Dessert
This is the easiest and quickest fudge I’ve ever made! Super delicious too! This recipe was adapted from an AllRecipes.com recipe.
Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
4 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/4 Cup Milk
1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1/4 Teaspoon + a pinch Kosher Salt
Line a 9×9 in dish or a pie plate with foil. Spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.
Melt the butter in a medium bowl in the microwave. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until combined.
Spread into the prepared dish. Cover and refrigerate until cooled completely.
Cut into squares to serve.
Tags: Chocolate, Chocolate Fudge, Dessert, Fudge, Gluten Free
My ice cream maker had been collecting dust in the back of my pantry for quite some time now, so I decided to bring it out and make some ice cream! This ice cream turned out great and was very easy to make. I found the recipe on the Eating Well website.
Ingredients:
3 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoon water
6 cups low-fat milk, divided
6 large egg yolks
2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
2 vanilla beans (or about 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract), cut in half lengthwise and seeds scraped
Stir together the gelatin and water in a small bowl. Set aside for now.
Add 3 cups milk and the vanilla bean seeds and pods to a large saucepan. Heat until the milk is steaming over medium heat.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk. While still whisking, very slowly pour in the hot milk. Return this to the saucepan over medium heat, cooking until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Do not boil.
Strain this mixture through a mesh strainer into a clean large bowl. Stir in the gelatin and water mixture. Whisk until fully incorporated then whisk in the remaining 3 cups of milk.
Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.
Whisk the mixture before pouring into your ice cream maker. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions. After freezing, place in the freezer to firm up more.
Yield: 2 Quarts Ice Cream
Tags: Dessert, Gluten Free, Ice Cream, Vanilla Beans, Vanilla Ice Cream
I originally made this bread just because I really love zucchini bread, but then realized that I could actually get Chloe to eat vegetables if they are hiding in bread! Amazing!! She really enjoyed this bread. The blueberries made it very moist, so make sure you store it in the fridge if you aren’t going to eat in all in a couple days like we did. This recipe comes from Kayln’s Kitchen.
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 cup Sugar
2 large Eggs
1/2 cup Canola Oil
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 Medium Zucchinis, coarsely grated
1 cup fresh or thawed Blueberries
1/2 cup chopped Pecans
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl.
Beat together the sugar and eggs in a large bowl or stand mixer for about 5 minutes. Stir in the oil and vanilla, then add the zucchini. Stir until combined.
Add the flour to this mixture and stir to combine thoroughly. Fold in the blueberries and pecans. Pour into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake until browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 60-70 minutes.
Cool and enjoy!
Yield: 1 loaf
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (I used Saigon Cassia Cinnamon from The Spice House)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup Splenda (or sugar)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla (I used Mexican vanilla)
1 cup coarsely grated zucchini (I just grated with the big side of a hand grater)
1-2 T water (as needed, if batter is too stiff, I used 1 T water)
1 cup fresh or thawed blueberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Tags: Blueberries, Blueberry Bread, Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Pecans, Whole Wheat Flour, Zucchini, Zucchini Bread
This is a very simple and quick dessert. It took only about 15 minutes to prepare them. This recipe came from Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade magazine.
Ingredients:
1 (12 oz) Bag Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Peanuts
1 Cup Cashews
½ Cup Dried Cherries
Pour chocolate chips into a microwaveable bowl. Heat at 50% power for 30 second intervals until completely melted. Stir in the peanuts, cashews and cherries.
Scoop into 24 paper muffin liners. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to harden.
Yield: 24
Tags: Cashews, Chocolate, Chocolate Chips, Dessert, Gluten Free, Peanuts
This is a great way to use up all those leftover candy canes you just pulled off your Christmas tree! I had made this fudge for a bake sale at my church, so that is why they are packaged so beautifully. This recipe came from a Woman’s Day magazine.
Ingredients:
4 Cups Bittersweet Chocolate Chips (two 12oz pkgs)
2 Cans (14 oz each) Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 Tablespoons Cold Unsalted Butter
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
2/3 Cup Crushed Candy Canes (about 8 )
Line a 9×13 inch casserole dish with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Combine the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir frequently until chocolate is completely melted. Add the butter, vanilla and salt. Stir until butter is melted and combined.
Evenly spread the chocolate mixture in the prepared dish. Sprinkle with the crushed candy canes and press lightly to help them stick. Refrigerate until firm. At least 3 hours, but overnight is best.
Cut into small squares to serve.
Tags: Candy Canes, Chocolate, Chocolate Chips, Dessert, Fudge
I had a ton of persimmons in my bountiful basket a few weeks ago and finally made something with them. These cookies were very tasty even though I didn’t care for raw persimmons. I made a couple small changes to the original recipe I found.
Ingredients:
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
½ teaspoon Salt
1½ teaspoon Cinnamon
½ teaspoon Freshly Grated Nutmeg
½ Cup Shortening
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 Cup Chopped Nuts (Walnuts or Almonds)
1 Cup Raisins
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line two baking sheets with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Combine the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a medium bowl.
Using a hand mixer, cream together the shortening and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in the egg then beat in the persimmon pulp.
Mix in the flour mixture in two additions until thoroughly incorporated. Stir in the nuts and raisins.
Drop Tablespoon sized balls of dough onto the prepared cookie sheets. The cookies don’t spread, so they can be placed close together.
Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
Yield: about 40 cookies
A note about persimmons:
I used Fuyu Persimmons for this recipe. They take a really long time to ripen enough for baking with. I think they sat on my kitchen counter for a month before they were ready. A Hachiya Persimmon is usually used for baking since they are a lot softer to begin with. Either would work great for this though. To make the pulp, I peeled the persimmons and then pureed them with an immersion blender. A regular blender or food processor would work too. If you use the Hachiya Persimmons, you would just need to scoop out the insides of the persimmon and blend it. They are too soft to peel.
This cookie recipe comes from Paula Deen and was featured in the Food Network 12 Days of Cookies this year. These deliciously chocolaty cookies are very easy to make.
Ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (18-ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix
Powdered sugar, for dusting
With an electric mixer, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Beat in the egg. Add the vanilla and cake mix, mixing on low speed until thoroughly combined. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Roll the dough into Tablespoon sized balls. Coat with powdered sugar and place on a greased baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes.
Cool cookies and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Yield: 40 cookies
Another Thanksgiving must-have! It just isn’t Thanksgiving without a massive amount of pie. Especially pumpkin pie. This recipe is the standard Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie, except I made it with fresh pumpkin. I substituted nutmeg for the cloves because I didn’t have any cloves. It still tastes like pumpkin pie, so either way works.
Ingredients:
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz) or 2 cups pumpkin puree
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
Whipped cream
Preheat oven to 425°F.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the pumpkin and sugar mixture, stirring to combine.
Slowly add the evaporated milk, stirring to completely combine.
Pour into the pie shell.
Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and continue baking until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40-50 minutes.
How to make your own pumpkin puree:
It’s really simple to make your own pumpkin puree from a pie pumpkin.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds.
- Cut the 2 halves in half again and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake until tender, about 45-60 minutes.
- Scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin.
- Puree with an immersion blender, food processor, blender, mixer, or whisk by hand until smooth.
Tags: Pie, Pumpkin, Thanksgiving
This is something that we always have at Thanksgiving in my family. It is typically served with the meal, but could also be dessert.
Ingredients:
1 (12 oz) bag fresh cranberries
1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple (drained and towel dried)
1 (7oz) jar marshmallow creme
1¼ cup sugar
8 oz Cool Whip
Lightly chop the cranberries in a food processor.
In a large bowl, stir together the chopped cranberries, pineapple, marshmallow creme and sugar. Once combined, fold in the Cool Whip.
Freeze until firm, about 3-4 hours or overnight. Thaw in the refrigerator and serve cold.
Tags: Cranberries, Dessert, Gluten Free, Side Dish, Thanksgiving
I don’t think I could possibly make a regular pecan pie after making this version. The chocolate chips were a great addition to the classic pecan pie…thanks Emeril Lagasse!
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups pecan halves
1 pie crust
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus more for coating chocolate chips
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (½ stick) salted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Place the pie crust in a 9 inch pie plate. Evenly spread the pecans on the pie crust. Toss the chocolate chips in a little flour and sprinkle over the pecans.
In a bowl, combine the eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, butter and flour. Once thoroughly stirred together, pour this mixture over the pecans and chocolate chips in the pie plate.
Bake until the filling is set and the crust is golden brown, about 70 minutes. Use foil to tent the crust if it browns too quickly. Let cool for 1 hour before serving.
Serves: 8-10
Tags: Chocolate Chips, Pecan, Pecans, Pie, Thanksgiving