A Little Sugar on the Weekend

Toasted Almond & Chocolate Chunk Oat Cookies

2011-12-29T15:44:00.001-08:00

This is an experiment that turned out fabulous. Salty toasted almonds and rich dark chocolate. Yum! The texture is perfect.

Toasted Almond & Chocolate Chunk Oat Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate pieces
3/4 cup of slivered almonds, toasted and salted (toast on cookie sheet in oven until golden then cool before mixing into dough)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mix together butter and sugar until light and whipped. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until blended. Combine dry ingredients (flour, oats, soda, baking powder, salt) and add to wet. Mix until moistened. Fold in chocolate pieces and almonds (I actually do this with my hands. It's part of the fun of making cookies.) Roll by hand into large pieces the size of golf balls. Place on cookies sheet, spaced apart. Cook for about 12 minutes or until very slightly golden. Do not overcook!

Burnt Sugar Bundt Cake with Caramel Rum Frosting

2011-12-18T15:53:00.001-08:00

This cake is it. Please make it, please eat it. Fabulous! This cake comes from this cookbook, and is published online here. It makes a great holiday cake! I made a few adjustments in the recipe for high altitude and it came out perfect. I used cake flour and increased the flour by 6 Tbsp. I used cream with coconut liquor rather than coconut milk and increased the liquid by 2 Tbsp. I decreased the baking powder by 1/4 tsp and baked the cake at 350ºF for 45 minutes (which is 25º higher than the original recipe). I also added 2 Tbsp of spiced rum to the batter.

making burnt sugar mixture

Mmmmmm!

Peanut Butter Cherry Bars

2011-10-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

This recipe can be found HERE. The difference is that I substituted whole-cherry preserves for strawberry jam.

Sunday Cake

2011-10-09T09:04:00.001-07:00

This cake is so simple and delicious! The recipe for the cake can be found in this book. The recipe for the frosting is found HERE.

Chocolate Butterball Cookies

2011-10-09T09:02:00.001-07:00

The recipe for these cookies is found HERE.

Ginger-Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-10-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

The recipe for these cookies can be found HERE.

Mimsy's Caramel Apple Birthday Pudding

2011-10-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

My birthday pudding!

Mimsy's Caramel Apple Birthday Pudding

Cake:
2 large granny smith apples, peeled and sliced
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Mix butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and mix. Sift dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Combine until wet. Fold in apples. Place in 9 x 13" pan and bake at 325ºF for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Poke holes in cake with skewer. Top with Apples in Caramel Sauce and allow cake to absorb the sauce.

Apples in Caramel Sauce:
3 large granny smith apples, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup brandy

Cover sliced apples in water , cinnamon and brown sugar. Cook until tender. Remove apples with slotted spoon. Add butter and cream and simmer until thickened. Return apples to sauce and add brandy and vanilla. Pour over hot cake. Serve warm.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling

2011-09-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

This cookies are based on a recipe from this cookbook, only with slight ingredient and method alterations and a completely different filling. THESE ARE NUMMY so get your noms on. They are quick and easy to make and you won't regret it. Besides, just look how adorable they are. Who wouldn't want to grab one of these at a party?

Chocolate Cookies
1 1/4 sticks of unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and beat until nearly white. Combine dry ingredients separately, then add to butter mixture. Beat together until well-combined. Roll into 20 2-inch balls. Roll in sugar, place on a cookie sheet and then flatten. Bake for 8 minutes or until cracked. Remove from oven and cool completely on rack. Sandwich cream cheese filling between cookies (flat sides together). Serve immediately, or store in refrigerator in sealed container.

Cream Cheese Filling
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
8oz cream cheese
3 Tbsp salted butter
1 tsp vanilla

Beat together until smooth and fluffy.

Lemon Cake with White Chocolate Lemon Buttercream and Lemon Curd Filling

2011-09-05T11:22:00.001-07:00

This cake is rich and refreshing and delicious! I'm not going to lie to you. My cake fell a bit and looks like a... cake wreck. So don't be like me and over-beat your cake. Also, remember to adjust for high altitude if you live at 5,000 ft elevation like I do. This I forgot. In spite of looking a bit frumpy, the cake was wonderful.

Lemon Cake with White Chocolate Lemon Buttercream and Lemon Curd Filling

This cake is based on a lemon cake from the book Rose's Heavenly Cakes

Cake

6oz White Chocolate

6 large egg yolks

1 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3 cups cake flour

1 cup sugar

3/4 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

1 Tbsp lemon zest

9 Tbsp unsalted butter

Start by making the Lemon Curd and then the White Chocolate Lemon Buttercream (below). They need to be made 4 hours ahead of time.

Preheat oven to 350ºF

For cake, melt white chocolate and set aside to cool. Mix egg yolks, milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Add butter and mix until well combined. Add egg mixture a little at a time until combined. Add melted chocolate and mix until smooth. Don't over-mix. Spread into two 8" cake rounds (greased and floured). Bake at 530ºF for 25 minutes or until done. Cool completely. Fill layers with lemon curd and frost with buttercream.

Lemon Curd Filling

3 Tbsp lemon zest

7 large egg yolks

1 cup sugar

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup lemon juice (from about 3 lemons)

1/4 tsp salt

In a medium sauce pan, whisk the yolks, sugar and butter until well blended. Whisk in lemon juice and salt. Cook over medium-low heat until curd is thickened. Do not allow to boil or it will curdle! This might take some patience. I suggest listening to an audiobook or watching a show while doing this. I was over the stove for 20+ minutes. Allow curd to cool in refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 hours.

White Chocolate Lemon Buttercream

10.5 oz white chocolate
20 Tbsp unsalted butter (divided)
4 large eggs

Melt white chocolate without much heat (over double boiler if possible). Whisk in eggs and heat to 140ºF while stirring. Cover and refrigerate. Stir the mixture every 15 minutes until cool to the touch. whip in butter (using whisk attachment on mixer) until peaks form. Refrigerate, covered, for 3 - 4 hours.

Right before frosting cake, whip again and add about 1/2 cup of the lemon curd to the buttercream icing.

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting

2011-08-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

I spent the summer in France, then taking summer graduate courses, and then Orlando, so I haven't been doing a lot of baking or cooking lately. Anything I have made, I haven't had time to document or blog here. In two days I start my next semester of graduate school and a new job at the hospital working with heart-failure and heart-transplant patients. Chances are, this blog and my other blog , Fine Fettle Kettle, might continue to be slow for a while. However, I do have an excuse to either bake a cake, cookies, pie or other dessert each week, because my daughter works at the Center for Women and Children in Crisis, and can take whatever I make to them for a little sugar on the weekend.

Banana Cupcakes
(Found in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes and here)

Ingredients

3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
3 large eggs
4 very ripe large bananas, mashed (about 2 cups), plus sliced bananas for garnish
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Make cupcakes as directed in Basic Cupcake How-To, using mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla for wet ingredients.
Stir pecans into batter. Once cupcakes are cool, frost tops with caramel buttercream. Frosted cupcakes will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 days. Top with banana slices before serving.

Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting
(Found in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes and here)

Ingredients

1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
18 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups sour cream

Directions

Sift together confectioners' sugar, cocoa, and salt. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese and butter until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add sugar mixture; mix until combined. Mix in melted and cooled chocolate and then sour cream; scrape down sides of bowl and continue beating until smooth. Use immediately, or frosting can be stored in the refrigerator up to 5 days, or frozen up to 1 month, in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat on low speed until smooth.

Old-Fashioned Horehound Candy

2011-07-06T16:43:00.000-07:00

Horehound candy brings back memories of my youth. I'm not really old enough for this to be the case, but in my small hometown, old-fashioned candy was still in fashion, and sarsaparilla and horehound flavored candy were available in the local candy store. Originally, horehound candies were used as cough drops, but apparently the bitter-sweet flavor became a widely-spread choice of candy over time. It's a little more difficult to find horehound candy these days. However, if you have an herb garden, horehound is easy to grow, and the candy is easy to make.

Horehound plant:

Old-Fashioned Horehound Candy
2 cups chopped horehound leaves and stems
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup molasses
1 cup honey
3 cups brown sugar
3 T salted butter

Boil water in a saucepan. Add horehound leaves, and stew for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and continue to steep leaves in hot water for another 30 minutes. Strain horehound leaves and stems, and pour the horehound "tea" water into a 4-quart pot. Add other ingredients and combine, then bring to a boil. Do not stir once the candy is boiling. Using a thermometer, bring the mixture to 300ºF - 310ºF. Pour over a large, buttered cookie sheet. Allow to cool, just until you can touch it, then roll into tiny balls and sprinkle with white sugar. Hint: you have to work fast to roll the candy before it hardens. You may want to have 2 -3 helpers to do this.

Other options (if you don't want to roll the candy) are below:

Square version (score candy with a knife as it cools, then break into squares):

Broken version (allow to cool, then break into pieces):

Individual Flourless Chocolate Kahlua Cake (Ramekin)

2011-06-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

I'm doing a series of ramekin dishes for both of my blogs. This flourless cake turned out delicious!

Individual Flourless Chocolate Kahlua Cake (Ramekin)
1 ounce semisweet chocolate
1 T butter, softened
1 T cocoa powder
1 egg
Dash of salt
1 T sugar
1 T Kahlua
1 tsp powdered sugar

Place chocolate and butter in the bottom of a ramekin. Microwave for 20 seconds, stir, then 20 seconds again and stir until melted. Allow to cool. Add cocoa powder then egg, whisking with a small wire whisk. Add sugar, salt and Kahlua. Bake in a toaster oven at 300ºF for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm.

Individual Berry Crumble in a Ramekin

2011-06-27T11:55:00.001-07:00

I find that when I'm home alone, or when my kids and husband all decide to cook for themselves, I like making individual dishes baked in a ramekin in my toaster oven. I keep toying around with the idea of doing a blog of recipes designed for one person and cooked in a ramekin. What do you think?

Individual Berry Crumble in a Ramekin

Fill a small ramekin with fresh or frozen (thawed) berries, about 2/3 full
Sprinkle with 2 tsp of sugar

In a cereal bowl, combine with a pastry cutter:
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp rolled oats
Pinch of cinnamon
Dash of salt

Sprinkle butter combination over berries. In a toaster or small oven, bake at 350ºF for about 8 minutes, or until top is brown and berries are bubbly.

This recipe is about 350 calories, 6 grams protein, 8 grams dietary fiber, 10 grams fat, 131 mg sodium, and 18 grams sugars.

Revisiting Cinnamon Rolls

2011-06-27T11:10:00.000-07:00

Scald and set aside to cool:

1 cup milk

Cream:
6 T butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs

Dissolve:
2 T yeast
1 T sugar
1 cup warm water

When the above steps are completed, combine them and add 6 1/2- 7 cups flour and 1 tsp salt. Knead well and place in a greased bowl. Raise until double and roll out. Sprinkle with cut-up butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up and slice into 1 1/2 inch rolls. Place on greased cookie sheet and allow to rise again. Bake at 375º for 12 - 15 minutes.

Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 square butter
1 tsp vanilla
milk

Mix ingredients, adding milk until desired consistency.

My daughter, Adara slices the rolls

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars

2011-05-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars (from bon appetit magazine)

Ingredients:

Crust

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

2 1/4 cups finely ground graham crackers (from about 17 whole graham crackers)

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

Filling

3 8-ounce packages Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 cup purchased dulce de leche

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze

2/3 cup purchased dulce de leche

3 tablespoons (or more) heavy whipping cream

Fleur de sel

Preparation

Instructions:

Crust

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with nonstick spray. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon in medium bowl. Add melted butter; stir until coated. Transfer crumb mixture to pan. Press evenly onto bottom of pan. Bake until crust is light golden, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on rack.

Filling

Blend cream cheese and sugar in processor until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, processing 3 to 5 seconds to blend between additions. Add dulce de leche and vanilla; process until blended, about 10 seconds. Spread batter evenly over cooled crust. Bake until just set in center and edges are puffed and slightly cracked, about 38 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely.

Glaze

Heat dulce de leche and 3 tablespoons cream in microwave-safe bowl in 10-second intervals until melted. Stir to blend, adding more cream by teaspoonfuls if too thick to pour (amount of cream needed will depend on brand of dulce de leche). Pour glaze over cooled cheesecake; spread evenly. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour (glaze will not be firm). DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill.

Cut cheesecake lengthwise into 4 strips, then crosswise into 6 strips, forming 24 bars. Sprinkle bars with fleur de sel.

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars on the bottom, stacked with Peanut Buddies, Lemon bars, similar to Triple Sec Lime Bars, and Raspberry Bars (from Cooks Illustrated September 2005).

Mimsy's Pine Nut Honey Tart

2011-04-22T18:10:00.001-07:00

I had quite a few pine nuts left over from the Lebanese-Inspired Spicy Lamb Pizza on my other blog and the Italian Easter Pie (posted in this blog prior to this post). I found a recipe for Pine Nut Tart, another Italian dessert, in a generic Mediterranean cookbook I've had for years. I made quite a few changes to the recipe, so I'm calling it my own version. Fabulous. Seriously scrumptious. I'm really happy with how it turned out, and my kids and their friends and Dave all seemed to like it too.

Mimsy's Pine Nut Honey Tart

Butter Crust
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup cold salted butter, chopped
1 egg

Mix the flour, sugar and butter until it looks like coarse cornmeal. Add the egg and mix until combined. Press into the bottom of a tart pan or springform pan. Cook at 375ºF for 10 minutes. Set aside.

Filling
1 1/2 cups raw pine nuts, roasted in the oven at 375ºF for 7 minutes
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp almond extract
3 eggs
1/4 tsp salt

Combine honey, butter, extract and eggs. Beat until blended. Spread roasted pine nuts in crust. Pour honey mixture over nuts. Bake tart in the oven at 375ºF for 40 minutes or until set. Serve slightly cooled (warm) or cold.

Italian Easter Pie

2011-04-10T15:50:00.001-07:00

I had a dish like this while I was in Italy, and I've been meaning to try it ever since. Giada De Laurentiis from Food Network is the author of this recipe. I didn't even try to deviate from her instructions my first time trying it, and I'm glad. It's perfectly, subtly sweet, and the pine nuts and orange zest are gorgeous.

Easter Pie
by Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

3/4 cup powdered sugar, plus extra for garnish
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup cooked short-grained rice
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
6 sheets fresh phyllo sheets or frozen, thawed
3/4 stick (3 ounces) unsalted butter,

Directions

Blend 3/4 cup of powdered sugar, eggs, vanilla, orange zest and ricotta in a food processor until smooth. Stir in the rice and pine nuts. Set the ricotta mixture aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Lightly butter a 9-inch glass pie dish. Lay 1 phyllo sheet over the bottom and up the sides of the dish, allowing the phyllo to hang over the sides. Brush the phyllo with the melted butter. Top with a second sheet of phyllo dough, laying it in the opposite direction as the first phyllo sheet. Continue layering the remaining sheets of phyllo sheets, alternating after each layer and buttering each sheet. Spoon the ricotta mixture into the dish. Fold the overhanging phyllo dough over the top of the filling to enclose it completely. Brush completely with melted butter.

Bake the pie until the phyllo is golden brown and the filling is set, about 35 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool completely. Sift powdered sugar over the pie and serve.

Chateau Monet Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Icing

2011-03-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

I made these for my daughter's 21st birthday. Huge hit! They were gone faster than any cupcakes I've made in the past. This is my own recipe, based on a recipe I developed earlier in this blog for triple chocolate cupcakes with strawberry icing. The texture and richness are to die for.

Chateau Monet Chocolate Cupcakes

First Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 oz melted 100% cocoa chocolate bar (cooled)
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup Chateau Monet

Second Ingredients:
2 cups white, all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine First Ingredients in order, beating constantly until smooth. Combine Second Ingredients in a bowl, then add to first ingredients. Mix until smooth. Fill muffin tins to 3/4 full. Bake mini cupcakes for 13 minutes or until done. Bake full sized cupcakes for 35 minutes or until done. Frost with raspberry icing.

Raspberry Icing:
1 lb of powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup fresh raspberry preserves
1- 2 Tbsp Chateau Monet (to texture)

Whip the butter and sugar until crumbly. Add the vanilla, then add the preserves and Chateau Monet until consistency is just right for spreading over cupcakes.

Dave's Brioche Rolls with Hazelnut Filling

2011-02-06T11:14:00.000-08:00

Brioche dough is buttery and flaky and is a good base for a fabulous variety of rolls and desserts. Dave is mastering all kinds of artisan breads, and this dough is one that he has been working with.

Dave's Brioche Rolls with Hazelnut Filling
Adapted from Baking Artisan Bread by Ciril Hitz

The brioche dough recipe can be found here.

Filling:
1 1/4 cups hazelnut flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp light corn syrup
6 Tbsp water
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Blend together until smooth. Add more water if necessary, so that filling will not tear dough as you spread it on.

Roll about 1/4 of the dough into a square. Spread with filling and roll jelly-style. Slice evenly and place into a greased cake pan. Allow to proof at room temperature for 1 - 2 hours. Bake in 350ºF oven for 30 - 40 minutes until brown.

Stuff You Should Make in 2011

2011-01-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

If you didn't try them in 2010, these are the recipes you should try in 2011.

My Favorites of the Year:

Mimsy's Spiced Rum Apple Cake

2011-01-01T09:28:00.000-08:00

This is my own recipe and it's fabulous if I do say so myself. The concept is a blend of various apple cake recipes I've tried before, but this one involves creating a "paste" of spiced rum and dates that are blended into the batter.

Mimsy's Spiced Rum Apple Cake
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/3 cup rum
1 cup unsalted butter
Combine and heat to a just below a simmer in a tiny sauce pan, then remove from heat. Soak for 1 hour. (You can also do this in a bowl in the microwave)

1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
3 sour apples (such as Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 eggs
Stir into the date mixture set aside.

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
Sift together in a mixing bowl, then combine with date mixture until moistened. Spread in a 9 X 13" greased pan and bake for about 1 hour or until done. Serve with Spiced Rum Sauce.

Spiced Rum Sauce
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup cream
2 1/2 Tbsp spiced rum
Combine in a small saucepan. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly until it comes to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Ginger Bread and Pumpkin Custard Trifle

2010-11-25T11:18:00.000-08:00

This is a trifle that I've been dreaming up ever since the cool weather hit in September. I was surprised to find out that other people had thought of the same thing, and there are a couple of recipes floating out there. I wasn't too thrilled with either one, because they both used Jello pudding mix, so I came up with my own recipe. Delicious!

Ginger Bread and Pumpkin Custard Trifle

Ginger Bread
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 T ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 dashes black pepper
6 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup molasses
3/4 cup water
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine dry ingredients. Beat wet ingredients until combined. Add dry ingredients. Beat until smooth. Pour into greased 8 x 8" pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

Brown Sugar Spiced Rum Sauce
1 1/3 brown sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
3 T spiced rum

In a small sauce pan, boil brown sugar, water, and butter for 2 minutes. Take off heat and add spiced rum.

Pumpkin Custard
1 cup sugar
6 T corn starch
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups half & half
2 cups pureed fresh pumpkin (or canned pumpkin)
6 egg yolks, beaten
4 T unsalted butter

Mix dry ingredients together in a sauce pan. Whisk in half & half and pumpkin until smooth. Place over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until thickened. Whisk a little of the hot pumpkin mixture into the beaten egg yolks at a time until they are hot, then add the egg yolks into the rest of the pumpkin mixture in the sauce pan. Cook and stir for another minute or so until thicker. Remove from heat. Add butter and stir until melted. Cool, completely.

Whipped Heavy Cream
1 quart heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar

Whip cream until stiff peaks form. Add sugar and whip until combined.

Poke holes into the gingerbread with a skewer or knife. Pour the Brown Sugar Spiced Rum Sauce over the Gingerbread. and allow it to soak up the liquid. Layer the gingerbread with the pumpkin custard and whipped heavy cream in a trifle bowl. Chill and serve cold.

Pecan & Walnut, Irish Creme, Chocolate Pie

2010-11-25T11:11:00.000-08:00

Pecan & Walnut Irish Creme Chocolate Pie

Your favorite pie crust, uncooked
1/2 cup pecans, chopped & toasted
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped & toasted
1/2 cup high-quality dark chocolate chips
4 eggs
3/4 cup light corn syrup
2/3 cup brown sugar
6 T unsalted butter, melted
2-3 T Irish creme
1 T flour
1 T vanilla
Dash nutmeg
Dash cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place crust in pie plate. Sprinkle toasted nuts and chocolate chips over the crust. In a large bowl, beat together the remaining ingredients until combined and syrupy. Pour syrup over the crust, nuts, and chocolate. Bake the pie for 50 minutes or until set. Cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

Mimsy's Apple Pie With Subtle Custard

2010-09-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite apple pie. The custard is so subtle that you really don't know you are eating a custard pie, it just adds a bit of creaminess and richness that most apple pies don't have. This is my own recipe, and it's a keeper!

5 -6 granny smith apples, cored and peeled
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 Tbsp cornstarch

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter

Your favorite single pie crust recipe for a deep pie plate

Preheat oven to 300ºF

Thinly slice apples and mix in a bowl with cornstarch, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Melt butter in a large skillet. Saute apple mixture in skillet until apples are tender. Set aside.

Beat granulated sugar and eggs in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add cream and vanilla and beat until combined.

Fit pie crust into plate, fill with apples and top with egg & cream mixture. Bake in oven for 45 minutes. Meanwhile mix together brown sugar, butter and flour to make a streusel topping. Carefully sprinkle streusel over the pie and return pie to oven. Bake an additional 50 minutes to an hour, or until completely set and inserted knife comes out clean. Allow to stand 1 hour before serving.

Elijah's Philly Ice Cream Formula (Easy!)

2010-08-16T16:16:00.001-07:00

My youngest son makes ice cream just about every other day or so, all summer long. This is his proven formula. It's simple, in a "less is more" way.

Elijah's Philly Ice Cream Formula
3 cups Half & Half
1 cup smashed fruit (ice cream pictured has strawberries)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla or other flavoring of choice

Mix in a bowl until sugar is dissolved. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve fresh!

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

2010-08-08T18:51:00.000-07:00

Philadelphia style ice cream is not a frozen custard, so it doesn't require cooking or eggs. Some people prefer frozen custard, but I find that I'm less likely to use my ice cream maker if I have to cook the ice cream and let it cool first. My son and I are always dashing off different flavors of Philly style ice cream and the family loves it all summer long. My husband, Dave, and my children all prefer the flavor of Philly style ice cream over custard. I like both.

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
1 cup cooked pumpkin (from a can is fine)
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie seasoning (or a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice)
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp molasses
1 cup coarsely crumbled shortbread biscuits (cookies) or gingersnaps

Combine all but the shortbread/gingersnaps in a bowl. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Freeze in ice cream maker as directed. Add shortbread crumbles for the last 2 minutes. Serve fresh.

Honey-Apple Frozen Yogurt with Pecans

2010-07-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

Days are getting so hot where I am, that this is the kind of stuff I've been eating for breakfast lately. I figure it's probably more healthy than most boxed cereals, so I'm okay.

Honey-Apple Frozen Yogurt with Pecans
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
1 cup apple sauce
1/3 cup honey
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup pecan gems

Combine with a wire whisk until blended. Freeze in ice cream maker.

Dave's Molasses Popcorn

2010-07-14T19:15:00.000-07:00

Summertime is movie-watching time, and nothing pairs with a good movie like popcorn. Of course you could go to the theater and eat popcorn with fake butter flavoring and oil... or you could save some money by staying home and watching something on your own screen and eating Dave's delicious, gooey, buttery Molasses Popcorn.

1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1/2 cup Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Molasses
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 Tbsp baking soda

Pop kernels of corn either in an air or oil popper. Put popped corn in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine butter, sugar, molasses and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cook to 255ºF (using candy thermometer). Remove from heat and quickly stir in baking soda. Pour over popped corn and stir gently until combined. Cool and serve warm or cold.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Hot Fudge Sauce

2010-06-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

This ice cream is extremely rich and loaded with natural peanut butter. It pairs perfectly with the hot fudge topping, or can be served over rich chocolate cake.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup natural peanut butter (I used Adams Natural creamy, but you can make your own)
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 - 2 Tbsp lecithin* (optional)

Mix brown sugar and peanut butter on high speed until smooth. Add cream, milk and lecithin* and continue to mix on medium speed until blended. Pour in ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions.

*I found that this particular ice cream, due to the high content of butter fat and peanut oil, needs an emulsifier such as lecithin to help suspend the fat and keep it from separating from the liquid. You don't have to use lecithin, but it will improve the texture of the ice cream.

Hot Fudge Sauce
From Smitten Kitchen
Adapted from Silver Palate Cookbook

Yields 2 1/2 cups

This is a deep, dark fudgy bittersweet sauce that firms up on ice cream.

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 tablespoons butter, unsalted
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons corn syrup
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon rum (or other flavoring, such as a flavored liquer or vanilla extract)

Melt the chocolate and butter very slowly in a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring frequently until combined. Meanwhile, heat the water to boiling in the small, heavy saucepan. When the butter and chocolate have melted, stir the mixture into the boiling water. Add the sugar, corn syrup and salt and mix until smooth. Turn the heat up and stir until mixture starts to boil; adjust heat so that sauce is just maintained at the boiling point, stirring occasionally. Allow sauce to boil for nine minutes.

Remove from heat and cool for 15 minutes. Stir in the rum and serve warm over ice cream.

Do ahead: Sauce can be easily and quickly reheated in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds. Stir and it will be shiny and even again.

Blackberry Rhubarb Trifle

2010-06-19T10:32:00.001-07:00

I'm a fan of trifle, especially with plenty of cream sherry. I had a bunch of blackberries and some rhubarb in my fridge, so I decided to use them in trifle for a party we had the other night, and it seemed to go over well. I loved it!

One Lemon Pound Cake (You can buy one, or I used this recipe.)

Custard
3/4 cup white sugar
3 Tbsp Corn Starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
In a saucepan, combine the sugar, corn starch, and salt. Add milk in gradually while stirring gently. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is bubbly. Keep stirring and cook for about 2 more minutes, and then remove from the burner. Stir a small quantity of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, and immediately add egg yolk mixture to the rest of the hot mixture. Cook for 2 more minutes; remember to keep stirring. Remove the mixture from the stove, and add butter and vanilla. Stir until the whole thing has a smooth consistency.

Rhubarb Sauce
4 cups rhubarb, chopped
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
Cook over high heat in a skillet until tender.

Whipped Cream
1 pint heavy cream
Sugar to taste
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
Whip until fluffy

One Quart Fresh Blackberries
Cream Sherry

Chill all components first. Slice the cake and begin layers with cake, sprinkle generously with cream sherry, then spread with rhubarb sauce, top with custard and blackberries and finally whipped cream. Continue layering until ingredients are gone or you reach the top of your trifle bowl. Top with blackberries (which I forgot to do in this photo).

Nectarine, Strawberries & Cream Crumble Bars

2010-06-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

This is my own recipe. It combines nectarines, strawberries, and almond flavor with a rich, creamy sauce and browned, sweet butter crust. I usually prefer fresh nectarine and strawberry pie to a baked dessert like this, but I cannot resist hot, buttery, crumbly desserts once in a while... especially topped with vanilla ice cream.

Mix together in a big bowl until crumbly:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1 1/4 cups butter
1/4 tsp salt

Press half of the crumble mixture into a 9" x 13" baking pan. Bake at 375ºF for 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine:
3 cups sliced fresh nectarines (no skin)
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
3 Tbsp corn starch
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Top baked crumble with fruit mixture. Sprinkle the remaining crumble over the fruit. Bake at 375ºF for 45 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Hint: Blanch nectarines in boiling water for 30 seconds, and the skins will slip right off!

Chunky Mudslide Toffee Nut Ice Milk/Cream

2010-06-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

I spent a couple of hours in the hot sun pulling weeds from my yard and garden today. This has become a daily ritual and is a never-ending chore. In a way, it's sort of relaxing. I feel like I'm hunting for truffles in the forest. But temperatures have reached 80ºF now, and by the time the sun blazes down, I'm ready to eat something frozen. Ice cream is an good dessert to experiment with. The possible flavors are endless, and it's easy to get creative without a huge disaster. This is one of my throw-in-what-I-had concoctions which turned out delicious.

Chunky Mudslide Toffee Nut Ice Milk/Cream

2 1/2 cups milk (or 3/4 cup milk and 1 3/4 cups cream)
3/4 cup Kahlua Mudslide Mix (non-alcoholic)
2 Tbsp Fresh ground coffee granules
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1/4 cup chopped butterscotch morsels
1/4 cup toffee bits

Whisk first four ingredients together until combined. Place in ice cream freezer and process until partially frozen. Add other ingredients and continue to process until frozen. Serve with Kahlua pored over top (optional)

Peanut Buddies

2010-05-23T10:52:00.001-07:00

When I was little, my mom made "Peanut Buddies" and I used the recipe many times when my kids were young. It involves oats and is delicious, but for this particular recipe I tried a new version, using a recipe from Toll House, but tweaking it a bit. The way these are disappearing, I'd say it was a success. I've got to admit that peanut butter and chocolate are on the top of my list of happy foods.

Peanut Buddies
1 cup natural chunky peanut butter (such as Adam's brand)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (divided)

Preheat oven to 350ºF

Beat peanut butter and butter in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add flour, salt and 3/4 cup chocolate chips.

Spread in an ungreased 13 x 9" baking pan and bake for 25 - 30 minutes until lightly browned around the edges. Sprinkle with 1 cup chocolate chips, allow to melt, then spread evenly over the surface. Cool, cut in small squares, and serve.

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes with Berry Icing

2010-05-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

I sometimes like to just start making cake, using basic portions from various other recipes, and see what comes of it. This turned out dense and delicious and amazing. It rose beautifully and was a wonderful texture. It's times like this that I'm glad I have a blog to keep track of my recipes! I'll be making this cake again for sure.

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

First Ingredients:
1 1/2 cubes of butter (2/3 cups), softened
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 oz melted 100% cocoa chocolate bar (cooled)
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Second Ingredients:
2 cups white, all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine First Ingredients in order, beating constantly until smooth. Combine Second Ingredients in a bowl, then add to first ingredients. Mix until smooth. Fill muffin tins to 3/4 full. Bake mini cupcakes for 13 minutes or until done. Bake full sized cupcakes for 35 minutes or until done. Frost with Berry Frosting which is found here. The recipe for berry frosting calls for strawberry preserves, but you can use any kind of berry preserves you like.

Dave's Banana-Filled Birthday Cake

2010-05-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

Dave has been having this cake for his birthday ever since he was a kid. Of course, I've updated and improved the recipe over the 23 years we've been married, so it's not exactly the cake his mom used to make ... but don't tell him that ;). It's a sort of Boston Cream Pie, only with slices of bananas in the middle.

Banana-Filled Birthday Cake

Cake:
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
6 eggs

Combine all ingredients in a bowl but eggs. Beat with electric mixer until smooth. Beat in one egg at a time. Pour batter into greased 10inch tube pan. Bake at 350ºF for 1 hour 15 minutes or until done.

Filling:
1 1/5 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup milk
3/4 cup salted butter
2 tsp vanilla
3 - 4 bananas

Combine sugar and flour in a small sauce pan. Gradually add milk and stir until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly until thick. Place in a bowl and chill for one hour. Add butter, one tablespoon at a time while beating. Add vanilla. Save bananas for final assembly.

Fudge Frosting:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup cream
5 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla

Combine the sugar and cream in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer for 6 minutes. Add the butter and chocolate until melted. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Place in refrigerator and completely cool (at least 2 hours), stirring occasionally while cooling.

Assembly:
Split the cake horizontally, lengthwise and spread the filling over the bottom half. Top with bananas. Replace the top half of the cake and frost with fudge frosting.

Homemade Marshmallows

2010-04-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make marshmallows more as a chemistry experiment than anything. I made up my own recipe using candy-making concepts and different marshmallow recipes I found online. The difference between my recipe and most is that I don't use corn syrup (because I didn't have any on hand at the moment) Corn syrup is used to prevent crystallization in candy by adding glucose to prevent large sucrose crystals from forming. Two or more different sugar molecules have a harder time joining together to form crystals. Make sense? Instead I use sweetened lime juice as an acid to cause the sucrose to invert into fructose and glucose which also prevents the molecules from joining together to form crystals.

Enough of the chemistry lesson! The fun part is just seeing how it gets all poofy and white.

Mimsy's Marshmallows

4 packages of unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 tsp sweetened lime juice
3/4 cup water

1 tsp vanilla (or other flavoring)
Food coloring (optional)
Confectioner's Sugar

Prepare an 9 x 13" cake pan by greasing it and dusting it generously with confectioner's sugar. Combine the first three ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside. Combine second three ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until the temperature reaches 240ºF (use a candy thermometer). Add flavorings and food coloring if you wish. Add the cooked sugar mixture to the gelatin mixture in the bowl. Stir until the gelatin is dissolved. Beat on high until white and fluffy and about triple in volume.

Pour into prepared pan (this is the hard part). Work quickly and use confectioner's sugar on your hands to carefully spread it evenly. Dust the top with more confectioner's sugar. Cool and then cut with an oiled knife into squares or shapes. Toss marshmallows with more confectioner's sugar to coat. Keep in an airtight container.

Adara's TCCR Cookies

2010-04-25T12:39:00.001-07:00

This is my daughter Adara's original recipe for Triple Chocolate Coconut Rum (TCCR) Cookies. She loves to experiment, and these came out flaky and gooey and simply delicious!

TCCR Cookies
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup butter
3 eggs
1 tsp rum extract
1 tsp coconut extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips

Combine butter and sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs and extracts and beat until smooth. Combine dry ingredients then add to butter mixture. Mix until completely integrated. Add chips and fold until distributed evenly.

Roll into balls, place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350ºF for 7 - 9 minutes or until slightly cracked. Don't over cook!

Adara says that next time she would probably rather substitute pecans for the white chocolate, changing the name to DCCR (Double Chocolate Coconut Rum) Cookies... with pecans.

Cake Balls

2010-04-20T12:39:00.001-07:00

Cake balls are a trendy way of using up leftover cake and icing. Or, if you are me and up all night craving them... you can make them from scratch. They are simply crumbled up cake and icing, formed into balls and then dipped in chocolate. Some people call them cake truffles. Any flavor of cake or icing can be used, and many people make them with box cakes or pre-made frosting. If you know me, you know that I cannot stand cake from a box or icing from a can. I'd rather eat things made from more natural ingredients if possible. So here is what I did for the photo above:

Butter Cake:

Whisk together in a small bowl:
3 eggs
3 T milk
2 tsp vanilla

In a larger bowl combine:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 dashes salt
3/4 cups sugar

Blend into dry ingredients:
1 cup of softened butter

Add egg mixture to dry ingredients 1/3 at a time, beating after each addition until smooth. Scoop batter into a greased 9 x 5 x 3" loaf pan, and bake at 350ºF for 50 - 55 minute or until done. Allow to cool while making icing.

Brown Sugar Icing

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

In a small sauce pan, bring butter, sugar and milk to a boil. Boil one minute. Do not over-boil! Pour into a mixing bowl and allow to cool. Beat in confectioners' sugar until it is a good icing consistency. More or less confectioners' sugar may be needed.

Crumble the entire Butter Cake and about 2/3 of the Brown Sugar Icing together. Form into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Freeze for several hours or over night. Dip in melted candy chocolate (or I used good chocolate chips). Cool on wax paper. Serve! Store uncovered in refrigerator.

Bread Pudding

2010-04-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

I have a great recipe for bread pudding that I got from a friend years ago, but he wants to keep it a secret... so I searched the web for a similar recipe that I can share and found one by Paula Deen. She calls it "The Best Bread Pudding", and I agree. It is extremely rich and amazingly delicious. I made a few small changes, which I've indicated in red.

Bread Pudding:
2 cups granulated sugar (I used brown sugar)
5 large beaten eggs
2 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups cubed Italian bread, allow to stale over night (I used 4 cups)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup chopped pecans

Sauce:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten (I left this out entirely)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup brandy (I used 1/3 cup rum)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.

Mix together granulated sugar, eggs, and milk in a bowl; add vanilla. Pour over cubed bread and let sit for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, mix and crumble together brown sugar, butter, and pecans.

Pour bread mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over the top and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven.

Sauce:

Mix together the granulated sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir together until the sugar is melted. Add the brandy, stirring well. Pour over bread pudding. Serve warm or cold.

Strawberries Romanoff Ice Cream

2010-04-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

There has been some debate over what "Strawberries Romanoff" is, but usually it involves fresh strawberries, cream, and a citrus or orange liqueur such as Curacao, Cointreau or Grand Marnier. When I was at a party once, the host, Jacob, had us dip strawberries in sour cream and then in brown sugar and he called it "Strawberries Romanoff". It was a wonderful treat.

I had a bunch of fresh strawberries and leftover cream from Easter dessert (and as usual, too much milk), so I decided to try my hand at that same flavor, only I froze the whole thing into a batch of ice cream. I think I must be ready for spring to start acting more like summer. Here at my home we've been having snow days alternating with windy and cold sunny days. Making ice cream helps me feel like we've moved beyond winter at last.

Strawberries Romanoff Ice Cream

2.5 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup fresh strawberries, puréed
1/4 cup *Grand Marnier (or use 1 Tbsp orange zest)
1 cup brown sugar

Combine and freeze in ice cream maker according to directions. Eat while freshly frozen!

*If you use Grand Marnier or any liqueur as a flavoring in ice cream, you need to first burn off the alcohol. Otherwise it will prevent the ice cream from freezing. You can do this by pouring the liqueur into a pan and heating it, then carefully igniting it. Once the flame has died the alcohol will be gone and all you have left is flavor.

Photo of me eating strawberries dipped in sour cream and brown sugar at Jacob's party.

Too Much Milk: Microwave Milk Pudding & Simple Almond Ice Milk

2010-03-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

It happens sometimes... our milkman doesn't get the message that we don't need that extra 1/2 gallon of milk. Today was one of those mornings. I didn't have room for the last quart of milk in the refrigerator, so I had to use it up quickly to make room for the new milk.

For microwave milk pudding, all you need is a large microwave bowl, a whisk, and a small cereal bowl. You will see the term "whisk" a lot in this recipe, because whisking is the key to a smooth pudding done in the microwave.

Microwave Milk Pudding

3/4 cup sugar
3 T cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt in large microwaveable bowl. Whisk in milk. Cook in microwave on high until you see bubbles start to form around edges. Whisk the contents of the bowl and continue to microwave, whisking every 2 minutes until thick. Whisk together egg yolks in a separate small bowl. Whisk a little of the hot mixture into the egg yolks to warm them up, then whisk the yolks into the pudding mixture until smooth. Cook in microwave until bubbly again. Whisk in butter and vanilla. Allow to cool. Eat warm or completely cold. Top with fresh berries if desired.

Almond Ice Milk is so easy and refreshing. The almond extract makes it taste a little exotic and elegant. You can store leftover ice milk in a plastic sealed container in the freezer.

Simple Almond Ice Milk

4 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract

Mix together and freeze in ice cream maker according to directions.

Yogurt Carrot Cake With Creamy Honey Almond Icing

2010-03-28T20:23:00.000-07:00

This delicious cake recipe came from Good Eats by Alton Brown. The icing is my own.

Ingredients

(I used Greek yogurt)

(I used unsalted butter)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 9-inch round and 3-inch deep cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

Put the carrots into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process for 5 seconds. Add this mixture to the carrots and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.

In the bowl of the food processor combine the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and yogurt.

With the processor still running drizzle in the vegetable oil. Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes or until the cake reaches 205 to 210 degrees F in the center.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, turn the cake out onto a rack and allow cake to cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting after cake has cooled completely.

Mimsy's Creamy Honey Almond Icing

8oz Cream Cheese
2oz Butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Beat until smooth.

Triple Sec Lime Bars

2010-02-19T16:00:00.000-08:00

Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup confectionery sugar

Filling:
1 oz Sweetened Lime Juice
2 oz Triple Sec
1 1/2 oz Sweet & Sour Mix
5 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
2 tsp lime zest

To make crust, cut butter into other ingredients and press into a 9 x 13" baking pan. Bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes or until slightly brown. Combine filling ingredients with a wire whisk until well blended. Pour over somewhat cooled crust. Bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes or until set. Allow to cool before cutting. Sprinkle with confectionery sugar if desired.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-02-13T18:55:00.001-08:00

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips

Beat together butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and beat. Combine flour, baking soda and salt, add to butter mixture. Stir in oats. Allow dough to sit in fridge for 2 hours.
Heat oven to 350ºF. Roll into balls and place on cookie sheets. Bake each sheet for 10 - 12 minutes until slightly golden. Do not overbake. Cookies continue to cook once removed from the oven, so underdone is better than overdone.

Adara's Toffee Fudge Brownies

2010-02-07T10:41:00.001-08:00

These brownies are dense and fudgy in the center and flaky on the outside. Absolutely amazing. These are my daughter's creation, and my all-time favorite brownie recipe. The photo here was taken after a night in the fridge smooshed under various leftovers. They actually "glisten and crumble" more when they are fresh from the oven. A different version of this can be found in another place on this blog, but this is the recipe the way my daughter makes it:

1/2 cup butter
8 oz. high quality dark chocolate (60 - 70%), chopped
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 large eggs (beat well after each egg)
3/4 cup flour (don't over-mix)
1 cup chopped toffee pieces

Preheat over to 350ºF. In a small saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar and salt. Pour into a cold bowl and add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Carefully add flour and toffee and don't over-mix.

Bake in a buttered 8-inch square pan for about 45 minutes or until the edges pull away from the pan. Do not overcook! Cool before cutting.

Neapolitan Cheesecake

2010-01-31T10:00:00.000-08:00

Somewhere in all my stacks of recipe books I have a recipe for Neapolitan cheesecake, but I couldn't find it, so I winged it. I love the rich layers made from strawberry puree, melted rich chocolate and vanilla bean, over a rich chocolate macadamia nut crust. The key to making good baked cheesecake is to cook it a day ahead and allow it to settle in the refrigerator over night. Otherwise it will taste too "eggy".

Crust:
1 1/2 cups crushed vanilla wafers or graham crackers
1/8 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1 T sugar

Filling:
3 8oz packages of cream cheese
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup cream
1 cup strawberry puree (made from fresh or frozen strawberries)
4oz 60% dark chocolate, melted
1 T dark cocoa powder
1 vanilla bean (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)

Heat oven to 350ºF. Combine crust ingredients and press into the bottom only of a 10" springform pan. Mix cheese with sugar. Add one egg at a time, blending until combined and smooth. Divide filling into three sections. Add strawberry puree to one, chocolates to second, and inside of vanilla bean (or extract) to third. Carefully layer the three sections over the crust, being careful not to blend them together. End with the strawberry layer, as it has more liquid than the other two. Bake for about 50 minutes then turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool with the oven for an hour. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving.

Pear Poached in Orange, Cranberry and Wine, with Caramel Glaze

2010-01-25T20:05:00.000-08:00

2 large pears, peeled
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 cup dry white wine
1 tsp honey
1 whole orange, cut in half
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 T butter
2T milk

In a medium pot, bring cranberries and orange halves (peels on) to boil in white wine with honey. Reduce to a simmer, place pears in the liquid, and cover. Poach for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, combine the sugar, butter, and milk in a tiny sauce pan and bring to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes.

Remove pears from poaching liquid and place on a plate. Remove orange, bring poaching liquid to a boil, and add the sugar mixture to the poaching liquid. Cook down into a syrup. Spoon cranberries in syrup over pears. Serve either warm or chilled.

Simple Baked Rice Pudding

2010-01-19T07:29:00.001-08:00

I went on a quick road trip for four days, and I had a lot of leftover milk. The milkman was about to deliver more as soon as I returned, so I thought I better use some up before I left. This is the easiest rice pudding I've ever made. Delicious, too. I pretty much made up the recipe and baked this while I was packing, so I was glad it turned out.

5 cups milk (or for richer pudding replace some of the milk with cream)
3 eggs
1/2 cup raw, white rice (I used Kokuho Rose)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Anything you like to add (lemon peel, nuts, raisins, cinnamon, etc.)

Heat the oven to 300ºF. Whisk together the milk and eggs. Add all the other ingredients and pour into a 9 x 13" pan. Bake for about 2 hours or until thick, stirring every 15 minutes for the first hour. Serve warm.

Mimsy's Black Cake

2010-01-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

This is a decadant, dense, incredibly delicious dark chocolate cake to die for. Please make it for my birthday every year. The fudge frosting is made from heavy cream, butter and unsweetened chocolate, and the cake is amazingly easy to make, using powdered dark chocolate and oil. The batter is very thin and soupy, so be careful not to open the oven too early or dance the jig while it's cooking, or the cake might fall.

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cups dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp soda
1/2 cup oil (canola)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup hot water

Combine dry ingredients and mix in oil, eggs, and milk until smooth. Add hot water. Batter will be thin. Place in greased 9 x 13" baking pan. Cook in preheated 350ºF oven for 35 - 40 minutes. Frost when completely cooled.

Fudge Frosting:

1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup cream
5 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla

Combine the sugar and cream in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer for 6 minutes. Add the butter and chocolate until melted. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Place in refrigerator and completely cool, stirring occasionally while cooling. You probably want to make this before you make the cake because it takes a while to cool and firm up. Delicious.

Cherry Turnovers

2009-12-29T09:52:00.000-08:00

Flaky, sugary crust with a tart cherry filling. Delicious hot, or serve cold as finger food for New Year's Eve. Makes 8 large turnovers.

14oz can or tart pie cherries in juice
1/2 cup sugar
3 T corn starch
1 tsp vanilla
1 recipe double pie crust (your favorite)
1 egg, blended

Mix the sugar, corn starch, and the juice from the pie cherries in the bottom of a small sauce pan until smooth. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Cook until thick. Remove from heat and add vanilla and cherries, stirring carefully (so cherries don't break apart).

Roll pie crust into two large circles. Cut each circle into fourths. paint the edges of each triangle with egg, place about 1/4 cup cherry filling in each and seal the edges. Place on a greased cookie sheet, paint with more egg and sprinkle liberally with white sugar. Bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Pumpkin Loaf with Rum Butter Sauce

2009-12-15T13:29:00.001-08:00

This cake loaf is delicious sliced with nothing on top. It's dense and fabulous as it is. But who can say no to rum butter sauce?

Loaves:

3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup canola oil
3 eggs
2 cups pumpkin puree
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Oven 350ºF
Blend together sugar, oil and eggs. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Spread in two greased 9x5x3" loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Tear into pieces, place in individual serving dishes and top with rum butter sauce.

Rum Butter Sauce:

2 cups brown sugar
4 Tbsp cornstarch
dash of salt
2 cups water
4 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup rum (or to taste)

Mix together sugar and cornstarch and salt in a medium sauce pan. Stir in water and place over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add butter and rum. Stir until butter is melted.

Shortbread

2009-12-09T07:33:00.001-08:00

No food sensation in this world is better than the combination of good shortbread and hot tea. At least that's how I feel about life. I like to sit down and relax in the afternoon around 3:30 with a hot cup of tea. I buy loose leaf tea from the British Tea Store and my favorite blends are Angel's Dream, Buckingham Palace Tea Party, and the French Blend. Dave's favorite tea is Yorkshire Gold. Good commercial shortbread can be pretty expensive. Walkers is my favorite. But shortbread is actually really simple and easy to make at home. There are only three ingredients and it just takes minutes to put together.

3/4 cup butter (I use half salted and half unsalted)
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/3 cup sugar

Blend together until smooth. Press into a square 9" x 9" baking pan. Bake at 350ºF until starting to brown around the edges (my oven took about 30 minutes, but it's a slow oven, so watch closely). Cool completely and slice.

For the shortbread in the photo, I scored the dough into squares as soon as I pulled it from the oven and used and pricked each square with a fork. Then I waited until it was cooled completely before removing it from the pan.

This recipe is found in many places on the internet and the credit can't be traced to one source. So I'll just call it a "traditional" recipe.

A Bunch of Pies

2009-11-27T10:45:00.001-08:00

It's not a good idea to try new recipes when you are in charge of a dozen pies for a Thanksgiving dinner, but I do a lot of things that aren't necessarily good ideas. Fortunately, all my pies turned out splendidly (although some weren't as pretty as others), and every pie had at least one person who favored it above all the others. I came up with my pie list by asking family members what their favorite pie was and then adding a few I wanted to try. Here was my pie list:

Cranberry Pecan Pie
Banana Cream Pie
Cherry Pie
Mixed Berry Pie
Pumpkin Praline Pie
Apple Cranberry Custard Pie
Pumpkin Pie(s)
French Silk Chocolate Pie
Pecan Pie

Cranberry Pecan Pie

This recipe was suggested by my friend, April and is also found here. This pie was one of my personal favorites. The bourbon flavor is strong, so like April says on her blog, you want to use a good bourbon. I really like the tangy bite of the cranberries in contrast with the warm flavors of the dark brown sugar, bourbon, and almonds.

Bourbon Pecan Pie with Cranberries

1 single pie crust
1 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups pecans, lightly toasted
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Put the corn syrup and brown sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add the butter, bourbon and vanilla. Let the mixture cool, and then add the eggs and whisk until smooth.

Arrange the pecans and cranberries on the bottom of the crust. Carefully pour the filling over them. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the filling is set; rotate the pan halfway through baking time.

Banana Cream Pie

I was surprised to find out that more people in my family favor banana cream pie than any other pie. I've never been a huge fan of cream pies, and it didn't seem like a Thanksgiving dessert, but I found this recipe, which is fantastic because it follows the "less is more" concept that I love. Even more surprising, it was gone first, and even Dave, who usually doesn't like banana cream pie, loved it. I don't have a photo of the pie I made, because it disappeared too quickly.

ingredients
3/4 cup white sugar
3 T corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
4 bananas, sliced

Directions
In a saucepan, combine the sugar, corn starch, and salt. Add milk in gradually while stirring gently. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is bubbly. Keep stirring and cook for about 2 more minutes, and then remove from the burner. Stir a small quantity of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, and immediately add egg yolk mixture to the rest of the hot mixture. Cook for 2 more minutes; remember to keep stirring. Remove the mixture from the stove, and add butter and vanilla. Stir until the whole thing has a smooth consistency. Slice bananas into the cooled baked pastry shell. Top with pudding mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 12 to 15 minutes. Chill for an hour.

Cherry Pie and Mixed Berry Pie

I used the same recipe for the cherry pie and the mixed berry pie, interchanging tart pie cherries with raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. As far as I know, this is a classic recipe that many people who make fruit pies use when making a double-crusted baked pie. I'm not sure where it originated:

3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 - 4 Tbsp cornstarch
4 - 5 cups berries (or cherries)
1 cup of juice drained from berries or cherries (or bought separately)
1 Tbsp unsalted salted butter
Almond flavoring (or vanilla or lemon or nothing, depending on taste)

Combine juice with cornstarch and sugar until smooth. Heat in a saucepan over medium-low until thick. Place berries or cherries in the bottom of a pie shell. Top with thickened sauce. Cover with top crust and seal. Bake in 400ºF preheated oven for 40 - 50 minutes until crust is brown and filling is bubbly.

Pumpkin Praline Pie

This pie recipe came out of a Better Homes and Garden magazine and can be found here online. It was one of Dave's favorite and popular with the whole family. I think they loved the toffee bits on the top and the cream cheese layer on the bottom. It's a very pretty pie as well as being something a bit different from the classic pumpkin pie.

Ingredients

12 ounces cream cheese (four 3-ounce packages or 1-1/2 8-ounce packages), softened

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel

Pastry for a Single-Crust Deep-Dish Pie

1 15-ounce can pumpkin

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

3 eggs

3/4 cup half-and-half or light cream

3/4 cup broken walnuts

1/2 cup milk chocolate-covered toffee pieces or chopped chocolate-covered English toffee bars

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Hot fudge ice cream topping (optional)

Whipped cream (optional)

Pumpkin pie spice (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and the 1/3 cup sugar; beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed until smooth. Beat in the 1 egg; stir in orange peel. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F . Prepare Pastry for a Single-Crust Deep-Dish Pie. On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten pastry. Roll dough from center to edge into a circle about 13 inches in diameter. To transfer pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin. Unroll pastry into a 9 1/2- to 10-inch deep-dish pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry. Trim pastry to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold under extra pastry. Crimp edge high (photo). Do not prick pastry.

3. For pumpkin filling: In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, the 3/4 cup sugar, and the 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice. Add the 3 eggs and beat lightly. Gradually beat in half-and-half. Spread cream cheese mixture in pastry-lined pie plate. Carefully spoon pumpkin filling over cream cheese layer. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil. Bake for 25 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, combine walnuts, toffee pieces, and brown sugar. Remove foil from pie. Sprinkle with walnut mixture.

5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes more or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill pie within 2 hours. If desired, garnish individual servings with hot fudge topping, whipped cream, and additional pumpkin pie spice. Makes 10 servings.

Apple Cranberry Custard Pie

This pie is obviously from the previous post on this very blog and can be found here.

Classic Pumpkin Pie

This pie is also found on my blog, here.

French Silk Chocolate Pie

This pie was also gone before I captured a photo. The recipe is found here, but I used 2.5 times the amount of filling for one pie. It needs it! Some people are put off by the raw eggs. If that bothers you, then use raw eggs that have been pasteurized and sold in a carton.

Pecan Pie

This is another recipe that I was thrilled to find. The recipe is online here. It doesn't require corn syrup, and I liked it so much better than the corn syrup pecan pies. This particular recipe only makes a very shallow pie, however. I'd like to try increasing the filling next time.

Apple Cranberry Custard Pie

2009-11-16T15:46:00.001-08:00

I've been seeking for some good pies to make for Thanksgiving, and I really like this streusel-topped custard pie filled with apples and cranberries. It's quick and easy which is a plus when you have a dozen different pies to make, and the custard adds a rich, creamy flavor. I found the recipe here, which I have copied directly. However, you ought to be aware that this pie needs time for the custard to get dense by allowing it to cool completely in the refrigerator. In fact the texture is best if you wait to eat it until the next day.

Ingredients:

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND®

Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 cup hot water

1 1/2 cups fresh or dry-pack frozen

cranberries

2 medium all-purpose apples, peeled and

sliced

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

1.	Place rack in lower third of oven; preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk and cinnamon. Add eggs, water and fruits; mix well. Pour into pie crust.
2.	In medium bowl, combine sugar and flour; cut in butter until crumbly. Add nuts. Sprinkle over pie. Bake 10 minutes.
3.	Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F; continue baking 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator. (Note from Miriam: I like to allow the pie to cool completely in refrigerator overnight so that the eggs settle and the custard has a dense, creamy flavor.)

Cranberry Almond Cobbler

2009-11-09T14:48:00.000-08:00

This is a simple dessert that contrasts the bitter-tart flavor of cranberries with rich butter and brown sugar. It's so easy to make, and perfect around the holidays when cranberries are in season. Serve it hot, topped with vanilla ice cream. I've seen this dessert called "Nantucket Cranberry Pie" online, but I've always called it cranberry cobbler.

In the bottom of a pie plate, spread:
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cups dark brown sugar

Mix together and pour over cranberries:
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup melted butter
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp Amaretto

Bake in a 350ºF oven for 45 - 50 minutes until done in center.

Mimsy's Rich, Dark, Traditional Pumpkin Pie

2009-10-26T15:31:00.001-07:00

It's interesting that so many people still use canned evaporated milk in pumpkin pie. Canned milk came about as a way to preserve milk when refrigerators weren't a part of every kitchen in the early 1900s. I think it might have to do with the Libby's® pumpkin pie recipe which has been around since the 1950's. Well, it's time to move out of the canned evaporated milk era and start using fresh ingredients again!

This is my own pumpkin pie recipe, developed over years of making pie for Thanksgiving.

3 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (or use canned pumpkin in a pinch)
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
3 T molasses
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tsp salt
2 T vanilla
2 unbaked single pie shells (your favorite recipe)

Using a wire whisk, beat all of the ingredients in a large bowl until completely blended and divide between two pie crusts in two 9-inch pie tins. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 425ºF for 15 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350ºF and continue baking until set, approximately 50 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.

Rustic Apple-Cranberry Tart

2009-10-16T10:56:00.000-07:00

Tart cranberries and tart apples in a sugar-coated crust, served hot with vanilla ice cream. I like a tart... tart. There are all kinds of varieties of recipes for apple-cranberry rustic tart on the internet. Some even use canned cranberries and canned apple pie filling (gah!). Don't do it! Sure, it takes a while to hand peel some fresh apples off the tree. But touching and smelling the apples, working them with your hands, picking over the beautiful, brightly colored fresh cranberries and listening to them pop as they cook is all part of connecting with nature. When we eat by opening cans or dumping food that has been processed and packaged onto our plates, we lose the pleasure of becoming intimately acquainted with the treasures of nature and truly understanding how to enjoy the complex and simple flavors of fruit, grains, vegetables, even of poultry and fish and meats. It's about quality rather than quantity. Taking time to slow down and enjoy food is better for our bodies and even a little sugar on the weekend can become part of an overall more healthier lifestyle.

The following is my own recipe...

Cranberry Mixture:

2 cups fresh cranberries
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Combine in a saucepan and cook until berries pop open and mixture has thickened slightly.

Apple Mixture:

7 medium tart apples (I used granny smith)
1/4 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Combine in a large glass bowl and microwave for 12 minutes (this step keeps the tart from being too watery, but is not necessary. If you prefer, you can skip microwaving the apple mixture and place them directly into the crust)

Preheat the oven to 425ºF

Assemble the tart by rolling out your favorite pie crust for a single-crust pie, making it larger than the pie tin you will be using. Drape the crust over the tin, and fill first with apple mixture and then with cranberry mixture. Fold the extra dough over the top around the edges (as seen in the photo at the bottom of this post). Paint the edges of the dough with egg white and sprinkle generously with granulated sugar.

Bake for 25 minutes in pre-heated oven, then decrease the temperature to 350ºF and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the apples are fully cooked and the crust is brown.

October Pie (Walnut-Pumpkin)

2009-10-09T11:32:00.001-07:00

Two of my favorite Autumn pies in one: Walnut and Pumpkin. This is my own recipe that I developed from of similar concepts I've seen. It turned out delicious! Not as rich as a pure nut pie and something a bit more hearty than a pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin Layer:

1 egg
1 cup solid pumpkin puree
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1 T molasses
1/4 tsp salt

Mix together with a wire whisk and spread over your favorite uncooked pie crust.

Walnut Layer:

2/3 cup light corn syrup
3 T butter, melted
1/2 T molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup broken walnuts

Whisk together all ingredients except nuts until smooth. Stir in walnuts. Pour over pumpkin layer.

Bake at 350ºF for 50 - 55 minutes or until set. Cool before cutting.

Glass Candy - Root beer/ Vanilla Rum

2009-10-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

Root Beer Candy

Vanilla-Rum Candy

Homemade hardtack candy is ridiculously easy to make, and for some reason it has always made me feel like I'm in an 1800s General Store as a little girl in pigtails and an apron, looking at the big jars full of sparkling glass candy and deciding how to spend my penny.

I used this recipe but made a few minor changes. A candy thermometer makes it very simple.

3 3/4 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
1 cup water
1 T flavoring* (extract) (I divided the candy into two and flavored one with rootbeer extract and one with rum extract and vanilla extract)
1/2 food coloring (optional) (I didn't use any coloring)
butter (for pans)

*Note: 100% natural extracts can be purchased at Faerie's Finest.

Butter two cookie sheets.
Combine sugar, cornsyrup, and water in a medium saucepan. Stir and bring to a boil, then allow to boil until it reaches the temperature of 310ºF on the candy thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in flavoring and color. Pour over the two cookie sheets. As it is cooling, you can score the candy like I've done in this photo:

Once it is cool, the candy will break into squares. Or you can leave the candy smooth and break it to look like broken glass:

Black-Bottom Fresh Raspberry Pie

2009-10-06T12:15:00.000-07:00

Fresh raspberries over chocolate ganache, covered with natural raspberry puree and whipped cream. Life doesn't get better than this! The following recipe is adapted from April Fossen's recipe which is an adaption from Dave's recipe and a black-bottom banana cream pie recipe from Bon Appetit, November 1991. So this pie was built on the shoulders of greater cooks than myself.

Crust:
I'm going to let you use your own crust recipe. I've found that people are really particular about their crusts. I use a baked traditional crust made with butter and lard, but you can use a cookie crumb crust or anything you like.

Ganache:
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2/8 cup heavy whipping cream
3 T unsalted butter

Stir these ingredients in a saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth.

Fruit Filling:
3 cups fresh raspberries
1 cup frozen (or fresh) raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
3 T cornstarch
1/4 cup water
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Combine 1 cup frozen raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, water and lemon juice in a saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until thick. Cool slightly.

Spread mostly cooled ganache over bottom of crust. Top with fresh raspberries. Top berries with cooked frozen raspberry mixture. Whip heavy cream with sugar (to taste) and top pie with cream. Sprinkle with extra bittersweet chocolate flakes.

Dave's Original Pumpkin Molasses Bread

2009-09-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

This is one of Dave's own recipes, and I love the dark, rich flavor of molasses in this bread. It's a rich cake, and tastes amazing considering how low it is in saturated fat. I'd call it dense and buttery, although there is no butter in it.

makes 2 loaves

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup molasses
2 cups canned pumpkin
4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
3 tsp pumpkin spice
1 cup semi-sweet French chocolate truffles, chopped coarsely* (optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Sift together the dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl and add to dry ingredients. Add chocolate and nuts. Bake in two greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pans. Bake for about 70 minutes or until a skewer through the center comes out clean.

*If you don't know where to find these, you can use your own favorite chocolate pieces

Dave's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake with Rum-Butter Sauce

2009-09-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

Dave makes beautiful breads and cakes and all manner of baked goods. Lately he has been testing a lot of the King Arthur website recipes. This one can be found here. The Rum-Butter sauce is my addition from a recipe I've used for years.

Cake:

4 large eggs
2 cups puréed pumpkin (1-pound can)
1 cup (7 ounces) vegetable oil
1 cup (2 1/8 ounces) bran cereal
2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups (14 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon EACH ground cloves and cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon EACH allspice and ginger (or substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice for the preceding four spices)
1 cup (4 ounces) chopped walnuts
2 2/3 cups (16 ounces) chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube or Bundt pan.

In a large bowl, beat eggs till foamy. Stir in pumpkin, vegetable oil and bran cereal; combine well.

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar and spices. Add to wet ingredients and mix gently, till just combined. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a rack before slicing.

Rum-Butter Sauce:

1 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup salted butter
1 T corn starch
1/4 - 1/2 cup spiced rum
1/2 cup half and half

Combine first three ingredients in a sauce pan, then add the rum and half & half and stir until smooth. Heat over medium-high heat and cook until thick. Pour hot, over individual slices of cake.

Old Fashioned Root Beer Cookies

2009-09-10T15:32:00.000-07:00

These ooey-gooey root beer cookies are rich and buttery rather than "cakey" like some versions I've had. Confession: that is because I made up the recipe myself and didn't want the cakey version. So there. My kids were dubious about something flavored like soda pop, but they quickly changed their minds when these came out of the oven.

Dough:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup raw (or brown) sugar
1 egg
1 tsp root beer extract (or root beer starter)
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
Frosting (below)

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and continue to beat until fluffy. Combine dry ingredients and add to the butter mixture, beating until smooth. Roll into balls and place on ungreased baking sheet. Cook at 350ºF until just barely starting to crack (about 8 minutes). Don't overcook! Makes 12 large cookies. You can double or triple the batch for more.

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp root beer extract
1 - 3 Tblsp water (to texture)

Cool cookies before frosting them (of course).

*Note: 100% natural extracts can be purchased at Faerie's Finest.

Dave's Banana Bread

2009-09-06T09:14:00.000-07:00

There always seems to be three over-ripe bananas at the tail end of a bunch at our house. Dave uses these leftover bananas to make this delicious banana bread.

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour (white or whole wheat)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
3 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine bananas, butter, vanilla and eggs in a separate bowl. Beat the dry and wet ingredients together in the large bowl until smooth. Add nuts, if desired (I love walnuts in this bread). Bake in a prepared loaf pan at 325ºF for 1 hour, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Serve hot, slice, with butter.

Fresh Fruit Tart

2009-08-24T16:13:00.001-07:00

This dessert is so easy, yet it never fails to get great compliments because it looks beautiful, tastes delicious, and is perfectly elegant. This is my own version, but there are many similar recipes found in cookbooks and online.

Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour (white, all purpose)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter

Combine well. Press into two tart pans. Bake at 300ºF until brown (about 30 minutes).

Filling:
10 oz white chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
16 oz cream cheese

Melt white chocolate with heavy cream. Cool slightly. Beat cream cheese with melted chocolate until smooth. Spread over crusts. Top with your choice of cut fruit.

Baklava

2009-08-19T06:11:00.000-07:00

I came across this photo in my files from last year. I made this Baklava for an Egyptian dinner we held after returning from a 2.5 week tour of Egypt (our second visit there). The Egyptians grow sugar cane as one of their main agricultural exports. Their cuisine is infused with syrupy sweet dishes made of phyllo dough or semolina flour. In other parts of the Middle East, honey is often used, but the Egyptians replace the honey with simple syrup made from boiled granulated sugar. This recipe is more typical of Greek Baklava, because it uses honey along with the simple syrup. It really isn't as difficult to make as you might think, although it does take a little patience and time.

1 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup honey
16 oz phyllo dough (pre-cut to fit 9 X 13" pan)
1 pound of chopped nuts, lightly toasted (I used walnuts and pecans in this photo)
1 cup salted butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon

Boil the sugar and water for 1 minute. Add vanilla and honey, then simmer on low for 20 minutes. Allow to cool in the fridge while making Baklava.

Butter the bottom of a 9 x 13" pan. Toss the nuts with the cinnamon and set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Many people cover the phyllo dough with a wet cloth while working, but I find that cumbersome. I just work quickly before the dough dries out.

Place 2 sheets of phyllo in pan, and brush thoroughly with butter. Repeat 3 times (until you have 8 sheets layered in the pan). Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two more sheets, buttering each thoroughly and then add another layer of nut mixture. Continue layering nuts and two sheets until the nuts are gone. Top with 6 - 8 layers of just phyllo dough and butter.

Use a sharp knife to cut either square or diamond shapes. Be sure to cut all the way to the bottom of the pan.

Bake for 50 minutes at 350ºF or until it looks golden and crisp.

Spoon cooled sugar sauce immediately over the baked Baklava. Allow it to cool completely before serving. Don't cover the baklava or it will become soggy. Store extra baklava uncovered in the fridge or freeze wrapped in foil.

Elijah's Butter Cake with Strawberry Frosting

2009-08-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

Strawberry frosting flavored with real strawberries. Imagine that! Please don't use fake fruit flavorings. For one thing, they don't taste anything like fruit. For another, they are nothing but chemicals... so they aren't really food at all. It is never a good idea to eat something that isn't food unless it's medicine and your doctor has prescribed it. Apparently blue food coloring in M & Ms might help your spine... but I doubt that eating red food coloring or strawberry Jell-O or other flavorings I've found in strawberry frosting recipes is going to do anything good for your health. And why eat something that tastes terrible unless it's good for your health? Brussel sprouts, for example, might be worth eating.

My son, Elijah, wanted strawberry frosting on his cake. I did some research and found that most people have not been successful in putting fresh strawberries into frosting, because they are just too full of liquid. It ruins the consistency. So I came up with the idea of using fresh strawberry preserves in the recipe. That way, I was using real strawberries, but they were already thickened. It was a bit sweet... but the frosting tasted like real strawberries, which was the point. It was so good, that my kids kept sneaking the leftover frosting from the fridge by finger-fulls.

The cake is to die for and probably would cause you to die young if you ate it every day. BUTTER! It's rich, dense and deliciously self-indulgent. But for birthdays? Yes. We can eat this way on birthdays.

Butter Cake:
3 cups flour (I used King Aurthur Unbleached all-purpose)
2 cups sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of butter, softened (hello, Julia Child!)
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
6 eggs

Combine all ingredients in a bowl but eggs. Beat with electric mixer until smooth. Beat in one egg at a time. Pour batter into greased 10inch tube pan. Bake at 350ºF for 1 hour 15 minutes or until done.

Strawberry Frosting:
1 lb of powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup fresh strawberry preserves (or to texture)
2 tsp vanilla

Whip the butter and sugar until crumbly. Add the vanilla, then add the preserves a couple tablespoons at a time until the consistency is just right for spreading over cake.

Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Amaretto Blomberbloof

2009-08-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

I call these "Blomberbloof" as a private joke. Not tellin' why. It's private. You may recognize the dough from an earlier blog of mine. This is my doughnut dough. Simply put, these little blomberbloof things are really just large doughnut holes dipped in a chocolate/amaretto glaze. They are tasty though...

Dough:
2 cups scalded milk
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar, divided
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons yeast
4 eggs (beaten)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
7 cups sifted flour

Glaze:
1 cup melted chocolate chips
2 cups powdered sugar
2 T amaretto
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
milk (to consistency of a glaze)

1. Mix together ingredients for glaze.
2. Melt butter in hot milk, add 1 tsp sugar and salt. Allow to cool.
3. Beat in yeast, nutmeg, eggs, remaining sugar, and 3 cups flour.
4. Add rest of flour (dough will be sticky).
5. Knead for 5 minutes then allow to rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.
6. Roll out dough, cut into small circles.
7. Allow to rise for 30-45 minutes.
8. Heat oil to 365° and fry 1 - 2 minutes on each side or until brown.
9. Dip in glaze

Note: Even though this glaze was good, next time I think I'll make it much thicker and more chocolaty.

Dark Chocolate Fudge Cookies

2009-08-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

I think some people might be a little shocked by the amount of chocolate powder I put in these, and by the sugar-to-flour ratio... but the result is really fudgey and delicious. If you want the cookies to taste more dark-bitter, you can try them without so much sugar. These cookies delighted my sons and husband who all prefer milk chocolate, so they are puh-lenty sweet.

1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
2 tsps. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream together the sugars and butter. Add eggs & vanilla and continue to beat until well-blended. Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture. Mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.

Roll into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350ºF for about 8 - 10 minutes or until cracked on the top. Don't over cook! Allow the cookies to cool for about 5 minutes on the pan before removing.

Hot Strawberry Soup with Dumplings

2009-07-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

I like this dessert, because it isn't too sweet and tastes great topped with sweetened cream or vanilla ice cream.

In a medium sauce pan, bring to a simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes:
4 Cups of fresh strawberries
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Stir together:
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp butter
1/8 cup brown sugar

Drop flour mixture into the simmering strawberry soup. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes or until the tops of the dumplings are dry.

Scoop out and serve with sweetened cream or ice cream.

Blueberry Frozen Yogurt

2009-07-20T20:35:00.001-07:00

I'm counting on blueberries to save my brains and help me live longer and here is why: according to the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center, not only are they higher than most other fruits with antioxidants, but they contain anthocyanin, which gives them their unique color and also slows age-related loss of mental capacity for motor behavioral learning and memory as well as retention of signal-transmitting neurons. Blueberries are great for the urinary tract. have anti-inflammatory properties and help prevent aging diseases and dysfunctions caused by free radicals.

What's not to love about these little blue berries?

2 cups of fresh blueberries (frozen will work too)
2 cups of plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar (to taste)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix this all together in a bowl and freeze according to ice cream maker instructions. My family likes the blueberries whole, but if you would rather have them blended, puree the blueberries before adding them to the mixture.

Crumbly Thing #3: Hot Crumbleberry

2009-07-13T20:50:00.000-07:00

Here I go for the third time this month making something with berries and buttery, sugary, crumbly stuff on top. I just can't get enough! I promise this is the last weekend of crummy desserts.

Mix together in a big bowl until crumbly:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 cup butter
1/4 tsp salt

Divide the mixture in half. In one of the halves, add:
1 egg
1 T Amaretto

In the other half of mixture add:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar

Press the mixture with the egg into the bottom of a 9 X 13" pan. Bake for 12 minutes at 375ºF. Meanwhile mix together in a bowl:
4 cups of berries (your choice)
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp cornstarch

Spread berries over the warm crust and sprinkle with other half of mixture. Bake at 375ºF for about 45 minutes or until browned.

Serve hot. Especially good topped with vanilla ice cream.

Blueberry Butter Coffee Cake

2009-07-03T20:45:00.000-07:00

Another fruity and crumbly dessert for this blog. I must really be craving this kind of thing right now. I admit that I ate most of this cake myself by dashing off pieces of it all day long to eat with my tea. The cake is so rich and buttery and then the flavor of those fresh blueberries and crunchy sugar on top... it was too much to resist.

Sift together:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Beat together:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream

Combine sifted ingredients with butter mixture until smooth. Spread into buttered spring form pan.

Top the batter with 2 cups of blueberries.

Sprinkle the following mixture over the blueberries:
1 cup brown sugar
4 T flour
5 T butter

Bake in a 350ºF oven for 45 - 50 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan.

Rhubarb-Strawberry Crumble Pie

2009-06-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

These didn't turn out to be the prettiest pies I ever made, but by the way my family devoured them, I have to say they were a success.

Cut up 1 lb of rhubarb and 1 qt. of strawberries. Combine them in a bowl and sprinkle them with 1 cup of sugar (or to taste) and 1/2 cup flour. Add 1 tsp vanilla (optional) and stir carefully to coat the fruit.

Divide fruit mixture between two pie crusts. Top with the following crumble mixture:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt

Bake at 375ºF for 35 - 40 minutes

Trifle with Strawberries, Cream, & Sherry

2009-06-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

This recipe I found and adapted based on the idea that "less is more". Unfortunately, many Americans have taken the concept of trifle and added fake-tasting fruity glaze with processed or chemically flavored colors and additives, whipped hydrogenated oils in the place of real cream, and even canned fruit. If you like to eat food dyes and ingredients created in a chemistry lab, stick to Hostess products. If you want to enjoy the flavor of rich cream, fresh succulent strawberries, and warm sherry... try my way.

Try to use organic products whenever possible. The difference in the flavor is phenomenal. I like to use King Arthur brand flours and Daisy brand sour cream.

Simple Cake:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1/8 tsp baking soda

Set oven to 350ºF. Cream butter, sugar, sour cream, and eggs. Add flour and soda. Mix well. Pour into 8"x4" bread loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes, or until done.

Simple Cream Custard:
1 quart Half & Half (organic)
4 eggs
1/4 cup sugar

Heat milk to a simmer or medium-high heat. Whisk milk slowly into beaten eggs in a bowl. Return to heat and cook, stirring until coats spoon (will not be very thick).
Cover with paper towel (or cloth towel) and refrigerate for at least 3 hours until thickened.

Wash and slice fresh farmers market strawberries. Create a layer of sliced cake in the bottom of a trifle bowl. Sprinkle with Cream Sherry (to taste). Top with custard and strawberries and repeat twice. Finish with a layer of whipped cream:

Simple Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy cream
2 T sugar (or to taste)

Whip to firm peaks.

Gelato di Riso

2009-06-15T13:18:00.001-07:00

Gelato di Riso (Italian Rice Ice Cream) is popular in parts of Italy, but difficult to find in the USA. If you like rich, creamy rice pudding, you might enjoy Gelato di Riso on a hot day. It isn't difficult to make, but takes a little planning because it needs to cool over night before you place it in the freezer.

Step 1:
1/2 cup rice
2 cups milk
3 T sugar

Combine in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, then simmer for about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool at room temperature for an hour. Cover and place in refridgerator over night.

Step 2:
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup milk
1/4 c sugar

Place egg yolks in a small dish. In a saucepacn, bring milk and sugar to a simmer over medium high. Add a couple of tablespoons of the hot milk to the egg yolks and whisk in, then add the warmed eggs slowly to the saucepan, while using a wire whisk. Stir until thick. Pour into small bowl and cool in fridge for at least 2 hours. (This can be done the night before along with the rice)

Step 3:
2 cups cream
3 Tblsp confectioner's sugar

combine cold rice mixture and egg mixture with cream and confectioner's sugar. Place in ice cream freezer (follow manufacturer's instructions). Serve immediately.

Lemon Sorbet

2009-06-14T20:29:00.001-07:00

It can't be more simple or more refreshing!

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 T lemon zest

Boil sugar in water to dissolve. Cool syrup completely. Add lemon and zest. Pour into small ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's directions.

Grand Marnier Chocolate Walnut Torte

2009-06-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

Recipe is from the Ghirardelli website (but is no longer there)

Torte (Ingredients):
8 ounces Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar, divided
6 egg yolks
2 Tablespoons Grand Marnier
1/2 tsp vanilla
1-1/3 cup very finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
7 egg whites

Chocolate Ganache Glaze (Ingredients):
4 ounces Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons Grand Marnier
1/3 cup very finely chopped walnuts

Grand Marnier Whipped Cream Decoration (Ingredients):
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
2 teaspoons Grand Marnier
1 fresh orange, thin skin variety

Torte:
Melt broken chocolate in double boiler, stirring constantly, or microwave on medium for about 3 minutes. Set aside.

In the small mixer bowl, cream butter, gradually adding 1/2 cup of the sugar; mix until very fluffy. Add egg yolks, Grand Marnier, and vanilla. Beat until creamy. Transfer to larger bowl. Fold melted chocolate into creamed mixture.

Use a food processor or blender to chop walnuts to a coarse powder. Combine nuts with crumbs and fold into chocolate mixture. Beat egg whites with salt, gradually adding remaining 1/4 cup sugar; beat until soft peaks form. Stir 1/4 of egg whites into chocolate mixture; fold in remaining egg whites.

Pour batter into a buttered 9-inch springform pan lined with waxed paper. Bake at 350 degrees F. on bottom rack for 45 to 50 minutes or until center is firm. Cool on rack. Cake will sink slightly in the center. Remove pan and liner.

Top with Chocolate Ganache Glaze and Grand Marnier Whipped Cream

Chocolate Ganache Glaze:
Finely chop chocolate. Heat cream until hot. On very low heat add chocolate, stirring until smooth and thick. Remove from heat. Stir in liqueur. Turn torte, top side down, onto serving plate. Pour glaze over top and sides of cake. After a short time, run excess glaze up sides of cake. Cover sides of cake with nuts. Chill cake while preparing topping.

Grand Marnier Whipped Cream Decoration:
Whip cream with sugar and liqueur until it holds a shape. Do not overbeat. Top torte with cream mixture. With a sharp knife cut peel from orange. Sprinkle grated orange rind over whipped cream. Cake should be stored in a cool place until served.

Mimsy's Soft Ginger Cookies

2009-06-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

I developed these cookies at Christmas time, but they are delicious all year round. There is something comforting about ginger. Some people take ginger root to calm an upset tummy. Is it the psychological comfort of the flavor or the smell or does it really "settle" the tummy? I'm not sure, but I know I feel comforted when I eat these cookies.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1/4 cup white sugar

Preheat oven to 350ºF

Beat ginger, butter and brown sugar until light. Beat in molasses and egg. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the white sugar

Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and then roll them in sugar. Place on baking sheets. Bake 10 - 11 minutes. Do not overcook!

Homemade Melt-in-Your-Mouth Doughnuts

2009-06-11T11:10:00.001-07:00

2 cups scalded milk
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar, divided
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons yeast
4 eggs (beaten)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
7 cups sifted flour

Glaze:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cold water

1. Mix together ingredients for glaze.
2. Melt butter in hot milk, add 1 tsp sugar and salt. Allow to cool.
3. Beat in yeast, nutmeg, eggs, remaining sugar, and 3 cups flour.
4. Add rest of flour (dough will be sticky).
5. Knead for 5 minutes then allow to rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.
6. Roll out dough, cut into shapes.
7. Allow to rise for 30-45 minutes.
8. Heat oil to 365° and fry 1 - 2 minutes on each side or until brown.
9. Dip in glaze

Janece's Cinnamon Rolls

2009-06-11T11:09:00.000-07:00

Scald and set aside to cool:
1 cup milk

Cream:
6 T butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs

Dissolve:
2 T yeast
1 T sugar
1 cup warm water

When the above steps are completed, combine them and add 6 1/2- 7 cups flour and 1 tsp salt. Knead well and place in a greased bowl. Raise until double and roll out. Sprinkle with cut-up butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up and slice into 1 1/2 inch rolls. Place on greased cookie sheet and allow to rise again. Bake at 375º for 12 - 15 minutes.

The rolls in the picture are not frosted because my son likes them better that way, but you can top these with your favorite icing. I have a brown sugar glaze that I like to use, but the frosting that came with Janece's recipe is a simple butter cream frosting:

Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 square butter
1 tsp vanilla
milk

Mix ingredients, adding milk until desired consistency.

The Last Brownie Recipe

2009-06-11T11:06:00.000-07:00

1/2 cup butter
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate bars or chips (use the best you can afford!)
Melt butter and chocolate on low heat
Whisk in:
1 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt
Add
3 large eggs (beat well after each egg)
3/4 cup flour (don't over-mix)
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (my daughter uses toffee pieces instead)

Bake in a greased 9 inch square pan at 350ºF for about 45 minutes or until the edges pull away from the pan.
Or...
I dressed up this recipe by baking it in a mini-muffin tin for about half the time (watch closely) and then topping with homemade caramel and pecans and a French truffle.