raspberry lime sorbet

I made some raspberry lime sorbet this last weekend and it was delicious! Very limey so if you wanted to, cut out some of the lime juice so it's not so strong.  The amount of raspberries is perfect as is.  Be warned, this recipe takes some time to make as you have to let it sit several times throughout the process.

Raspberry Lime Sorbet

·   1 Cup Sugar

·   1 Cup Water

·   8 oz fresh, ripe raspberries

·   4 limes

Directions

1. Zest the 4 limes and add the zest to a pan with the cup of sugar

2. Boil water and add 1 cup of boiling water to the sugar and lime zest mixture. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and let sit for 30 minutes.

3. Strain the lime zest out and put the liquid back in the pan. Add the raspberries and bring to a boil.

4. Remove from heat and whisk until the raspberries are broken up. Put in the refrigerator to cool. Once cool add the lime juice.

[You can put it all through the sieve to get rid of the raspberry seeds and any tiny bits of the lime pulp.]

5. Toss it in your ice cream maker and let it do its job!  Put into a container and let harden further in the freezer.

lime pie

The other day we bought a bag of limes at Costco with the intention of making key lime pie.  Little did I know you actually needed key limes to do so.  Instead we found a key lime pie recipe and just used our normal limes and the result was fantastic.  I have always found key lime pie to be rather sour so this pie was just tart enough for me without being unpleasant.  The recipe I used is also ridiculously easy, so if you enjoy a good lime pie, make it!

Ingredients:
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 cans sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup fresh lime juice (we used 7 limes)
- 1 graham cracker crust (or shortbread crust)

Directions:
1. Beat the egg yolks together before adding the sweetened condensed milk and lime juice.  Mix well.
2. Pour into graham cracker crust.
3. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.
4. Refrigerate for several hours for best results.
5. Serve with whipped cream and lime wedges!

peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Last night my sister decided that since we had finished off all the desserts in the house, we should make some more.  We searched through some of my favorite cookbooks as well as pinterest for inspiration and decided on this somewhat healthier version of a cookie.  It doesn't have any flour or butter and instead has peanut butter and oatmeal. 

*The original recipe I found through pinterest is here.  I made some changes to it and loved it so my recipe is what follows.

Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter (or chunky)
1/2 cup brown sugar (dark or light)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
2/3 cup oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips - I used milk chocolate and they were great but you could use semi-sweet

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease or spray your cookie sheet.
2. In a large bowl cream the peanut butter, brown sugar, vanilla and eggs until light.
3. Add the oatmeal and baking soda, mixing until well incorporated.  Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
4. Using a cookie dough scoop or about a tablespoon of dough, place the cookie dough on the cookie sheet. The batter is pretty sticky so my cookie dough scoop was perfect and a lot less messy.
5. Bake for about ten minutes, or until the edges are nicely browned. 

*The recipe makes about a dozen and a half cookies but it would be easy to double it.

Enjoy!