Category: Desserts

Daily Thoughts · Desserts

Lemon Curd Uses

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On this cold wet January Saturday, the warm lemony flavor is what is sounding good. Upon leafing through my new Southern Living Magazine, it has a few pages with recipes using lemon curd. If you love Lemon, I suggest you run to then store and purchase SL for Feburary. It is just full on great exciting lemon recipes, ranging from lemon curd cheesecake to Lemon Souffles and more. It has suggestions of different ways to use lemon curd, which they give the recipe for, but if you are so inclined, you can buy lemon curd in a jar that is almost (almost, but not quite) as good as homemade. Some of these uses include: All these were taken from Feb SL magazine.

Cake Drizzle

Top warm gingerbread or toasted pound cake with schools of ice cream and lemon-curd. I also like it between layers of coconut cake.

Cloud Cake

Bake your fav white cake batter in a 13,9 in pan. Cool in pan and then pierce top of cake using the handle of a wooden spoon every 2″ or so. Spread 2 cups lemon curd over cake and cool completely, cover and chill 4 hours. Frost topo with sweetened whipped cream, notice I didn’t say Cool Whip.

Lemon Eton Mess

Layer lemon curd, coarsely crushed meringue cookies, fresh berries and sweetened whipped cream in vintage parfait glasses

Please let me know your favorite way to use lemon curd and we will post it.

Chocolate · Desserts

Nutella Brownies

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Can you think of any greater combination than Nutella and brownies? All last week in Chicago, everywhere we went to eat, they had crepes with bananas, Nutella and whipping cream. I did actually resist getting that for dessert. Actually I didn’t resist, Randy doesn’t like Nutella (can you believe that) and since I didn’t want to gain so much weight  where I wouldn’t fit in the airplane seat, I shared a dessert with him instead. When we get home, there is my new Southern Lady magazine just waiting for me. Last night, sitting by the fireplace and leafing through the new magazine, lo and behold, I turn the page to find this amazing little wonder of a recipe. Am going to make some tonight.

1 cup butter

5 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 cups sugar

5 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teas salt

1 teas vanilla

1 (13 oz) jar Nutella

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup nuts

Preheat oven to 350. LIne a 13×9″ baking pan with heavy duty foil.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate in microwave oven on high in 30 sec intervals, stirring between each, until melted. (This should take about a minute and a half)

In a large bowl, combine chocolate mixture and sugar. Beat at medium speed with mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time (sometime I am going to be a rebel and add them all at once to see what happens, after all, how do the eggs know they are being mixed one at a time?), beating well, after each addition. Add flour, salt and vanilla, beating until just combined. Add Nutella and chocolate chips mixing until combined. Spread batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle top of batter with nuts.

Bake for 30-40 min or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out still slightly stickily. Be careful not to over bake. I would start checking at 28 min and check every 3 minutes. Let cool completely in pan and cut into squares. Drizzle a little caramel on plates before placing brownie and top with ice cream or whipping cream.

Chocolate · Daily Thoughts · Desserts

Cinnamon Brownies

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These brownies take a normal brownie to the next level. Took them to art class today and everyone loved them and wanted the recipe. When I told them to just make  your favorite brownies recipe (and yes, if you are like my husband, Frosty, who loves even the Duncan Hines box brownies) just add 1 1/2 cup cinnamon flavored chips to the batter. I buy the chips at Walmart and I used to see them at Tom Thumb at Christmastime. In years past, because they weren’t always available at other times of the year, I would buy a dozen or so packages and freeze them so I could have Cinnamon brownies whenever I wanted. They just add such a great flavor to the brownie. Then just sprinkle sugar over the brownies when they come out of the oven.

We are leaving to spend Christmas with some of our kids tomorrow so please have a wonderful and blessed Christmas. Remember, it is not what you cook that keeps family coming back, it is the love in which you serve the food  that keeps them wanting to come back. So love on family and friends this season, it will bless your heart. Merry Christmas!  Remember the reason for the season! Thank you Jesus for coming to this world as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes to save us from our sins….Noel

Desserts

Pecan Cheesecake Bars

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Yesterday I had an Christmas Cookie & Chat Open house. These cheesecake bars were the hit of the day. It’s interesting to me that each year we do this, there seems to always be one item that gets all the attention. Last year it was the Meltaways and this year, the Cheesecake Bars. Out of over 40 ladies who attended, more than half wanted the recipe. So here it is. It combines the flavor of cheesecake and pecan pie, which truly is a great combination.

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar, divided

1/2 cup cold butter (1 stick)

1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans

2 (8 oz) softened cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 teas vanilla

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup butter, (1 stick) melted

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and 3/4 cup of the brown sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Press mixture evenly in bottom of a 13,9 inch baking pan, bake for 10 min. Set aside to cool while preparing the cream cheese mixture.

Beat at medium speed until smooth: cream cheese and granulated sugar. Beat in milk and vanilla until combined. Pour over cooled crust and bake for 12-14 min. Remove from oven and cool while preparing the pecan mixture.

In a medium bowl, combine 3/4 cup brown sugar, corn syrup, melted butter and eggs. Stir in the pecans. Pour over cream cheese mixture and return to oven and bake for about 40 min, or until middle feels “set” to the touch. Cool and place in fridge until ready to cut into bars. If leaving in fridge, be sure to cover the bars, after they have cooled completely.

Chocolate · Desserts

Almond-Oat Lace Cookies*

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If you read the blog on Monday, you will remember that we went on a Chocolate Tour over the weekend. We even made our hubbies go with us. Because of the awesome chocolate treats that awaited us at each stop, they really got into the Chocolate Tour moment*(see inset picture)At one of the stops, we were served these delicious cookies, half of which were dipped in chocolate. They were wonderful. They were kind enough to give us the recipe, and if they aren’t like my mother in law who would intentionally leave out a very important ingredient and then say, “why sweetie, I don’t know why yours didn’t turn out”, I am trusting them to have given us the correct recipe that will produce the same cookie that we were served. (I was kidding about the mother-in-law).

1/2 cup whole unsalted almonds with skins

2 tables old-fashioned oats

6 tables unsalted butter

6 tables superfine sugar

2 tables packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 teas honey (finally, I thought this recipe was going to be nothing but tables this and tables that)

Oops, here we go again, 1 Table all purpose flour

1/4 teas salt

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted

Arrange racks in lower and upper thirds of oven; preheat oven to 350. Line 2 rimless baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Pulse almonds and oats in a food processor until coarse meal forms. Set aside.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add both sugars and honey and whisk until blended and sugar dissolves, 1-2 mins.

Remove from heat. Add nut mixture, flour and salt. Stir until well mixed.

Spoon batter by 2 teas portions onto baking sheet; spacing 2 1/2″ apart. Using your fingertips, pat cookies down to 1/4″ high rounds; push in any jagged edges to form smooth circles.

Bake, rotation sheets after 6 min, until dark golden brown and cookies spread out into a thin layer. (10-12 min)

Frosty Found Rudolph on Chocolate Tour
Frosty Found Rudolph on Chocolate Tour

Slide cookies with parchment paper onto a wire rack and let cool.

Using a pastry brush, brush half of each cookie with melted chocolate. Let stand until the chocolate is set.

This recipe is from the Fawnskin Bed and Breakfast*

Desserts

Chocolate Truffles

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Chocolate Truffles
Chocolate Truffles

This past weekend, we were in Big Bear and went to a Chocolate Tour. One of the locations had these delicious little gems that were just chocolate truffles dusted with fairy dust, I mean powdered sugar. I came home and immediately found my old recipe that I use to make and use as decorations on top of chocolate cakes. They were the same consistency and the only difference was that they had added peppermint flavoring.

2 tables butter

1 (14 oz) can of Eagle Brand Sweentened Condensed Milk (not Pet Milk)

3 tables cocoa powder

*If desired, add 1/2 teas peppermint extract

1 cup chocolate sprinkles or powdered sugar or just coarse decorating sugar

Melt the butter in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Using a long handled spoon, stir in the Eagle Brand and cocoa powder. Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture starts to bubble and you can see the bottom of the pan. Grease a bowl with butter and pour the mixture into the bowl. Let cool about 30 min to 1 hour. Pour sprinkles into a bowl, (or powdered sugar or decorators sugar) into a separate bowl. Roll the cooled chocolate mixture into small balls (a little larger than a teaspoon, these are so rich you won’t want to make them larger)

Roll the balls in the sprinkles/sugar and place on a plate. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cakes · Daily Thoughts · Desserts

Friday ROAD TRIP of Christmas Countdown

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Well this past week has found the Griswalds at Wallyworld, the Storage Unit and now ta da, we get to go to Big Bear, which is up in the mountains a couple of hours from our house for a Chocolate Tour. The tour takes you to 4 decorated houses with different chocolate treats at each place. Frosty and Noel will be in heaven. We have our Tums packed in our back pocket, our cell phones on silent and the GPS loaded with our destination. That just makes us sound so much cooler that “we have the map in the car”. Of course, where we are going, the GPS probably won’t work, so we do have our map tucked between the cooler filled with Energy drinks, Dr Peppers and chocolate covered pretzels, just to get us ready for our chocolate tour.

Will be so excited to return to tell you about the weekend. But have to tell you about our little experience last night. We had been invited to some friends house, (before I tell you this, don’t you really wonder how things like this always happen to us) for dinner. We had absolutely the best baked chicken I think I have ever had. She is giving me the recipe and will post it when she does. We finish dinner and she serves Pumpkin YumYums. Oh my, pumpkin layer over cream cheese layer over a buttery crust with whipped cream. To die for. Will post that when I get back also, but if you just have to make it this weekend, all it was was the 4 layer chocolate pudding dessert that people used to call Chocolate YumYums….but instead of the chocolate layer she mixed a can of pumpkin with 1-2 teas of pumpkin pie spice (depending on how much spice you like) with a small package of instant french vanilla pudding with the 1 1/2 cups cold milk. Beat the pumpkin with the pudding and spread over the cream cheese mixture which you make with 8 oz of cream cheese, 1 cup of powdered sugar and 1 cup of Cool Whip. Well, I have gone this far, I might as well give you the whole recipe. Whip up the cream cheese, sugar and Cool Whip and spread over cooled crust. The crust is made up of 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 stick of cold butter and 1 cup chopped pecans. Cut butter into flour and add chopped pecans. Spread over a 9×13 pan and bake until golden brown, about 12-14 minutes. Watch it closely. When it is cooled completely, spread CC mixture over crust. Pour pumpkin over CC layer and top with whipped cream. Put in fridge and let it sit for about 4 hours before serving. Now, back to my story.

We finished dinner and went into the den to watch a video. There were about 14 of us there. We were watching so intently (it was part of our Bible Study lesson) but I kept smelling something burning. I tried to get our hostess attention to tell her that I truly smelled something burning, but thought, well, she has the dishwasher on, I bet a plastic bowl is too near the heating element. But the smell kept getting stronger and stronger. All of a sudden one of the other guests turns around and yells, “the table is on fire”..The flames were shooting up about 4 feet into the air and we all ran for water and began to pour water on her table. So now not only does she have a burned dinning room table, but a soaked rug as well. But Frosty, being the Christmas Giver that he is with a most generous heart told her not to worry, he would buy her more candles to replace the ones that caused the fire..He is just the best!

The fire did not even dampen our night at all. We had a most enjoyable evening with precious friends and the most amazing dinner. Frosty was excited that he had got a home cooked meal, and he didn’t even have to buy the groceries. That always makes it taste better. Am headed to finish packing, will talk to you on Monday with new Christmas recipes and maybe a funny story or two. After all, when we drive to the mountains for the weekend, you know some story will come out of it.

Cakes · Desserts

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcakes

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Am having ladies over for lunch tomorrow. Wanted dessert that looked Christmasie (is that really a word, probably not) I remembered going to Celebrity Bakery in Dallas and having the wonderful strawberry-cream cheese cake with strawberry frosting after having their chicken salad sandwiches. So since I am serving chicken salad sandwiches tomorrow, I wanted to serve these. They are so easy and look so pretty. The taste is divine.

Any brand of strawberry cake mix (I do like Duncan Hines, but it is hard to find out here in Sushiland)

Mix cake mix according to directions on box. Set aside.

Mix 8 oz of softened cream cheese with all of the following:

1 tables flour

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1/3 cup sugar

1 teas vanilla

1 egg

When you have mixed the cream cheese, sugar, flour, egg, vanilla and flour, set aside.

Place 24 baking cups  liners in cupcake pan. Pour cake batter into cups to about 1/2 full. Spoon 1 tables cream cheese mixture on top of cake batter. Do this until you have used up all the cake mix. Bake at 350 until cupcakes tests done. Cool completely.

Make a frosting of:

1 box powdered sugar

1 stick butter, softened

1 teas vanilla

enough milk or half and half to make frosting spreadable. Frost cupcakes and top with a fresh strawberry which you have dipped in chocolate. Sprinkle red sugar over tops.

Chocolate · Desserts

Christmas Chocolate Cookies

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I have decided that this Christmas season, every recipe will have the “Christmas” in it. That way, not only will it remind me that each and every day I need to be focused on the “Christ” in Christmas but also, it just makes the recipe sound so much better. Take these cookies, if they were just called Chocolate Cookies, you would just think, “hum…another chocolate cookie recipe” but calling them Christmas Chocolate Cookie, well…..you get the idea…just sounds so much “cookie classy”!

Actually I got these out of the Martha Stewart Cookie Recipe book and just made them this morning. They are easy and will pack beautifully if you are needing a cookie to box up to send to friends or family.

2 cup plus 2 tables flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (dutch-process such as Hershey’s)

1 teas baking soda

1/2 teas salt

1 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

And a partridge in a pear tree….oops, got carried away there for a minute.

Sugar for rolling the balls of dough in before baking.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl. (I have to admit, I never sift this mixture, I just stir in really well with a fork or knife until it is mixed)

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium until light and fully. About 2 mins. Add eggs and vanilla and beat to combine. Reduce speed and gradually add the flour mixture until all is blended. Wrap plastic over bowl and set in fridge for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350.

Shape dough in 1″ balls. Roll each ball in sugar. Place on baking dish lined with parchment paper about 2″ apart.

Bake until set, about 10-12 min.Transfer to rack to cool. Cookies can be stored between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container at room temp up to a week. If you house is like ours, they won’t last 2 days.

Desserts

Soft Molasses Cookies

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At this moment, the house is quiet. The kids that are already here have gone to Universal and the rest won’t come in until tomorrow. Thought I would take advantage of this quiet afternoon and get the cornbread made and get some cookies made for the rest of the week. After all, pumpkin and/or pecan pie just doesn’t travel well, when we are out exploring and taking little field trips the next few days. So these cookies will be just perfect for car trips to malls, Starbuck runs, and going to the Hollywood sign to take our picture with the gang. I have threatened them with no homemade rolls, no whipping cream for the pies and no olives to stick on the ends of their fingers and play olive puppets, (Oh, I forgot that threat is for the younger ones who still think that it’s not a real holiday unless they can eat the olives off the ends of their fingers) unless they go with me to the HS for a picture that we can use to make our Christmas card. Just thought it would be nice to be different this year. These cookies are a great new addition to our holiday feasts.

3/4 cup butter, melted (cooled but not reset)

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup molasses

1 3/4 cup flour

2 teas baking soda

1/2 teas salt

1 teas cinnamon

1/2 teas each cloves and ginger

1/4 teas ground nutmeg

1/2 cup white sugar (for rolling the cookie balls in before baking)

Mix together 1 cup sugar and the egg until blended. Add the butter and molasses.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. Mix well.

Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients 1/2 cup at a time and blend together. If the dough is too moist, you can add up to a 1/2 cup more flour. Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 375.

A small cookie scoop works well for making the cookies the perfect size. Roll each ball in white sugar and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper about 2″ apart.

Bake for 7-9 min or until tops are lightly cracked. Leave on cookie sheets 1-2 min and then remove promptly to wire racks to continue cooling (this is when I usually sample about 5 of them, because they taste so good while warm)

Store in an airtight container when completely cooled. (It’s nice to have a little snack bag of these little darlings in the top drawer of the night stand, so when you are reading in bed, you can just reach over and get a cookie without having to get out of bed) Now that’s the way to read in bed.