busy, busy!

Happy Saturday! Today will be a very busy day here.  I'm all set up to go down to Handcrafter's Hall  in Newburyport, MA to set up a table in the entryway of the store.  This is a wonderful opportunity for artisans as they are the first display customers will see when they enter the store.  I hope to get a few pictures to share tomorrow :) 

http://www.handcraftershall.com/. 

Yesterday as I was getting my things together for my display table, I also finished up an large order for Little Birdie Cupcake Toppers, as well as for my newest addition to my Little Birdie line ~ party hats!  I haven't added them to my shop as an item yet, but that will be coming in a few days. They are customizable, can be made to match the cupcake toppers, and can be as fancy or plain as you like :)

If you'd like more details about my Little Birdie items click here:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/52370528/little-birdie-cake-toppers-and-or

Well I'm off to begin my day.  Have a good one :)

♥ Paula

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summer sweets

Normally I am all for chocolate desserts, cookies, cakes, cupcakes etc., but while browsing through blogs the other day I inadvertantly found a recipe for "Blackberry Pie Bars".  Something about this recipe made me feel like I HAD to make these.

I found some nice big blackberries and began baking, unsure of what the outcome would be.  With me it could go either way ~ good or bad :)  I have to say the results were so delicious that I decided I must share this amazing recipe! 

Blackberry Pie Bars

adapted from Rebecca Rather, The Pastry Queen

Crust and Topping

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled

Fruit Filling

4 large eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup flour

pinch salt

zest of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp almond extract
2 (16-oz) packages frozen blackberries, thawed and drained {I used fresh} 

To make the crust and topping, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to mix. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes, and add to the flour mixture. Process until the butter is evenly distributed but the mixture is still crumbly, 30-60 seconds.

Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the mixture to use as the topping. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan, and bake 12-15 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes.

To make the filling, whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then add the sugar, sour cream, flour, salt, lemon zest, and almond extract. Gently fold in the berries and spoon the mixture over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture evenly over the filling, and bake 45 to 55 minutes.

Cool at least 1 hour before cutting into bars, or scoop out of the pan to serve cobbler-style.

http://www.pink-parsley.com/2011/05/ppq-blackberry-pie-bars.html

~~~~~~ 

This dessert was so amazingly yummy that I returned to this same blog to look through all the different recipes available.  If your looking to try something new, I highly recommend visiting this blog as well.  Here is the link to the home page ~ http://www.pink-parsley.com/.  Enjoy :)

♥ Paula

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