Category: Dessert

Recipes for desserts.

Categories
Dessert Side Dish

My memory about peach season got a bit fuzzy this year

Peach cornbread is a new take on classic cornbread, featuring juicy pops of fruit throughout the sweet corn cake. It would be great served drizzled with honey or just with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Peach cornbread is a new take on classic cornbread, featuring juicy pops of fruit throughout the sweet corn cake. It would be great served drizzled with honey or just with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I got a bit overzealous about fresh peaches back in June.

It was hot. It felt fully like summer, and when I saw a bag of them at the grocery store, I snapped them up.

And they were, well, fine.

I mean, they were juicy and fresh, but they lacked a lot of flavor.

It dawned on me that, despite the summer months being upon us, it was most certainly not quite peach season, and while these looked pretty, they were not the peaches I normally looked forward to in late July and early August.

So, I saved the recipe I’m sharing with you for the proper part of the summer, because while it turned out pretty well with my less-than-flavorful peaches, I’m convinced a late-summer peach would up the wow factor quite a bit with this one.

It’s a bit of a non-traditional way to use peaches, but if you’re tired of cobblers and pies, this might be a good alternative to use up the last few, if you bought a box this year.

This comes from the blog “Butter and Baggage” by Barbara Curry. You can find her original recipe at https://www.butterandbaggage.com/peach-cornbread/. I didn’t add extras in this one, but I did adjust the pan size a bit when I made this.

Print

Peach Cornbread

Peach cornbread is a new take on classic cornbread, featuring juicy pops of fruit throughout the sweet corn cake. It would be great served drizzled with honey or just with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Course Dessert, Side Dish
Keyword buttermilk, cast iron skillet, cornbread, cornmeal, fresh peaches, sugar

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk or a scant cup milk, topped with vinegar
  • 4 tablespoons butter divided
  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups fresh diced peaches

Instructions

  • Place a nine- to 12-inch cast iron pan in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  • While the pan heats, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, and two tablespoons of the (melted) butter in a mixing bowl.
  • Whisk in the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt until everything is well-incorporated.
  • Fold the peaches into the batter.
  • When the oven is preheated, carefully remove the pan, and melt the other two tablespoons of butter in the pan, swirling to coat it.
  • Add the batter, spreading it out evenly, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Serve warm on its own or drizzled with honey or alongside some vanilla ice cream.

This was good. The sweetness from the corn played well with the sweetness from the fruit, and having the diced peaches throughout led to some nice pops of flavor.

It was a nice change of pace for how to incorporate peaches into something new, too.

And while my first attempt wasn’t quite as spectacular as it could have been, I’m looking forward to trying it again with some actually in-season peaches.

As they say, good things come to those who wait.

This piece first appeared in print Aug. 13, 2026.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

It never ‘a curd’ to me that this lemon dessert was worth a try

Lemon curd bars are a simple, fresh-tasting dessert that is perfect for a hot summer day and a great crowd pleaser for any event.
Lemon curd bars are a simple, fresh-tasting dessert that is perfect for a hot summer day and a great crowd pleaser for any event.

Every time I feel like I may have tried pretty much everything in the grocery store, I run across another ingredient I can’t believe I’ve never tasted.

For this week’s recipe, that magical ingredient was lemon curd.

I knew lemon curd existed, but I can’t remember ever buying or trying it before.

If you’re like me and a little unsure what makes something a “curd” (outside of the cheese kind), you might find a post by Dr. Neil Buttery on his website, “British Food: A History,” interesting.

He does a deep dive on fruit curds. He notes that they are a little like preserves and a little like a custard.

“Looking in the recipe books, the earliest mention of the term lemon curd I have found goes back to 1844 in The Lady’s Own Cookery Book by the splendidly named Lady Charlotte Campbell Bury,” he writes.

He goes on to say that some older recipes also call it “lemon cheese,” so who knows?

Regardless of what lemon curd actually is, I recently needed a light summer dessert for an event, and I realized I had a recipe saved that would be perfect for being out in the heat.

This recipe came from the blog “Baked by Rachel.” You can find the original post at https://www.bakedbyrachel.com/lemon-curd-blondie-bars/. I didn’t change anything, outside of adding some powdered sugar to the end.

Print

Lemon Curd Bars

Lemon curd bars are a simple, fresh-tasting dessert that is perfect for a hot summer day and a great crowd pleaser for any event.
Course Dessert
Keyword brown sugar, butter, fresh lemon, lemon curd, lemon zest, summer dessert

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup butter softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • zest of one large lemon
  • 1/4 cup lemon curd
  • 1 1/4 cup flour
  • powdered sugar for decorating

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Prepare an eight-by-eight-inch baking dish by lining it with parchment paper, leaving some hanging over the sides to help you remove the bars later.
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars until the mixture is fluffy.
  • Add in the eggs, beating between each one, then beat in the salt, baking powder, zest and lemon curd.
  • Finally, beat in the flour until everything is just combined, and spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.
  • Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges are browned.
  • Let the bars cool completely in the pan, and then use the parchment to remove and slice them. If you want to make them look a little fancier, lightly sprinkle the tops of the bars with some powdered sugar. Store the bars in an airtight container.

These were a little cake-y and perfect for a non-meltable dessert on a hot day.

The brightness of the lemon from both the zest and the curd were the stars in these bars, and I went home with exactly zero of them at the end of the night.

I’m pretty sure that would still be true if I would have made a double batch. They were very popular.

And now I have a jar of lemon curd in my fridge that I will get to experiment with. I will say, from newly acquired experience, just eating a big spoonful by itself is pretty darn delicious.

Those Brits clearly knew what they were doing.

This piece first appeared in print July 23, 2026.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

‘Lattice’ talk about blueberry pie bars

Blueberry pie bars are a delicious dessert that looks pretty without the headache of trying to roll out a round pie crust or having to break out the forks.
Blueberry pie bars are a delicious dessert that looks pretty without the headache of trying to roll out a round pie crust or having to break out the forks.

One of the best parts of post-Thanksgiving leftovers (in my humble opinion) is going to the fridge and grabbing a piece of pie to just eat with your hands over the sink.

It’s not the most elegant move, but it’s definitely one of my favorite things.

I was thinking about that experience of getting to just enjoy a piece of pie without a fork and plate when I made some fabulous pie bars recently.

I was looking for a dessert to take to an outdoor event, and while I knew there would be forks there for enjoying potato salad, I thought it would be nice to have a more of a finger food for the crowd to enjoy.

The recipe I tried comes from Cambrea Gordon’s blog “Cambrea Bakes.” You can find the original post at https://cambreabakes.com/blueberry-pie-bars. I added spices in my version.

Print

Blueberry Pie Bars

Blueberry pie bars are a delicious dessert that looks pretty without the headache of trying to roll out a round pie crust or having to break out the forks.
Course Dessert
Keyword allspice, bars, blueberry, brown sugar, canned cinnamon rolls, fresh blueberries, lemon juice, pie crust

Ingredients

  • Double pie crust
  • 2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 egg beaten
  • sugar for sprinkling on the crust

Instructions

  • Press one of the pie crusts evenly into the bottom of an eight-by-eight-inch baking pan.
  • Put the pan, along with the other crust, into the fridge while you prepare the filling.
  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • Add the blueberries, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, allspice and salt in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring regularly until the mixture comes to a boil.
  • While the mixture simmers, add the cornstarch, along with one tablespoon of water, to a small bowl and stir to dissolve the cornstarch. Add it into the blueberry mixture, and continue to stir often, letting it cook for a few more minutes until the mixture is thickened.
  • Remove it from the heat, and set it aside.
  • Bake the bottom pie crust for 20 to 30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
  • Roll out the second crust and cut it into about one-half-inch strips.
  • Weave the dough into a lattice, placing it on parchment paper and trim the lattice to an eight-by-eight square. Slide the parchment onto a baking sheet and put it in the freezer.
  • When the bottom crust is done, spread the blueberry filling evenly on top and place the lattice on top.
  • Use a pastry brush to coat the top of the lattice with the beaten egg, and then sprinkle the top liberally with sugar.
  • Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is golden and the filling is bubbling.
  • Let the bars cool completely before slicing. Store the bars in an airtight container.

These were really good, and they were gorgeous, too. My container might have been about a third empty before the burgers were even off the grill, thanks to enthusiastic party-goers.

The fresh blueberry flavor was perfect with the light, crispy crust.

And they were a great treat to eat with your hands. Even better, I was able to enjoy a bar without ever having to lean over the sink or worry about making a mess.

What a great way to savor a piece of pie.

This piece first appeared in print July 16, 2026.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

Don’t have the right fruit? Your ingredients may ‘berry’

Berry pie bars mimic a great, fruit pie taste without having to roll out any dough. While the original recipe called for blackberries, it’s delicious to use raspberries or mulberries, too.
Berry pie bars mimic a great, fruit pie taste without having to roll out any dough. While the original recipe called for blackberries, it’s delicious to use raspberries or mulberries, too.

In one of our first shopping trips together over 20 years ago, I remember Joey grabbing a bottle of ketchup off the end cap at the grocery store.

“Whoa,” I said. “Why are you buying the expensive ketchup?”

He looked perplexed.

And that was the day I probably made my then-boyfriend reconsider his relationship choices by explaining unit pricing to him.

Nowadays, he’s an expert at it. (I’d like to think I helped him grow as a person.)

I thought about that when I went to pick up blackberries for this week’s recipe and figured out that the raspberries were much, much cheaper that week.

I decided to pivot from the original ingredients list and see what happened. And, thank goodness, they were awesome.

This comes from the blog “The Novice Chef.” You can find the original recipe at https://thenovicechefblog.com/blackberry-pie-bars/. I switched out the kind of fruit and added just a little extra vanilla in my version.

Print

Berry Pie Bars

Berry pie bars mimic a great, fruit pie taste without having to roll out any dough. While the original recipe called for blackberries, it’s delicious to use raspberries or mulberries, too.
Course Dessert
Keyword bars, blackberries, brown sugar, cinnamon, easy dessert, fresh lemon, fresh raspberries, lemon juice, lemon zest, mulberries, summer dessert, vanilla

Ingredients

Crust Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • zest from one lemon
  • 1 cup cold butter cut into pieces
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 teaspoons cornstarch
  • juice from one lemon
  • 4 cups fresh raspberries/blackberries/mulberries

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and prepare a nine-by-13-inch baking pan by coating the inside with butter or cooking spray. Set it aside.
  • To make the crust and topping, add the dry ingredients to a food processor, along with the zest, and pulse to combine.
  • Add the butter, egg and vanilla, and pulse until everything it well-distributed and forms large crumbs.
  • Press half of the mixture evenly into the bottom of the baking pan.
  • For the filling, add the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice to a bowl, and stir to combine. Gently fold in the berries, being sure to coat them all in the mixture, and then carefully distribute them into the baking pan.
  • Finish by evenly crumbling the rest of the dough mixture over the top of the berries. (You won’t have full coverage. It’s OK for some of the fruit to be peeking out.)
  • Bake for 45 minutes or until the topping is lightly browned and the fruit is bubbly.
  • Let the bars cool completely before slicing and serving. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

We enjoyed these at a cook-out, and I came home with just crumbs in my pan afterwards. They were a huge hit. The raspberries were perfect in this, and I think blackberries or even mulberries would be good in there, too. They were buttery and sweet and great for a summer dessert.

And I was able to save a few dollars at my local grocery store, while making something really delicious.

For me, that was a definite win-win.

This piece first appeared in print June 11, 2026.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Cookies Dessert

‘Chew’se a chocolate-free bar cookie for your summer treat

Southern pecan chewies have a chewy, soft center, as advertised, with pops of crunchy pecans throughout. They are a great bar cookie for summer events.
Southern pecan chewies have a chewy, soft center, as advertised, with pops of crunchy pecans throughout. They are a great bar cookie for summer events.

There’s a phrase we often hear when we travel north: Minnesota Nice.

It refers to how friendly the folks in Minnesota are, and that’s especially true when you visit in the summer months. After being snowed in and freezing in sub-zero temperatures all winter, they are ready to go out and about and are happy to see any other smiling face around them.

Kansas obviously doesn’t have quite the same winter woes as Minnesota, but I do think there’s a kind of excitement when the weather warms to be social and spend time out on a porch or patio with other people.

We benefitted from some friends’ desire to host on a recent, beautiful evening.

As soon as I heard we were going to hang out and enjoy food off the grill, I knew exactly what recipe I wanted to try to bring along with us.

This recipe comes from the blog “Pear Tree Kitchen.” You can find the original at https://peartreekitchen.com/pecan-chewies/. I added extra vanilla in my version.

Print

Southern Pecan Chewies

Southern pecan chewies have a chewy, soft center, as advertised, with pops of crunchy pecans throughout. They are a great bar cookie for summer events.
Course Dessert
Keyword bar cookies, brown sugar, butter, cookie exchange, pecans, quick bar cookie, summer dessert, vanilla

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter melted
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup pecans chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • Prepare a nine-by-13-inch baking pan by spraying it with cooking spray, and set it aside.
  • Add the butter and brown sugar to a mixing bowl, and mix until it’s well combined.
  • Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Add in the flour, baking powder and salt, and mix until smooth, and finally, stir in the pecans.
  • Evenly pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the edges are browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with only moist crumbs.
  • Let the bars cool completely before slicing and serving. Store the bars in an airtight container.

These were nutty and sweet and perfect for a summer evening.

It’s nice to have some non-melty desserts in your back pocket for summer events, and these did not disappoint. They’re a little chewy and soft in the middle, and the crunchy pops of pecan are a perfect addition to these bars.

And, even better, I didn’t need to bring any leftovers home with me. They were well-loved by the assembled group.

There are few things better than sitting in a lawn chair, eating a masterfully charred burger and fresh salad, while talking with a group of interesting people, and summer in Kansas is the perfect time to do so.

This piece first appeared in print June 4, 2026.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Cookies Dessert

Oven mistake? Just keep calm and ‘berry’ on

Fresh strawberry cookies are perfect to make when ripe strawberries are in season. They feature a sugar cookie base, with pops of sweet fresh fruit throughout. They’re a perfect summer dessert.
Fresh strawberry cookies are perfect to make when ripe strawberries are in season. They feature a sugar cookie base, with pops of sweet fresh fruit throughout. They’re a perfect summer dessert.

When I graduated from college and rented my own home for the very first time, I decided that I would do my darnedest to cook meals for myself as much as possible and avoid premade stuff from the freezer section.

I remember one of the first times I fired up the stove, heating some oil to fry something or other. I was shocked to turn around and see flames shooting out of the pan.

Luckily, my mom trained me well, and I knew to smother the fire and kill the heat, but I was completely confused. I had never managed to start a fire in the kitchen before.

Then, I made some cookies for the first time and burned them to a crisp, and I suddenly realized that not all ovens are made equally—and this one could maybe double as a kiln. I had to be careful the whole time I lived there.

This week, when I made some strawberry cookies in my own oven. They were spreading out really quickly, and they were way softer than they should be. I kept trying to figure out what in the world I did wrong with the dough, even tossing it in the fridge at one point, but I should have remembered the oven lesson I learned years ago.

I made a double batch of the cookies, and each pan just kept having a strange bake. It wasn’t until I went to turn off the oven that I realized I was using the “quick bake” setting by accident. Oops.

Despite mine turning out a little weird, these cookies were really yummy and perfect for a summer get-together. The recipe comes from the blog “Luxe Beauty.” You can find the original post at https://www.beauty-luxe.com/soft-chewy-strawberry-cookies/. I added extra vanilla in my version.

Print

Fresh Strawberry Cookies

Fresh strawberry cookies are perfect to make when ripe strawberries are in season. They feature a sugar cookie base, with pops of sweet fresh fruit throughout. They’re a perfect summer dessert.
Course Dessert
Keyword butter, cookie exchange, fresh strawberries, strawberry, sugar, summer dessert, vanilla

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup fresh strawberries diced

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and prepare a couple baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper, and set them aside.
  • In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until the mixture is light yellow and fluffy.
  • Beat in the egg and vanilla, and then beat in the flour, baking soda and salt.
  • Finish by folding in the diced strawberries.
  • Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto your prepared baking sheets, leaving about two inches between each cookie.
  • Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are set and the cookies are light brown.
  • Let the cookies cool on a baking sheet before transferring them to an airtight container.

These were delicious. They had pops of fruit, combined with a very nice sugar cookie base.

And if you want them to be fall-apart soft, you can always try baking them with convection, too, although I don’t recommend it.

Luckily, our friends don’t mind some slightly ugly cookies, and they helped clean up all the evidence of my oven mishap.

I figure soft cookies are superior to the burnt kind, though, so it was probably a win. Plus, I don’t think I’ll be making that same mistake again any time soon.

This piece first appeared in print May 28, 2026.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

There’s no doubt you should cobble together dessert this week

Carrot cake cobbler is like taking a carrot cake and marrying it with a pecan pie, and its warm spices and gooey filling demand a big scoop of vanilla ice cream for serving.
Carrot cake cobbler is like taking a carrot cake and marrying it with a pecan pie, and its warm spices and gooey filling demand a big scoop of vanilla ice cream for serving.

If you didn’t know, we recently celebrated the first-ever “Local News Day” on April 9.

The effort to observe local journalists around the country came from a push in Montana. In Newton, we had a small, but mighty, group of community members who stood outside our office with signs, touting the importance of having a local newspaper. It was really neat.

What the newsroom also really appreciated was the group very kindly dropped a bunch of delicious goodies at the office, as well.

My favorite? Some carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

I absolutely adore carrot cake.

Ironically, that particular cake is the inspiration for the recipe I’m sharing with you this week for a really easy cobbler. It takes all the flavors of carrot cake and combines them with a pecan pie for an excellent dessert that must absolutely be enjoyed with a big scoop of ice cream.

This comes from the blog “The Salty Cooker.” You can find the original post at https://thesaltycooker.com/carrot-cake-cobbler-with-caramel-pecan-filling/. I added extra spices in my version.

Print

Carrot Cake Cobbler

Carrot cake cobbler is like taking a carrot cake and marrying it with a pecan pie, and its warm spices and gooey filling demand a big scoop of vanilla ice cream for serving.
Course Dessert
Keyword allspice, brown sugar, buttermilk, carrots, cinnamon, cloves, cobbler, dark corn syrup, Easter, easy dessert, ginger, nutmeg, pecans, shredded carrots, vanilla

Ingredients

Filling Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups dark corn syrup
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups pecans chopped

Cobbler Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons butter cold
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk I used milk with a touch of vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups carrots shredded

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a seven-by-10-inch baking dish, and set it aside.
  • For the filling, in a large bowl, whisk the eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice and salt until it’s well-combined. Stir in the pecans, and pour the mixture into the baking dish.
  • In another mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt and stir to combine.
  • Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry cutter until it’s well incorporated. Stir in the buttermilk, vanilla and carrots, just until it’s combined.
  • Drop scoops of the cobbler mixture evenly over the top of the filling (there will be some gaps).
  • Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the filling bubbles around the edges.
  • Rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.
  • Serve warm or room temperature, along with some vanilla ice cream.

We had this for our family Easter celebration. It was really, really good. The warm spices, along with the texture of the filling and the cobbler topping, just took it over the top.

And it was a lot less work than creating a whole cake or a batch of carrot cake muffins, which were—by the way—a great addition to the newsroom, not only because the reporters all love snacks but also because I didn’t share a single bit of this cobbler with any of them.

This piece first appeared in print April 16, 2026.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

Vintage crunch recipe gets two ‘plums’ up

This vintage recipe for plum crunch combines the rich flavor of fresh plums with the warm spice of cinnamon and the nuttiness of an oatmeal-based topping.
This vintage recipe for plum crunch combines the rich flavor of fresh plums with the warm spice of cinnamon and the nuttiness of an oatmeal-based topping.

When I look at my bookshelf of cookbooks, I often think of a lady I never got the opportunity to meet in person but whom I feel connected to through a very sweet gift: Merna Snay.

Merna, a former resident of the Mount Hope and Haven area, was a prolific cook—and by all reports, a really good one. She got the opportunity to compete in the Pillsbury bake-off on several occasions. When she downsized, many years ago, she gifted me with some amazing vintage cookbooks, and when I decide I need a challenge, I will flip through them to see if I can decipher the directions. There was a generation of authors who often wrote recipes with the assumption that anyone reading them could fill in the blanks for the parts they weren’t including.

Recently, I purchased a big bag of plums from our local grocery store, and with a gathering at our office on the horizon, I decided it was time for one of Merna’s books to come off the shelf.

The recipe I landed on is from the booklet “Rare Recipes and Budget Savers, Volume 2,” published by the Wichita Eagle in 1963.

It was originally submitted for the Home Town News column on June 26, 1962, by Mrs. T.P. Mueller. She included the following note with it: “For that little lady who is in the doghouse for the loss of her plum crunch recipe, here is one, very good, and can be used either with plums or dried prunes.”

I never lost a plum crunch recipe, but I was glad for Mrs. Mueller’s guidance, nonetheless. I did add extra cinnamon in my version.

Print

Plum Crunch

This vintage recipe for plum crunch combines the rich flavor of fresh plums with the warm spice of cinnamon and the nuttiness of an oatmeal-based topping.
Course Dessert
Keyword brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, cobbler, crumble, fresh plums, plum, quick oats, rolled oats

Ingredients

Filling Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 cups fresh plums pitted and chopped
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon butter melted
  • 1 tablespoon flour

Crunch Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups quick or rolled oats
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup butter

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease an eight-by-eight-inch baking dish with butter, and set it aside.
  • Add the plums sugar, cinnamon, butter and flour in a bowl and stir to combine well.
  • In another bowl, add the quick oats, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon, and mix to combine. Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry cutter until it is mixed throughout the crunch mixture.
  • Press half the crunch mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan, and then spread the filling mixture over top. Sprinkle the rest of the crunch mixture evenly over the top.
  • Bake for 30 minutes or until the filling is bubbling around the edges and the top is browned nicely.
  • Serve warm or room temperature. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

I doubled this recipe and baked it in a nine-by-13-inch pan. It received excellent reviews from our guests. It was sweet and cinnamon-y and home-y.

We had a bit of the crunch left over, so we ended up swirling it into a quart of ice cream, using my stand mixer, so we can enjoy it later on.

And as I crumbled the oats and spread the sugary plums, I had to think of a beautiful connection made between two women from Haven, born decades apart but sharing a love of anything homemade.

Some gifts are priceless.

This piece first appeared in print April 9, 2026.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

This traditional Indian milk sweet is simply ‘moo’velous

Pistachio barfi is a traditional milk sweet, hailing from India. This version takes the traditional recipe and makes it infinitely easier to create in your own kitchen.
Pistachio barfi is a traditional milk sweet, hailing from India. This version takes the traditional recipe and makes it infinitely easier to create in your own kitchen.

I was a pretty stereotypical kid when it came to liver and onions.

It was a “no, thank you” for me.

Actually, I’m sure I said something much less refined than that, but the message was the same.

On one occasion, my mom decided to trick my sister and me by telling us we were having steak, hoping our distaste for liver was all in our heads.

It was not.

(Good try, though, Mom.)

I was thinking about whether the name of something changes how you taste it this week when I made an Indian dessert called barfi. According to several checks I made online, yes, it is pronounced exactly how it seems it should be.

The good news is, though, the name (as it sounds in English) is nothing like the texture and flavor that it may invoke. It’s kind of like a fudge and is traditionally made with milk fats and ghee. In our case, though, this version makes the job a whole lot simpler, with excellent results.

This comes from the blog “Sanjana Feasts.” You can find the original post at https://www.sanjanafeasts.co.uk/2023/10/pistachio-barfi-recipe-2-ingredients. Because this was a two-ingredient recipe, I didn’t add or subtract anything to it.

Print

Pistachio Barfi

Pistachio barfi is a traditional milk sweet, hailing from India. This version takes the traditional recipe and makes it infinitely easier to create in your own kitchen.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Indian
Keyword dry milk, ice cream, milk powder, pistachios

Ingredients

  • 3 1/4 cups pistachio ice cream I used a pistachio honey version
  • 4 1/3 cups whole dry milk don’t use non-fat

Instructions

  • Prepare a nine-by-13-inch pan by lightly greasing the interior with oil or cooking spray, and set it aside.
  • Add the ice cream to a large skillet, set over medium low heat. Stir regularly until the ice cream is melted completely.
  • Reduce the heat to low and stir in the dry milk, making sure to fully incorporate it into the ice cream.
  • Now, continue stirring constantly, keeping the mixture on low heat for about 15 minutes. Once it has thickened into a sticky paste (kind of a thick fondant texture), remove it from the heat and transfer to the prepared pan. Spread it out evenly and press it flat.
  • Let the barfi cool completely on the countertop before cutting. I ended up putting mine in the refrigerator and cutting it cold, because it was a little less sticky to do it this way, but it does not need to stay refrigerated.
  • Store it in an airtight container.

This was really good. It created a chewy bar that had a nice nuttiness and wasn’t too sweet. You could easily make this out of any ice cream flavor you like, and it would have been nice with some chopped pistachios pressed into the top.

It’s a lot of hands-on stirring, but the final result is really satisfying and tasty.

And if you need to call it something else to get your friends and family to try it, I think that’s OK. Of course, you can also tell them the real name and hope they leave it all for you.

Even better, though, just say it’s flavored like liver and onions. That would have kept me away.

This piece first appeared in print March 19, 2026.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

Raise the bar with a dangerously easy pecan dessert

Butter pecan bars are made with a secret ingredient—a cake mix—making them super easy to put together while being a delicious addition to any dessert table.
Butter pecan bars are made with a secret ingredient—a cake mix—making them super easy to put together while being a delicious addition to any dessert table.

The National Pecan Shellers Association has a wealth of knowledge about pecans on its website.

One of the items that interested me the most is that the pecan tree is the only major nut tree native to North America.

I thought that was strange, because I know quite a few nuts who were born here, but what do I know?

Pecans have a long tradition in the region, with Native tribes cultivating wild trees as far back as the 1500s.

Even today, the association states that the United States produces about 80 percent of the world’s pecans.

When I was trying to decide what to make for a recent gathering, I found myself with a real hankering for something nutty, and that’s when I ran into a super easy dessert online.

It comes from the account @debtfreegranny on Instagram. This was simple enough that I didn’t mess with the recipe, but I did decrease the baking time by quite a bit, and that was a good move.

Print

Butter Pecan Bars

Butter pecan bars are made with a secret ingredient—a cake mix—making them super easy to put together while being a delicious addition to any dessert table.
Course Dessert
Keyword bar cookies, butter, butter pecan, cake mix recipe, cream cheese, easy dessert, pecans, powdered sugar

Ingredients

  • 13.25 ounce butter pecan cake mix
  • 8 tablespoons butter softened
  • 3 eggs
  • 8 tablespoons butter melted
  • 16 ounces powdered sugar
  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • 1 cup pecans chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
  • Grease a nine-by-13-inch baking dish with butter, and set it aside.
  • Add the cake mix, softened butter and one egg to a mixing bowl, and beat until it’s well combined.
  • Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
  • Add two eggs, melted butter, sugar and cream cheese to a mixing bowl (you can use the same one), and beat until it is smooth.
  • Pour the mixture evenly over the bottom layer, and sprinkle the top with all of the pecans, pressing them lightly into the batter.
  • Bake for one hour or until the top is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only wet crumbs (think cheesecake consistency).
  • Let the bars cool completely before cutting.
  • Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

This was really simple, and the flavor was out of this world. It had a cake-y bottom with a cheesecake-y middle and lots of great pecan crunchiness on top.

It was perfect to throw on a dessert table to share with friends.

And, it appears, eating pecans is a great North American tradition, so I’m pretty sure these bars are an excellent way of honoring our history.

I just wonder if the Native tribes had cake mixes laying around, too.

This first appeared in print Feb. 19, 2026.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Exit mobile version