Category Archives: Other Desserts

Ice Cream Cake

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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)

Chocolate Pudding

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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.

Vanilla Pudding

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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

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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.

Striped Jell-O

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This is a fun dessert made with three layers of Jell-O, one of them creamy, and you can change the colors and flavors any way you like. I found this on a subreddit for old recipes, where the user said an Italian grandma gave him the recipe with the colors of the Italian flag. That’s how I made it the first time. You’ll see I’ve used different colors this time — grape and cherry — as picked by my children!

Because you have to wait several hours between layers to allow them to set, you shouldn’t plan to serve this the same day you make it. Cut through it gently with a sharp knife and lift out the pieces with a sharp spatula — otherwise you’ll lose part of the bottom layer.

Makes 16 pieces.

2 large (6-oz.) boxes of Jell-O, any flavor
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 envelopes gelatin dissolved in 1/2 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla

Dissolve the first box of Jell-O in 2 cups boiling water. Pour into a 13×9-inch pan and let set in refrigerator for several hours.

Boil heavy cream, sour cream, sugar, gelatin, and vanilla. Allow to cool and pour over first layer. Let set in refrigerator for several hours.

Dissolve the second box of Jell-O in 2 cups boiling water. Let cool and pour over the second layer. Let set in refrigerator, then cut and enjoy.

Lemon Blueberry Frozen Yogurt Sandwiches

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These are very easy to make and even easier to devour. Just stir everything in a small bowl and freeze overnight, then cut into bars, sandwiched between graham crackers. With the fat-free yogurt and large dose of fruit, these could be a healthy snack, a healthy dessert, or even a treat at breakfast. You can skip the graham crackers and eat the bars on their own, too — though your fingers will get cold and you won’t get the fun crunch of the crackers.

I adapted the recipe from this one at WW. I used a larger pan, because it made for thinner pieces that were easier to bite into. I added the graham crackers on a whim.

Makes 6 sandwiches

1 lemon
1 cup fat-free vanilla yogurt (I have used both Greek yogurt and a mixture of Greek with regular yogurt)
1 Tbsp. agave syrup
1 cup fresh blueberries
13-14 graham cracker rectangles

Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper that hangs off the sides, so you can easily lift the yogurt out later.

Zest and juice the lemon. You need 1/2 tsp. of zest and 1/2 tsp. of juice. Mix the zest and juice into the yogurt with the agave syrup and blueberries.

Crush 1-2 graham cracker rectangles (amount depends on your preference). Spread half the crumbs onto the parchment, then spread the yogurt mixture evenly on top. Scatter the rest of the crumbs over the yogurt, pressing down gently, if possible, to make sure it all adheres.

Freeze overnight. When ready, lift it out of the pan and cut into six bars. Sandwich each bar between two graham cracker rectangles. Enjoy.

Peanut Brittle

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This recipe comes from a community cookbook published in Atlanta in 1985. It’s the kind of cookbook bound with plastic rings and with the names of the people who submitted the recipes below each one. I love these kinds of cookbooks — they give a peek into people’s kitchens and the recipes they love to make. This particular cookbook is where I got my candied pecan recipe, which I make during the holidays, and it’s also the source for this peanut brittle.

You do need a candy thermometer. I tried making it without one, but it was a failure — it took too long and I got impatient, and the result was bendy and stick-to-your-teeth chewy. With a candy thermometer, the process is easy.

The key to brittle is baking soda: It forms bubbles that make the brittle light enough to break apart and eat. The baking soda reacts with the melted sugar and foams up, in the same way it reacts with acids like buttermilk, vinegar, or lemon juice to make baked recipes light. Here’s a great article about brittle, if you want to learn more.

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 bottle (8 oz.) light corn syrup
2 Tbsp. water
2 cups unsalted peanuts
2 tsp. baking soda

Butter a 9×13-inch baking sheet.

In a very large pot, mix sugar, syrup, water, and peanuts. Have the baking soda measured and ready in a small dish next to the stove.

Cook at moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the candy thermometer reads hard crack (just above 300F, or exactly 150C degrees). Remove from heat and immediately stir in baking soda. Pour out quickly onto baking sheet and let cool. Then break into pieces and serve.

Notes:
— Use a large pot because the mixture will foam up more than you may think. I used a 4-quart pot.
— Do not try to flatten the mixture after you pour it on the baking sheet, or you’ll break up some of the bubbles that are key to making it brittle.

Recipe originally from Melba Lehman.

Chocolate Croissant Bites

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This is a quick little dessert that reminds me of chocolate-filled croissants from a nice pastry shop somewhere — the kind of place with small tables and a big window to the street, that smells more of sugar than coffee and has a display case full of desserts almost too beautiful to eat. (I really do miss visiting places like that.)

Gourmet thoughts aside, this is actually a simple back-of-the-box recipe I’ve had in my cookbook for ages. It was called Fudgy Brownie Cups, but to me that doesn’t describe it well enough. There is no rising agent in the chocolate mixture, and that’s what makes them fudgy, but they just don’t seem like brownies when they’re wrapped in the flaky layers of puff pastry.

All you need is a saucepan, a rolling pin and a couple of muffin pans and it’s ready in less than 20 minutes.

Makes 20

8 oz. (227g) sheet of puff pastry (half of a standard U.S. box), thawed
4 oz. (113g) dark chocolate (I used Lindt‘s 70% cocoa chocolate bar)
4 oz. (113g) unsalted butter (half a stick)
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. all-purpose (plain) flour, plus extra for dusting countertop
Confectioner’s (icing) sugar (optional)

Heat oven to 400F/200C degrees.

In a pot over medium-low heat, melt chocolate and butter. Turn off heat and mix in sugar. Add eggs and vanilla, then mix in flour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry to a 12×15-inch rectangle. Cut into 3×3-inch squares and press each one into an ungreased muffin cup. Fill with 1 tablespoon of chocolate mixture. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden (you want to err on the longer side to make sure the puff pastry comes out crispy on the bottom, not chewy).

Immediately remove to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with confectioner’s sugar.