DESSERTS – Page 56 – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

Save Room For Dessert: Wedding Cookies!

Kris here from Behold the Metatron, The Motivation Station, The Writer’s Blog, Where to Vegan, AND Veggie Tales here at the crazy kitch! I don’t think I have enough time on my hands! Anyway… in the spirit of our love for all things dessert, here’s one of my favorites!

Wedding Cookies

Whether you call them Italian, Russian, Greek… these cookies are still the same delicious, powdery balls of nutty sweetness. And what better way to celebrate Wedding Season with a treat fit for a scrumptious reception!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups finely ground almonds (I used 1/2 pecan 1/2 almond)
4 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar for rolling

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Cream butter or margarine in a bowl, gradually add confectioners’ sugar and salt. Beat until light and fluffy. Add almonds and vanilla. Blend in flour gradually and mix well.
Shape into balls (or crescents) using about 1 teaspoon for each cookie. Place on ungreased cookie sheets, and bake for 15-20 min. Do not brown. Cool slightly, then roll in the extra confectioners’ sugar.

Now, this recipe is for up to 80 cookies. If you are not in the mood to make that many… just click here and the recipe adjuster will help you out!

Rum Cake – Cause they don’t even serve nuts on the plane anymore

That’s a bold statement. But I would be willing to enter my Upside Down Pineapple Rum Cake in any taste test.

And I did try. I have made half a dozen different rum cakes in my quest to avoid processed foods. Unfortunately, none of them have the smoothness, creaminess of this pudding cake with a shot. You see, in the ingredient list is a box mix of cake, AND a box mix of a pudding. I am against it. I prefer to avoid boxes, and to be honest, I believe this is the only recipe I have used this year with a box as the main ingredient… let alone two boxes.

But, here is is…

The cake collects on the bottom (well, the top actually, but then you turn it upside and the top becomes the bottom). Anyway, the cake on the bottom (in the photograph, and the heavier pudding collects on the bottom (as it cooks, the top when you flip it upside down… understand???) makes a fabulous mixture of textures.

I always make this when we have stateside visitors.

Like these two…

Tradition, there are only half a dozen planes that land each day, but most people arrive on the last one… 8:40 PM. Takes a bit to collect luggage, and the 10 mile trip up hills, over dales and around the corners takes 30 minutes. So, our guests arrive tired and hungry (the airlines don’t feed you like they used to … in fact, American now CHARGES $3 for a bag of snacks… not even peanuts… but I digress).

So, tradition, I make one of these on the first night our guests arrive. But the next morning when we have a slice for breakfast (hic), it does taste better.

And I am going to justify all the calories…

Since you need energy to partake in all the relaxing we do here in paradise.

Being the expert I am now, I have another tip for you… Allow this to relax in the fridge overnight before you serve it.

But I digress from the recipe…

The inspiration comes from a recipe that Marguerite (call her Mags) at Cajun Delight, posted ages and ages ago…

Here is her original recipe…

Cajun Pineapple Rum Cake

This heavenly cake is so simple to make and the flavor is so fabulous that you will have a hard time resisting a second piece, cher! Worth the calories, cher!! Cest bon! Bon appetit!

1/2 cup pineapple rum

1 pkg. yellow cake mix

1 pkg. French vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped pecans

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Spray a bundt pan with “Baker’s Joy” baking spray. In large bowl, combine first six ingredients. beat at medium speed for two minutes. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. Cool and remove to cake plate. Make glaze and drizzle over cake.

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Glaze

******

Melt 1/4 cup butter, in saucepan. Add 2tbs. pineapple juice and 1/4 cup sugar. Cook and stir, until sugar is melted. Boil gently for 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and slowly add 1/4 cup pineapple rum, until blended. Prick top of cake with a fork and drizzle glaze over warm cake. Divine!

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Of course, I made a couple of changes… mainly that I dropped the bundt cake idea. I do not have a bundt cake pan. But I sure do like the idea of an upside down pineapple rum cake. SO, I lined a rounded baking dish with pineapple slices. I added some brown sugar to bring out the sweetness.

I was unable to find a simple yellow cake mix here. So, I used a lemon mix and a lemon pudding mix. I also did not have any pecans, so I left those out.

Other than those changes, I tried a little experiment…

I don’t have a photograph, but instead of putting the dish on the oven rack, I put the dish on a larger baking dish. the dish had a 1 inch lip, about the same size as what did not brown on the cake below… make sense, can you picture it in your mind? Remember this is an upside down cake, so when it was baking, the top was the bottom.

Alright, now that I have you completely confused, this method had an unexpected consequence…

The base (top while it was cooking, the part that was above the lip of the second baking dish) browned nicely. It has a bit of a crunch and is almost all cake.

The top (bottom while it was baking, the part that was below the lip of the second baking dish) was only gently browned, and that was mostly the brown sugar and sugars in the pineapple rings caramelizing. The “cake” part was much more pudding than cake. If you look at the photo below, you will see the cake texture around the bottom (which, in an effort to REALLY confuse you is the top of the photo), while the top half (bottom of the photo) is more pudding texture.

I put the cake in the fridge overnight before cutting into it so it would set solid.

So, you now have two ways to get a slice of this cake…

Use the above recipe and make it yourself…

OR come visit the islands, you bring the sunscreen, I’ll bring the Rum Cake!

Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL. It really is just this easy!

… I CAN COOK THAT!

And so can you!

Save Room for Dessert: S’mores Bars

Hi there, Min from The Bad Girl’s Kitchen and Try A New Recipe filling in here today, with a DESSERT that everyone who has ever camped simply must try!

This recipe comes from Rebecca of Cooking With My Kid, who’s actually a friend of a friend of mine, and who is on a mission to make 365 recipes in 365 days, with her kid. Although I like cooking with my kids, I still think it’s an ambitious project.

When she posted this recipe, I knew I had to make these right away. Just Had To. After all, I’d bought all the ingredients for s’mores recently, but before we could make them someone ate all the Hershey’s bars. Someone else snuck half a bag of marshmallows. And who knows who ate most of the graham crackers. It’s just the way it works around here I guess.

Note: when opening a jar of marshmallow fluff at altitude, just for a “taste,” be prepared to immediately make your recipe because it will just keep expanding and you won’t be able to “taste” that much without making yourself sick. Just trust me on this.

I didn’t do the shopping yesterday, and to be honest my entire grocery list was this:

1 large jar marshmallow fluff
2 king-size Hershey’s Special Dark bars
1 box graham crackers
=)

I took Rebecca’s advice and planned to use dark chocolate from the start. So Number One brought home 4 bars of Hershey’s Special Dark, in two sizes. I’m guessing that the 4.25 ounce bar is the “king size,” but I didn’t come to that realization until I already had the “giant size” bars unwrapped and discovered they wouldn’t fit as neatly as Rebecca’s had in the pan. Oh well, we’ve got some extra dark chocolate to eat!

Now that I’m thinking about it, I can’t say I recall ever eating marshmallow fluff. I know that seems like blasphemy for a Midwestern girl like myself to admit, but I just don’t remember it in my life. Of course I’ve seen the jars around, and of course when someone took that little taste, it tasted like heaven, but it didn’t ring any bells. I didn’t remember the stickiness, or anything. I do love it though, so I think that makes up for my possibly faulty memory.

The verdict: These are very good, but dare I say it, with dark chocolate, I think you need to use MORE fluff. There, I said it. It really needs more fluff!! Next time, I will try it with milk chocolate, which is probably the more classic flavor, and maybe just a little extra fluff.

Let me know which chocolate YOU would use, and how you like them!

S’More Bars

Prep Time:15 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 to 35 minutes

Makes 16 squares

1 stick of butter, room temperature

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (~7 full-sized graham cracker sheets, processed until fine)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 king-sized dark chocolate bars (*note: I believe “king-size” is 4.25 ounces. “giant-size” is too big, but will work if you use a little more than one bar. I know because we used “giant-size.”)

1-1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. (I used butter). Use an electric mixer to cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Set aside.

Meanwhile,whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.

Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side.

Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together). Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Be sure to cool completely before cutting into 16 squares.

Don’t forget to visit me at The Bad Girl’s Kitchen for more fabulous recipes!

CREAM CHEESE PEPPERMINT COOKIES

Hi Tamy here filling in for Jen this morning.

Out of my grams archive I found this awesome little recipe that would be perfect for baby or bridal showers. Grams notes on the side suggested using food color to alter the cookies for the appropriate event. I also highly recommend keeping these cookies refrigerated as they will melt! Next time I will go a step farther and freeze them for an hour and then quick dip them in melted almond bark.

Using extracts you could also change the flavor to just about anything you wanted. I’, curious what a blackberry almond combo would be like.

CREAM CHEESE PEPPERMINT COOKIES

8 ounces cream cheese softened
1/2 cup crisco shortening
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
8-9+ cups powdered sugar

Line your baking sheet with wax paper.
Using a stand mixer cream together the shortening and cream cheese.
Add extracts and beat until smooth.
Gradually add powdered sugar until dough is soft and elastic.
Roll into small balls.
Use a fork to hash mark the top and slightly flatten each cookie,
Cover and chill overnight.

I filled a few of the hash marks with some hot fudge I made recently and the guys loved them.

CREAM CHEESE PEPPERMINT COOKIES

Out of grams archive I found this awesome little recipe that would be perfect for baby or bridal showers. Grams notes on the side suggested using food color to alter the cookies for the appropriate event. I also highly recommend keeping these cookies refrigerated as they will melt! Next time I will go a step farther and freeze them for an hour and then quick dip them in melted almond bark.

Using extracts you could also change the flavor to just about anything you wanted. I’, curious what a blackberry almond combo would be like.

CREAM CHEESE PEPPERMINT COOKIES

8 ounces cream cheese softened
1/2 cup crisco shortening
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
8-9+ cups powdered sugar

Line your baking sheet with wax paper.
Using a stand mixer cream together the shortening and cream cheese.
Add extracts and beat until smooth.
Gradually add powdered sugar until dough is soft and elastic.
Roll into small balls.
Use a fork to hash mark the top and slightly flatten each cookie,
Cover and chill overnight.

I filled a few of the hash marks with some hot fudge I made recently and the guys loved them.

Bittman Batter is Better – Corn Fritters

Sorry Tami and Martha. I tried to schedule this but it kept showing up here.

Stop by and taste my newest gluten free creation at Comfy Cook.

Join me at My Sweet and Savory where all the baked goods are.

I love corn fritters even though they are fried or maybe because they are fried. Mark Bittman has a recipe for what is now my favorite corn fritter recipe. To continue, in this month’s theme, of pancakes, I am going to share his recipe with you.

Every corn fritter, I have made has had sugar in it and even when it is not called for, I add a little but not with this recipe. If I am going to follow a Bittman recipe, I will try to stay as true, as I can. (It did not need the sugar)

I think, what made this so good, is that the eggs are separated and it has some heat to it.

I guess, every recipe has a story, and this is no different. I had cooked two batches of the pancakes and was happy with that extra height, coming from the beaten egg whites. It is important to be gentle with this batter so as not to lose this. My hubby, who is one of those men, who always helps, when necessary. He will throw a wash in the washing machine, do dishes, vacuum. He is great. Sometimes, he helps when I don’t want him to and that is what happened.

I had a cake in the oven, at the same time, I was making the pancakes and I muttered something like, “I have to take the cake out.” Harmless, one would think. He asked if he could get the cake for me and I said, no because I wanted to check it for doneness. Then, he offered to make some more pancakes and I said that he did not know how to do it and went to get the cake. When I stood up, there he was, beating the mixture in the bowl with a joy, you would not believe – you know that batter that should be gently handled.

Bottom line – Maybe it does not have to be handled so gently or maybe, I screeched early enough to save it but the pancakes turned out fine.

Thai Style Corn Pancakes (ever so slightly adapted)

Ingredients:

2 eggs, separated

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 chopped scallion

1/2 teaspoon hot paprika

2 cups frozen corn

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used gluten free rice flour mix)

3 to 4 tablespoons canola oil, as needed

Method:

Combine the egg yolks, scallions, hot paprika, corn, soy sauce, and flour in a large bowl.

Mix everything together and season well with salt and pepper.

Beat the egg whites in a different bowl until they are stiff and form peaks.

Slowly and gently fold the egg whites into the corn mixture. You want the whites to be loosely folded in with the rest of the ingredients so they do not lose any of their airiness.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter or oil is hot, spoon in pancake-sized dollops into the pan, around 4 to 6 at a time. (I got six in my electric fry pan, each time and made one jumbo one, for the fun of it. These would make great crepes. I will have to try making them.)

Cook each pancake until they are nicely browned on one side, around 3 to 5 minutes, and then turn and brown on the other side. Add additional oil as needed in between each batch until you have cooked all of your corn mixture.

Drain on paper towels.

I would serve these plain although Bittman gives choices of sauces or just a squirt of lime. I would also add some more heat, whether it be additional hot paprika or chili powder of cayenne.

NOODLE PUDDING aka KUGEL

NOODLE PUDDING

2 cups dry wide egg noodles

2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup sugar
8 ounce crushed pineapple, drained well
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup golden rum
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup milk
1 GALA apple, peeled, cored and grated

Cook and drain the noodles
Combine all other ingredients together
Fold into warm noodles
Generously spray an 8×8 baking dish with PURE
Gently spread entire mixture into dish evenly
Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes

I remember the first time I had this – my little Jewish neighbor brought it over as a welcome to the neighborhood back in 1986. She called it noodle pudding. It was so delicious. I wanted to ask her for the recipe, but I’d just met her and I was young and shy. I made her my floating fruit cake in the same pan she’d brought over and returned it to her to ask for the recipe. I remember how hard she laughed at me. She said it was a Jewish custom to always return a plate, bowl or dish full and of course I could have the recipe. I’ve adapted it to suit my families tastes over the years and cut back on the amount of sugar but it is still a favorite! My neighbor and I became fast friends and shared LOTS of recipes before I moved from the neighborhood in 1999.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY ~ STRAWBERRY PIZZA & STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE PIE ~ SAME BASIC RECIPE 2 WAYS

STRAWBERRY PIZZA
1 package Pillsbury pie dough (or homemade if you have time)

2 eggs
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar + 3-4 tablespoons
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound strawberries, cleaned and sliced
whipped cream

In a medium mixing bowl sprinkle 3-4 tablespoons of sugar over sliced strawberries and toss. Set aside.
Cut out 4 – 5 inch rounds.
Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
Cool.
In a mixing bowl combine cream cheese, eggs, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla. Beat until well blended.
Bake cream cheese mixture 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
Spread over “pizza” rounds.
Top with spoonfuls of strawberries.
Add whipped cream and top with CARAMEL SAUCE and MOCHA HOT FUDGE SAUCE.

RUSTIC STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE PIE
1 package Pillsbury pie dough (or homemade if you have time)
2 eggs
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar + 3-4 tablespoons
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound strawberries, cleaned and sliced
whipped cream

In a medium mixing bowl sprinkle 3-4 tablespoons of sugar over sliced strawberries and toss. Set aside.
Fit crust into pie plate, prick bottom in a couple places with fork tines and bake 5 minutes at 400 degrees.
In a mixing bowl combine cream cheese, eggs, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla. Beat until well blended.
Pour into pie plate and bake cream cheese mixture 15 minutes until slightly thickened. You will need to lay a piece of foil over top for part of the time to prevent crust from burning.
Spread over “pizza” rounds.
Top with spoonfuls of strawberries.
Add whipped cream and top with CARAMEL SAUCE and MOCHA HOT FUDGE SAUCE.

BALSAMIC BERRY SAUCE

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup fresh blackberries, pureed large
8 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained slightly
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the berries, pineapple, sugar, and balsamic vinegar.
Cook until the strawberries are heated through and darkened to a deep purple.
Spoon berries over shortcake or ice cream and serve.

BANANA BITES

BANANA BITES

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup packed golden brown sugar

2 medium bananas, sliced

1/4 + 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup crushed walnut pieces

2 cans crescent rolls

1 Jumbo egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Over medium heat melt butter.
Add brown sugar until dissolved.
Fold in bananas, walnuts and 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips.
Remove from heat.
Separate crescent rolls.
Place half on cookie sheet.
Fill centers with banana mixture.
Top with another crescent roll and seal edges.
Top with egg wash.
Bake 12 minutes until golden brown.
Melt remaining chocolate chips to form a drizzle.
Drizzle over warm pastries and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

APPLE RAISIN NOODLE PUDDING

NOODLE PUDDING

2 cups dry wide egg noodles

Cook and drain the noodles
Combine all other ingredients together
Fold into warm noodles
Generously spray an 8×8 baking dish with PURE
Gently spread entire mixture into dish evenly
Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes

I remember the first time I had NOODLE PUDDING – my little Jewish neighbor brought it over as a welcome to the neighborhood back in 1986. She called it noodle pudding. It was so delicious. I wanted to ask her for the recipe, but I’d just met her and I was young and shy. I made her my floating fruit cake in the same pan she’d brought over and returned it to her to ask for the recipe. I remember how hard she laughed at me. She said it was a Jewish custom to always return a plate, bowl or dish full and of course I could have the recipe.

I’ve adapted it to suit my families tastes over the years and cut back on the amount of sugar but it is still a favorite! I’ve also found other versions that have helped me repeatedly adapt it into what it is today. My neighbor and I became fast friends and shared LOTS of cherished family recipes before I moved from the neighborhood in 15 years later.

1-2-3 Chocolate Mousse without Eggs

Get loads of recipes at Comfy Cook and My Sweet and Savory

Don’t miss Giveaway at Comfy Cook – CSN – choice of 4 items

For the longest time, I looked for a chocolate mousse without raw eggs and could not find one. Recently, I am seeing some popping up, and I will have to try them. The first one I came across was from Nigella Lawson and I adapted that not only to be a chocolate mousse but to transform into many flavors. There is no end to the variety of desserts you can get from this recipe.

Instant Chocolate Mousse or Ice Cream

This recipe takes minutes to make and it has no raw eggs which is very important to me. The secret of its success is the Marshmallow Creme or Marshmallow Fluff and a few miniature marshmallows.

Ingredients

3 cups mini marshmallows (I used 2 cups marshmallow fluff and 1 cup marshmallows since kosher marshmallow retain their shape. In the end, it looks nice, this way.
1/2 stick margarine softened
9 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup hot water from a that had recently been boiling
1 non dairy whipped topping or whipping cream (8 ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Put the marshmallows, marshmallow fluff, margarine, chocolate and water in the microwave.

Stop your microwave every 30 seconds and stir. I used a low to medium setting.

Meanwhile whip the cream with the vanilla until thick and then fold into the cooling chocolate mixture until you have a smooth, cohesive mixture.

Pour or scrape into 4 or 6 glasses or small dishes and chill until you want to eat. The sooner the better!

Category: DESSERTS