Nicki's collection of recipes, open for all friends, family, and anyone who wishes to share from his/her own collection!

Category: Desserts (Page 2 of 8)

Life is uncertain, eat dessert first!

Louise Piper’s Oil Pastry

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Nicki’s Note:

I ran across this recipe via Slashfood today. I have always had a hard time making the “perfect” pie crust. This article gives me hope! 🙂

Recipe Source: The Oregonian, via Slashfood

Makes one 9-inch double-crust pie.

Louise Piper is a perennial pie winner at the Iowa State Fair, one of the biggest in the country, and she’s been using this crust for almost 40 years. If you substituted olive oil for the vegetable oil, and water for the milk, you’d have my mother-in-law’s crowd-pleasing — and vegan — pie crust recipe instead. Cut the recipe in half for a single-crust pie. Before using, check your oil to make sure it’s not rancid. Sticky oil and a musty, off-odor are clues. To measure the flour, spoon it into the measuring cup and level off.

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup cold whole (or 2 percent) milk

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Measure the oil and milk into the same liquid measuring cup but do not stir. Add to the flour and mix briskly to combine. The dough will pull together into a ball.

Divide the dough in half. Roll out each half to 1/8 inch thick between 2 sheets of wax paper. Use as directed in your recipe. Note: Because this is made with oil, the dough must be used right away. After a day in the fridge the oil will start to separate and seep out.

From “Pie” by Ken Haedrich

No Bake Peanut Butter Pie

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Recipe Source: Lauren @ southernmamas.blogspot.com

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk
1 (16 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crusts (I USE CHOCOLATE!)
(garnish with chocolate chips, chocolate shavings, or anything chocolate!)

Directions:

Beat together cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar. Mix in peanut butter and milk. Beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.

Spoon into two 9 inch graham cracker pie shells; cover, and freeze until firm.

Laurie Colwin’s Gingerbread

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Recipe Source: Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin, care of Marisa McClellan of Slashfood.com

Directions: (all parenthetical notes belong to Colwin)

1. Cream one stick of sweet butter with 1/2 cup of light or dark brown sugar. Beat until fluffy and add 1/2 cup of molasses.
2. Beat in two eggs.
3. Add 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and one very generous tablespoon of ground ginger (this can be adjusted to taste, but I like it very gingery). Add one teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves and 1/4 teaspoon of ground allspice.
4. Add two teaspoons of lemon brandy. If you don’t have any, use plain vanilla extract. Lemon extract will not do. Then add 1/2 cup of buttermilk (or milk with a little yogurt beaten into it) and turn batter into a buttered tin.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for between twenty and thirty minutes (check after twenty minutes have passed). Test with a broom straw and cool on a rack.

Marisa’s notes:

I used a fairly shallow 9 inch round cake pan and had a mess all over my oven. I think next time, I will use a deeper, square 9 x 9 pan. Also, in my oven, which runs fairly true to temperature, this cake took nearly an hour to bake. I don’t know if that had something to do with my choice in baking vessel, but don’t be discouraged if it takes far longer than her instructions indicate.

Chocolate Mocha Trifle

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Recipe Source: Chanonn (via NWC Forums)

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (450g) brownie mix
1 3/4 C. milk
1 small box vanilla instant pudding
1/4 C. warm water
4 tsp. instant coffee granules
2 C. thawed, frozen whipped topping
3 bars (39g each) buttery toffee crunch

Directions:

Lightly spray a rectangle baker with vegetable oil. Prepare and bake brownies according to package directions. Cool completely.

In a bowl, whisk pudding mix into milk until mixture begins to thicken. Dissolve coffee granules in warm water; add to pudding mixture, mixing well. Fold in whipped topping.

Cut brownies into 1 inch cubes. Chop crunch bars. Layer 1/3 of brownie cubes onto bottom of bowl. Top with 1/3 of the pudding mixture and 1/3 of the chopped bars. Repeat layers two more times. Chill 30 minutes before serving.

Yields 12 servings.

Per serving: 343 calories; 4 g protein; 16g fat; 48g carbohydrate; 280 mg sodium

Note from Chanonn: I have just discovered Trifles…they are so beautiful and easy to make…I have tons of recipes for them if interested:)

Whoopie Pies

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Recipe Source: Jen at thebarmybaker.blogspot.com, (adapted from Chocolate American Style by Lora Brody)

Makes: 9 large pies, 18 smaller ones

Cake Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour (5 ounces..I used the weight measurement instead of volume for this one)
3/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk (I used buttermilk instead of the whole milk and lemon juice cause I love the moisture buttermilk brings to the party)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract (or a little more if you like, I used 3 tsp or 1Tbsp of it)
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg

Cake Directions:

Heat oven to 350F. Prepare two sheet pans by lining them with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda into a medium bowl, set aside.

Mix the milk, lemon juice and vanilla together and set aside (the mixture will thicken and curdle while it sits).

Cream together the brown sugar, butter and egg until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer down to low and begin to add the flour and milk mixtures alternately. Starting with 1/3 of the flour adding 1/2 of the milk, 1/3 of the flour, the rest of the milk and then the rest of the flour mixture. Mix until just blended.

Measure the batter out with a 1/4 cup (if you want 9 large pies) or about 2 tbsp each for smaller pies. Drop this batter onto the prepared sheet pans leaving about 2 inches between the cakes. Tap the sheets gently on a counter before baking to remove a bit of the air.

Bake the cakes for 12-15 minutes (shorter time is needed for the smaller cakes, I’d say 8 to 12 minutes) until they are firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool on the sheet pans.

Filling Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups marshmallow cream or fluff ( I tried this with marshmallow cream, but it did not work out for me. I ordered the fluff and it really did make a difference….maybe it was just to warm here that one day for cream..)
2 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste if you have it on hand to add little beautiful vanilla specs to the filling)

Filling Directions:

Place everything but the vanilla in a mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat everything until it is blended, then stir in the vanilla.

Spread half the little cakes with this mixture, then top with the other half of the cakes.

Jen’s Notes:

The Whoopie Pies may be wrapped individually in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to a week. I love to make these for road trips or picnics, they would be perfect for the Fourth of July. Next time anyone asks you where the best place to make whoopie is, you can smile and reply “in the kitchen, of course!”.

Whooooooopie! Happy Baking.

Michael’s Favorite Brownies

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Recipe Source: andreasrecipes.com

Ingredients:

3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup melted butter, divided
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts or dark chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In the mixing bowl, combine cocoa and baking soda. Add 1/3 cup melted butter and the boiling water and stir on low until the mixture thickens.

Stir in sugar, eggs, and remaining 1/3 cup melter butter. Mix until smooth.

Add the flour, vanilla, and salt, and mix completely. Stir in nuts or chips, if desired.

Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until brownies pull away from the sides of the pan, but watch them carefully after 30 minutes to make sure they don’t over bake. Cool completely in the pan. Cut into bars.

Variations:

To spice up the brownies, add one of the following to the dry ingredients:

  • 1-1/2 teaspoons espresso powder (or good instant coffee, ground with a mortar & pestle)
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • Pinch of cayenne

Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Recipe Source: Mary Simpson Creel, M.S., R.D. , Cooking Light, JUNE 2007

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 10 ounces)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F.

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

Combine sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla and egg whites; beat 1 minute. Add flour mixture and chips; beat until blended.

Drop dough by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on pans for 2 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Yields: 4 dozen (serving size: 1 cookie).

Peanut Butter Cup Cake

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Recipe Source: Jules @ everydaymommy.net

“This is a decadent cake that looks a little funny but tastes delicious.”

Cake:

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 stick butter, softened
4 eggs
1 package butter cake mix
2/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 325Âş. Grease and flour a 9Ă—13 pan.

Combine 3/4 cup peanut butter and softened butter. Cream until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each one. Add cake mix alternately with the water. Beat on medium until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and poke holes in warm cake with end of wooden spoon. Prepare chocolate icing and pour it over warm cake.

Chocolate Icing:

2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract

In sauce pan melt butter over medium low and add cocoa. Stir with whisk. Add powdered sugar and cream. Stir to remove lumps. When smooth add vanilla and let simmer for about a minute. Pour warm icing over warm cake.

Quick Chocolate-Cinnamon Mousse with Cherries

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Recipe Source: Dave Lieberman, from the June 2007 issue of Bon Appetit

Cherries:

8 ounces fresh Bing cherries, pitted
1/3 cup black cherry preserves or other cherry preserves
1/3 cup ruby Port or cherry juice

Mousse:

1 1/4 cups chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
1/8 teaspoon (generous) ground cinnamon
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

For cherries:

Combine cherries, cherry preserves, and Port in heavy small saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and boil until juices thicken to syrup consistency, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer to small bowl and chill until cold, about 3 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

For mousse:

Combine 1/4 cup cream and cinnamon in small saucepan; bring to boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Transfer chocolate mixture to large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat remaining 1 cup cream in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Fold 1/4 of whipped cream into lukewarm chocolate mixture. Fold remaining whipped cream into chocolate mixture in 3 additions just until incorporated. Divide mousse among 4 glasses or bowls. Chill until set, about 4 hours. DO AHEAD. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; keep chilled.

Spoon cherries with syrup atop mousse and serve.

Lemonade Cake

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Recipe Source: Patty Silva

Ingredients:

1 (3 ounce) package lemon flavored gelatin
3/4 cup boiling water
1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 (6 ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
3/4 cup white sugar

Cake Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 10 inch tube pan.

Dissolve lemon gelatin the boiling water. Set aside.

Combine cake mix, vegetable oil, and eggs. Mix well and add gelatin mixture then beat for 5 minutes. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour. While cake is still warm and in the pan, puncture cake with the tines of a fork. Then pour lemonade glaze over cake. Let cake cool completely before removing from pan.

Lemonade Glaze Directions:

Combine the thawed frozen lemonade with the white sugar and mix thoroughly.

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