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Category: dessert

Fruit Salad

Last night Rebecca and I made a fruit salad for Justin to bring to a work picnic. I got this recipe from my mom. We grew up eating it…it was my favorite. I haven’t made it in a long time now. And I realize how unhealthy it is. I’m sure it could be modified a bit to make it better (some fresh fruit…or even frozen, some better quality ingredients), but I didn’t have the time. And I knew it wasn’t for us :p So I made it as is. Rebecca loved making the pudding. And she got to try mandarin oranges for the first time. She kept saying “mow onja.” She got her own little pudding cup too 🙂 This is super easy to make. And a great one to make with kids.

Fruit Salad

1 pkg. (3.8 oz.) instant vanilla pudding
1 cup whipped cream (I used frozen whipped topping, thawed)
1 large fruit cocktail, drained
11 oz. mandarin oranges, drained
4 oz. jar marachino cherries, drained
6 oz. pkg. mini marshmallows
2 medium bananas sliced

Mix pudding according to package directions. Fold in whipped cream. Fold in well-drained fruit. Fold in marshmallows. Add bananas shortly before serving. Chill thoroughly.

White Chip Chocolate Cookies

Last night Justin was gone all evening for church stuff. So Rebecca and I baked some cookies 🙂 She loved pouring and mixing. Although she seemed more interested in licking her fingers when she figured out what sugar was 😛 Lots of pausing for hand washing…sugar and slobbery teething hands don’t go well together. Once it was time to add the chocolate chips she forgot all about helping and just wanted to eat “choca chips.” I gave her some mini chips in a bowl. She had a blast stirring them and eating them. I’ve made this recipe before. Simple and very good! I don’t remember where I got it, maybe All Recipes. It made 50 cookies. Now I have a good stash in the freezer.

White Chip Chocolate Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 2/3 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Fold in the white chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets (I used silpat).

Bake for 8 to 10 min., until cookies are set (it was 10-12 min. for me). Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Blueberry Buckle

It’s blueberry season. Time to post some blueberry recipes. My SIL asked for this recipe a few weeks ago. I got it from my mom. We’ve had it many times. And it’s always great.

Blueberry Buckle

3/4 cups sugar (rapadura/cane sugar)
1/4 cup palm shortening shortening
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups flour (whole wheat is fine)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups blueberries

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup soft butter

Mix sugar, shortening and egg. Stir in milk. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Sprinkle in blueberries. Put in 8×10 pan and top with crumb mixture.

Topping:
Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter.

Bake at 375 for 25-35 min.

Cherry Crisp

I wanted to use up my last few cherries, so I made a cherry crisp yesterday. I got the recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod. She used ranier cherries. I just had sweet cherries. It was really good! But not something I’d want to eat all the time. It was very cherry 😛 I bet it would be good with some tart cherries added. I made 2 small crisps. Justin ate half of one. I ate the other one…the whole thing :)…after a soccer game…I needed to make up for lost calories. Fresh cherry crisp with french vanilla Hudsonville ice cream…mmm:)

crisp with ranier cherries

*Edited 6/27/10 – I made this again last week. But I used sliced ranier cherries this time and  a few black cherries. So good! It’s better with the ranier cherries added. I also used whole wheat flour instead of AP flour. Worked fine. I also made this a larger crisp in an 8×8 pan. I modified the recipe accordingly to use about 2 1/2 cups cherries.

Cherry Crisp

Makes 3 individual crisps in small ramekins or 2 crisps in small casserole dishes. You can double or triple it for one large crisp or more individual ones.

1 1/2 cups Rainer cherries, pitted and halved
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. flour
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Pinch of salt
2 Tbsp. flour (whole wheat works fine)
1/2 cup brown sugar (organic brown evaporated cane sugar)
2 Tbsp. cold butter-cut in small pieces
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray ramekins with cooking spray. In a small bowl sprinkle the cherries with the 2 Tbsp. of sugar and flour. Mix well. Let sit while you make the oat topping. In a small bowl add the oats, cinnamon, salt, flour, and brown sugar. Stir. Add the butter to the oat mix. Mix with your hands until you have a crumbly mixture. Pour sugared cherries into the sprayed ramekins. Make sure each one is even. Add the oat topping. Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes (or 30-40 for an 8×8 crisp), until they are bubbling. Cool for a minute and serve. (We used french vanilla ice cream on top).

Strawberry Topping

With my last quart of strawberries I made a batch of strawberry topping this morning. The recipe is from Justin’s mom…just a basic fruit topping recipe…for pancakes, waffles, ice cream, etc. You could use it with any kind of fruit. Maybe I’ll make some blueberry topping to freeze when I get more blueberries. This is very good and very simple. Although it is on the sweet side. I’ll use less sugar next time. And you could probably add a little lemon juice to brighten up the flavor a bit.

Strawberry (fruit) Topping

1/3 cup organic cane sugar, sucanat or coconut sugar (adjust to taste)
2 Tbsp. all purpose flour OR 1 Tbsp. tapioca flour OR 2 Tbsp. arrowroot
1/2 cup water
3 cups strawberries, chopped (or any fresh fruit)

Mix sugar and flour in medium sauce pan. Add water. Mix. Turn on heat. Stir in strawberries. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute.

Serve on pancakes, waffles, shortcake or ice cream. You can also mix it into plain yogurt.

**You can also just mix fresh strawberries and honey (to taste). Let them sit until the strawberries start to soften. Then mash with a fork or potato masher. No cooking required. You can heat the topping before serving if desired.

Oatmeal Cookies

I made a batch of oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies this morning. I got the recipe from Justin’s mom. Her recipe uses raisins and nuts. I did raisins and chocolate chips. Amazingly Justin said he’s never had those two together! His mom always made them with just raisins or just chocolate chips…but never together. That’s how we always had oatmeal cookies. And the way I love them 🙂 This recipe made quite a few cookies…around 50. Even though we haven’t tasted them yet I’m sure they’re good 🙂 I think I’ve made them once before, but I can’t remember. These will make a handy snack on our vacation.

Famous Oatmeal Cookies with Raisins and Chocolate Chips

3/4 cup shortening
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 cups quick oats
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Beat shortening, sugars, egg, water and vanilla until creamy. In separate bowl sift flour, salt and soda. Add to creamed mixture and blend well. Stir in oats, nuts, chips and raisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls (I used a small cookie scoop) onto greased (I used silpat and parchment paper) cookie sheets. Flatten with fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 min (mine took about 14 min.).

Rhubarb Crunch

Last night I used up our fresh rhubarb and strawberries in a crisp. I got this recipe on All Recipes a long time ago. I’ve made it several times. Always very good!! The only change I made was to use a 1/2 cup butter instead of a full cup in the topping. That just seems like way too much to me. And I added strawberries. They pair so well with rhubarb. And add extra sweetness.Rhubarb Crunch

3 cups diced rhubarb
(chopped strawberries)
1 cup white sugar
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
In a large mixing bowl combine rhubarb (and strawberries), white sugar, and 3 tablespoons flour. Stir well and spread evenly into baking dish. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine brown sugar, oats, and 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir well then cut in butter or margarine until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over rhubarb layer. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Double Chocolate Cookies

At one of my bridal showers my friend Mandy gave me a cookie cookbook called “The Cook’s Encyclopedia of Cookies.” I browse through it once in a while to find something new to bake. This morning I made a batch of double chocolate cookies from it. They were super easy to make. And I’m pretty sure they taste great…but none of us has actually tasted them yet 😛 No cookies for breakfast here. So I’ll have to update with the true verdict later. As usual the cookies on the bottom rack got pretty dark on the bottom. But Justin actually likes a little burn to his cookies. So he’ll love them 🙂 I eyeballed about 1/3 of a bag of each kind of chocolate chips instead of using chocolate chunks.

 

There are quite a few more recipes that I want to try from this cookbook. I know it’s not baking season now that the weather is getting warmer. But hopefully I can try a few here and there. I’m hoping to make shortcakes next week for strawberry shortcake. I’ve never cared for it, but Justin will love it.

Double Chocolate Cookies

makes 18-20 (I got 24 out of it)

 

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cups rolled oats
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped

 

Heat oven to 375. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla. Beat well. Sift the flour over the mixture and fold in lightly with a metal spoon. Add the oats and chocolate. Stir until evenly mixed.

 

Place small spoonfulls of the mixture in 18-20 rocky mounds on baking sheets. Leave space for spreading. Bake 15-20 minutes, until beginning to turn pale golden. Cool for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Caramel Sauce & Sundaes

I made another Barefoot Contessa recipe this morning…caramel sauce. YUM! I tried it this morning…it was 6 am, but I HAD to try it…just a little lick. It’s another recipe from my BC at Home cookbook. I’ve been wanting to try it for a while.

I’ve never made caramel before. It was actually pretty easy. But it took longer than her recipe says…at least it did for me. I’ll post the original recipe and my timing. Her recipe is actually for caramel pecan sundaes. I want to try them…but with my sugar coated pecans instead of just plain pecans. Mmmm. Sounds good already.

It makes just enough to fill a pint jar. Perfect.
Caramel Sauce and Pecan Sundaes

serves 6
 
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
 
butter pecan ice cream
vanilla ice cream
toasted pecans (I used sugar coated pecans)

 

Mix 1/3 cup water and the sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook, without stirring, over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a warm chestnut brown (about 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer), 5 to 7 minutes (it took about 20 min. for me), gently swirling the pan to stir the mixture. Be careful; the mixture is extremely hot! Watch the mixture constantly at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt very quickly. Turn off the heat. Stand back to avoid splattering and slowly add the cream and vanilla. The cream will bubble violently and the caramel will solidify; don’t worry. Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes (took at least 5 min. for me and there were still a few solid sugar chunks that I just took out). Allow to cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. It will thicken as it sits.

To assemble the sundaes, place 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream and 1 scoop of butter pecan ice cream in each dish and sprinkle with toasted pecans. Drizzle with caramel sauce and serve extra sauce on the side.

Sugar Coated Pecans

I’ve had this recipe from All Recipes marked for quite a while now. I finally decided to try it as part of our Seder meal (see next post for details). With over 700 reviews and a 5 star rating I figured it had to be pretty good. And a while ago Justin asked for praline pecans…which I couldn’t find. So I gave these a try. These are wonderful!!!!! Our house smelled like those nut stands at the mall or at sporting events. And it was unbelievably simple. Only took a few minutes to get them in the oven. I followed the suggestions of some of the reviews and used 2 egg whites instead of 1. And I replaced a little of the water with vanilla. These will make a great snack (and they are gluten free:) or a good munchy to set out when we have guests. And it makes quite a bit, so I have some in the cupboard and some in the freezer. They really are good right out of the oven. Mmmm. I want some now. I bet this recipe would work well with other nuts too. Almonds would be really good. We sprinkled these on chunky cinnamon applesauce. I bet they would be really good on vanilla ice cream with caramel.
Sugar Coated Pecans

1 egg white (I used 2)
1 Tbsp. water (I used 1 tsp. vanilla + enough water to make 1 Tbsp.)
1 pound pecan halves (preferably soaked and dehydrated)
1 cup organic cane sugar (or sucanat)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (I used 1 tsp.)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Grease one baking sheet (I just lined mine with parchment paper. Worked great.).

In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake at 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes.