If only Cosmo Kramer had focused on selling the tops of crumb cake crumbs instead of muffin tops, he’d have had a hit.

Now, everyone who has delighted in the crumbs on top of a crumbcake can revel in jumbo crumbcake crumbs from Kenny’s Krumbs.

Kenny has transformed the streusel (the crumb topping—see section below) into crunchy, cookie-like nuggets of cinnamon goodness. They’re crumb cookies—there’s no cake involved, although you can use Kenny’s Krumbs on any cake you like.

OUR TOP 10 WAYS TO ENJOY KENNY’S KRUMBS

Who needs cake. Here, crumb cake topping baked up as cookie-like “crumbs.” Photo courtesy Kenny’s Krumbs.

Kenny’s Krumbs sells them packaged in 12-ounce resealable bags. Four bags of Krumbs are $28.00, 12 bags are $72.00, plus shipping.

You can also buy Krumbs in large metal gift buckets and smaller tins from Hahn’s Old Fashioned Cakes ($27.50 to $30.00).

Kenny’s Krumbs and Hahn’s deliver anywhere in the continental U.S. Plan ahead: These crumb cookies are a great teacher gift or stocking stuffer.

Long popular as the topping on Streuselkuchen, Germany’s crumb-topped yeast cake, streusel (pronounced SHTROY-zul) is a topping made from butter, flour and sugar. It can also contain chopped nuts or rolled oats.

The word derives from the German “streuen,” meaning to sprinkle or scatter. The original Streuselkuchen was very flat, with crumbs equal to the height of the cake (think one inch of cake topped with one inch of crumbs).

Note that all crumbcakes are coffee cakes, but not all coffee cakes are crumbcake. Another popular coffee cake, also a yeast cake, can be strewn with raisins and nuts and drizzled with a variation royal icing* (and we wish we had a piece right now).

The crumb cake is believed to have originated in Silesia, which today is in western Poland (if you’ve read James Michener’s Poland, you know the borders changed regularly).

The original recipe engendered variants with tart fruits (apples, gooseberries, sour cherries, rhubarb), poppy seeds and pastry cream.

Today, Americans can enjoy their crumbcakes with with a layer of fruit (apple, apricot, raspberry), chocolate and other flavors.

Or, those who have discovered Kenny’s can simply enjoy the crumbs!

 
*To make coffee cake icing, mix until smooth 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, 2 tablespoons warm milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
  

Popsicle and other brands make red, white and blue ice pops. But we’re not in grade school, and we want something more flavorful (and natural!) on a hot summer day.

So we trotted out our ice pop molds to make our own red, white and blue “firecracker” pops. The recipe is courtesy of Brown Eyed Baker, who adapted it from Everyday Food.

The layers are made from strawberries (red), sweetened plain yogurt (white) and blueberries (blue). Very little sugar is added. Instead, a bit of lime juice heightens the flavors.

Prep time is 2 hours. You can make them up to a week in advance.
 
 
RECIPE: RED, WHITE & BLUE “FIRECRACKER” ICE POPS

Ingredients For 6 Three-Ounce Pops
 
For The Red Layer

 
For The White Layer

Delicious homemade red, white and blue ice pops (photo © Brown Eyed Baker).

Preparation

1. MAKE the red layer: In a blender, combine the strawberries, sugar and lime juice. Purée, scraping down the sides as needed. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing the juice from the solids; then discard the solids. Fill the ice-pop molds 1/3 of the way. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. You may have some purée leftover—use it as a topping the next time you have a container of yogurt.

2. MAKE the white layer: Whisk together the yogurt, cream, sugar and lime juice in a small bowl. Remove the molds from the freezer and top with the yogurt mixture, filling each another 1/3 of the way. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

3. MAKE the blue layer: In a clean blender, purée the blueberries, sugar and lime juice, scraping down sides as needed. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing the juice from the solids; then discard the solids.

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Sure, you can find vanilla ice cream with blueberry and raspberry swirls and just scoop them into dishes. But with a recipe, the cook combines ingredients.

To make the easiest red, white and blue dessert, you need:

 
You can substitute blackberries or strawberries, but blueberries and raspberries are a better size. If your market is sold out of fresh berries, head to the frozen foods case.

The easiest red, white and blue dessert recipe. Photo courtesy Talenti Gelato.

If you don’t want to scoop and serve individual dishes, place the ice cream in a serving bowl.

 
That’s it!

RECIPE: EASY VERY BERRY TRIFLE

When you want to impress friends and family with a dessert that takes just minutes of prep, this is the one to prepare.

Fresh berries are layered with mounds of whipped cream and angel food cake for a dessert that is be prepared ahead of time. It was created by Amanda Rettke from IAMBaker.net for McCormick, who used McCormick extracts in the recipe.

The whipped cream—a special concoction of heavy cream, sour cream and orange extract—is a star. Once you taste it, you’ll want to use it on everything!

Prep time is 25 minutes.

Ingredients For 12 servings

Preparation

1. TOSS the berries, 1/4 cup of the sugar and 2 teaspoons of the vanilla in large bowl. Set aside.

2. BEAT the cream, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and orange extract in large bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gently stir in the sour cream.

3. LAYER 2 cups angel food cake cubes, and 1/2 each of the berry mixture and whipped cream mixture in 2-quart glass serving bowl. Repeat the layers.

4. COVER and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Garnish with additional berries, if desired.