Mama's High Strung ® Raspberry Archives

Chocolate Almond Meringue Cookies

February5

These Chocolate Almond Meringue Cookies are light as air and so very sweet… just like being in love!

Deliciously rich chocolate blended with almond butter holds the two cloud-like meringue cookies together. Oh, and they are gluten-free!

If you’ve never made meringue before here are a few important things to remember:

Make this recipe when it’s not humid or rainy. Moisture makes meringues sticky.
The egg whites should be at room temperature so you get more volume.
Use superfine sugar so it dissolves easily into the egg whites.
Make sure the beaters and bowls are grease free.
Always beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together before adding the sugar.
Add the sugar slowly… very slowly… so the meringue fluffs up.
Use parchment paper when baking the meringues so they don’t stick to the sheet pan.

I tinted the meringue for the Chocolate Almond Meringue Cookies with food coloring and added raspberry flavoring. Cherry, strawberry or even vanilla would pair nicely with the chocolate almond filling.

You’ll fall in love with these little bites of heaven. Get the recipe here!

posted under Plated + Served, Recipe Box | No Comments »

Raspberry Whipped Cream Puffs

August7

Today is National Raspberries and Cream Day!

Please don’t confuse this momentous day of celebration with National Raspberry Cream Pie Day (that was August 1)… or National Raspberry Cake Day (that’s observed on July 31)… or National Raspberry Popover Day (long passed… May 3)… or National Raspberry Bombe Day (that’s not until next week).

(Come to think of it…who comes up with these “National Days” anyway?)

This is the day to buy pints and pints of beautifully luscious raspberries and pair them with rich, sweet cream for your own little bit of heaven on earth. Move fast because raspberry season officially ends in just a few weeks.

Raspberries are low in saturated fat and cholesterol and a great source of fiber, vitamin C and magnesium. But you won’t be thinking of that when you dive into these incredible Raspberry Whipped Cream Puffs.

I flavored the whipping cream with raspberry jam, which really makes the filling smooth and creamy (no seeds in sight but lots of raspberry flavor). You can make the puffs the day before and store them in an airtight container. Don’t fill them until just before serving so they don’t get soggy.

Now get moving! You have no time to waste…there’s another raspberry holiday right around the corner!

Raspberry Whipped Cream Puffs

prep: 45 minutes
cook: 45 minutes

makes 8 to 10 4-inch puffs

for the Puffs you’ll need:
1 cup water
8 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs
¼ cup powdered sugar

for the Raspberry Cream you’ll need…
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons raspberry jam
2 pints fresh raspberries

let’s get to it…
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with anti-stick spray; set aside. Move oven racks oven center. Heat oven to 400°F.
Heat the water, butter and salt in a medium saucepan on medium-high heat until the butter melts; remove from heat. Add the flour all at once. Return to low heat and stir until the dough forms a ball. Remove from heat and let the dough cool for 5 minutes.
Stir the eggs into the dough one at a time until the mixture is glossy and smooth (I used an electric stand mixer to make the tough job go faster). Spoon the dough into large, rounded mounds, 2-inches apart. I used a ½ cup measuring cup so they would all be the same size.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the puffs are golden brown (they will sound hollow when tapped). Prick each with a skewer to let steam escape. Cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle evenly with powdered sugar. Slice off the tops and remove the centers; set aside.
Whip cream on medium high for 1-minute. Add raspberry jam and beat on high speed for 1 minute. Taste the whipped cream. Add more raspberry jam if desired. Continue beating whipped cream until stiff peaks form.
Spoon whipped cream evenly onto bottom of halved cream puffs. Top with 3 or 4 fresh raspberries. Replace tops and serve immediately.

Cook’s Tip: Wait to fill the puffs just before serving so they don’t get soggy!

Make it Fancy: Place a star tip on the end of pastry bag and fill with the Raspberry Whipped Cream. Fill the bottom half of the cream puffs and proceed as directed above.

If you liked this recipe, here are some more great recipes with raspberries:

Coconut Raspberry Ice Pops

Black and Red Raspberry Tarts

Raspberry Jam Cookies

posted under Plated + Served, Recipe Box | 13 Comments »

Coconut Raspberry Ice Pops

July14

These days you’re lucky if the ice cream truck passes through your neighborhood.

Really lucky. When I was younger, we would chase the “ice cream man” down the street so we could find a little relief from the scorching West Texas sun. I can still taste that deliciously cold coconut ice pop and feel it slowly dripping down my hand.

Pure magic.

Sadly, there are no trucks in our neighborhood. But I can still recreate a little bit of the fun with these Coconut Raspberry Ice Pops. I added fruit because it really makes the cold treats POP! Major bonus: these are gluten-free, lactose-free and vegan! I submitted this recipe to the Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck. Check it out!

For this recipe, I used Nopro’s Ice Pop Maker that makes 10 3-ounce ice pops. If you don’t have an ice pop mold, go old-school and pour them into a paper cup or an ice cube tray.

What memories. What magic.

If you like ice cream (and who doesn’t?) you’ll probably enjoy these posts:

Easy Ice Cream Peach Pie

Mini-Chocolate Doughnut Ice Cream Sandwiches

Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches

Coconut Raspberry Ice Pops

prep: 15 minutes (plus 5 hours or more in the freezer)

you’ll need… ¾ cup coconut water
¼ cup sugar
1 can (12.5 ounces) coconut milk (low-fat or lite work well, too!)
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup shredded coconut
1 cup frozen or fresh raspberries

makes about 8 to 10 pops, depending on the size of your mold

let’s get to it…
Stir coconut water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves. TASTE the mixture… if you like it sweeter, add more sugar a tablespoons at a time. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes.
Pour coconut milk, vanilla and shredded coconut into a blender container. Pulse blend for 30-seconds to 1 minute. Add the cooled coconut water and sugar mixture to the blender and pulse blend for 30 seconds.
Divide raspberries evenly between pop molds (about 1 tablespoon each pop, more or less depending on the size of the berries). Pour the coconut mixture evenly into each mold. Insert sticks and freeze until solid, about 5 hours.

Tip: Blueberries, black berries and strawberries also work great!

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posted under Plated + Served, Recipe Box | 21 Comments »

Kitchen Think: Fed Up With Dannon’s Misleading Labels

July24

There are bugs in some of Dannon’s “Fruit on the Bottom” brand yogurts… and Dannon knows it.

But it’s not the bugs that bother me, it’s the deception. Let me explain.

Dr. Michael F. Jacobson, Mama’s friend from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, tells me that Dannon uses cochineal beetles as food coloring in its yogurt.

Dead cochineal beetles are dried and pulverized and made into a red extract known as carmine, that goes into Dannon’s Fruit on the Bottom strawberry, raspberry, cherry and boysenberry yogurts. It’s also used in the Oikos Greek Strawberry Yogurt, two flavors marketed under Dannon’s Light and Fit Greek brand line, and six Activia brand yogurts.

Dannon does it to save money by replacing red berries or cherries with the insect food coloring. And I’ll admit that this is MUCH BETTER than using red food dye or other artificial food coloring.

My problem is that Dannon doesn’t disclose that the ingredient “carmine (for color)” on the label comes from cochineal beetles. That’s just wrong.

We have the right to know EVERY ingredient in a product, especially since the Food and Drug Administration requires companies to disclose cochineal beetles or carmine in their ingredients (mostly due to allergy issues). But vegetarians should also know that there’s “meat” in their yogurt.

Starbucks went through this last year when the company disclosed that the beetles were used in their Frappuccinos and other beverages. They’ve since stopped using carmine.

Cochineal extract is used in an amazing amount of food products including spices, meats, sausages, jams, gelatins, desserts, icing, juices… the list goes on and on. Fine—just put cochineal beetles in the ingredient list on the side of the package. I know it’s not appetizing, but it IS the truth.

If what Dannon is doing bugs you, sign this petition asking the company to choose berries over beetles!

posted under Fed Up, The Kitchen Think | 2 Comments »

Hi…
I’m Christina Chavez

I was a TV journalist for many years, but with a house full of kids I decided to come off the road, go to culinary school and follow my passion for cooking. Mama’s High Strung is all about food… everything from creative recipe ideas to some really cool kitchen gadgets and cooking tips. I live in Chicago, but I love to travel and write about my food discoveries! You can reach me by email: mamashighstrung@gmail.com