I whipped this up for a family cook-out a couple of weeks back. My cousin was home from the Air Force for a visit, and it was nice to see him and meet his new girlfriend. (They’ve been together for a while, of course, but she’s new to me. ) My aunt asked me to bring a dessert, which I was happy to do, but the challenge was that dinner was after work on a Monday afternoon, and so I was trying to think of something that could be made ahead but would still be fresh and tasty after hanging out all day while I worked.

David also bought me a tart pan that weekend. I can’t say that didn’t play a part. It did. So I decided to make a fruit tart with fresh strawberries and a homemade pastry cream.

Strawberry Tart with Lemon-Vanilla Pastry Cream

For the Crust:

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 10 tablespoons frozen or cold unsalted better, cut into cubes
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 tablespoons ice water

For the Filling:

• 2/3 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Pinch of salt
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 cups cream
• 2 teaspoons butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

For the Fruit Topping:

• 2 – 3 cups of fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and halved (or any other fresh berries you would like to use, really)

Make the tart.

1. Combine flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of your food processor. Pulse once or twice. Add the butter and process for about 10 seconds. Add in the egg yolk and process for a few more seconds.

2. Transfer the mixture into a mixing bowl. Add 3 tbsp. ice water and mix with your hands until you can form the dough into a ball. You can add a little more water if necessary or a little more flour if it’s too wet. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

3. Spray your tart pan with a non-stick cooking spray made for baking, or grease and flour your tart pan. Roll the dough into a round about a half an inch thick, then transfer into your tart pan. Using your fingertips, press the dough into the pan evenly, spreading it out all the way to the edges and up into the fluted sections of the pan. Refrigerate for about an hour.

4. After the crust is properly chilled you need to prebake it. Heat oven to 425 (F). Sufficiently prick the entire bottom of the crust with a fork. Take a large piece of foil and butter one side, press the buttered side into the crust and up along the sides. Weigh the foil down with a pie weights (or if you don’t have pie weights, a few cups of raw rice or dried beans will do the trick) Bake for 12 minutes.

5. Now remove the tart from the oven and reduce the temp to 350 (F). Take off the weights and the foil and put the crust back in and bake until it’s a nicely browned, 10-15 minutes. Take out and cool completely on a rack.

Make the pastry cream (You can do this while the crust is baking)

1. Mix together egg yolks and cream. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Whisk the egg mixture into the saucepan over medium heat. Whisk every minute or so at first, but as it heats up and starts to boil and thicken, you will need to whisk constantly. This should take about 10 minutes.

2. Turn the heat to low/medium-low so that mixture bubbles gently and cook until it coats the back of a spoon, or when you can draw your finger through it and the line stays there. Stir in the butter and vanilla, and two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.

3. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve/strainer to remove all lumps. Because the mixture is very thick, you may have to help the mixture through the strainer by pushing gently with a spoon.

4. Set aside and let cool to room temperature. Then place in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, with plastic wrap pressed gently against the surface of the cream.

Assemble the tart. (I did this part the next day, at the party)

1. Spread the cooled pastry cream inside the cooled tart crust. Arrange the strawberries on top of the cream in whatever pattern you like.The more fruit the better, of course, so try to keep it in a close pattern.

Note: My original plan was to use a lemon glaze to finish the tart, but that never really came to fruition. I didn’t have time to do it right before the party, and I was afraid to start it ahead of time, as those things tend to solidify quite a bit, and I didn’t know how to keep it smooth and fresh all day.

I made a double batch of the tart crust, and refridgerated it to use at another time, which was nice. It was nice to have on hand for a quick dessert later on. If wrapped well, it could certainly be frozen for later use as well.

I know I start a lot of posts this way, but really, I mean it this time: David loves Key Lime Pie. And what do I do when I find out that David likes something? I learn to make it.

It had actually been over a year since I made him this treat–since about the same time that we got engaged–so I figured he was due. Plus, I saw a post about Key Lime Pie that had me drooling just a little bit over at The Pioneer Woman.

I’ve been very happy with my existing Key Lime Pie recipe, but the Pioneer Woman’s pie features about twice as much graham cracker crust as other recipes, and I think that’s the way to go. So I took off with that idea, and made my regular recipe in an extra deep salty-sweet graham cracker crust.

And it was good.

I managed to take a picture before we ate it all, but the pie is long gone. If David’s good, maybe I won’t wait another year to bake him another one. Actually, since I practically injured myself juicing all those little baby key limes this time around, he can probably have another whenever he wants to take care of the juicing. That sounds like a pretty good deal.

Double Crusted Key Lime Pie

For the Crust

• 18 graham crackers (1 cracker=1 full rectangle, not a square)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter (salted)

For the filling:

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 3/4 cup of freshly squeezed key lime juice. (I do think freshly squeezed is better, even though it’s a pain)
• 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons key lime zest, plus more for garnish

For the whipped cream topping:

• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons of confectioner’s (powdered) sugar

1. To make the crust: Crush the graham crackers in a food processor. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the sugar and melted butter. Press into a pie pan and bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees, or until golden and set. Remove from oven and set aside to cool while you make the filling.

2. To make the filling: Place egg yolks and lime zest in the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip these together until the eggs are light and fluffy. This will take several minutes–the eggs will become a light, lemony yellow, compared to the golden yolk color you started with. Turn the mixer down to low, and drizzle in the condensed sweetened milk a little at a time. Continue mixing until just combined. When the milk is incorporated completely, add the lime juice and start the mixer again to get everything mixed thoroughly as soon as possible. As soon as the lime juice is stirred in completely, pour the filling into your prepared graham cracker crust. Bake the filled pie at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until the filling is set. Allow to cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving. The colder the better!

3. For the whipped cream topping: In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the cream and powdered sugar. Mix on high until stiff peaks are formed.

Serve each slice of chilled pie with a good dollop of whipped cream and a bit of lime zest for garnish.

Note: If you like sour things at all, you owe it to yourself to make this. If you’ve never been to Key West, you’ve probably never had a real tart Key Lime pie, but that’s how it should be. Cold and creamy and tart enough to make your mouth pucker (just a little!) until the whipped cream and graham crackers come together to sweeten the deal. Yum!

The other day, Leah came home from work with a Ziploc bag full of mush.

I looked at it skeptically.

She handed it to me, along with a single sheet of paper with printed instructions.

I looked at it skeptically.

“Will we do it?” she asked. “I mean, I can take it back to someone else, if you want, but it makes really good bread!”

I looked at it skeptically, but agreed.

After all, most of the instructions are “mash the bag,” and I like to bake anyhow.

That’s how I got my hands on an Amish Friendship Bread starter. The process is very simple. You follow the directions every day (most of the directions really are “mash the bag,” for the day) and then on the 10th day, you bake one part of it into loaves of sweet cinnamon bread, and divide the rest into new batches of starter to give to your friends. It’s kind of like a bread dough chain letter.

The resulting bread is very, very sweet (honestly, a little sweet for my tastes), but tasty. I opted to add raisins, which went well. Now that I’ve made a batch, I can start to see how I might make some adaptations to the next batch. The bread is moist, with a muffin-like crumb. I think it would make very good muffins, actually. The recipe below are the steps that accompanied my batch of starter.

Amish Friendship Bread

Amish Friendship Bread

Please Note: As the bread starter rests over the next 10 days, air will build up in the Ziploc bag. This is normal. When you notice air building up int he bag, let it out. Do NOT refrigerate the bread starter.The bread will rise and ferment in the Ziploc bag.

Day 1: Do Nothing
Day 2: Mash the Bag
Day 3: Mash the Bag
Day 4: Mash the Bag
Day 5: Mash the Bag
Day 6: Add the following to the bag and mash it all together:

• 1 Cup of all purpose flour
• 1 Cup of granulated sugar
• 1 Cup of milk

Day 7: Mash the Bag
Day 8: Mash the Bag
Day 9: Mash the Bag
Day 10: Follow the Instructions below to make Amish Friendship Bread

Pour the entire contents of the bag into a non-metal bowl. Add 1 1/2 Cups of flour, 1 1/2 Cups of sugar and 1 1/2 Cups of milk. Mix well.

Measure out 4 separate batters of 1 cup each into (4) one gallon Ziploc bags. Keep a starter for yourself and give the other bags to (3) friends along with a copy of this recipe.

Note: If you keep a starter for yourself, you will be baking every 10 days. This bread is very good and makes a great gift. Only the Amish know how to create the starter, so if you give them all away, you’ll have to wait until someone gives you a starter back. Should this recipe not be passed on to a friend on the first day, be sure to tell them which day the bag is on when you give it to them.

Baking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

1) To the remaining batter in the bowl, add 3 eggs, 1 cup oil, 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanillla, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 2 cups flour, 1 large box instant vanilla pudding (1 cup raisins or nuts optional)

2. Grease two large loaf pans. In a small bowl, mix an additional 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Dust the greased pans with half of this mixture.

3. Pour the batter evenly into the two pans. Sprinkle the remaining sugar/ cinnamon mixture.

4. Bake for one hour. Cool bread until it loosens evenly from the sides of the pan. Turn onto plates. Or bake mini-muffins for 20 minutes, regular muffins for 40 minutes.

Note: If you google for Amish Friendship Bread, you can find recipes for starters and even kits you can buy with mix for starter in them. We inherited this one, so I don’t know how to tell you to make your own. Apparently, I’ll have new batches of starter every 10 days or so, though, so if you’d like one of your own, just let me know!

David’s favorite treat at Dairy Queen is the Mint Oreo Blizzard. And who doesn’t like those Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies? It’s really kind of surprising that it took us this long to make this Mint Oreo Ice Cream from the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream & Dessert Book. As expected, it was delicious.

You know, from time to time, I toy with the idea of picking up another book of ice cream recipes, but I’ve just been so happy with this one, I don’t ever really see the need. The Ben & Jerry’s ones have been great every time.

Cool Oreo Mint Ice Cream
Adapted from Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book

• 12-15 coursely chopped Oreo cookies
• 2 large or extra large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups of heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup of milk
• 2 teaspoons peppermint extract

1. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream and milk and whisk to blend. Add the peppermint extract and blend again.

2. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker. Add while the mixer is on the low setting, then turn it up to high.

3. Once the ice cream has stiffened (about 2-3 minutes before it is done) add the chopped cookies and continue freezing until the ice cream is ready.

When it’s done in the ice cream machine, the ice cream will be the consistency of soft-serve. Freeze for at least two hours for a solid, scoopable ice cream.

Note: The recipe above makes a white, vanilla-looking ice cream. I added a few drops of green food coloring to make it look more minty.

It’s been awhile since we talked about ice cream, hasn’t it?

This recipe starts with margaritas. Strawberry margaritas. A few weeks ago, Sarah and Kat came over for a weekend to celebrate Leah’s birthday and to have girly time. We spent the weekend playing with Kat’s dog Brody, playing cards, and hanging out. Oh, and drinking Strawberry Margaritas. David brought home a delicious bottled strawberry mix for daquiris and margaritas, and I can honestly say it was the most delicious bottled mixer I’ve ever had. The strawberry flavor was great; it wasn’t too sweet, or too sour. And you could tell there were actual strawberries in it, in part because the mix still had some seeds in it. I made excellent margaritas.

It also inspired me to make strawberry ice cream. I followed the general recipe from the Ben & Jerry’s Orange Dream Ice Cream that I’ve made before, substituting this strawberry blend for the orange concentrate. The result was the tastiest Strawberry Ice Cream I’ve ever had.

Strawberry Ice Cream
Adapted from Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book

• 2 large or extra large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups of heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup of milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup strawberry margarita mix
• 1 cup of fresh strawberries, finely chopped (I used the chopping capabilities of our stick blender)

1. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream and milk and whisk to blend. Add the vanilla extract and strawberry mix and blend again.

2. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker. Add while the mixer is on the low setting, then turn it up to high. When the mixture is almost finished (about 1-2 minutes before it’s completely frozen) add the chopped strawberries to the mix.

When it’s done in the ice cream machine, the ice cream will be the consistency of soft-serve. Freeze for at least two hours for a solid, scoopable ice cream.

My little  sister does not have very exacting tastes. She likes spaghetti, and cheeseburgers, and Skittles, and Diet Coke. And she likes Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies. Rather adorably, she pronounces them Oitmeal Cream Pies. (Oatmeal starts like Ointment in Liz’s world–no one knows why or how that started).

You might think from this story that Liz is about 7 years old. In reality, she’s 21. Though to be fair, her tastes haven’t changed too much since she was 7 years old. That’s just fine with me, for the most part. She likes what she likes, and she’s pretty straightforward about it.

Last weekend, my 21 year old sister took and passed the exam to become a Licensed Massage Therapist. Congratulations to her, right? Congratulations, indeed. To celebrate, I set about making her favorite treat. They turned out to be a delicious, delicious sucess.

Little Debbie Style Oatmeal Cream Pies
Adapted from backtothecuttingboard.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats

Cream Filling

• 2 tsp very hot water
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 (7.5 ounce) jar marshmallow cream
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a bowl.

2. In a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars. Add in eggs, one at a time. Finally beat in molasses and vanilla.

3. Slowly add the flour mixture to creamed mixture and beat until just blended; mix in the oats with a wooden spoon.

4. Drop dough by tablespoons. I used a tablespoon sized cookie scoop to make sure that my cookies were the same size–important when you’re going to sandwich them together! Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, at 350 degrees (F) for 10-12 minutes, or until just starting to brown around the edges. They will look moist; do not overcook them. Let sit on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

5. While the cookies bake, prepare the cream filling. In a small bowl, dissolve the salt in the hot water.

6. Combine marshmallow cream, shortening, powdered sugar, salt water, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; mix on high until fluffy–about 3-4 minutes).

7. When cookies are completely cooled, spread filling on flat side of one cookie, press 2nd cookie on top.

8. Enjoy!

Note: I’d love to tell you how to store them, but I’ve made them twice now, and neither batch lasted longer than 24 hours. This recipe yields about 2 dozen sandwich cookies.

There’s a lot of David’s favorite foods floating around this blog these days. The fajitas, the potica, the bruschetta…and now cinnamon rolls. David loves cinnamon rolls. But really, who doesn’t?

Along with potica, this was one of those things that we were waiting for more counter space. Now that we have it, I finally decided to bake some up. I borrowed this recipe from Kristen at Dine & Dish. The recipe was relatively easy to follow, and the cinnamon rolls were extremely tasty. I’m interested in trying other recipes, to see what difference they make in the final product, but overall, I was very happy with this recipe, and I probably would make it again.

Saturday Morning Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted from Dine & Dish

For the dough:

1. Proof yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water, with 1 teaspoon sugar added; Set aside for five minutes.
2. Put milk, sugar, salt, and about one cup flour in a bowl of a stand mixer, and beat with the paddle attachment until well-mixed.
   
3. Add eggs and yeast mixture and a couple cups of flour and beat again, until combined.
   
4. Switch to the dough hook. Add the soft butter and the rest of the flour, adding the rest of flour very slowly, while the mixer is running. Continue needing with the dough hook until all flour has been incorporated and dough is firm.
   
5. Turn the dough out onto a floured counter, and knead the ball of dough until it is smooth and satiny, adding only enough to keep if from sticking.
6. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease all sides.
7. Let rise in warm place until double, about an hour,covering bowl with a towel or plastic wrap.
8. Punch down, kneading for about 30 seconds to remove bubbles; Cover and let rise again.
9. Punch down dough again.
10. Cut with a knife into four parts, and shape into balls; Roll each ball into a 8 X 14 inch rectangle.
11. Spread the dough with about 3 tablespoons butter, leaving far edge unbuttered.
12. Spread with one fourth the cinnamon sugar mixture.
13. Roll up; roll tightly; Pinch edges; Cut into slices.
14. Place in greased pan and let rise until double in size, 45-60 minutes.
15. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.
16. Frost with softened cream cheese frosting.
    

Note: This recipe makes about 2 dozen cinnamon rolls—enough that David’s been eating them for breakfast every morning since! He’s not complaining though.

The original recipe called for all of the mixing and kneading to be done by hand. I adapted it for the Stand Mixer. I also sprinkled two of the dough quarters with chopped walnuts, for a change of pace. They were good, but David thinks “pecans would have been better,” so we’ll probably try that next time.

Everyone knows that over-ripe bananas mean banana bread. So when I found myself with an apartment full of guests and several over-ripe bananas, I decided to throw some together last weekend. And it was pretty near close to perfect, if I do say so myself. It made the whole place smell amazing!

Banana Bread
adapted from Molly Wizenberg’s “A Homemade Life”

• 6 Tbs unsalted butter (I used salted, because that’s what we keep on hand).
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cps mashed bananas (from about 3 large ripe bananas)
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup walnut halves

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Line a loaf pan (9 X 5 inches) with parchment paper

3. Now take your butter, put it in a skillet or a small pot and melt it on a relatively low heat.

4. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, the sugar, the baking soda, the salt, the ginger and the cinnamon.

5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs lightly. Add the mashed banana, the buttermilk, the cooled butter, and vanilla and stir to mix well.

6.  Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and stir gently with a rubber spatula until it’s just combined (don’t overmix). Gently stir in the walnuts. Now scrape it into the prepared loaf pan.

7. Bake it in the oven for about an hour and 15 minutes until a tester comes clean.

8. Cool the loaf in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes then let it rest on a cooling rack until completely cooled. If you can.

Potica is a traditional Slovenian pastry made with flaky dough and a sweet nut filling. You might be wondering what I’m doing making Potica, which is a reasonable question.

I suppose it started with my mom, who loves the stuff. It’s not exactly easy to find in stores, so she was always estatic to find someone had brought it to work for a holiday treat or for sale at a baked goods table at some event.

Then there’s my husband. He goes crazy for Potica. Both sides of his family make it, he grew up eating it…and for about as long as I’ve been cooking with him, he’s wanted me to learn how to make it. My standard response was that we didn’t have the counterspace, and while that used to be true, it’s not any longer. So it was time to learn to make Potica.

David was happy to organize the event, by purchasing a not-so-subtle three pounds of walnuts from Costco, and inviting his mom over to teach me. So it came to be that Dave’s mom came over a couple of weeks ago, with well-used loaf pans and a couple of worn, aged recipe cards (one for the dough, one for the filling).

She maintains that the recipe is not enough–you need to be taught to make this tricky pastry, and I certainly understand her point. For one, the recipe is an old family affair that involves measurements like “enough milk” and “just enough flour.” For two, it really was tricky work, stretching the dough so super thin. (Literally, thin enough to read a newspaper through!). No rolling pin will get you to dough that thin, it’s got to be done by hand. I was very grateful to have an experienced player in the kitchen, let me tell you.

Was it worth it, in the end? I have to say yes. For one, it’s a favorite of David’s, along with my mom and my granny, three people I love very deeply. And the look on my mom’s face when she realized what I was handing her was priceless. I also enjoyed hearing how much Granny liked it. In some ways, I’m not looking forward to the work that the next batch will require, but at the same time, I’m looking forward to making a batch on my own.

Plus, since David ran out last week, I expect I’ll be seeing another not-so-subtle bag of walnuts from Costco any time now.

Potica (Walnut Pastry)
Makes 4 large rolls

For the Filling:

• 3 sticks butter
• 1 cup honey
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 to 2 cups of milk, divided
• 2 lbs ground walnuts (I ground them using the fine plate on our Food Grinder attachment for the KitchenAid mixer).

For the Dough:

• 12 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 sticks margarine (melted)
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 4 eggs, well-beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1  packet of dry active yeast, or the equivalent

1. In a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and add honey, sugar, and salt.

2. Beat the eggs with 1/2 cup milk and add to the nut mixture.

3. Add more milk, a little at a time, until the nut paste is smooth enough to spread. You’ll probably need about a cup of milk, but it could be more.

4. Cook for 15 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly to avoid the paste sticking to the bottom. Let stand for at least an hour at room temperature while preparing the potica dough.

5. To make the dough, heat margarine, sugar, and salt together in a small saucepan pan over medium-low heat.

6. Beat the 4 eggs with 1 cup of milk. Add a small amount of the margarine mixture to the beaten eggs and whisk to slowly raise the temperature of the eggs. Remove from heat and add the egg mixture to the margarine in the sauce pan. Whisk constantly to keep the eggs from curdling. Set aside, away from heat, and allow to rest until the mixture is cool to the touch.

7. Dissolve yeast  in 1/2 cup of warm water with a teaspoon of sugar. Stir into milk mixture.

8. Add 6 cups of flour to the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment. Add the milk/yeast mixture and mix until just combined. Fit your mixer with a dough hook, and mix on high.

9. Add additional flour about a cup at a time as the dough hook begins to shape the dough. When the dough is a smooth ball, but still sticky to the touch, turn the dough out onto a counter covered with flour.

10. Knead the dough, adding flour as necessary, until smooth. Place the dough in a bowl,  cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to give the dough a chance to rise. Let rise for about an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.

12. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

11. Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, work to roll and stretch the dough to a rectangle, about 1/16th of an inch thick. Work carefully so as not to put holes in the dough. When the dough is thin enough it will be almost translucent. Carefully spread with one quarter of the nut mixture, and carefully roll up the dough. Place on a baking sheet, covered with a towel, and allow to rise for at least 10-15 more minutes. Repeat until all four rolls have been made.

7. Place each roll on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You can put two rolls on one full size baking sheet, but be sure to leave space between them. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour, until the dough is golden brown and the filling is set. The roll will be firm to the touch when the potica is done.

8. Allow to cool completely before slicing into 1 inch thick slices to serve. Potica rolls stay fresh for about a week if wrapped well, but can be frozen as well.

You like Rice Krispies treats?

Yeah, that’s what this is–but with Froot Loops. And it tastes exactly like you’d expect: fruity (frooty?), gooey, sweet, basically just a tasty treat. And easy too.

By the way, this was pretty much David’s experiment. I would’ve used Rice Krispies.

Froot Loops Treats

• 3 tablespoons  butter or margarine
• 1 package (10 oz., about 40)  regular marshmallows
• 6 cups Froot Loops cereal

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

2. Add Froot Loops cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.