Easy Homemade Popsicles

A healthier dessert people of all ages will love! And they are perfect for serving any time of day.

These can be prepared in minutes, it just takes a little patience waiting for them to freeze but it's easily worth the wait.

After just one taste you'll instantly notice they are so much better than any popsicle you can buy at the store. They taste so fresh and fruity, they are only sweetened with honey (no sugar), and if you want to brighten the color you can use natural food coloring.

Sure they have a hint of cream but it makes a big difference in their taste and texture. It's such an enhancing highlight to the fruit - just think of that strawberries and cream or peaches and cream combo. Heaven!

They're amazingly tempting and perfectly delicious, plus a smarter dessert choice than say a big ice cream sundae (but those are great too when you want a splurge, right?).

Make one flavor or try them all! Those I made here include strawberry, peach, pineapple, banana, and blueberry.

Thanks to the Michigan Cherry Committee for sponsoring this post!

Cold and Refreshing Farro Salad

This is my idea of the best farro salad! Made with an abundance of fresh ingredients, a nice blend of textures and a delicious balance of flavors. It's sure to be the highlight of any meal!

It's savory, sweet, tangy, tart, vibrant, perfectly simple and yet it's a salad you'll remember.

The star of the salad is not only the farro but also the Montmorency dried cherries. You'll love their concentrated, unique, and exciting flavor and chewy texture.

They make for a great snack, a delicious salad topping, and are so tasty mixed into oatmeal or baked goods.

Farro Salad Video

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A few benefits and details about Montmorency Tart Cherries:

• Did you know Michigan Montmorency tart cherries are a natural food source of melatonin? Studies have shown that consumption of tart cherry juice can prevent insomnia and improve the quality and duration of sleep.
• They are a heart healthy fruit. Studies indicate that they may help lower levels of cholesterol and triglycerides and reduce inflammation.
• They may help naturally reduce inflammation related to arthritis and gout.
• You can find them available year round in dried, frozen, canned or juice form.
• By choosing these you are supporting locally American-grown fruit (75% of these cherries are grown in Michigan, the other 25% elsewhere in the U.S.).
• When purchasing your Montmorency cherries, look for “U.S. Grown” or “Product of the U.S.A” to make sure you are getting real U.S. Montmorency tart cherries”
• Imported tart cherries are boxed in shipping containers and may travel more than 5,000 miles before reaching your grocery store. Michigan Montmorency cherries go from a U.S. farm to your local grocery store (See photo referral below for a comparable, the cherries above are Michigan Montmorency while the cherries below are imported).
• They are also available in a sweetened variety which is what I opted to use here since we've already used a tart dressing.

You'll love these deeply colored, juicy jewels as the perfect finishing touch to this full flavored salad!

Fresh Peach Cobbler Recipe

Is anyone else going overboard like me and buying peaches like there's no tomorrow? This month I've bought 20lbs+ in the last few weeks and we've been eating them like crazy!

They make the best smoothies, they are one of my favorite fruits for baking, and they're even excellent added to your main dish (like this Three Cheese Peach and Prosciutto Pizza with Basil, or this Balsamic Peach Chicken Skillet, and this Peach Salad with Grilled Basil Chicken).

But we all know one of the all time best uses for fresh peaches is peach cobbler, right? And not just any peach cobbler — THIS peach cobbler! I've made it three times already this summer!

What Makes it the Best?

I'm very particular about my peach cobbler. It shouldn't have a heavy, dense topping, it should have the perfect amount of sweetness and canned peaches should never be used.

You'll love that this has more flavor than you'll find in your traditional peach cobbler (hence why I've used buttermilk, a fair amount of real butter and vanilla extract) and there's no overpowering amounts of cinnamon used here - we want to taste the peach flavor.

And this recipe is made with a fluffy biscuit topping that's really more cake-like than it is biscuit-like. So it compliments the dense peaches better than a heavy biscuit topping would. Plus it doesn't end up soggy and uncooked like many cobblers do on that bottom layer of the topping.

Peeling is Worth the Extra Time for this Easy Recipe

This may not be as easy as the version with canned peaches and a cake mix, but I'd still consider this an easy peach cobbler recipe. Nothing too difficult, it's still a straight forward, easy to make dessert.

It just takes a bit of time. As in it does take time to peel all those peaches, but the end result is so worth it! Besides it can seem therapeutic just taking time to breath and peel peaches some days.

It really is the only peach cobbler recipe you'll ever need. It will easily become the highlight of any summer dinner, and you'll get requests to make it again, and again, and again!

Put your fresh peaches to good use and make this irresistible peach cobbler this week, you won't regret it!

Healthy Strawberry Mango Peach Smoothie

There's just something about this combination of fruits that works so well together, each one perfectly complementing the other. The bright flavors of the peach mango smoothie will leave you craving more all summer long!

Everyone in my family loved this healthy smoothie and it's one we'll make again and again. It doesn't get much easier than fruit smoothies, and they're a great way to pack fruit into your diet.

Normally I'm always adding Greek yogurt and almond milk to smoothies to make them more filling and creamy, but this time around I went with juice and I actually liked the juice version more than the yogurt/almond milk version. It gave it a nice natural sweetness and kept it fruity.

I love how this peach smoothie makes a tasty breakfast or a good midday snack. It's a great way to get some of that recommend daily fruit intake, smoothies are the best way for me to get my kids eat eat lots of fruit.

I love how smoothies taste like a treat but they are packed with vitamins and nutrients. In other words, I guess I should start skipping that after-dinner cake and opting for another smoothie instead!

Fruit Salsa with Baked Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

You know I'm all about the dips and salsas, especially when they involve something sweet. I'm totally in love!

I've always been a big fan of baked or fried sugar and cinnamon chips (I make these baked ones all the time), but I've actually never paired them with fruit salsa until now. But let me tell you, it is a match meant to be!

I adapted this recipe from Carrian and Kade Cheney's new cookbook, Our Sweet Basil Kitchen.

This is a wonderful cookbook filled with pretty pictures and more than 100 family-friendly recipes. There are so many recipes I cannot wait to try!

If you'd like to buy a copy for yourself, you can order the cookbook from Amazon. After trying this delicious fruit salsa, I'm excited to make more!

Fruit Salsa Ingredients

For the fresh fruit salsa, you'll need:

• Peach or nectarine
• Mango
• Kiwis
• Strawberries
• Strawberry jam
• Fresh lemon juice

Cinnamon Chips Ingredients

The cinnamon sugar chips are so easy to make! You'll need:

• Granulated sugar
• Cinnamon
• Flour tortillas
• Butter

How to Make Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

• To make the fruit salsa, dice the fruit into bite-sized pieces and add to a bowl.
• Toss with the strawberry jam and lemon juice.
• To make the cinnamon tortilla chips, first stir together the cinnamon and sugar.
• Brush the flour tortillas with butter, then dust with homemade cinnamon sugar.
• Cut the tortillas into wedges and bake until golden brown.

Can I Use Corn Tortillas Instead of Flour?

Corn tortillas would taste quite different and have a different texture and mouthfeel, I recommend sticking with flour tortillas for this recipe.

Does Fruit Salsa Stay Fresh for Long?

This fresh fruit salsa is best enjoyed within two hours of making it. The fruit will release more and more liquid the longer it sits, so I wouldn't recommend making this salsa too far in advance.

Can I Add Different Fruits to This Salsa?

Of course! You can use any fruits you want, although I personally think softer fruits are the best in this salsa (berries, stone fruits, etc).

Tips for the Best Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

• The cinnamon chips won't be fully crisp when you take them out of the oven. They need a few minutes to cool on the baking sheet to crisp up properly.
• Give this fruit salsa a good stir before serving it, as the fruit juices will collect at the bottom of the bowl.
• Fresh, in-season fruit is best for this recipe. I don't recommend using frozen fruit here (too runny and mushy).

More Fresh Fruit Recipes You'll Love:

• Fruit Pizza
• Sugar Cookie Fruit Pizzas (Chewy Version)
• Honey Lime Rainbow Fruit Salad
• Berry Fruit Salad with Honey Balsamic Dressing
• Berry Cheesecake Fruit Salad
• Brownie Fruit Pizza
• Creamy Cinnamon Apple and Walnut Fruit Salad

Grilled Peaches with Simple Toppings

Everyone was swooning over how irresistible these were!

You get this perfectly grilled sweet summer peach that has those slightly charred grill marks which give it such a nice depth of flavor, it's covered with a spoonful of a luscious and creamy vanilla bean mascarpone, and it's perfectly complimented with a drizzling of sweet honey and sprinkled with a crisp and crunchy honey granola.

Then it's finished with a slightly tart red raspberry and garnished with a vibrant mint leaf for added color. I mean talk about easy dessert done right! I'm already dreaming about when I will make them again.

Fresh Peach Salad with Basil Grilled Chicken

While there's still about a month left of summer, it really is just starting to feel like it's over. We had our last beach day today, so basically that's my goodbye to summer.

One thing I love about the end of every summer is the abundance of fresh peaches everywhere. I had two neighbors bring me a bag full of them and I also had bought a bunch of local ones at the store.

So we have been eating peaches in everything and drinking them in just about every smoothie for the last two weeks. And no one is complaining about that around here, we all absolutely love peaches! Who could resist them? They're sweet, juicy and perfectly tender.

I just love biting into a freshly picked peach. The other thing I love (and if you've been reading for a while I'm sure you've caught on by now) is grilled chicken salads.

They are so versatile and you can add just about anything to them, and if we are going to go all out on a salad we may as well make it into a meal, right? Since it's peach season of course I had to do a peach salad recipe, and this one does not disappoint!

I can almost guarantee that, like me, you'll love everything about this peach and basil chicken salad! From the chicken marinated and infused with fresh garlic-basil flavor, to the combination of fresh peaches, corn and goat cheese and of course how well it is all complemented by the white balsamic vinaigrette.

I could pretty much live on this peach salad! It might just become one of your favorite summer salads, just be sure to try it before summer is over!

Peach Coffee Cake

Coffee cake has got to be one of the best desserts/breakfast treats. Okay, I say that about pretty much any dessert but this Peach Coffee Cake is utterly delicious!

You just cant go wrong with a treat this delicious!

If you are looking for the perfect end of summer dessert to treat yourself this is it! I don't know anyone who could resist this cake.

Those fresh, sweet and juicy summer peaches make this cake simply sublime and all the different layers and textures just take it from ordinary to extraordinary.

It may take a few more mixing bowls than a single layer cake does but it's totally worth it!  I already can't wait to make it again!

How to Make Peach Coffee Cake

This cake may seem like a process but it's fun to make! Here's a quick breakdown of the steps:

1. Make the preheat the oven and grease a springform pan.
2. Prepare the crumble topping.
3. Make the cake batter, spread into prepare pan.
4. Top cake batter with a layer of peach slices.
5. Sprinkle crumb topping over peaches.
6. Bake, then remove and cool.
7. Top with glaze.

More Delicious Coffee Cake Style Recipes to Try

• Crumb Cake
• Blueberry Buckle
• Pumpkin Crumb Cake

Recipe originally published August 20, 2015 titled "Peach Crumb Cake" recipe title updated January 21, 2020 to "Peach Coffee Cake".

Peach Upside Down Cake Made into Individual Portions

I know my 4th of July desserts could be more festive but this year I'm not really color coordinating with the holiday and just going with something fun and different, and of course something with amazing flavor! I made these Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes a few months ago and I know they wouldn't end there.

I love cupcakes and I love when you can convert a traditional cake into an individual cupcake, like these German Chocolate Cupcakes or these Cheesecake Cupcakes. People always just love them that much more and serving them up is cleaner and easier.

I wanted to stick some sparklers in these for pictures but my husband thought I'd burn the house down, but for company I plan on making them again and sticking some sparklers in them and lighting them up outside. I'm totally festive you guys. Always :). I do love all the fresh fruit flag pizzas too so maybe I'll have to make one of those, and maybe next year I'll actually share a recipe for one of those on time. I just never seemed to get around to it this year.

These are equally as good though and you'll have people swooning over them! Peach Upside Down Cakes need to find a place on your menu ASAP! They are simply heavenly! Think peach cobbler, meets sweet cornbread, meets upside down cake all made into one decadent cupcake. Pretty epic right? They are.

Take a look at all these layers and tell me how you could resist?

Perfect Peach Crisp

You get this deliciously sweet and juicy peach layer topped with the most irresistible crisp topping in the world, and after its baked you top it off with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream (so just think peaches and cream), yes it's just wow good! I made this crisp to be what I'd consider the perfect amount of everything.

Just the right amount of brown sugary sweetness, some texture from the oats along with a good balance coming from an equal part flour (so it's not too oat-y, plus it helps hold the crumble together).

It's enhanced with just the right amount of spices (I don't want to distract from the delicious flavor of the fresh fruit), plus it has a perfect buttery flavor, and the crunch from the nuts just takes this over the top.

You've gotta try this recipe! You just do :).