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Dessert, Recipes

Tart Lemon Squares

July 3, 2013

Whew! It’s been awfully hot this summer and we still have 4 more months of this sweltering heat. A swimming pool would be nice this time of the year. My step-daughter Jessica lives in Portland where the temperatures soared to 98 degrees so she bought a kiddie pool for her dog but ended up in the pool with her pet! Here is a cooling treat for those warm summer nights.

If you’re like me and love citrus desserts that are a snap to make, you’ll love this recipe. I’ve been making these tart lemon squares from Cooking Light magazine since their March/April 1994 issue was published.

Bake the crust until lightly browned then set aside while you mix the lemon filling. Keep the oven set at 350 degrees.

These lemon squares keep well if made a day in advance. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve then cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar. A scoop of vanilla ice cream is a perfect accompaniment.

Tart Lemon Squares

Adapted from Cooking Light magazine

Ingredients ~ Crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 x 8 inch Pyrex baking dish.

1 cup flour

1/3 cup powdered sugar

dash of salt

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon chilled butter

Preparation

Combine flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Press firmly and evenly into the baking dish. Bake 20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Set aside while you prepare the lemon filling.

Ingredients ~ Lemon Filling

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon rind

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 scant teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2 egg whites

7 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 drops yellow food coloring (for a bright lemon color, optional)

Preparation

Combine sugar, flour, lemon rind, baking powder, salt, whole eggs and egg whites in a medium bowl. Stir with a wire whisk until blended. Whisk in lemon juice and food coloring if using. Pour mixture over prepared crust and bake at 350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes or until set.

Cool on a baking rack then chill for about 3 – 4 hours before cutting into squares. Sift powdered sugar over the lemon squares before serving.

Dessert, Recipes

Chocolate “Crack” Can Be Habit Forming

June 17, 2013

Who in the world comes up with these recipes and what’s with the name?!! In any case, this is absolutely addicting. Sweet and salty crackers covered in chocolate. It’s hard to imagine a saltine cracker can be turned into something so delectable, but it can.

I made half of the recipe on a trial basis however I will be making the whole recipe next time. They make tasty little gifts and are so pretty wrapped in cellophane bags.

Heavy duty foil made a perfect custom pan.

After melting the butter and brown sugar the mixture is spread on top of the crackers and baked for about 5 minutes until the butter and sugar begins to bubble.

Once removed from the oven chocolate is scattered over the buttery sweet crackers where it slowly melts and is easily spread into a smooth and even topping.

Chill in the refrigerator so the chocolate firms up. You can break the chocolate crack up into random sized pieces or cut the crackers into uniform pieces.

There’s no way you can take just one bite….

Chocolate Crack

Adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients

52 saltine crackers (approximately)

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

12 oz high quality semi sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate (60% or greater) chopped into pieces the size of chocolate chips.

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 inch jelly roll pan with heavy duty foil. Place crackers salt side up, side by side in the pan as tightly as possible without overlapping. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium heat stirring frequently with a spatula. Once the butter has melted, add brown sugar and vanilla stirring to combine. Cook for about 3 – 5 minutes or until the mixture is an even dark brown color and has begun to bubble. Remove from the heat and pour over saltines using a spatula to spread sauce.

Bake the crackers for 5 minutes or until the butter mixture begins to bubble (watch carefully). Remove from the oven and sprinkle evenly with chocolate allowing the heat to melt the chocolate. Spread the chocolate evenly with a spatula so all the crackers are completely covered. Refrigerate until chocolate sets and hardens. Break apart and serve.

***If you live in warm climate like I do, store the chocolate crack in a plastic container in the refrigerator. These are so good served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Dessert, Recipes

San Francisco Fudge Foggies

May 30, 2013

If I recall correctly, I found the recipe for these “Foggies” on the internet many years ago. The name of the recipe caught my attention. First, because I am very fond of San Francisco, and second, because of the ingredient list. Barbara Feldman of San Francisco submitted this recipe and won first place in the chocolate confection category in Chocolatier Magazine’s The Great Chocolate Challenge back in 1986.

One pound of chocolate…

And coffee too…

Four eggs and two cups of chopped nuts…

The original recipe calls for walnuts however I had a big bag of pecans so I used them in place of the walnuts. Pecans are so tasty and I generally prefer them to walnuts. They substitute nicely in most recipes.

San Francisco Fudge Foggies

Adapted from Chocolatier Magazine

Ingredients

1 pound bittersweet chocolate – chopped

2 sticks unsalted butter cut into tablespoons

1/3 cup strong brewed coffee

4 large eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup flour

8 ounces (about 2 cups) coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with heavy-duty foil. Let the foil extend 2 inches over the edge of the pan. Butter the bottom and sides of the foil.

Melt chocolate with butter and coffee over medium low heat. Cool for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl using a handheld mixer at high-speed, beat the eggs for 30 seconds until foamy. Gradually add the sugar. Beat 2 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the chocolate mixture until just blended. Using a wooden spoon or spatula stir in the flour, then add the nuts.

Transfer mixture to your prepared pan and bake 28 – 30 minutes or until just set around the edges. Test for doneness at 28 minutes by inserting a toothpick in the center of the Foggies. The toothpick should have a few wet crumbs clinging to it (moist in the center) but not uncooked batter. It’s important to check the Foggies before you think they will be done so there’s no chance of over baking them (if your toothpick comes out clean they are over done). If they are not quite done, test again at 1 minute intervals. Cool in the pan for 1 hour or longer, cover tightly with foil and refrigerate at least 6 hours or over night. Using the extended foil to lift the Foggies out of the pan and cut into squares.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Leftover Foggies can be frozen (wrap them individually in plastic and place in a freezer bag).

Dessert, Recipes

Citrus Sour Cream Loaf

May 11, 2013

I love tart lemon and lime bars and other citrus desserts. Along with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, sweet and tangy desserts are the perfect way to end your meal. I was looking for a recipe that included sour cream. I had exactly 1 cup that I wanted to use up and voila! I found this in my recipe box tucked away behind the “cake” section. I wish I could remember who it belonged to so I could thank them.

Besides the sour cream, the recipe includes 1 full cup of lemon/lime juice. Part of the juice goes into the cake and the other half in the syrup that you drizzle over the cake when it’s done baking. Not enough zing? There’s citrus zest too.

Citrus Sour Cream Loaf

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup each, fresh squeezed lemon and lime juice

1 teaspoon each, lemon and lime zest

1/2 cup melted butter

Citrus Syrup

1/4 cup each, fresh squeezed lemon and lime juice

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon citrus zest

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with waxed paper. Butter the pan (or spray with Pam).

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, briskly stir the sugar with the eggs. Whisk in sour cream, citrus juice and zest. Whisk gently to combine. Fold dry ingredients into wet, then whisk in melted butter. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until done (check at 45 minutes).

While the cake is baking bring the lemon and lime juice to a simmer in a small saucepan. Mix in the sugar and zest and simmer for about 4 minutes until slightly thickened.

Cool loaf in pan for 15 minutes then remove to a cake rack and pierce the top of the loaf thoroughly with a long skewer. Drizzle the warm syrup over the cake letting it soak up the citrus syrup.

***The original recipe calls for an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan. After pouring the batter into the pan and seeing how little space there was at the top of the pan I was afraid that it might overflow so I switched it out for a 9 x 5 inch pan.

***For lactose free recipe use Green Valley lactose free sour cream and Earth Balance buttery sticks.

Cookies, Dessert, Recipes

Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chunks, Pecans, Dried Cranberries and Sweet Coconut

April 22, 2013

Crunchy or chewy? This is the eternal cookie question. Personally I cannot resist a crunchy cookie. I found this delicious recipe which incorporates tart cranberries, chocolate chunks and toasted pecans on the Nook and Pantry blog. Amy adapted her recipe from Cook’s Illustrated and called them the Best Oatmeal Cookies Ever. I agree.

Pecans are terrific dessert nuts and toasting them intensifies their flavor (you can substitute walnuts for the pecans). Dried cranberries add a bit of tartness and chocolate, of course, adds richness to the cookies. I have found that adding a few tablespoons of coconut flakes to certain dessert recipes raises the level of decadence. Such is the case in this recipe.

The recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate but I used these semisweet chunks that I had in my pantry.

I made smaller cookies than the recipe called for and ended up with about 26 cookies that were the perfect size.

Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chunks, Pecans, Dried Cranberries and Sweet Coconut

Adapted from Nook and Pantry

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats

1 cup toasted pecans, chopped

1 1/4 cup dried cranberries

4 ounces bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate chunks

2 tablespoons sweet coconut flakes

1 1/2 sticks butter at room temperature

1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, preferably dark

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

If cranberries seem dry, pour 1/2 cup boiling water on them to rehydrate and soften them. Let stand for 10 minutes then drain well.

Toast the pecans in an oven or a toaster oven at 275 – 300 degrees for about 5 minutes. Watch closely so they do not burn. Cool, then chop nuts and set aside.

In one bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, toss the pecans, chocolate chunks, and oats.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer beat the butter until fluffy. Add the brown sugar and beat again. Add the egg and vanilla, scrape down the bowl and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add the flour mixture and mix until the dough starts to come together. Then add the oats mixture, cranberries and coconut and continue to mix until everything is evenly distributed.

Using a quarter cup ice-cream/cookie scoop, divide the dough into 16 portions (this is per the original recipe, very large cookies). Roll them into a ball then flatten them until they are about 1/2 inch thick. Stagger the cookies about 3 inches apart. (I made 26 smaller cookies, 9 fit on a cookie sheet).

Bake for about 10 minutes, rotate the sheet and bake for another 5 – 6 minutes (oven temperatures vary so check to see that they are not over baking). This baking time was used for the smaller cookies I made. It may take up to 18 minutes to bake the larger cookies. The cookie edges should be nicely browned. Remove cookie sheet from the oven, let cookies set for two minutes then remove them to a cooling rack.

Bread, Dessert, Recipes

Best Banana Bread with Pecans and Sweet Coconut

August 29, 2012

The Maui hotel where I work recently held a Go Bananas! banana bread bake-off contest. Most people in Hawaii have a favorite banana bread recipe. I decided to enter mine and, lucky me, I won first place. Here is my recipe.

The judges based their scores on taste, texture and presentation.

Apple bananas are popular here in Hawaii. They are both sweet and tart and are perfect for banana bread.

Mash bananas leaving a few small bits of banana for texture.

Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients until well blended.

Topping ingredients: Pecans, demerara sugar, sweet coconut. Demerara sugar is a type of unrefined sugar with a large grain and light brown color. It gives the banana bread a nice crunchy topping and adds a bit of sweetness. Coconut adds an island touch to the bread.

To ensure your bread is moist and delicate don’t over mix the batter and test the bread with a wooden skewer after it has been in the oven for approximately 43 minutes. It may need a few more minutes at this point however testing it will give you an idea of how much longer it needs to bake. Test it before you think it will be done because if you let it go just a few minutes too long, there’s no turning back. Let’s make banana bread.

Best Banana Bread with Pecans & Sweet Coconut

Makes two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaves

Ingredients

2 cups flour

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil

2 cups mashed, ripe bananas (8 to 10 apple bananas)

3 eggs, lightly beaten

Topping Ingredients

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

finely chopped sweetened coconut (Baker’s sweetened coconut)

demerara sugar (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pans. Place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of each pan and butter the paper.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Add oil, eggs and mashed bananas and stir with a spatula until ingredients are nicely combined.

Divide batter into loaf pans.

Sprinkle the pecans and coconut evenly over the batter.

Bake on the middle rack for 10 minutes then sprinkle demerara sugar over the top of each loaf if using. If you add the sugar before baking it will dissolve into the batter. Continue baking for an additional 35 – 38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set the timer! Check the banana bread at the 35 minute mark to see if it is done. At this point it will have been baking for a total of 45 minutes. If the banana bread needs more time, check again in two minute intervals. Once the banana bread is done remove pans to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes then remove bread from the pans discarding parchment paper. Let banana bread cool completely.

Once cool, cut banana bread into thick slices and serve right away. We love to toast slices of banana bread in our toaster oven directly on the wire rack until brown and crispy on the edges then serve with a few pats of butter. Divine!

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Tart Lemon Squares

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San Francisco Fudge Foggies

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Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chunks, Pecans, Dried Cranberries and Sweet Coconut

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Best Banana Bread with Pecans and Sweet Coconut

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