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Posts Tagged ‘dessert’

Pumpkin Cream Pie

Posted in About me, Holidays, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 30, 2012| 2 Comments »

Pumpkin Cream Pie As leaves start taking their final bows and nights become longer, fall’s spectacular show appeals to our senses more than ever. Acorns make music as they fall from tall oak trees and drop to the ground. Autumn leaves paint fiery displays of color on bright blue backdrops of sky. Familiar smells of favorite spices set the stage for the holidays. With a little over three weeks until Thanksgiving, now is a great time to test out new fall recipes. Imagine a fluffy and lightly-spiced pumpkin cream pie – one that even non-pumpkin-eaters will like and one that can be prepared in advance. That’s my idea of a fall showstopper!

Pumpkin Cream Pie
Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

INGREDIENTS
For the Crust:
1-1/2 package graham crackers (about 15 Cookie Sheets)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 stick butter, melted

For the Filling*:
1 box (3 oz. box) Vanilla Pudding (Cook and Serve variety)
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup heavy cream
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
2 tablespoons whiskey, optional
1/2 cup pumpkin purée
1/2 cup additional heavy cream
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Extra graham cracker crumbs, for garnish

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 300 degrees F.

2. Grind graham crackers in a food processor (if you don’t have a food processor, place them in a large Ziploc and pound them with a rolling pin). Add powdered sugar and melted butter and process until totally combined. Press into the bottom and sides of a pie pan until nice and firm. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until warm and “set.” Remove from oven and allow crust to cool completely.

3. In a medium saucepan, mix dry pudding mix with half-and-half and cream. Add spices. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly and thick.

4. Remove from heat and stir in whiskey, if using. Add pumpkin and stir to combine. Place lid on pot and set aside to cool. When cool enough, place pot in the fridge to cool completely.

5. When mixture is cool, remove from the fridge. In a mixing bowl, add 1/2 cup heavy cream and brown sugar. Beat until very light and fluffy. Fold in pumpkin cream mixture until combined. Pour into cooled crust.

6. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight. Serve with graham crackers crumbled on top.

Serves 8

Linnell’s Notes:
1. This recipe called for 15 graham cracker “cookie sheets” which I assumed meant 15 double sheets or the sheets as they come out of the bag. This was way too much, so the author’s definition of a sheet must be half of that. I used part of the leftover crumbs for the garnish.

2. *In the photo of the pie on The Pioneer Woman I noticed the pie looked a bit shallow, so I decided to double the filling ingredients. A 15-ounce can of pumpkin purée was a bit more than what a doubled amount would have been, but I went ahead and used the whole can. Didn’t make sense to let a small amount of pumpkin go to waste. Extra filling filled four individual ramekins and was called pumpkin mousse!

3. The next time I make this pie, I will try sprinkling a tiny bit of finely chopped candied ginger on top along with the graham cracker crumbs – just for a special interest.

Enjoy!

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Severed Finger Cookies

Posted in Holidays, In The Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 16, 2012| 7 Comments »

Severed Finger Cookies

Long dirty fingernails punctuate irregularly-shaped fingers. An extreme paleness gives them a ghostly appearance, while thick red puddles form around their severed ends. Strewn across an old chopping block, the fingers suspiciously point to a nearby meat cleaver and to a handwritten note that says, “For Dessert.”

Severed Finger Cookies
Recipe from Rachel Ray Magazine

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2¾ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Raspberry jam

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla, then mix in the flour, baking powder and salt. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Using your hands and working quickly, roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a finger shape. Place the fingers about 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Stick a sliced almond on one end of each for the fingernail. Use a table knife to make three crosswise knuckle marks in the middle of each cookie.

3. Bake until lightly golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

4. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, cook the jam over low heat until it reaches a saucy consistency. Once liquefied, remove from the heat and pour into a small bowl; dip the severed end of each cookie into the sauce.

Makes about 50 cookies

Linnell’s Notes:
1. I made the dough the night before, took it out the next morning, and let it sit on the counter for a little bit, until it was pliable enough to shape.

2. I covered my cookie sheet with parchment paper.

3. Sort through the sliced almonds before you begin and put “nail-worthy” ones in a small bowl. This will make the assembly of the “fingers” faster. Carefully press the sliced almonds onto the dough fingers. If you press too hard, you can break the almond slices. However, if you do not press them into the dough well enough, they fall off after the cookies are baked. A few almond slices fell off my cookies, but I just stuck them back on with a dab of jam. It created the look of “bloody cuticles.”

4. These are sturdy and not delicate cookies. They seemed a little dry to me, so the next time I make these, I will make the fingers a little smaller and adjust the baking time. Their texture makes them good cookies to dunk, though!

5. After 15 minutes in the oven, take a look at the cookies. The cookies won’t be golden at this point, but you do need to keep an eye on the thin almond slices. They can darken or burn quickly, so don’t set the timer for 25 minutes and walk away.

6. I used cherry jam instead of raspberry jam. I strained the jam for cherry chunks before heating it. I also microwaved the jam instead of putting it in a saucepan. It just seemed simpler to do that.

7. I put a wire rack over a piece of waxed paper. After dipping the severed ends of the cookies into the jam, I put them on the rack. Any sticky jam drops fell onto the waxed paper.

Enjoy these Halloween cookies!

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Coconut Banana Bread With Lime Glaze

Posted in About me, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 9, 2012| 4 Comments »

Some people sing in the shower. I sing in the kitchen. So if you happened to walk past my house one morning last week, you might have heard a very off-tune version of this Baha Men’s song:

You put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up
Put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up
You put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up
Put the lime in the coconut; you’re such a silly one
You put the lime in the coconut and drink ’em both together

I couldn’t help but sing and bust a few “unique” moves as I whipped up a loaf of moist coconut banana bread. What a great combination of flavors: coconut, banana, rum, and lime. Don’t forget the rum, because, take it from me, it makes you sing and dance better!

Coconut Banana Bread With Lime Glaze
Recipe from Cooking Light, September 2003

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1½ cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
3 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon flaked sweetened coconut
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1½ tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk to combine.

3. Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4. Add banana, yogurt, rum, and vanilla; beat until blended.

5. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist.

6. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon coconut.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

8. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan.

9. Combine powdered sugar and juice, stirring with a whisk; drizzle over warm bread. Cool bread completely on a wire rack.

Yield: 1 loaf, 16 servings

Linnell’s Notes:
This bread was moist and flavorful, but the next time I make it I will be sure to have all the correct ingredients on hand to see how the bread should really taste. I used light rum instead of dark. The dark rum would have probably added a fuller flavor to the bread. I did not have plain yogurt on hand either, so I substituted vanilla-flavored yogurt and omitted the vanilla extract. I’m not sure that this substitution altered the taste very much. I also replaced the 1 cup of sugar with Splenda just to see if I could cut back on the amount of sugar. It turned out fine.

ENJOY!

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Strawberry-Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Posted in About me, In The Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on August 21, 2012| 2 Comments »

He steps warily over boxes and scraps of paper as he navigates around the room. His eyes track from the sink full of dirty dishes to the pot on the stove filled with some kind of white crystalline concoction and then over to the oven door covered with red sticky stuff. Paint brushes, bottles of paint, and scraps of bunched-up dirty paper towels litter the dark granite countertop. He hears a sound and immediately turns towards it. Suspiciously, he eyes a bedraggled stranger sitting on the family room sofa. “What have you done with my wife?” he demands of the stranger. With hair jutting out at awkward angles and a face covered with smudges, the stranger casts a stern look at him and shouts back, “What?!! Bloggers have bad days, too!”

Needless to say, some of my projects did not go very smoothly today. I won’t bore you with the whole story, but let me just say that my completed craft project looked like a kindergarten student made it and I made more than one mistake when making the coffee cake! After getting back on track with the recipe, all was well again until the coffee cake rose over the top of the pan and heaved big globs of sticky fruit sauce imbedded with streusel chunks all over my oven racks. But despite all that happened today, this Strawberry-Rhubarb Coffee Cake AKA Bad Day Coffee Cake turned out perfectly delicious!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Coffee Cake
Recipe developed by Emily Donahue for Rosey’s Coffee and Tea in Hanover, New Hampshire, and featured in Martha Stewart’s Living Magazine.

Ingredients:
1¼ cups chilled unsalted butter, plus more, softened, for pan
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1/3 cup cornstarch
2¾ cups sugar
1 pound strawberries, hulled and sliced
1½ pounds rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
3¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1½ cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9-by-12-by-3-inch baking pan with butter, and set aside. Make fruit sauce: Combine lemon juice, cornstarch, and 1 cup sugar in a medium saucepan. Add strawberries and rhubarb; cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat, until rhubarb is soft and liquid has thickened, 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl; let cool.

2. Make the crumb topping: Combine 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup flour in a medium bowl. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Drizzle butter over flour mixture; using your hands, mix until crumbly. Set aside.

3. Make cake batter: Whisk together remaining 3 cups flour and 1 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife or two forks, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Pour into flour mixture; stir to combine.

4. Spread half the cake batter evenly into the prepared pan. Top with half the fruit sauce. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the fruit, and top with the remaining fruit sauce. Sprinkle with the crumb topping.

5. Bake until cake is golden brown and springs back when touched in the center, about one hour. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into squares.

Serves 15

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Please note that there is divided use of the sugar, flour, and butter!
2. The fruit sauce thickens quickly. Keep stirring, but continue to cook it long enough to allow the strawberries and rhubarb to soften and release juices.
3. I melted the butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave.
4. The next time I make this, I will place a parchment paper-lined pan under the baking dish to catch the globs of fruit and streusel that spill over!

Enjoy!

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Not Yo’ Mama’s Banana Pudding

Posted in About me, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 10, 2012| 1 Comment »

Lightly freckled bananas sit on my kitchen counter and beg to be eaten while still in their prime. A thought crosses my mind, “What about using them in a dessert for the potluck dinner tonight?” Being short on time, I search for a quick and easy banana recipe. Voilà! Paula Deen to the rescue again! This recipe tantalizes me, because it contains all sorts of sinful ingredients like cream cheese, whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk. But what really lures me in is the use of a big-time favorite cookie of mine – buttery Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies. I can’t wait to sample this dessert! Hold on a minute . . . how am I going to taste this luscious banana dessert AND serve it at a potluck? I don’t think anyone will notice a missing corner piece, do you?

Not Yo’ Mama’s Banana Pudding
Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen

Ingredients:
2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies
6 to 8 bananas, sliced
2 cups milk
1 (5-ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream

Directions:
1. Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies . . .

. . . and then layer bananas on top of them.

2. Notice that some of the cookies are broken. Eat them.

3. In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer.
4. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies.

4. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves 12.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Because I like my banana desserts to be full of fresh banana flavor, I cut up eight bananas.
2. To prevent the bananas from turning yellow, I sliced the bananas and, in batches, put them in a strainer over a bowl and poured lemon juice over them. I poured the lemon juice from the bowl back into the measuring cup to use again.

3. For better flavor, I whipped up some fresh whipping cream and used it in place of the frozen whipped topping.
4. This recipe does come together easily and makes a wonderful dessert for potlucks, family dinners, and parties.

ENJOY!

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Chewy Irish Coffee Blondies

Posted in About me, In The Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »

A dose of caffeine sent my heart into a five-hour roller coaster ride that ultimately landed me in an urgent care center. While being examined, I described the rhythms of my heart to the emergency room doctor as “CLUNK-clunk” and Beedeebeedeebeedeebeedeebeedeebee . . . .”  He explained that one of the “wires” in my heart is “frayed” and he ordered an EKG. While waiting with me to have the EKG, my husband flipped through the pages of a magazine. “You should make these,” he said. “Make what?” I replied distractedly. “These bars,” he said showing me a photograph in a magazine. “They look so good! Go ask the receptionist if she can make a photocopy of it for us,” I urged. A few minutes later he returned, sat down and said, “She said we could take the whole magazine. And, on second thought,” he continued, “maybe you shouldn’t make these.” “Why not?” I asked. Sheepishly he replied, “I read over the recipe and . . . it has caffeine in it.”  Caffeine or not, I still made these buttery, coffee-flavored bars that are topped off with the perfect complement – a whiskey-flavored glaze. Maybe these blondies will make your heart race, too!

Chewy Irish Coffee Blondies
Recipe from Martha Stewart

Ingredients for the Blondies:
2 sticks unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups packed light-brown sugar
3 tablespoons freshly ground coffee
Salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sliced almonds, skin on

Ingredients for the Glaze:
1 tablespoon melted butter, warm
2 tablespoons Irish whiskey
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:
1. Make the blondies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan, and line with parchment so that it overhangs on all sides. Butter parchment. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

2. Melt butter, and pour into a mixing bowl with brown sugar, ground coffee, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine. Stir in eggs and vanilla extract. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter into pan, and sprinkle with almonds. Bake 27-30 minutes, depending on how chewy you like your blondies (a shorter baking time results in a chewier blondie). Let cool completely.

3. Make the glaze: Whisk together butter and whiskey. Gradually whisk in confectioners’ sugar until glaze is thick but pourable (you may not need all the sugar). Using a spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip, drizzle glaze over blondies in a rough crosshatch pattern. Let glaze dry 1 hour. Cut blondie into 2-inch squares. (Blondies can be stored at room temperature up to 2 days.)

Makes 24.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. The batter is very thick. Spread it out in the pan with the back of a spoon or a spatula before baking.
2. I like my blondies chewy, so I baked them for only 27 minutes.
3. I cut about a half-inch off the corner of a disposable, plastic, sandwich bag and inserted a round pastry tip. Next, I put the glaze in the bag and squeezed the glaze over the uncut blondie.

Enjoy!

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Raspberry-Cherry Crumble Bars

Posted in About me, In The Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 20, 2012| 1 Comment »

Want to know my secret to baking sweet and delicious treats and not gaining weight? The answer is simple: I give my baked goods away. Being on a mother-of-the-groom diet, I sample only one tempting serving and then pack up the rest for my husband to take to work. Today’s batch of Raspberry-Cherry Crumble Bars will be tomorrow’s staff treats. Oh, but these delicious crumble bars will be a little bit more difficult to give away. Tart cherries mixed with sweet raspberry jam and sandwiched in between a buttery oatmeal crust and topping are sorely testing my willpower. These easy-to-make bars are proving not so easy to give away!

Raspberry-Cherry Crumble Bars
From the So Sweet! cookbook by Sur La Table

Dough:
1 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ¾ cups old-fashioned or quick oats (not instant)
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces

Filling:
1 (16-ounce) jar good-quality seedless raspberry jam
1 cup dried sour cherries
Confectioner’s sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and position an oven rack in the center. Line a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with foil across the bottom and up the two long sides, then lightly coat with melted butter, oil, or high-heat canola-oil spray.

2. To make the crumble dough, place flour, oats, brown sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on low speed until evenly mixed (or place in a food processor and process for 5 seconds). Add the cold butter and mix on low speed until the mixture looks like wet sand and starts to form clumps, 5 to 6 minutes (or process for 45 to 60 seconds, pausing to scrape down once with a spatula).

3. Divide the dough in half. Pat one half into an even layer in the prepared pan. Set the other half aside. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden and crisp. Transfer to a rack and cool for 20 minutes. Leave the oven on.

4. Make the filling by emptying the jam into a medium bowl and stir well to break up any lumps. Add the cherries and stir until well-mixed and all the cherries are coated with jam. Spread evenly over the cooled crust, all the way to the edges. Sprinkle the remaining dough evenly over the filling.

5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

6. To serve, run a thin knife or spatula around the edges of the pan to loosen any dough or filling. Lift the cookies out by using the foil as handles and place on a cutting surface. Cut into 3 by 1-inch bars. Just before serving, use a  fine mesh strainer to lightly dust the confectioner’s sugar over the cookies.

Makes 36 bars.

Linnell’s Notes
1. It is important to line the baking pan with foil. It helps to lift out the finished product after it has cooled, which makes it easier to cut. Make sure to butter, oil, or spray the foil.

2. Tart cherries are the same as sour cherries.

3. The jam I bought came in an 18-ounce jar instead of a 16-ounce jar. I added the whole jar to the recipe without negative consequence.

4. I did not feel the need to dust the bars with confectioner’s sugar. The bars were perfect as is.

Enjoy!

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Nonna’s Breakfast and Dessert Farina Cake

Posted in Holidays, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 6, 2012| 14 Comments »

When people immigrate to a new country, they often carry with them reminders of their homeland and a few cherished belongings. Old family recipes are both  – cherished and reminders of home. Mary Cannici says of her grandmother’s special cake recipe, “This recipe immigrated to this country from Sicily when Nonna was a little girl and her family came to Ellis Island.” The cake is a wonderful combination of a creamy ricotta cake and an egg-rich pudding. Farina, a finely ground cereal grain with a mild taste, is used as the thickening agent. Serve this versatile and easy-to-make cake with fresh seasonal fruit and you have the perfect dessert for brunch or dinner! Easter and Mother’s Day are just around the corner!

Nonna’s Breakfast and Dessert Farina Cake
Recipe by Mary Cannici

Ingredients:
4 cups whole milk
1¼ cups (8¾ ounces) sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 cup farina
16 ounces (2 cups) whole-milk ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
2. Bring milk, sugar, and butter to simmer in large saucepan and cook, stirring often, until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Slowly whisk in farina until smooth.
4. Remove saucepan from heat, stir in ricotta and vanilla.
5. Let mixture cool slightly, then stir in beaten eggs until combined.
6. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then serve warm.

Serves 15 to 18

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Farina can usually be found in stores that carry natural foods. Sprouts, Whole Foods, and health food stores often carry farina in the bulk bin section. Cream of Wheat is made from farina.

2. Be careful not to add too much of the farina at one time. Add small amounts of it slowly, stirring constantly, to prevent lumps from forming.

3. Although the egg custard flavor is more pronounced when the cake is served warm (after the 10-minute cooling period), it is trickier to serve warm since the texture is like a rough custard. After the cake sits for a while, it firms up and can be cut into squares.

Enjoy!

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