The Leah Stamp of Approval

The theme of this week seems to be summing up what I did over the summer.  It is the first week back to school for most of the kids around here - so I guess a "What I Did This Summer" essay isn't a completely awful idea. :)  I made several new recipes this summer and wanted to share them with you.  Today, I have 5 recipes I made from Pinterest.  I'm only sharing the pins because I never took pictures.  But you can rest assured that these recipes all have the Leah Stamp of Approval.

These no-bake bars are a pretty good alternative to no-bake cookies.  I made these for a church potluck and they were well received.  

Notes:

I used butter instead of coconut oil because I don't have any coconut oil.

I skipped the nuts mix-ins part.  Because I don't have any of those things.  Or like any of those things.  

These muffins are phenomenal.  No other words.  

Notes:

I highly recommend using baking cups, because these will want to stick to the muffin pan and then you'll have broken muffins.  They're still delicious, but not as pretty. 

I have never purchased buttermilk in my life but you can always substitute either an equal amount of plain yogurt, or an equal amount of milk with a splash of lemon juice thrown in (let it sit for 10 minutes before you use it).  

And also, frozen blueberries work just fine and you don't need to thaw them first.  I promise.

And finally, what is with recipes calling for unsalted butter and then a small amount of salt?  

For my dad's birthday, I made him a Variety Box of Scones.  They included blueberry scones, these strawberry ones, and the next recipe (for nectarine scones).  These strawberry ones were super delicious.  I must say, though, that without the glaze (I used the strawberry glaze variation), they're really not that strawberry-y.

Notes:

Salt thing again.  Seriously.

I did not have any heavy cream, so I found a substitution online involving melted butter and milk.  It will not whip like heavy cream, but seems to do the trick in baking, because they turned out just fine.

I also do not have any turbinado or raw sugar.  I brushed them with melted butter and sprinkled regular sugar on top.

After first tasting these scones, Caleb's first reaction was "They're really good, but it tastes like a biscuit with a teeny bit of jam and nutmeg on top."  Which is fairly accurate.  But I wanted these to be desserty, not something you'd use to mop up your leftover spaghetti sauce.  I had a lemon glaze prepared from the blueberry scones, so I applied just a dab of it to each scone.  This made all the difference!  The nutmeg is delicious, so don't skip that part!

Notes:

Again, I had no heavy cream, so I used the melted butter and milk substitution. 

I'm also not sure how she only made 14 scones if she made them in 2 inch rounds.  I used a floured jar to punch out rounds about 2 inches each, and I made at least 30 of these!

These are the piece de resistance of this post.  These were so fabulous they changed my life.  You think I'm kidding, but these are life-changing muffins.  I made them with raspberries and black raspberries we found in our backyard.  The combination is so so so so perfect.  Please just make them!

Notes:

Again, I don't really buy buttermilk ever, so I used milk + lemon juice as a substitute.

I added extra lemon zest to the muffins because I love lemon.  And I've spent the last several years building up an immunity to lemon.

I also added a little lemon zest to the glaze.

So there you have it.  The 5 recipes I tried from Pinterest this summer to which I give the Leah Stamp of Approval.

I'd love to know which recipes you tried from Pinterest this summer.  And if you try any of these and love them, let me know!  (If you hate them, I don't want to hear about it.) :)

Love and Lemon,

Leah Joy