Crepes with Berries and Ricotta

Happy 4th of July friends! Ok, well almost 4th of July... we do still have one more day after all.

But it's Sunday! And you all know how special Sundays are in our house. You totally understand why I couldn't wait until tomorrow to share this with you.

I made these crepes for Dane and I last weekend, on the first Sunday morning we'd had together in over a month. After such a long hiatus from our Sunday morning tradition, I was looking to break from the usual pancakes and bacon. Oh, don't worry, I still cooked bacon. Like seriously. I think Dane might leave me if I ever fixed Sunday morning breakfast that didn't include bacon. ...just one of the many reasons I love the guy.

But back to the crepes.

Beautiful, beautiful crepes.

Reason number one why these crepes are awesome: they're red, white, and blue. Make these for the 4th of July and double your bad-ass American score.

Reason number two: they're super easy.

And reason number three? This one's going to come as shocker... they're delicious. They're light and airy just like any other crepe you've probably had, but with a little kick of lemon. Not a ton... just enough to let you know it's there. Just enough to say, "Hi! Good morning!" And the ricotta filling is a surprising complement. Sweet, but not too sweet and fantastically fluffy. Top it off with the season's freshest, juiciest berries and a light dusting of powder sugar, and you've got yourself one great summer breakfast.

Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry Madeleines

What could possibly be more romantic than strawberries and chocolate? I mean c'mon... this combination just screams Valentine's Day.

It seems that my coworkers have grown a little accustomed to me bringing sweets in on the weekends I work, so I promised something extra special for this weekend since V-Day is on Monday. And I just couldn't get the strawberries and chocolate idea out of my head! Strawberry cupcakes with chocolate frosting sounded nice at first, but a little overdone, I thought. Then one day, as I ate a buttery little madeleine cookie while at coffee with a friend, it hit me... chocolate-dipped strawberry madeleines! It would be like eating a chocolate-dipped strawberry - small, delicate, and strawberry sweet with luscious chocolate - only in cake/cookie form!

I searched and searched for such a recipe, but eventually resigned myself to the idea that I'd have to create my own... a little scary for me at this point, with my very novice baking skills. But I must admit, they didn't turn out half bad! I chose to use real frozen strawberries to flavor the madeleines rather than jello powder, as I really prefer unprocessed, non-chemical ingredients in my food. (I also took a little inspiration from this strawberry cake recipe from Courtney at Cook Like a Champion.) Worried about the moisture content of these little cakes, I opted to chop the strawberries into small pieces rather than puree them for my first attempt, but I wound up adding the drained juices for extra strawberry flavor anyway so I think pureeing next time might still be successful. Three other things I learned from this little experiment of mine: 1) Add more food coloring next time. The batter was a nice bright pink before baking, but (as you can see) they faded by the time I took them out of the oven. 2) Don't overfill the madeleine pans. They spread and rise as they bake, so one cookie scoop is plenty. Tapping the pan gently on the counter after filling also helps the batter to spread out evenly. and 3) Don't overbake! While they still taste almost as good, they quickly go from a nice golden color to brown with just a minute or two's alteration. Overall I think this is a recipe I think I'll keep playing with... they still turned out pretty scrumptious, but I do think there is some room for improvement.

Here is the recipe, as made this weekend.