favorite desserts and I can't believe it has taken me so long to share it on my blog. It's simple to make and perfect for a quick mostly-healthy family dessert!

The best part about it is the added strawberries. They create a level of acid that makes the soft fruit sparkle in your mouth. How's that for a description!

This recipe makes 6 large ramekin-sized apple crisps or 1 large casserole dish-sized apple crisp.

APPLE CRISP

Ingredients:

filling

• 6-7 apples sliced about a 1/4 inch thick
• 1 basket strawberries
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

topping

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup melted butter (half stick)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix flour, oats, brown sugar, melted butter, salt, cinnamon, oats, and walnuts in a large bowl to make the topping.

Core the apples and cut them into thin slices. Toss in a bowl with lemon juice and cinnamon. The lemon juice will add some extra flavor, and help keep the apples from browning while you work with them.

Hull the strawberries and cut them into thin slices.

Use butter to grease the ramekins and add about a tablespoon of water, just enough to cover the bottom. Place a layer of apples at the bottom of the dish, followed by a layer of strawberries, then a layer of apples.

Cover the filling with the topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes in ramekins, 45-1 hour in a casserole dish. The apple strawberry mixture should be bubbling and the top should be brown and crisp. I wanted the tops extra brown so I put them under the broiler for about 45 seconds, but be very careful, they can burn every easily, especially the walnuts.

 

And here they are right out of the oven, piping hot!

Serve with a scoop of ice cream and enjoy!

Thinking of throwing a summer party for your kids? Now there's no excuse, because Tatiana at Thedezign Party! created these  adorable summer party printables and we're giving them away for free. Thank you, Tatiana!

The collection includes: invitations, party circles, blank favor tags, straw flags, tented cards, thank you notes, cupcake wrappers, and a "summer is fun" banner.

DOWNLOAD THE HIGH RESOLUTION FILES FOR PRINTING HERE

• Party printables
• Banner

Here's the whole collection...

 

And here are some sample files...

What a cute collection, Tatiana, makes me want ice cream now!

To learn more about Tatiana and see all of her designs, check her out at Thedezign Party! and on Facebook.

 

When I was asked by Dreyer's Slow Churned Light Ice Cream if I wanted to create some fun ice cream sundaes and blog about them, I jumped at the chance.

I LOVE ice cream, especially reduced calorie ice cream. But I'm also a traditionalist. My favorite flavors are vanilla and chocolate and my favorite topping is marshmallow fluff.

So I thought it would be fun to make our version of homemade marshmallow cream to see how it stacks up against store bought.

Well, I have to tell you, there is NO comparison. It's fantastic and really easy to do. Here's how...

MARSHMALLOW CREAM RECIPE  - (makes 4 cups)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar + 1/8 cup granulated sugar (*Most marshmallow recipes use corn syrup, but this recipe uses real sugar.)
• 4 egg whites ( *This recipe uses raw egg whites, so if you have concerns, please use pasteurized eggs.)
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small pan over medium-high heat. Cook until the syrup reaches 240°, then set aside. If the syrup cools too much and becomes hard, just reheat it on low heat to liquify it again.

Combine egg whites, salt, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.

Using an electric mixer or electric beaters, mix on high until frothy. Slowly add remaining 1/8 cup sugar and mix in.

Continue to whip until you see small peaks. Reduce speed to medium, then pour hot syrup in a slow, steady stream while mixing.

Increase speed to high and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.

And voila... delicious marshmallow cream!!

So here were my sundae ingredients. Rice Krispies to sprinkle on top of my marshmallow cream to turn them into Rice Krispie treat sundaes, mint and cherries (and berries not pictured) all from the farmer's market, and some dark chocolate shavings.

And look what I turned these ingredients into...

And now you're probably wondering how did they taste. See for yourself...

Dreyer's Slow Churned is also running a really cool program called A Reason to Smile. For every ice cream smile captured in a photo and uploaded to Dreyer’s Facebook page, Slow Churned will donate $5 to Operation Smile.  By the end of the summer, the goal is to give away more than 25,000 scoops of ice cream, capture 25,000 ice cream smiles and gift 500 surgeries/smiles to children in-need.

I just uploaded the photo of Lainey enjoying her sundae. I urge you to enjoy some ice cream, snap a photo, and do the same!

Dreyer’s® Slow Churned  Light Ice Cream is churned slowly for all the rich & creamy taste of regular ice cream, but with half the fat and one-third fewer calories.  Now that’s a reason to smile. Give a smile with Operation Smile: https://www.facebook.com/DreyersIceCream

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Nestle via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Nestle.

 

With summer approaching, I can't help but think of ice cream, so I was planning to write a post about the incredible ice cream socials on our site. But then I noticed how many treats people make that look like ice cream, but aren't actually ice cream.

I love anything clever and fun, especially when it comes to dessert, so here are my favorite "ice cream" desserts pulled from different parties on our site. (Click on the photo to see the party it's from.)

Pretty unbelievable...

I love these individual dessert pedestals Kristy of The Purple Pug made for her Donuts and Dragons Party.

So when Kristy said she'd be happy to do a quick tutorial on how she made them, I jumped at the chance.

Here's how she did it...

Materials:

• Unfinished wood candlesticks (any craft store)
• For toppers: unfinished wood circles, small saucers, paper plates, melamine plates or anything else
• Non toxic paint
• Paintbrush
• Mod Podge or another sealer
• Glue

Some unfinished candlesticks

Some unfinished wood circles to use as pedestal tops

Unfinished candlesticks have a metal cup in them.   So gently pry out the cup with a butter knife and discard.   This will allow your topper to be attached to a flat surface.

Metal cup inside the candlesticks

Use a knife to get it out

Paint the candlesticks and toppers as desired -- neutrals, wild colors, or mix and match.   I found two coats worked best.   As an alternative to wood candlesticks, you could certainly use a crystal candlestick and omit the painting.

Starting to paint the candlesticks

The finished candlestick

You can seal any of the wood pieces with a sealant or Mod Podge at this point.

Place your desired top plate upside down on your work surface.

An assortment of plates and tops you can use

Line the top of the candlestick circle with glue and then attach to the middle of your top plate.   Let dry upside down.

After the top has dried

You may want to use temporary glue dots for the paper plate idea, so you can easily remove the plate when finished.

A pedestal made with a paper plate

Also, keep in mind that ceramic plates will make your piece more top heavy, so take into consideration what you are putting on it and how careful your guests will be.

Here are some different toppers, desserts, and ideas.  You can put a small doily on top, a piece of patterned scrapbook paper, card stock, flowers, or fabric. You can embellish with ribbon, rhinestones, fabric ties, pom poms, or anything you find around the house.

These pedestals are perfect for cupcakes, donuts, Ring Dings, mini pies, mini bowls of ice cream, one piece of fruit would be adorable -- anything you can dream up!

A ceramic plate pedestal with a doily and a Ring Ding

A melamine plate pedestal with a doily and an ice cream sandwich

A wooden circle pedestal with a doily and a Ring Ding

A melamine plate pedestal with a mini pie

A melamine plate pedestal with a donut

And how about mini bowls of ice cream

That’s it!  These individual dessert pedestals are a beautiful and simple way to add a charming element to your dessert displays.

Thank you, Kristy!

To see all of Kristy's adorable homemade party goods and get more great party ideas, take a look at her blog, The Purple Pug.  And while you're at it, take a look at the insanely creative parties she's added to Catch My Party.

I  just saw this on Oh Happy Day and wanted to share.  This is from the Martha Stewart blog The Craft Department.  Just balloons and craft paper.  How simple.