Peach Cobbler Bars, Mango Mojitos & A Farewell to Summer

I love summer, but I love fall & winter more! There's something about cold weather, scarves, boots and mittens that make me so incredibly happy. I seriously cannot wait for all things hot chocolate, pumpkin and spiced! Fortunately though, even though summer is incredibly hot and sticky, it provides us with the most luscious fruits of the year: the juicy peach and the perfect mango, two of my favorites! Fruit desserts have always been one of my favorites because their freshness cuts into the sweetness, since I like my desserts not overly sweet.

These bars taught me something important: not all bars have to be super sweet or crispy/ chewy. I'd always had a certain vision of what bars are supposed to be and these are the total opposite! They're cake-y, subtly sweet, delicate and quite possibly the best farewell to summer I could have asked for.

Peach Cobbler Bars

Yields: about 20 bars

Original recipe here.

For the bars:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. almond extract

4 eggs

3 cups flour

3/4 pinch tsp. salt

For the filling:

6 - 8 peaches, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsn. cream

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a large cookie sheet, set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time making sure well incorporated after each addition. Add in vanilla and almond extracts. Slowly add flour and salt and mix until incorporated. Spread 3/4 of the mixture into the prepared pan. Mix peaches, brown sugar and cinnamon together then evenly distribute over the batter. Drop the rest of the batter by tablespoons over the peaches and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until edges start to turn brown. Whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla and cream and drizzle half of the mixture over the warm bars. Allow to cool, cut into 3 inch squares and drizzle over the remaining glaze.

Mojitos are one of my favorite mixed drinks on this earth. Most often, I'd prefer a beer or a glass of wine rather than a mixed drink but Mojitos are just always, always sublime. The mix of lime and mint is perfection and so refreshing on a hot summer day!

Add mango, and you've got perfection x 100! Mango is my favorite fruit ever and when you use a perfectly ripe, summer mango in this recipe, it's flavor is just heightened to infinity. Please enjoy this on your last summer day!

Mango Mojitos

Yields: 4 servings

Original recipe here.

several mint leaves

6 oz. rum (I used mango rum)

2 cups club soda

4 oz. simple syrup

4 oz. fresh mango puree

Muddle the mint with a muddler or the bottom of a wooden spoon. Mix all the ingredients together, then serve over ice. Enjoy!

Basil Limeades/ Soda Chanh

This recipe is a twist on the traditional Vietnamese drink called Soda Chanh, which is essentially a carbonated lime-ade. At the restaurant I work at, they add some torn basil leaves on request and it's really delicious.

Don't be thrown off for a loop! I was kind of shocked about the idea too... basil in my lemonade?! Sounds kinda weird to me, but I was intrigued, took a sip and what do you know? I actually liked it, I really, really liked it! I think you guys will like it too! The basil flavor is just a subtle note in the background that adds great depth in flavor. Mint would work well as too, I'll have to try that next time. I love this drink especially in Summer because it's so refreshing but since it's never quite Winter in California, I can enjoy this baby all year round!

Basil Limeades

Yields: about 4 servings

Printable Recipe

For the simple syrup:

1 part water

1 part sugar

1 part simple syrup (1/2 cup)

1 part fresh lime juice (1/2 cup)

5 - 6 parts carbonated water (2 1/2 - 3 cups)

small bunch of basil leaves, torn

To make the simple syrup, combine the water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until all of the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and store in a container (simple syrup is essentially a 1:1 ratio of water to sugar, so you can make as much or as little as you want). To make the limeades, mix everything together. Serve over ice and enjoy!

Sweet simplicity at its best: