DESSERTS – Page 61 – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

Babka: Lovin’ From the Oven

Have you ever picked up an old cookbook off of your shelf, you know, one that you have used for decades and turned it to a recipe you haven’t seen for ages and suddenly been transported to the last time you tasted that dish? That happened to me recently with this recipe. It is excellent. It’s not quite a bread and it’s not quite a cake. It can be served for breakfast, brunch or dessert.

Babka:
1 cup milk
1/4 cup warm water
2 pkg yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 stick butter, softened
4 eggs
1 egg yolk
4 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup raisins
topping:
1 egg white
4 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 Tbsp butter
In a small sauce pan, heat milk until bubbles form around edge of pan. Remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm. In a large bowl, combine warm water and yeast, stirring until dissolved. Add lukewarm milk, 1/2 cup sugar, salt, stick of butter, eggs, egg yolk and 3 cups flour. With electric mixer, beat until smooth and blended. Stir in remaining flour, stirring until dough leaved side of bowl. Mix in raisins. Cover with towel; let rise in warm place until double in bulk (about 1 hour). Grease and flour a 9 inch springform pan. Turn dough into prepared pan. Cover and let rise until dough is 1/2 inch from the top of the pan. Meanwhile, make the topping by mixing flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter in a bowl with a pastry blender. Brush the egg white on top of the babka and then sprinkle on the topping. Bake 350 degrees 60 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool pan on wire rack 15 minutes. To serve, remove from the pan and cut in wedges.

This is SO good!!!!

Chocolate Obsession

CHOCOLATE OBSESSION

It is a little frightening. I go through my recipes on both my blogs and what do I see dozens of recipes for chocolate chip cookies and brownies plus all kinds of other chocolate goodies and I keep baking more. Of course, my excuse is my class, who I do the bulk of my baking for. They adore chocolate, like I don’t.

I thought I would bake one of the best recipes with you and of course, it has chocolate.

Chewy Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients:

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into squares
1 stick unsalted margarine
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

Method:
In a microwave, melt the bittersweet chocolate and margarine. Allow it to cool.

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and vanilla in a mixing bowl until frothy.

Slowly add the sugar and beat until the mixture ribbons off the beaters. Add the melted chocolate mixture. Stir to combine.

Sift the dry ingredients together.

Add to the chocolate mixture and stir to combine.

Fold in the chips and nuts.

Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is well chilled . I did not have the time to do this.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with baking parchment. (I used four sheets and doubled on one of them. I got loads of cookies, figuring 16 on a sheet.

Using a small cookie scoop (one teaspoon) make balls to place on cookie sheets, leaving about one and a half inches between cookies.

Bake about 12 minutes. Start checking at 11. Depending on the shelf, they were on, some were done.

The tops of the cookies should look dry and cracked. None of mine were.

Allow to cool for a minute on the baking sheet, then remove to cake racks for further cooling.

Finally, eat and be aware, you will want to keep eating more and more. These cookies don’t look like much, in my opinion but they are the chewiest so if you like chewy, here it is.

Join me at Chaya’s Comfy Cook and Sweet and Savory

Check out Tyler’s brownies on Sweet and Savory – more chocolate

THE ULTIMATE OLD FASHIONED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Chocolate chip cookies were one of the earliest recipes I began making on my own. There was always the great nut debate between my grandfather and uncle who both believed they didn’t like nuts. I LOVE walnuts in my cookies and brownies and even as a child learned that there are two ways to skin a cat as my dad would say. It turns out that what I liked was the flavor, didn’t really care about the actual nut one way or the other. So, I learned to “fake” out my grandfather and uncle who despite their belief in no nuts had no problem devouring a batch of my cookies! I’ve tweaked this recipe for years to make a larger batch and keep everyone happy.

ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 1/2 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon maple extract
3 3/4 cups flour
1 cup walnut pieces
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using a stand mixer cream the butter and sugar together.
Add molasses and blend until smooth.
Add eggs one at a time until well blended.
Add vanilla and maple extracts and blend until smooth.
Sift together the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder.
In a small food processor, chop nut pieces until a fine flour.
Gradually add the nuts and flour mixture until well blended.
Gently fold in milk chocolate chips and raisins.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an un-greased cookie sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes
Enjoy

RUSTIC APPLE DUMPLINGS with MOCHA CARAMEL SAUCE

I made a less than appetizing dinner the other night trying to clean out the refrigerator and while hubby was as diplomatic as possible, I felt bad. He has always been a wonderful guinea pig. So I had 2 apples and a can of refrigerator biscuits that all still needed to be used. Here is what I made:

RUSTIC APPLE DUMPLINGS with MOCHA CARAMEL SAUCE

I peeled, cored and chopped the apples.
Then I sprinkled them with cinnamon and sugar and tossed them well.

I flattened each of the biscuits with a little additional flour.
Topped 5 of them with the apple mixture.

Then draped the apple mixture with another flattened biscuit.
I brushed each one with butter, sprinkled with a little cinnamon sugar and baked 10-12 minutes.

After they were baked I topped them with Mocha Caramel sauce and voile’ my family loved me again.

MOCHA CARAMEL SAUCE

1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Combine the cream and butter in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. Remove from the heat.
In a medium saucepan cook the corn syrup over a medium heat until bubbly. Fold in 1/4 cup of the sugar and continue to cook until the edges begin to turn a light amber color. Add in 1/4 cup sugar more and repeat until all the sugar is blended in. Continue cooking until amber color darkens stirring constantly.
Remove from the heat and carefully fold in the cream mixture.
Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until caramel is bubbling.
Toss in the milk chocolate chips and blend until smooth.
Serve warm.

CARAMELIZED CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON

Dave at My Year on The Grill has dared, double dared in fact us KrAzY kitchen ladies to do a recipe. In my case the joke is on him. My niece had told me about this chocolate covered bacon she’d had at a county fair and it intrigued me so much I made it back at Thanksgiving time. It didn’t last long around that house full of bacon lovers. I then took it one step farther and caramelized the bacon first – talk about a taste treat for the tongue!

CARAMELIZED CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON
10 slices thick bacon
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoons cider or balsamic vinegar
1 cup milk chocolate morsels
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Whisk together the brown sugar and vinegar.
Toss bacon slices in the mixture, packing it onto the slices.
Layer bacon and onions on grilling rack.
Bake 15-20 minutes or until JUST crisp. DO NOT OVERCOOK!
Cool completely.
In a double boiler combine chocolate, butter and milk until creamy.
Carefully dip bacon slices.
Cool on wax paper.

CARAMELIZED CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON

Dave at My Year on The Grill has dared, double dared in fact us KrAzY kitchen ladies to do a recipe. In my case the joke is on him. My niece had told me about this chocolate covered bacon she’d had at a county fair and it intrigued me so much I made it back at Thanksgiving time. It didn’t last long around that house full of bacon and chocolate lovers. I then took it one step farther and caramelized the bacon first – talk about a taste treat for the tongue!

CARAMELIZED CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON
10 slices thick bacon
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoons cider or balsamic vinegar
1 cup milk chocolate morsels
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Whisk together the brown sugar and vinegar.
Toss bacon slices in the mixture, packing it onto the slices.
Layer bacon and onions on grilling rack.
Bake 15-20 minutes or until JUST crisp. DO NOT OVERCOOK!
Cool completely.
In a double boiler combine chocolate, butter and milk until creamy.
Carefully dip bacon slices.
Cool on wax paper.

So long, thank you and a Save Room for Dessert award for YOU

I am so thankful for all the wonderful and creative cooks and bloggers who have participated at Save Room for Dessert since its beginning when my blog friend Tamy started this blog and invited me to host this weekly dessert meme.

All great things must come to an end, so it’s time to say so long, but it is not really good-bye because we are all just a click away on this great super highway of friendly blogs. As I wrote for my Joy of Desserts sidebar, “the road is never long between bloggy friends.”

Gerri of Heart N Soul Cooking, one of the regulars here at Our Krazy Kitchen and at Joy of Desserts, too, has awarded me the Kreative Blogger Award, and I see it fitting to award it back to all of you as a party favor and thank-you for having fun with me while we all Saved Room for Dessert.

You are all creative cooks and bloggers, and your participation and comments are what make any blog successful, so I thank you from the bottom of my heart for every recipe and tip you have shared with me and all of us.

There will still be lots to do and read at Our Krazy Kitchen, so keep on participating here. And since most of the Save Room for Dessert regulars are also regulars and followers at my Joy of Desserts blog, you know that I have lots there too, with giveaways, recipe roundups, Vintage Recipe Thursday, etc. I’ll continue to post there, and I have great new things planned at Joy of Desserts for all of YOU.

I went back in the Save Room for Dessert Archives and below are the creative foodie bloggers who have participated. Most on them were regulars — THANK YOU!!

Joy of Desserts
http://joyofdesserts.blogspot.com

Melissa @ Frugal Creativity

Martha @ The Daily Grind

Terry @ At Home with Terry and Dennis

Chaya @ Comfy Cook

Kristen @ Frugal Antics of a Harried Housewife

Emily @ Marvelous Recipes

Liz @ Hoosier Mama

Chaya @ Sweet and Savory

Jules @ The Persimmon Perch

Sara @ Cooking with Sara

Vickie @ 2babb

Mickey @ Monster Mama

Snowhite @ Finding Joy in my Kitchen

Heather @ Girlie Chef

Lisette @ Fancy Frugalista

Martha @ Menagerie

Reeni @ Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

Angie @ Annie’s Home

Jennifer @ For Such a Time as This

David @ A Year on the Grill

Cook @ The Desperate Cook

Katie @ Food Stuffs

Karen @ Muffin Fixation

Marcia @ Frugal Homekeeping

Anshika @ Cooking Pleasures

Fishie @ The Fishie’s Kitchen

Pat @ Butter Yum

Pamm @ Leftovers On Purpose

Tami @ Around the Table with Tami

Simply Me @ The Local Cook

Jen @ My Petite Chefs

Sweetie @ Vanilla Strawberry Spring Fields

Tara @ Feels Like Home

Carol @ Easy to be Gluten Free

Shaunta @ Live Once, Juicy

Chris @ An Instant Out of Time

Pattie @ Bramasole … to Yearn for the Sun

Velva @ Tomatoes on the Vine

Joanne @ Eats Well With Others

Tamy @ 3 Sides of Crazy

The Kreativ Blogger Award rules.

1. Post the award.

2. Thank and mention the person who gave you the award.

3. Pass the award on to seven blogger’s who you think embody the spirit of the Kreativ Blogger Award.

4. Name seven things about yourself that others don’t know.

5. Don’t forget to notify the your seven Kreativ Bloggers about their AWARD and post a link to their blog.

Easy Chocolate Torte

This is one of the easiest elegant desserts I have ever made. It screams chocolate in every bite – perfect for Valentine’s Day. It is straight from Taste of Home. It uses all convenience foods which is normally not what I do, but instead of getting any better, my harried-ness is out of control right now. You certainly could use a homemade brownie recipe and then whip real cream with powdered sugar and vanilla for the topping.

1 package fudge brownie mix (13-inch x 9-inch pan size)
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1/2 stick butter, softened
2 cups whipped topping
1 teaspoon chocolate sprinkles

Directions

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions for fudge-like brownies. Spread batter in a greased and floured 9-in. round or springform pan.

Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until center springs back when lightly touched. Cool for 10 minutes. Invert or release onto a serving plate; cool completely.

In a bowl, stir the melted chocolate and butter until smooth. Spread over brownie layer; refrigerate for 30 minutes. Just before serving, top with whipped topping. Decorate with sprinkles. Yield: 9-12 servings.

ROMANCE Part 2 – CHOCOLATE – Ala Year on the Grill

OK ladies, I gave you my advice on how to really make a meal your man would love for romantic occasions (like Valentines day) a couple weeks ago. I was dead serious that what men really want would be MOINK BALLS. Beef Meatballs, wrapped in bacon says lovin‘ to that man of yours. Click HERE to get to that post. But, you all being women, I really don’t expect you to do the logical thing and give your men what they want. Instead, you are going to try to foo foo the day up and make us men folk pretend to enjoy things like this…

Chocolate Covered Strawberries dressed in Tuxedos… Accented with Chocolate Hearts!

Sigh, ok, I’ll bow to the conventional wisdom (but as an experiment, put 6 Moink balls in front of your man, and 6 Chocolate covered strawberries next to the moink balls and see which plate ends up empty… But i digress)… As I was saying, I bow to conventional wisdom and will give you all a lesson in the easiest thing you will ever see me make.

It looked SO EASY, I was sure that even though I have never made anything with melted chocolate before, I CAN COOK THAT!

Credit where credit is due, I saw these on Regis and Kelly this week. It was just as easy as they made it sound. the only ingredients and supplies you need is some…

Dark Chocolate bark
White Chocolate bark
Strawberries
Parchment paper
double boiler and water
Pastry bag for decorating (or just a ziplock bag with a corner cut out)
and a spoon…

First, set up a double boiler. This was my first time melting chocolate in a double boiler, but it worked just like it was supposed to.

Get some water boiling, put a bowl in the water. I put a couple spoons around the edge so the bowl never touches the bottom of the pan, nor the sides.

Watch it carefully, stir occasionally and in about 10 minutes, you have melted chocolate. Do the white first…

Just like it looks, you are making the shirt front only, so you only need to dip the front in the chocolate. Allow it to cool.

Meanwhile, it is time to make a few chocolate hearts… With that rustic homemade look that you will pay big bucks for in a candy shop…

This is easier if you use your wife’s pastry bags. Or, if you don’t have a wife with pastry bags, put the still warm melted chocolate in a plastic bag and cut just a tiny hole in one of the corners.

Make two dots, about the size of quarters, use about 2/3rds of the amount of a Hershey’s kiss in each dot. Space them about 1/2 inch apart. use the flat side of a spoon to spread the dots out so they touch and then swirl down to form the heart. Allow to cool and viola.

I made several, til I was out of white chocolate. So, now it’s time to do the same melty thing with the dark.

I am sorry I did not take more photos of the process of the dark chocolate to get the tux look on the strawberries. But, just dip from the side, being careful to leave the white “V” shape of the front of the shirt showing.

Then use another pastry bag (or a very tiny hole in a plastic bag) and draw a little bow tie and a couple dots for buttons. Guys would still rather have Moink Balls, but women folk go weak in the knees over this kind of stuff.

Here’s the plate I gave my wife for an early Valentine’s Day gift. Her knees were so weak, she could hardly climb the stairs to thank me in the only way better than Moink balls… But I digress…

Here’s something really important…

A lot of this post should be dedicated to a wonderful blogger, katherine from SMOKEY MOUNTAIN CAFE. Just this week, Katherine had an opportunity to go to New York City, meet regis and Kelly, take cake decorating classes from a celebrity baker and have her cake entered in a charity contest to raise money for Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Do me a favor (and yourself), and visit Katherine’s site for details on her trip. Also, take just a second and follow the link she gives to “vote” for her cake. With each vote, the good folks at Electrolux will donate a dollar to the fund. A great cause and a fun read. Click HERE to get to Smokey mountain Cafe and the post on her day of cake decorating!

Ok ladies. You are now armed with the recipe for romantic loving, Moink Balls, and for these silly little trifles. Let your conscience be your guide as to what you think your man would REALLY like for Valentine’s Day.

See you all next Thursday!

Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL.

And BTW, I do wish there was an “I was trying to be funny, please don’t be insulted” Font.

You say zabaglione, I say sabayon: Don’t call the whole thing off, Save Room for Dessert

Do you remember the song? Louis Armstrong and Fred Astaire both sang this romantic tune over the decades, and this dessert from the Joy of Desserts archives would be pretty to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day no matter how you pronounce it.

Whether you call this dessert zabaglione like the Italians, or sabayon like the French, it is the same classic dessert made with egg yolks and a sweet dessert wine. It only takes about 15 minutes to make and can be prettied up by serving in a glass with berries.

Italian Zabaglione or French Sabayon
Prep time: 15 minutes
Makes 4 servings
2 packages (6 ounces each) raspberries
4 large egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dry Marsala or other dessert wine

Divide berries between four 8-ounce dessert dishes or stemmed glasses.
Fill the bottom of a double boiler (or a saucepan with a metal bowl fitted snugly on top) with 1-2 inches of water or just below bowl. Bring water to a simmer.
Beat egg yolks and sugar in top of double boiler or bowl with an electric mixer or wire whisk until fluffy and light in color, about 5 minutes. Maintain water at a low simmer while beating.
Add Marsala, 1 tablespoon at a time, continuously beating until mixture forms very soft peaks, about 8 minutes.
Pour zabaglione mixture over berries and serve immediately.

Nutrition Per Serving: 238 calories, 4.79g total fat, 1.64g saturated fat, 3.39g protein, 37.47g carbohydrate, 209.78mg cholesterol, 2.04g fiber, 192mg sodium
Recipe and nutrition values from Driscoll’s, California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF)

Healthy tips:
* Substitute blackberries, blueberries or about 3 cups sliced, hulled strawberries
* Try a mixed berry zabaglione with some of all the above berries
* 1 cup of strawberries provides an amazing 93% of your day’s supply of Vitamin C
* 1 cup of raspberries and blackberries each provide 50% of your day’s supply of Vitamin C
* Blueberries have one of the highest antioxident values at 5,486 ORAC Value (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) per cup

Happy St. Valentine’s Day,

Joy of Desserts

The new Inlinkz system is located HERE for the SUPERBOWL PARTY and this week for you to add your links and HERE for last week. We look forward to your recipes. Remember we’re looking for that special recipe to feature at the end of February.

APRICOT RUM RAISINS

APRICOT RUM RAISINS

1 cup butter

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons yeast

4 eggs, beaten

7 1/2 cups flour

In a saucepan melt butter.
Add milk and water whisking until smooth consistency and JUST boiling.
Cool 5-10 minutes so you don’t kill the yeast.
Add the sugar, salt and yeast to form a sponge like blob.
Add the eggs until uniform consisitency.
In a mixer with a dough hook attached, combine flour and yeast mixture.
Knead well. Put in refrigerator for at least several hours, but overnight is better.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Roll a ball of dough the size of a golf ball into a rope and coil into a circle. Make sure the center is thinner than the outer edges to hold the filling in. Sometimes I prefer squares, but you just have to work with your dough after you have it coiled.
Fill with a heaping tablespoon of filling per danish (recipe below).
Let rise an hour in a warm place.
Bake 15 minutes.
Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting. If you prefer a drizzle thin out this frosting with a couple extra tablespoons of milk until desired consistency.

Cream cheese apricot raisin filling

1 bag large dried apricots, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins, chopped

1/4 cup golden rum

Soak apricots and raisins in rum for an hour or overnight.
Drain off rum.
Set aside.

8oz pkg cream cheese

1 egg

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tablespoons grated orange peel

Blend cream cheese, egg, powdered sugar and orange peel together until smooth.
Fold in apricots and raisins into the cream cheese mixture. Or my favorite is to fill them as 2 separate fillings with the cream cheese first and the apricot in the center of that.

BANANA PINEAPPLE RAISIN NUT BREAD OR CAKE & PINEAPPLE MOJITOS

BANANA RAISIN NUT BREAD OR CAKE
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, 1/2 soft & 1/2 melted
2 jumbo eggs
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup golden raisins, currants or craisins
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
2 large, RIPE bananas
1 small can pineapple, well drained BUT RESERVED
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda