Sweet Life: June 2025 🍓


🍰 Hello Baking Buddy! 🍰

As we welcome the summer vibes of June, this edition of “Sweet Life” includes my favorite fruits and flavors to kick off summer in all the best ways.

Summertime feels like a “new beginning” because in many ways it gives us a fresh start, especially if you’re a student, new graduate, teacher or faculty finishing up the school year. Summer gives us more time to spend with our kids (or grandkids), and longer daylight hours to spend time outdoors.

I wanted to take a moment to remind you how beneficial it is to carve out time to teach your kids how to bake. Baking is a sensory experience for children and helps teach valuable lessons in math, science, and patience! Plus, who doesn’t love projects where the reward for finishing it successfully is a delicious treat?

Here are a few of my favorite things to bake with littles:
French Yogurt Cake (fun measurement using a yogurt cup)
Chocolate Pudding Cake (ooey, gooey, science experiment!)
Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies (fun to mix and roll into a ball!)

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a lovely summer filled with friends, family, good times, and great food.

Cheers,

Stephanie Gonzalez
Pretty. Simple. Sweet.


What's Inside:

  • Strawberry, Rhubarb, and Rainbow-inspired Recipes
  • What to make for Father's Day
  • Must-make summer recipes from blogs I love!

🍓 Berry Perfect Summer

Living in Minnesota, June brings us the peak of locally grown strawberries. Our family tradition is heading out to a local strawberry field in early June and picking 30-50 pounds of fresh strawberries by hand. I freeze most of them for smoothies throughout the year and make a few jars of strawberry jam too.

I’ve handpicked a few of my favorite easy recipes to make with fresh strawberries.

🍓 Strawberry Shortcakes are like a strawberry and whipped cream sandwich. YES PLEASE!

🍓 Strawberry Sorbet is a quick and easy dessert. Blend all ingredients and freeze. Make them with frozen strawberries for the perfect texture.

🍓 Strawberry White Chocolate Blondies are the perfect dessert treat for my chocolate covered strawberry fans. They are beautiful, fudgy, and delicious.

🍓 Quick & Easy Strawberry Mousse is light, creamy, perfectly pink, and makes an incredible fancy dessert even though it takes just 10 minutes to make. It’s also fantastic for parties!

🍓 Strawberry Gin Refresher is an adults only cocktail made with fresh strawberry juice. If you have a juicer, this recipe should be on your list of summer cocktails. If you don't have a juicer, pureed fresh strawberries in a blender works well too. Easily make it a mocktail by omitting gin and using twice the club soda or sparkling water instead.

🍓 Need more inspiration? Here are all of my favorite strawberry recipes to choose from!


🌱 Rhubarb Season

In the midwest, Rhubarb is kind of a big deal. It grows in backyards everywhere and appears in all kinds of sweet and savory dishes. Most people think it's a fruit, but it is in fact a very tart vegetable.

Here are a few of my favorite ways to enjoy rhubarb:

Strawberry Rhubarb Curd Tart made with a blend of strawberries and rhubarb for the perfect creamy, fruity curd filling.

Quick Pickled Rhubarb pairs perfectly with my Avocado Farro Salad. It's something I make every year because my husband is obsessed with it.

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake is made with mascarpone cheese and cardamom. It's simple, elegant, and delicious with a caramelized rhubarb topping that gets created during the baking process.

Frozen Rhubarb Slush (recipe from Platter Talk) only has a few ingredients and makes the most delicious drink for rhubarb season! It can be spiked easily too if that's your thing.


🌈 Pride Month

If you celebrate Pride Month, try these treats as colorful as the rainbow. Whether you’re hosting a party or just bringing a smile to someone’s day, these recipes are perfect for showing your support and love.

❤️ Rainbow Fruit Pizza
🧡 Funfetti Cupcakes
💛 Rainbow Cookies (vegan)
💚 Funfetti Cookies
💙 Rainbow Cake Truffles
💜 Unique Terrazzo Cheesecake


🍩 Sweet National Days in June


👔 Celebrate Dad! 💙

Sunday, June 15th is Father’s Day in the U.S. and I’ve compiled a few dad-approved treats that are sure to impress. There’s no better way to show love than with a homemade sweet (or cocktail) made from the heart. Hopefully these recipes inspire you!

🍫 Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie is less sweet than classic pecan pie due to the reduced sugar and use of bittersweet chocolate.

🥃 Whiskey Sour Cocktail or an Old Fashioned. These are my husband's favorites and I've perfected them through the years.

🥛 Cookies and Cream Cupcakes filled with bits oreo cookies and a black cocoa frosting.

🍪 Rye Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies are made with rye flour. It has a slightly nutty, earthy flavor that is unique and flavorful. They’re crunchy on the outside yet still incredibly moist and chewy on the inside.

🍞 Tres Leches Bread Pudding is my dad’s favorite dessert, so of course I had to include it! I use a hint of orange and cinnamon to make this dessert over-the-top yummy in a subtle way.


👩‍🍳 Must-have Recipes from other Blogs I Love

As always, I’m so thrilled to share my favorite recipes with you. Most often they are recipes I've created or tweaked in my own kitchen. But here are a few recipes you'll definitely want to try from other blogs that I love, too.

🥗 Simple Veggie Salad with Bowtie Pasta & Balsamic Vinaigrette from Plate in 28 is perfect for kids and customizable for picky eaters too!

🎨 BONUS: They also have a section of crafts and creative activities for you to do with your kids or grandkids this summer.

🐟 Greek Salmon Quinoa Bowl from Happy Honey Kitchen is always a fun way to use up fresh hummus we have in the fridge. It would work well with chicken or shrimp too!

🍋 Air Fryer Green Beans with Lemon & Parmesan from Killing Thyme are garlicky and delicious. Pair with almost anything all summer long.

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