A genuine award-winning recipe!

My friends at Hasbro have recently completed their annual Easy Bake "Baker of the Year" contest. Seven finalists from around the country gathered in Orlando, FL, for a super-delicious bake off. This year's contest winner is master chef Catherine Ralston, 12, of New Albany, Ohio. Her winning entry was the "Queen of Hearts Strawberry Tart." Catherine is featured here with sous chef, Terry Ralston, and her scrumptious heart tart. Mmmmm!

Bakers had to create an original recipe using an Easy Bake mix, plus their own ingredients. Lightbulb Cuisine is uber lucky to have gotten its hands on the winning recipe, and I have featured it here for you! Isn't that exciting?!

For the Queen of Hearts Strawberry Tart, you will need:

• cooking spray
• 1 package-Easy-Bake Sugar Cookie Mix
• 3/4 teaspoon- water
• 1/8 teaspoon- lemon extract
• flour for hands
• 2 teaspoons- lemon curd
• 9 thin slices- strawberry (outer red slices, from small strawberries-enough to cover tart)
• jumbo pink, white and red heart sprinkles
• small white doily to put tart on

Prep Instructions:
Heat Easy Bake Oven for 15 minutes. Spray round baking pan with cooking spray. Blend sugar cookie mix, water and lemon extract in a small bowl. Lightly flour your fingers. Spread batter in baking pan evenly, taking care not to come up on sides of pan.

Baking Instructions:
Place pan in Easy Bake Oven baking chamber. Bake for 13 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in cooling chamber. Run a knife around edge of pan to loosen cookie. Turn out onto plate. Use a heart shaped cookie cutter (3 inches across by 2 1/2 inches long) to cut a heart shape. It should take up most of cookie round. Spread top of heart with lemon curd and decorate with strawberries following heart pattern, in a single layer. Tuck in sprinkles on tart, decoratively, as desired. Place doily on a small plate and top with tart. Yummy!

And there you have it...an award-winning recipe. Congrats to you Catherine! That's Easy Baking!

Love, Cookie B.

P.S. Watch Lightbulb Cuisine for the upcoming contest. We'll be giving away an Easy Bake Oven! You won't want to miss it.

HAPPY PI DAY!

It's is a very special day in sophisticated mathematic circles. Or should I say...
circumferences? Hahahaha. Math humor!

Today is Pi Day. The date 3.14 is celebrated among cerebral academics 'round the world. And what better way to acknowledge Pi than with some pie? Here at Lightbulb Cuisine, we wouldn't have it any other way!

I realize this is short notice, as Pi Day isn't generally top-of-mind awareness, so we're going to do a quickie pie with pre-made ingredients. You might have some of these items on hand, so all the better! The Lightbulb Cuisine test kitchen had a can of blueberry pie filling, so that's what we prepared for Pi Day. I think you'll also really enjoy the splendid presentation when we're through.

For blueberry pie, you will need:

• 1/3 cup Betty Crocker pie crust mix
• 4 tsp. water
• 2 tbsp. blueberry pie filling
  

Preheat oven for 15 minutes. Prepare pie crust with mix and water, stirring with a fork until you get a nice round dough ball. Divide the dough in half. Roll out two crusts to fit the pan. Lay one crust into pan, and press to fit. Spoon in the pie filling. Lay other crust on top, and pinch the edges. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Move to cooling chamber until it's cool enough to handle the pan.

Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, or just as-is for you pie purists.

That's Easy Baking!

Love, Cookie B.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE FOR FOUR

Berries are coming into season. Can I get a “hurray”?! Who among us doesn't adore a luscious strawberry shortcake? I know I do. And with a little pre-planning, you can, too!

Have you ever been looking for just the right dessert for a garden party, or a bridal shower? I think strawberry shortcake is just that dessert – a sweet biscuit cake, ripe red berries, and a nice thick cream. Mmmm! I'm all a-twitter just thinking about it! So let's get started.

For the shortcake, you will need:

• Heaping 1/2 cup baking mix
• 3 tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. sugar

Toppings:

• Sliced strawberries
• Whipped cream

Preheat oven for 15 minutes and grease round baking pans. Combine shortcake ingredients in a bowl. With a fork, mix well to form a thick dough. Using greased fingers, divide the dough into four portions. Press one portion of dough into pan to cover the bottom. Bake for 12-13 minutes. Move to the cooling chamber and start another pan.

After cooling, layer on strawberries and whipped cream as shown. Eat and enjoy! For extra moisture on the cake, you can make a strawberry sauce by pureeing a handful of berries with a smidge of water. For that extra special touch, serve with a nice dessert wine. Fancy!

That's Easy Baking!

Love, Cookie B.