Tag Archives: dessert

Chocolate Fudge Zucchini Cake

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Cakes and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

This past holiday weekend we had two pot-luck cookouts to go to.  Since I haven’t been baking for Mr. D. and me, I took this as the perfect opportunity to make a baked dessert, and have just one piece.   When I chose this recipe I didn’t foresee  how difficult it would be to have just one piece.   Holy Moly!  Every word in the name of this cake is so true;  it’s definitely chocolate, very fudgey, and there is zucchini (and chocolate chips) in it.  I thought,  I’ll just whip up this easy cake in no time, bake it in a bundt pan, and it will travel well, which it did.

Putting all the ingredients together and making the batter was no problem.  Where I got into difficulty was when I licked some of the batter off my finger.  Ok, Ok, I went a little further and licked the beaters, what can I say, I do that sometimes!  This batter was so thick and creamy,  like chocolate pudding, that I wanted to eat it with a spoon.   I forced myself to scrape it all into the pan, and put it the oven, and was rewarded with a high, beautiful cake.  The recipe suggests an oven temperature of 325 degrees for 40-50 minutes.  My cake took the full 50 minutes before it tested done.   I just know that if you make this cake you will love it.  Besides, it uses up some of that zucchini.

CHOCOLATE FUDGE ZUCCHINI CAKE 

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix with Pudding in the mix.
  • 1 medium zucchini, shredded  ( about 1 & 1/2 cups)
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 cup chopped nuts, optional

PREPARATION

1.  Grease and flour a 12 cup bundt pan or 10-inch tube pan.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  ( 350 degrees for light colored pan ).

2  In large mixer bowl, beat butter till light and fluffy, beat in eggs one at a time, then flavorings.  Beat in sour cream and cinnamon, then slowly beat in cake mix.  Remove from mixer.

3.  Stir in zucchini, chocolate chips, and nuts if using.

Ready for the oven.

4.  Spoon into prepared pan.  Bake for 40 – 50 minutes, until tester comes out clean.  Cool on cooling rack for about 15 minutes.  Invert onto serving plate to cool completely.***  Frost or dust with confectionery sugar.

Just out of the oven.

***This cake is likely to break if you try to remove it from the pan while it is still warm.  Ask me how I know!    I made a simple frosting of cream cheese, confectionery  sugar and milk, in a thin consistency to drizzle over the top.  I first used some to glue the cake together where it broke, and then poured the rest over the top and let it run down the sides.

SOURCE:   Duncan Hines website:  Cakes

White Peach Sherbet

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Desserts and tagged with , , , , ,

White Peach Sherbet

Keeping with the subject of peaches, I decided to give this recipe a try for two reasons:  first, I have a new ice-cream maker and couldn’t wait to give it a whirl, and two, I have an abundance of peaches that are ripening too fast.  So here we go—-Peach Sherbet,  you can’t wish for a better summer dessert, as far as I am concerned.

Even though the recipe calls for white peaches, regular yellow peaches will do fine.  In fact, the peach flavor may even be a little more pronounced.  The amount of sugar required is given as a range, so taste your peaches to determine sweetness and use the amount of sugar that suits you best.  In my sherbet I used 3/4 cup sugar. The idea of putting fresh herbs in the mixture was intriguing to me.  I used basil.  However I did not note any taste of basil in the finished sherbet.  I would suggest that you muddle the herbs with a small amount of the sugar to release some of their oils before adding to the mixture.

You will notice that the recipe lists vodka as an ingredient.  You can omit this if you prefer.  In my version I used my peach liqueur.  The purpose of the alcohol is to keep the sherbet from freezing too solidly.  Lastly, note that  the liquid portion of the recipe is 1 cup of heavy cream, but you can use light cream, half and half, or milk, thereby reducing the fat content and calories.  This recipe leaves room to experiment so play around with it, have fun, and see what you come up with.  I’d love to hear about your ideas!

WHITE PEACH SHERBET:

These pretty peaches are about to lose their skins.

SERVES:   Makes about one quart

INGREDIENTS

  •  2 & 1/2 pounds ripe white peaches, peeled
  • juice of 1 lemon  (2-3 Tbs.)
  • 1/2 – 1 cup sugar  Adjust according to sweetness of peaches.
  • 2 sprigs herbs such as basil, lavender or mint
  • 1 Tablespoon Vodka or peach liqueur
  • 1 cup heavy cream ( or half and half, light cream or milk)

DIRECTIONS

1.  Coarsely chop peaches,  then mash with a potato masher.

2.  Stir in lemon juice, sugar and herbs.  Cover and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour.

3.  Stir in vodka, then cream.  Discard herbs.

4.  Freeze in an ice cream maker, as manufacturer directs.  Transfer to a chilled container and freeze for about 2 hours or up to 2 weeks.

This was cool, creamy and delicious.

SOURCE:   Better Homes and Gardens, e-mail newsletter

Soft Oatmeal Cookies with Biscoff Glaze

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bars and Cookies and tagged with , , , , , ,

These cookies are so seriously good that I have to give them away. Yes, I do, because I could eat the whole batch all by myself.

Am I the only person who did not know about Biscoff Spread until now? I really hope its a new product on the market, otherwise I’ve been missing out on something so good I don’t have words to describe it. Its thick and spreadable like peanut butter, but made from Biscoff cookies, so there are no nuts in it—great for folks with nut allergies. It’s all natural and vegan, and it can be used just like peanut butter. Where to find it? Check your grocery store in the section where peanut butter and Nutella are located, or I’ve heard it can be found at Walmart, or at Amazon.com.

I learned about Biscoff Spread from another blogger that I follow and from whom I got this recipe. Ordinarily I’m not overly fond of oatmeal cookies, but these are the best I’ve ever had. Soft and moist, they melt in your mouth, and the glaze on top—oh my, its sooooo good. If you’re a little tired of run-of-the-mill chocolate chip cookies, give these a try. In the words of my favorite taste tester, “these cookies offer a new experience for your taste buds”.

OATMEAL COOKIES WITH BISCOFF GLAZE

The recipe says it will make 18 cookies, but I got 28. I guess my cookie scoop is smaller than what is specified in the directions but that’s OK, ‘cuz then I can have two.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups quick oats You can use regular oats, but the flakes in the cookies will be larger.
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 & 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 stick unsalted butter ( 4 oz.)
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 6 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

GLAZE INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/4 cup Biscoff Spread
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 & 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons light corn syrup

DIRECTIONS FOR COOKIES

1. Whisk together all the dry ingredients, oats through flour. Set aside.

2. In a large mixer bowl, cream the butter, oil, and sugar. Add egg and beat until fluffy. Beat in yogurt and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed.

3. Add in the flour mixture in 3 additions, and mix just to incorporate. Refrigerate the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a 2 tablespoon size cookie scoop to place dough onto prepared sheets.

5. Bake at 350 for 12–14 minutes, till light brown. Cool on wire rack.

6. While cookies bake, make the glaze. Whisk or beat all the ingredients together till smooth. Add more milk or sugar if needed to achieve a pourable consistency.

7. Place a cooling rack on a parchment lined baking sheet and put all the cookies on the rack very close together.

Pour glaze over cookies. It will spread and smooth out, and after about 30 minutes will become set. Store in an air-tight container.

SOURCE: BAKE AT 350

Ballroom Dancing and Brownies

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bars and Cookies, Snacks and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

A few dancers on the floor.

I need to start getting myself geared up and thinking like a competitor. November is not so far away, when I will be out there on the dance floor dancing my heart out for the judges. That’s pretty much why I’m following my current diet plan. Besides that, I need to get totally immersed in ballroom dancing, and step up to the training that’s involved when I compete. When I’m not thinking about foods and cooking (and writing about it), I’m involved with my dance lessons. I take two private lessons and attend group classes –as many as I can manage–in a week. But that’s my usual routine. I will be increasing my lessons to 3/week and trying to get in as much dancing as I can to increase my tolerance and stamina. It’s a matter of really ramping up my activity level, working hard and keeping focused. Ballroom dancing is like any sport, needing strong muscles, balance, rhythm, and being aware of every part of your body as well as being in top physical condition. If you watched any of the Olympic athletes, I’m sure you have an appreciation for that.

The ladies’ gowns are so beautiful.

Well this past weekend I took some time out to attend a local, regional competition just to watch the dancers and to attend the banquet at the end of it all. There’s nothing like a competition to get you in the mood for competing. It’s a friendly environment with all the dancers supporting each other and people like me cheering them on. One thing I know about dancing is that it makes you hungry, and snacks as a source of energy, for those who are dancing, are always welcome. So I baked some brownies to bring along.

I’m not sure if my idea for these brownies is original or if I perhaps read about using pretzels with brownies in one of the many blogs I read, or some other source, but I did not have a recipe. What I did have was a package of peanut butter filled pretzels, so I decided to incorporate them into a nice fudgey brownie, ice the brownies with chocolate peanut butter ganache and put more pretzels on top. More is always better with me, as in: “you can never have too much of a good thing”. And when it comes to anything chocolate usually peanut butter is a good companion. I must confess that in this instance I took a shortcut and used a boxed brownie mix. Ghirardelli Brownie Mix is absolutely the best!

Another view of the dance floor.

PEANUT BUTTER PRETZEL BROWNIES

SERVINGS: 30

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of a 13″ x 9″ pan.

Prepare the brownie mix as the package directs for fudge brownies.

Crush about 1 cup of peanut butter filled pretzel bites, keeping some of the pieces large. ( mine were Clancy’s brand ) The easiest way to do this is put the pretzels in a zip-lock bag and pound lightly with a meat tenderizer, or rolling pin.

Pour half the brownie batter in the pan, sprinkle on the cup of pretzels, cover with the remaining brownie batter. Bake as directed on the package.

Let brownies cool completely in the pan. Ice with chocolate peanut butter ganache. Cut the brownies into squares ( 5 across by 6 down), and place one whole pretzel on top of each one.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER GANACHE

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 & 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

pinch salt

1. Place chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl.

2. Combine cream, peanut butter and salt over low heat. Stir until smooth. Increase heat to medium-low and, stirring constantly, heat until bubbles form along the edges of the pan.

3. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for 5 minutes. The chips will become all melty like. Gently whisk the chocolate chips until the mixture is shiny and combined. Stop mixing when the mixture is combined or it will become kind of grainy. Let the ganache sit to thicken up a bit to spreading consistency. You can put it in the refrigerator, or place over a bowl of ice to speed this up if you are in a hurry.

4. Spread the ganache with an off-set spatula. Hide any left over ganache in the back of the refrigerator, because you will want to eat it with a spoon!

Rustic Plum Tart

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Pies, Pastry and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

A rustic tart, also known as a Galette, is a very easy fruit filled pastry.  Really, just a single crust pie with the outside edges of the pie-crust folded up over the edges of the fruit, leaving the center open.  I like making these for a couple of reasons: they are quicker to make than regular pie,  one crust means less fat and calories,  they are not as apt to go over in the oven and make a mess, and it looks rustic, casual and free-form, so it doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect.   Another reason to love it:  it’s satisfying as a dessert, but not too sweet.  In fact it is low in sugar–only what’s in the jam and the little you sprinkle on the crust.

This is a great dessert to serve to guests when you need something rather quickly, and it is impressive; i.e., looks like more work than it is.  You can mix and match your favorite stone fruits, or berries with appropriate jams.  Serve warm with a little ice cream or whipped cream.  YUM!

INGREDIENTS

Serves:   6

  • 1 sheet of refrigerated pie crust from a 14.1-ounce box
  • 1/4 cup jam  (with plums I used plum jam )
  • 1 pound or about 2 cups pitted plums, cut into 1/4″ wedges ( don’t be too fussy here)
  • 1 egg, or 2-3 tablespoons egg beater product
  • 1/4 cup raw cane sugar (demerera sugar)
  • ice cream or whipped cream for serving

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.   Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.  Unroll pie crust onto the parchment paper.  Spread jam on the crust, leaving a 2 inch clean border around the edges.

3.  Arrange the plums on top of the jam.

4.  Fold the crust’s edges inward, pleating as needed;  leave the center of the tart exposed.  Press the dough lightly to seal.

5.  Whisk the egg with a little water in a small dish,  or use egg beater product;  brush the egg wash on the dough and sprinkle with the sugar.  Bake until the crust is cooked through and golden brown, about 35 minutes.

6.  Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

SOURCE:   Adapted from a recipe by   Sonny Anderson,  The Food Network.

Chocolate Caramel Oatmeal Bars

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bars and Cookies and tagged with , , , , , , ,

I made these bar cookies this week for my husband to take to a meeting.  (He always signs up to bring a dessert.  I wonder why? ) Anyway, these can be put together pretty easily and the recipe makes a 13″ x 9″ pan full.  That way I get to keep about 6 squares for us at home and he takes the rest.  Any dessert with chocolate in it seems to call me repeatedly until its gone, so I have to protect myself from such temptation.

The basis of the cookie dough is a boxed yellow  cake mix to which butter, egg, and oatmeal is added to make a crumbly mixture.  Press half of it in the baking pan,  partially bake it, then layer chocolate chips and walnuts on top, drizzle with caramel syrup, and cover with the remaining crumb mixture.  Finish baking and Voila!  you have delicious, chewy, chocolaty bars.  Whenever I bring these somewhere, or serve them, I get asked for the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Yield:  24 bars  Cut 6 rows x 4 rows

  • 1 boxed yellow cake mix
  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups Quick Oats
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
  • 1 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 1 cup caramel ice cream topping
  • 1 Tablespoon flour

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 13″ x 9″ pan.
  2. With electric mixer beat cake mix with the butter and egg till crumbly.  Stir in oats. Reserve 1 1/2 cup oat mixture.
  3. Press remaining crumbs into baking pan.   Bake  14 – 18 minutes until light golden brown.  Do not over bake.
  4. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts over hot crust.
  5. Mix caramel syrup with the 1 T. flour.  Drizzle over chips and nuts.
  6. Use the reserved crumb mixture to sprinkle over the top.  Pat down lightly.
  7. Bake for another 20 – 25 minutes till golden brown.  Its best not to over bake these as they will get very firm and hard to remove from the pan.  Allow to cool slightly, and run a knife around the edges to loosen caramel from pan while still warm.  When cooled completely, cut into bars.    Makes about 24 bars.

SOURCE:    Taste of Home Annual Recipes, 2000

Raspberry Cream Cheese Brownies

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bars and Cookies and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

This recipe was developed out of boredom with plain ole brownies.  Not that there’s anything wrong with a good brownie!  I’ll never turn away from one especially if served with a dab of ice cream.  But on this particular day I needed to bake something to bring to a pot-luck get-together, and since brownies are always a popular choice, I decided to dress these up  with the addition of a cheesecake swirl using cream cheese and some raspberry jam.  They turned out to be very moist and chewy, and somewhat decadent .

RASPBERRY CREAM-CHEESE BROWNIES

Servings;   16 brownie squares

FILLING INGREDIENTS

  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 4 0z. 1/3 -less- fat cream cheese, softened
  • 2 teaspoons flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 large egg

BROWNIE INGREDIENTS

  • cooking spray
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1 Tablespoon water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 Tablespoons raspberry preserves
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray bottom only of an 8 inch square baking pan.
  2. To prepare filling, place filling ingredients in a medium mixer bowl; beat at medium speed until well blended.  Set aside.
  3. To prepare brownies,  combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and whisk together lightly.  Combine sugar, cocoa, melted butter, water, vanilla, and eggs, and stir well with a whisk.  Add the flour mixture, stirring just until moist.
  4. Pour/spread two-thirds of batter into prepared pan.  Pour filling over batter, spreading evenly.  Carefully drop the remaining batter and preserves by spoonfuls over filling;  swirl together using the tip of a knife to marble.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean.  Cool on a wire rack.
 SOURCE:    This is the fusion of two recipes from Better Homes and Gardens The Complete Book of Baking

Raspberry Shortcakes

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Appetizers and tagged with , , , , , , ,

Raspberries are like little jewels;  beautiful in color, bursting with juiciness and sweet-tart on the tongue.  I just love them!  They are, however, very fragile and perishable.  So when you get some you had better have a plan for using them within a short period of time.  Whenever I pick raspberries I usually freeze most of them for later use, but save out a few to enjoy on cereal,  over ice-cream,  or in this case in a shortcake.

What drew me to this recipe is the fact that the berries are in the biscuits as well as in the  filling.  Heck, you can never have too much of a good thing can you?  But if you didn’t want to have a whole shortcake, the biscuit alone with a cup of tea or glass of lemonade is still great.

INGREDIENTS

Serves  8

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 3/4 cup cold heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup raspberries
  • sanding sugar  (optional)
  • whipped cream and berries for the filling

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.  Transfer to a bowl and stir in cream, buttermilk, and raspberries until  just combined.  Do not over mix.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Divide dough into eight ( 8) portions and shape into rounds.  Place 1 1/2 inches apart, on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle with sanding sugar, if using, and freeze for 15 minutes.
  3. Bake until golden brown and set, about 20 minutes.  Let cool completely on baking sheet placed on a wire rack.
I sampled one while it was still warm from the oven.  The texture is tender and flaky;  absolutely delicious!.
To serve, split biscuits in half, fill with whipped cream or whipped topping and raspberries.  I added a few blue berries, too for color.
     
SOURCE:  Everyday  Food.

No-Bake Fresh Strawberry Pie

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Pies, Pastry and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In the area where I live many of the farms are still picking  strawberries, since the days have been very warm and sunny.  I didn’t want to miss out on having some native strawberries, but I also didn’t want to use my oven unless really necessary.  This recipe for a no-bake version of strawberry pie caught my attention for those reasons.  The combination of juicy spring berries piled atop a layer of creamy filling in a chocolate crust.  What’s not to like here?

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 ready-made chocolate crumb  9 inch pie crust (such as Oreo)
  • 6 ounces 1/3 less-fat cream cheese, softened
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed  (I used fat-free)
  • 2 Tablespoons seedless strawberry jam
  • 1 Tablespoon raspberry-flavored liqueur (I use my own homemade liqueur, but Chambord is one you can purchase)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 pound strawberries, hulled and cut in half, or pieces

DIRECTIONS

  1. Place pie crust in the freezer to chill while you make the filling.
  2. Place cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl;  beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.
  3. Fold in whipped topping.  Carefully spread over bottom of crust.
  4. Place strawberry jam in a large microwave safe bowl;  microwave at HIGH 10 seconds or until softened .  Add liqueur and lemon juice;  stir with a whisk until smooth.  Add the berries; toss to coat the berries with the jam mixture.
  5. Arrange berries over the filling.  Chill for 30 minutes before serving.  Cut into wedges;  serves  8
   

SOURCE:   slightly adapted from  Cooking Light Magazine,  May, 2012

Red Velvet “Soda Can” Cupcakes

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Cupcakes and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The end of June and beginning of July has been a very busy time with parties to celebrate various milestones within our family and  with friends.  I’ve already told you about my granddaughter’s graduation party and what I baked for that.  Today’s blog is about cupcakes that I made for a friend’s 20th anniversary in professional practice; and  since it is right around the Fourth of July, I went with the Patriotic theme.

I have been reading recently in some of the blogs I follow about a quick way to make a cake or cupcakes using nothing more than a boxed cake mix and a can of soda.  Really?  That’s what I said!  So I tried it and found out they come out really moist and kind of chewy;  The texture is not as fine as a cake’s, but for a cupcake I really liked that.  The cake and soda combo I used was Red Velvet Cake Mix and Cherry Coke.  I think it will be fun to try some other flavor combinations such as lemon cake with Sierra Mist or lemon and lime soda. So many possibilities.  If you haven’t heard about this until now, try it.  It’s a novel idea whose time has come.

For the frosting on my cupcakes, I wanted white, so I made a simple cream cheese and butter cream frosting, piped on with a large star decorating tip.  Then I sprinkled them with a “stars and stripes” sprinkle mix and topped each one with a tiny flag.  So Cute!

This is all you need:  a boxed cake mix and an 8 oz can of room temperature soda.  I poured that amount from a full-size bottle, because I couldn’t find the cans.

This is what it looks like when you start to mix it up.

Use a whisk to mix it up, working out most of the lumps.

Line muffin cups with liners and fill 1/2 – 2/3s full. Do not overfill.

After baking. I got a total of 17 cupcakes, could have gotten 18, by making them a tad bit smaller.

FROSTING:

4 ounces cream cheese

6 tablespoons butter

2 cup confectioners’ sugar

To make the frosting, put the cream cheese and butter in small bowl of mixer and blend together to cream.  Sift in the sugar and continue beating until smooth and creamy.  If you plan to pipe it on with a decorating tip, it needs to be quite stiff.   I refrigerated my frosting a bit after mixing just to get it stiff enough to decorate with.  Unless you are serving the cupcakes right away, it is wise to refrigerate them to prevent frosting melt in this warm weather.

Really Cute! They tasted as good as they looked.

SOURCE:  Thanks to Cookiesandcups.com

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July, everyone.