Raspberry Lemonade

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
Extra sugar for the rim of your glass
Directions:

Bring the cup of water to a boil. Add the sugar and stir constantly for one minute until sugar is thoroughly dissolved; remove from heat and add to a blender with raspberries. Puree until smooth. Add puree to 2-quart container with lemon juice and enough water to make 2 quarts. Chill before serving. Serve over ice in sugared glasses.

To sugar your glass, run one of your lemon rinds around the edge of the glass to moisten. Dip rim into dry sugar until coated to your liking.
Makes 2 quarts

Raspberry Lemon Cheescake

Crust Ingredients:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Directions:
In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs and 1 tablespoon of sugar and melted butter. Evenly divide the crumbs between your individual serving dishes and press into the bottoms of the dishes to form a crust layer.

Filling Ingredients:2/3 cup sugar
zest of 2 lemons
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) tub frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 cup fresh raspberries, slightly mashed with a fork

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and lemon zest until the sugar becomes moist and fragrant. Add cream cheese and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add lemon juice and vanilla mixing to combine. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped topping until well blended, then fold in the raspberries.
Evenly pipe or spoon the filling into individual serving dishes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. If desired, garnish with fresh raspberries.

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade with Raspberry Ice Cubes

Ingredients

Raspberry ice cubes
1 cup water
½ cup sugar
1 pint raspberries

Simple syrup
1 cup sugar
4 to 5 cups water
8 lemons, juiced

Directions

Raspberry ice cubes
1. To make the raspberry ice cubes, add one cup of water and half cup of sugar to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Once boiling, add the raspberries and let cook for about five minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and use a potato masher or fork to gently mash the raspberries. You want some of them to stay mostly intact and others to let out their delicious red juices.
4. Let cool for about 20 minutes, and then pour the raspberries and syrup juice into ice cube trays.
5. Allow four to six hours for complete freezing. Makes 30 to 36 ice cubes.

Simple syrup
1. For the simple syrup, add one cup of sugar and one cup of water and bring to a boil, stirring once or twice.
2. Then remove from heat and let cool for 20 minutes before adding to the lemon juice.
3. Juice the lemons and pour the juice into the serving pitcher.
4. Dilute with three to four cups of water, depending on how strong you like your lemonade.
5. Stir in the slightly cooled simple syrup and refrigerate for at least two hours.
6. Serve the fresh squeezed lemonade with raspberry ice cubes.

Raspberry Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcakes:

1 1/4 cups cake flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup oil (vegetable, canola or extra light olive oil)

1/2 cup buttermilk

(or 1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice- add acid to the milk then set aside for 5 minutes before using)

Directions-

 Preheat oven to 350*F.

 In a medium bowl, add cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together with whisk, and set aside.

 In the bowl of an electric mixer, add eggs and beat 10-20 seconds. Add sugar and continue to beat on medium speed about 30 seconds. Add vanilla and oil, beat.

 Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add about half of the flour mixture. Add half of the milk, then the rest of the flour and the rest of the milk. Beat until just combined. Scrap down the side of the bowl.

The batter will be thin. Pour batter into a muffin pan prepared with paper liners. Fill liners about 2/3 full.

Bake cupcakes in pre-heated oven for 12-14 minutes.

Cool in pan 1-2 minutes, then remove cupcakes from pan (carefully) and finish cooling on a wire rack.

Frost as desired when fully cool. 

* Feel free to use this recipe for a cake as well. The recipe above will work for a 6″ cake. Double the recipe for an 8″ or 9″ cake.

* A note about Cake Flour- Cake Flour has a lower protein content than traditional all-purpose flour, which results in a more tender, delicate crumb in the finished product. If you can not find or access cake flour, feel free to substitute as necessary, but your results will vary from the original recipe.

Raspberry Buttercream Frosting:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
8 oz (1 block) cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons fresh raspberry puree (from about 1/2 cup fresh raspberries)
Directions:
In the bowl of a large electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth.
Add the cream cheese, and beat further until the butter and cream cheese are fully incorporated and smooth.
With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time.
Add vanilla.
Again, with the mixer on low, add the raspberry puree, one tablespoon at a time.
Continue beating, increasing speed to medium for about 30 seconds.
Depending on the temperature in your kitchen, and the moisture in your berries, the frosting may be on the soft side. I put the whole bowl of finished frosting in the refrigerator for about 1 hour to help the frosting firm up. If needed, you could add an additional cup of powdered sugar.

Raspberry Pretzel Jello Dessert

6 oz package Raspberry Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
2 cups pretzels
1/4 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1 (8oz) package cream cheese – softened
1 (8oz) package Cool Whip – thawed
1 cup sugar
1 bag frozen raspberries – thawed in refrigerator

Directions:
1. Combine 6 Oz packet of Jell-O with 2 cups of boiling water and set aside to cool to room temperature.
2. Crush 2 cups of pretzels in a ziploc bag, using a rolling pin.
3. Melt 1 stick of butter than add 1/4 cup sugar in saucepan. Add pretzels and mix together
4. Lightly press pretzel mix into a 13×9 -inch pyrex dish and bake for 10 minutes at 350°F, then cool to room temperature.
5. While pretzel mix is cooling down, beat 8 oz of cream cheese and 1 cup sugar on medium/low speed until well-combined.
6. Next, stir in Cool Whip using a spatula and mix until well combined.
7. Spread mixture over cooled pretzels and go all the way to the edges of the dish to create a seal. You don’t want the jello to leak into the pretzels. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
8. Place raspberries evenly on top of the cream filling..
9. Pour Jell-O over raspberries and refrigerate until jello is set.

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

Ingredients for the fruit salsa:
2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 Golden Delicious apples – peeled, cored and diced
8 oz raspberries
1 (16 oz) carton of strawberries, diced
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp fruit preserves, any flavor (I used strawberry; would only use 2 tbsp next time)

for the cinnamon chips:
10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
melted butter or butter flavored cooking spray

cinnamon sugar:
1 cup white sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon

Instructions:

1.    In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar, and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes while the oven preheats to 350 degrees.

2.    Coat one side of each flour tortilla with melted butter or butter flavored cooking spray. Sprinkle tortillas with desired amount of cinnamon sugar, cut into wedges, and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Spray again with cooking spray (not necessary if using melted butter).

3.    Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture. This salsa can also be served with cinnamon graham crackers or cinnamon pita chips. Best when made and eaten the same day otherwise the fruit gives off so too much juice and it gets runny.

 

The Inn at Temple Square Raspberry Honey Butter

½ lb. butter, room temperature
4 ounces honey
4 ounces good-quality raspberry preserves
½ tsp. vanilla
In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to whip the butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add the honey while mixing. Add the raspberry preserves and vanilla. Continue to whip until completely mixed. (You may have to beat it for a little while if it has separated.)

Raspberry Butter

1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened
1 cup cup Raspberry jam (i use seedless)
1/4 cup Fresh Raspberries
Squeeze of honey
1/8-1/4 tsp of vanilla extract

Mix in your mixer until fluffy, serve on homemade bread or rolls!