My next cookbook, Zoë Bakes Cookies, will feature about 100 recipes and I test my recipes over and over until they’re perfect. Enlisting my sons, Henri and Charlie, to be taste testers and incorporating their feedback makes my books even better. In season 3 episode 9 of Zoë Bakes on Magnolia Network Henri and Charlie join me in the kitchen to test a few of my cookie recipes and variations. You must tune in to see how it goes! In this episode I also visit a beautiful hazelnut farm and gather local nuts to try in my recipe. To learn more about Minnesota hazelnuts, visit the Organic Compound.
If Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer, then it’s a good time to make some of your favorite summer recipes. The weather is still warm, so you may not be ready for fall favorites yet, and it’s a great time to use up some berries before freezing them for the fall and winter. Or to make one more ice cream treat before the weather gets too cold. Whatever you’re going for, these are some great Labor Day desserts to wrap up your summer and get ready for fall.
This stunning angel food cake covered in cherry whipped cream was inspired by a recipe my friend, Jessie Sheehan, included in one of her cookbooks. Jessie visited Minnesota last summer and she joined me to eat our way through the Minnesota State Fair for season 3 episode 8 of Zoë Bakes on Magnolia Network!
Whether you’re looking for breakfast ideas before the kids head off to the bus stop, back to school treats to pack in their lunch boxes, after school snacks for kids, or a treat to wrap in a care package for your college student, I’ve got ideas for every palate (yes, even the most persnickety will find something here!).
This post is originally from 2011 and it is hilarious for me to read it, since my boys are now 17 and 19 years old and no longer have little fingers, because they’re 6 feet tall. The only thing that remains the same 7 years later; they still love these Blueberry Bars!
2011: Yesterday was the official end of summer in my house. Back to school for both boys, and I spent the day wishing they were home again. “Seriously?” You may ask. I spent the past several weeks anticipating the beginning of school with a certain glee, which may have bordered on unhealthy. I couldn’t wait to have peace and quiet in my house, for hours at a time. I looked forward to doing my work without interruption, sans little fingers dipping into the bowl. But, when it came to the actual day, I missed them and couldn’t wait for them to get off the bus.* Instead of pathetically staring out the window waiting, I decided to bake them some Blueberry Bars. Every MN kid loves bars.
For those of you from the coasts, I am referring to a layered dessert baked in a pan resembling a brownie/cookie/pie, but can be made with fruit, caramel, chocolate or anything else your pantry contains. Then they are cut into neat bars. I was first introduced to this concept when I moved to Minneapolis in 1993. Bars are generally served on a buffet table with lots of crock pots filled with “hot dish.” Every family has their own recipe, usually a tightly held secret, mostly kept from the neighbors.
To watch me make these bars and for tips on easy lattice and stable fillings, watch my instagram video. Recipe below.
