Category Archives: Desserts/Baking

Hot Cocoa Cookies

Posted in Cookies & Brownies & Bars, Desserts/Baking, Holiday by

These cookies are a new Christmas favorite. They’re soft chocolate cookies with a big marshmallow in the center and cocoa frosting swirled on top to look like a delicious mug of hot cocoa. The marshmallow stays soft and stretchy long after they’re baked.

I got this recipe from the Glorious Treats blog a few years ago and tweaked it to give the cookies a warm-you-up-in-cold-weather look. The Food Network magazine has a slightly different version on the cover of its current Christmas issue, topped with crushed peppermints.

One thing to note before you start: The dough needs to be refrigerated for at least an hour before using.

FOR THE COOKIES:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
About 20 large marshmallows

FOR THE DECORATION:
Confectioner’s sugar (powdered or icing sugar)
Cocoa powder
Sprinkles

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring frequently. Once melted, set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the sugar, eggs, and vanilla with an electric mixer on low speed until well combined. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and blend until just combined.

Add the flour mixture in several additions, mixing by hand after each one until just combined.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour. The dough should be firm. If making the dough a day ahead, leave it out at room temperature for 30 minutes before using.

When you’re ready to bake, heat the oven to 325F/160C degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a tablespoon, or a tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, to scoop dough; roll it in your hands to make balls, then flatten slightly as you put them on the cookie sheet. Arrange them 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes.

While the cookies bake, cut the marshmallows in half. When the cookies are done, remove from the oven and lightly press a marshmallow half into the center (cut side down!). Return the cookies to the oven and bake another 3 minutes.

When they’re done, let the cookies cool for several minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

When it’s time to decorate:
Mix a couple of cups of confectioner’s sugar in a bowl with just enough water to make an icing consistency. But be careful — add only a little water to start with and add more as you need to. A little water goes a long way! Then add enough cocoa to make the icing chocolatey — try a few big spoonfuls first, and add more if you want. If the icing becomes too thick, add a couple of drops of water and mix well.

Put the icing in a large Ziploc bag and snip off a small corner. Pipe the chocolate icing in a swirl over the cookies and add the sprinkles while the icing is still wet. Let dry, shake off the excess sprinkles, and enjoy.

Ice Cream Cake

Posted in Desserts/Baking, Other Desserts by

I had a lot of fun with this one, which was a birthday request from my daughter. She gave me free rein to make it however I wanted, as long as it had chocolate chip cookies and meringues on top, plus the ice cream of her choosing — in this case, mint chocolate chip.

I’d never made an ice cream cake before, and I didn’t know whether to make it all ice cream or include a layer or two of cake. There are so many variations out there! So I went with what I thought would be easiest — an easy-to-cut base layer of cake — and some ideas plucked from other dessert recipes, namely the cookie crumbs and chocolate drizzle.

The result was really yummy and indulgent. I piled it high with whipped cream and cookies. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and I’ll be making this again. This can be made in any flavors you like — any kind of cake, ice cream, and cookies — and any size and shape, based on the cake pan you use. These are the instructions for the cake I made.

One layer of chocolate cake (from a mix is fine)
12 chocolate chip cookies, half of them crumbled (the cookies I used were about 3.5 inches across)
Chocolate syrup (a purchased ice cream sundae fudge sauce is great; something like chocolate Nesquik would also be good)
2 quarts (half a gallon) of mint chocolate chip ice cream (you’ll probably use less, but this amount is just in case)
Homemade stiff whipped cream
Small meringue cookies

Take the ice cream out of the freezer to soften. In the meantime, lay the cake layer on a plate. Cover completely with cookie crumbs, then cover liberally with chocolate syrup.

When the ice cream is soft enough, cover the cake with it and make sure it’s even on top. Freeze it immediately.

Right before serving, make the whipped cream and cut the remaining cookies into triangles or semicircles, depending on the size you want. Take the cake from the freezer and cover in lots of whipped cream, topped with the cookie pieces and meringue cookies. Drizzle with chocolate syrup and serve.

(If you want perfectly straight sides to your cake, make it in a springform pan and don’t remove the ring before assembling the cake. Only remove it at the end. Use parchment paper around the cake to make sure sure the ring will release without damaging the sides.)

Caramel Peanut Popcorn

Posted in Appetizers & Snacks, Desserts/Baking, Other Desserts by

This delicious candied popcorn includes salted peanuts and Reese’s Pieces, which is awesome on its own, but it’s the sugary molasses coating that really makes it. It tastes a little like Cracker Jack, but with peanut butter candies and slightly fewer peanuts.

The original recipe called for dark corn syrup, which I didn’t have, so I used a mixture of light corn syrup and molasses. Admittedly that’s a different taste than dark corn syrup, but I liked it better and the consistency worked just fine. Use dark corn syrup if you prefer!

With more than 15 cups of popcorn, this recipe yields enough to fill a really big bowl, perfect to set out at a party. Or, like I did in the picture, you could serve it in individual cups or bowls so everyone has their own big portion.

15 cups plain popped popcorn
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup lightly salted dry-roasted peanuts
10 oz. package Reese’s Pieces

Heat oven to 325F/160C degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray, then spread popcorn on top in an even layer. Set aside.

In a small pot over medium-low heat, combine sugar, butter, corn syrup, molasses, and salt. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Pour over popcorn and toss gently so every kernel is coated.

Bake 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Add peanuts and bake 5 minutes more. Spread onto greased parchment paper and let cool, about 20 minutes. Break the pieces into a large bowl and add the candy.

(recipe adapted from Southern Living magazine, October 2015)

Butterscotch Chip Cookies

Posted in Cookies & Brownies & Bars, Desserts/Baking by

The addition of a little cocoa powder in this recipe is what makes it. These butterscotch cookies don’t taste chocolatey, but the cocoa powder gives it a little something extra in the background. The cookies come out very soft, thanks to the two kinds of brown sugar.

It took me 15 years to get around to making these! The recipe is from a magazine and I kept the whole page loose in my cookbook this whole time, always finding an excuse to make something else, even though the picture looked really good. But it was the picture that grabbed my daughter’s attention when we were looking for a cookie recipe to make together, finally prompting me to try it — and we all loved the result.

3 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butterscotch chips
3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
3 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350F/175C degrees. Grease baking sheets.

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients and the butterscotch chips. In a small bowl, mix the butter, eggs, and vanilla extract, beating just a little bit to incorporate the eggs; pour this into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls onto the baking sheets, then bake for 12-13 minutes or until firm. Immediately remove to wire racks and let cool.

Chocolate Pudding

Posted in Desserts/Baking, Other Desserts by

This homemade pudding is so supremely chocolatey and rich that it’s like a luxury dessert, even though it’s easy enough to make for a quick weeknight dinner. It could be a great last-minute dessert if you suddenly need to prepare one.

I made it on a whim this weekend because I wanted to use up some milk — this recipe is a good way to do that, or to use up leftover egg yolks. Dress it up with cookies or whipped cream, and you may very well have some chocolate mustaches at the table because people will have gobbled it up so quickly!

They key here is constant stirring, patience, and using a sieve at the end to ensure the result is silky smooth.

The original recipe is from Martha Stewart.

Serves 4

2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups milk
4 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl; set aside. In a medium saucepan, off heat, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cocoa powder. Very gradually (a few tablespoons at a time) whisk in milk, taking care to dissolve cornstarch. Whisk in egg yolks.

Whisking constantly, cook over medium heat until the first large bubble forms and sputters. Reduce heat to low, still whisking, and cook 1 minute. Note that when the pudding thickens, it will happen quickly.

Remove from heat and immediately pour through the sieve into the bowl. Stir butter and vanilla into the hot pudding.

Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding (to prevent skin from forming); chill at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Before serving, whisk pudding until smooth and divide among four serving dishes.

Key Lime Pie

Posted in Desserts/Baking, Pies & Tarts by

I don’t remember the first time I had key lime pie, but I do remember exactly where I got this recipe: from an in-flight magazine at least 20 years ago. It was at the end of a two-page article in which author Ellen Kanner describes savoring real key lime pie as she was growing up. I taped the two pages together, punched holes on the side, and have kept it in my binder ever since.

Kanner described how key lime pie should be “tangy and sweet, bracing and cool, the crunch of the crust a perfect foil for the creamy filling.” And, of course, it must be yellow. Key limes are light yellow when they’re ripe — not green — so their juice is, too.

Some people garnish their pies with strips of green rind from regular limes, which I find OK, but I’d rather just have just a dollop of whipped cream. There is way too much flavor going on with the pie for me to want much more than that. I just want to dig in!

I do recommend making the graham cracker crust yourself. Although you can certainly use a prepared one, a homemade crust looks and tastes better, and is a lot easier to make than you might think. In just a few steps, you’ll have a buttery, crisp, delicious pie crust. (If you do use a store-bought crust, make sure it’s for a 9-inch pie — some are 10 inches and that’s too large.)

The ingredients here are the same as those in the magazine article from so many years ago, though I recently tweaked it to make the pie hold up better.

Graham cracker crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and press firmly into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 350F degrees for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool while you prepare the filling. Keep oven on.

Key lime pie filling:

4 egg yolks
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. key lime juice

With an electric mixer (not by hand!), beat the egg yolks until lemony*. Add the condensed milk and continue beating for about 3 minutes. Add the key lime juice and beat until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Pour into prepared pie crust and bake at 350F for 10 minutes. Remove, let cool, and refrigerate at least 6 hours before serving.

*What does “lemony” mean when beating egg yolks? It refers to the way the color of the yolks changes slightly and becomes yellower when they’re beaten. Egg yolks — along with whole eggs and egg whites — hold air bubbles well; the air that’s incorporated when you beat yolks makes them lighter in color.

Vanilla Pudding

Posted in Desserts/Baking, Other Desserts by

Homemade vanilla pudding is as creamy and delicious as ice cream, and worth the minimal extra effort compared to the instant kind. It’s extra special to have it as a dessert because you know you’ve made it yourself.

Serve this with fruit, cookies, fun sprinkles on top — or all three! This is adapted from a Better Homes & Gardens recipe.

Serves 4-5

1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 cups half-and-half
4 egg yolks, beaten
1 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix sugar and cornstarch in a pot. Add half-and-half, then stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat, stir 1 cup of the mixture into the egg yolks, then add that back to the pot with a whisk. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat, and cook and stir 2 minutes more.

Remove from heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Pour through a sieve into a bowl to remove any clumps, lay plastic wrap directly onto the surface, and chill several hours.

Rolo Pretzel Bites

Posted in Desserts/Baking, Other Desserts by

These are delicious dessert nibbles that are always popular at parties, because they’re easy to pick up and just so scrumptious. You can offer a whole tray of them and they’ll disappear quickly. You need only pretzels (the small square ones), Rolos, and pecan halves, and they take only 2 minutes in the oven.

I first had these at a holiday party years ago and they were practically addictive. The recipe is now on the back of the bag of Rolos, so it’s not exactly a secret — but it lives in my cookbook, and these are so yummy, that I wanted to share it.

Heat oven to 250F/120C degrees.

Place pretzel squares on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put an unwrapped Rolo on each one. Put in the heated oven for 2 minutes, then remove and put a pecan half on top. Press down slightly and let cool before serving.

Apple Praline Ice Cream

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This ice cream has the deliciously distinct taste of apple pie. It’s made with applesauce, which gives it a fruity taste, but it’s also creamy. You make it with chopped pecan pralines or candied pecans, though you could also substitute plain ones.

The original recipe came from a UK newspaper years ago, hence the metric measurements that I have converted, but I have altered it since.

Makes 4 servings

125 ml (about 1/2 cup) heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
2 egg yolks
100g (3.5 oz) sugar
125g (just under 4.5 oz.) sour cream
175g (just above 6 oz.) unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup roughly chopped pecan pralines

Make sure your ice cream maker’s freezer bowl is frozen. (I always need a reminder for this step!)

In a saucepan, combine cream, vanilla, and cinnamon and bring to a boil.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. Pour in the cream and mix until blended, then pour the mixture into the saucepan and cook gently, stirring continuously, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and strain through a sieve. Let cool.

Stir in the sour cream and applesauce and churn. Add the nuts to the ice cream maker toward the end of mixing, or layer them in when you pour the ice cream into a freezer container.

Gingerbread Men Cookies

Posted in Cookies & Brownies & Bars, Desserts/Baking, Holiday by

These are so much fun to make and decorate, and the smell and taste of the spices is wonderful, especially during the holidays. The recipe doesn’t take much skill, either — just some patience while the dough chills so the cookies can better hold their shape. And after the cookies are baked comes the next fun part — decorating! My favorite royal icing recipe is below.

I made these for Christmas this year and gave some as presents. Of course, these can be made in any shape you like — try huge snowflakes, circles as Christmas ornaments, or triangles for Christmas trees (if you don’t have a tree cookie cutter). I had leftover dough, so I improvised the shape of a house with a paring knife.

Yield: A whole lot of cookies (depends on the size of your cookie cutters!)

6 cups sifted all-purpose (plain) flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 tsp. ground ginger
4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. white pepper
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 cup molasses (unsulfured)
Royal icing (see recipe below)

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Add flour mixture and combine on low speed.

Divide dough into thirds and wrap in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour.

After the dough has chilled, on a floured surface, roll out one of the dough portions until 1/8 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes and transfer to ungreased cookie sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350F/175C degrees.

Bake the cookies until crisp but not darkened, 8-10 minutes. Transfer them to a baking rack to cool and repeat the process with the rest of the dough. When cookies are cool, decorate as desired.

I used flat sprinkles for the buttons. Mini M&Ms would be nice, too.


ROYAL ICING

2 cups confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp. light corn syrup
2 1/2 Tbsp. hot water, more if needed
Piping bag with narrow tip, or plastic bag

Mix all ingredients in a bowl with electric hand mixer on medium speed until well blended.

The icing should not be watery, so be careful when the water and only add a DROP or two until it’s the right consistency (a drop of water goes a long way when making icing). You want it to be stiff enough to go through a piping bag. Use a narrow tip on the piping bag or snip off a very small corner of a plastic bag. Scoop the icing inside the bag and enjoy the decorating!

(Icing recipe from a 1998 Christmas cookie recipe booklet from Williams-Sonoma.)