Glitzy Chocolate Puddings
If you’ve got an electric mixer — either a handheld one or a freestanding mixer — this is very low effort indeed, but it is a real showstopper. There’s something quite extraordinary about the greedy silence that falls over the table as you put these out. You can almost feel it.
The glitz is provided by their utter fantabulousness and the scattering of candy over the top. If you don’t want to use a candy bar, of course, buy some upmarket honeycomb, or else scatter with some finely chopped pistachios. You will lose the sugary-glitter look, but you will still have brought to life an elegantly voluptuous creation.
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup soft butter
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
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Snickerdoodles
These tender cookies — rolled in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar before they bake — are a childhood favorite, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the adults in the family were the ones getting caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Dipped in hot cocoa or tucked inside a lunch bag, these lightly spiced sugar cookies are a perfect treat any time of day. Kids love to help shape the dough into balls and roll it through the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Make sure to give them plenty of room to spread on the baking sheets.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, un-hydrogenated preferable
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 3/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
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Sugar Cookies
Sometimes the only sweet that will do is a basic sugar cookie. Warm and soft from the oven or cooled to a more crisp wafer, these are sure to satisfy.
Hands-On Time: 10 minutes
Ready In: 20 minutes
Yield: 48 cookies
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar – not packed
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter – softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
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Magic Peanut Butter Cookies
Are these golden, fragrant, chewy cookies magic because they have no flour or butter in them? Or magic because of the way they disappear? You decide.
Total time: 30 minutes
Yield: 3 dozen
Ingredients
1 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky — not natural-style)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or half as much table salt — more salt if your peanut butter is unsalted)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
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Best-Ever Cowboy Cookies
Bursting with oats and chocolate chips, these flavor-packed cookies are an irresistible treat for kids, whether you customize them with special ingredients or stick to the delicious basics.
Hands-On Time: 30 minutes
Ready In: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Yield: about 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
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Cherry-Vanilla Oatmeal Cookies
Nothing humdrum here. Swap out the usual cinnamon and raisins for vanilla and cherries, and become a born-again oatmeal-cookie fanatic. Buttery, crispy, chewy — they’ve got everything you could want in a cookie. Does that sound like a dare to add chocolate chips? We wouldn’t stop you.
Total time: 1 hour
Yield: 4 dozen cookies
Ingredients
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (or half as much table salt)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup dried cherries
3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
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Chocolate Cream and Strawberry Pie
This great chilled pie for summer combines delicious chocolate and fresh strawberries for a knockout dessert. It’s a perfect recipe to make ahead of time for a picnic or cookout or summer special occasion.
Hands-On Time: 15 minutes
Ready In: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
12 ounces chocolate chips
1 cup milk — any fat content
1 large egg
1 9 inch pie crust
1 quart fresh strawberries washed and hulled
1/4 cup strawberry jelly or preserves
1 Tablespoon water
Directions
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Peach Cobbler
Serve this cobbler warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and watch it disappear. You can also make this with nectarines, plums or fresh berries for a change of pace. Canned peaches don’t work as well, so try to stick with fresh ripe fruits.
Hands-On Time: 15 minutes
Ready In: 50-55 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
Filling:
8 large ripe peaches – pitted and sliced, about 6 cups
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter
Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 taspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup to 1/3 cup heavy cream
1 egg – beaten
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Pecan Pie with Chocolate Surprise
Most families have not just one pie at their holiday table, but several. This dessert, though it might play second fiddle to pumpkin pie, is quite delicious in its own right. I like to sprinkle some chocolate chips on the crust before filling and baking, which brings this already rich dessert, well into the decadent category.
Ingredients
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out pie crust, fit in 9-inch pie plate, trim edges to 1/2 an inch over the edge, fold and crimp as desired. Chill in refrigerator while you prepare filling.
- Beat the eggs in a large bowl with a whisk until they are well blended. Add the corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter, and vanilla and blend well. Stir in pecans.
- Remove pie shell from the refrigerator. Sprinkle the bottom with the chocolate chips. Pour in the pecan filling and bake the pie for 15 minutes.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are set and the center quivers slightly. Do not over bake. Let the pie cool to room temperature. Serve with whipped cream.
Farm Stand Apple Pie
The best apples come from farm stands, and so do the best pies. Mile high and loaded with crumbly topping, this pie will give you that farm fresh flavor, right in your own kitchen. Brought along to a pot luck, or served on your holiday buffet, everyone will want a second slice — and the recipe.
Ingredients
- 12 selects small-medium green apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 inch slices
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/2 box frozen pie dough, thawed or use you favorite single-crust recipe
- 9 tablespoons butter, cold, cut in cubes
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