5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

 This recipe was given to me years ago.  Every now and then, when you want something sweet in a hurry, try this!

Serves 1 (or 2)

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips, optional

Small splash vanilla

Put flour, sugar and cocoa in a large, microwave-safe mug and mix well. Add egg, and mix thoroughly. Pour in milk and oil, and mix well. Add chocolate chips and vanilla, and mix again. 

Place mug in microwave and cook for three minutes at 1,000 watts (“high” on a 1,000-watt oven, lower setting for ovens with greater maximum wattage). Cake will rise over top of mug. Allow to cool a bit. Tip out onto a plate, if desired, and share with a friend or eat straight from the mug. 

Also seen here.

Majek Gingersnaps

    I have another gingersnap recipe that I thought was very good.  Until I tried these.  Much spicer, and much more yummy!  If you find these too spicy, try Sparkling Gingersnaps.

3/4 C melted butter         2 C flour

1 1/2 C sugar 1 t baking soda

5 T molasses 2 t ea. ginger, cloves,

1 egg                                              & cinnamon

Additional sugar or rolling (granulated or turbinado)

Preheat oven to 350°.  Beat together ingredients on the left-hand column until light and creamy.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Form into 1-inch balls.  Roll in sugar.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet 3" apart.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove while puffy.  (It will deflate and flatten as it cools.)  Cool for a few minutes before removing from cookie sheet.

Makes about 3 dozen.

Simply Lemon Bars

For the crust:  

2 cups flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 

1 t grated lemon zest

1 cup unsalted butter (or omit salt)

Lemon layer:

4 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon+ grated lemon zest
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup flour 

1 t baking powder

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting.  

Line a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet with foil to make a sling.  Preheat oven to 350.

For the crust, mix together flour, sugar, salt, and zest.  Cut in the butter until just mixed. Press it into the greased baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides, or not. Chill.

Bake the crust for 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the lemon layer, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 25 to 30, or about five minutes beyond the point where the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into rectangles and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Sweet Spiced Nuts

These are so addicting!  If they are out, it is so easy to grab a handful and munch, then go back for another handful!  Keep them in an airtight container, and they will keep for a few weeks.  They are a great gift in an attractive glass jar, tied with a festive ribbon.

1/4 C butter (1/2 stick)

1/3 C dark-brown sugar (70 g)

1/3 C white granulated sugar (65 g)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg, chile powder, ground cumin*

1/8-1/4 tsp smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and/or black pepper*

1 pound walnut or pecan halves (about 5 cups)

1 egg white, room temperature

1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Line a 13”x18” sheet pan with heavy duty foil. Cut butter into 4-5 slices and lay in pan.  Place in oven to melt.  Remove when melted, but you may need to put back into the oven briefly to liquefy it again later.

Mix sugars, salt, and *whatever spices you want to use, making sure there are no lumps; set aside. Beat egg white and water until frothy but not stiff. Add walnuts, and stir to coat evenly. Sprinkle nuts with sugar mixture, and toss until evenly coated.  Carefully pour in the melted butter and mix again.  It’s not necessary to get it all the butter, because it will keep the nuts from sticking.

Spread the nuts into a single layer in the buttered pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.  They will look golden when done.  Watch carefully during the last 10 minutes so they don’t burn.  Remove from oven, and let the nuts cool. When completely cool, pour the nuts into a bowl, breaking up any that stick together.

These are great for munching on, but also good chopped coarsely and sprinkled on ice cream, or whipped cream on any dessert.

Brown Butter Raspberry Tart

If you don't like rolling out a crust, this one's for you.  You just press it into the pan.                  

Crust:

·     7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted* (save light-colored pan to melt butter for filling)

·     1/3 cup sugar

·     1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

·     1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

·     Pinch of salt

Filling:

·     1/2 cup sugar

·     2 large eggs

·     Pinch of salt

·     1/4 cup all purpose flour

·     1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·     1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter*

·      2 6-ounce containers fresh raspberries or 2 peaches, sliced

For crust:

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Using rubber spatula or fork, mix melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl. Add flour and salt and stir until incorporated. Transfer dough to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Using fingertips, press dough evenly on bottom and up about 3/4" the sides of pan.

Bake crust until golden, about 15-18 minutes (crust may puff slightly while baking). Transfer crust to rack and cool in pan. Maintain oven temperature.

For filling:

Whisk sugar, eggs, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add flour and vanilla; whisk until smooth. Cook butter in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until deep nutty brown (do not burn), stirring often, about 6 minutes. Immediately pour browned butter into glass measuring cup (to keep from burning). Gradually whisk browned butter into sugar-egg mixture; whisk until well blended.

Arrange raspberries/peaches into bottom of cooled crust. Carefully pour browned butter mixture evenly over berries. Place tart on rimmed baking sheet. Bake tart until filling is puffed and golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes. Cool tart completely in pan on rack. 

Remove tart pan sides. Place tart on platter. Cut into wedges and serve.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead.  Cover and store at room temperature, but it might get soggy overnight. 

*Test-kitchen tip:  When browning butter, use a saucepan with a light-colored bottom so that you can gauge the color of the butter.

Cocoa Apple Cake

One night I wanted to make this cake, but I didn’t have apples, so I adapted it by using applesauce.  It is so much easier.  I've made it with grated apples, and I prefer the one with applesauce.

Even though there isn't a lot of cocoa and chocolate chips in it, it s a chocolate cake.  Everyone wants the recipe.

1 C butter                                 1 tsp allspice

1½ C sugar                                2 C applesauce

3 eggs                                      ½ C water or coffee

2½ C flour                                ½ C chocolate chips

1 tsp baking soda                      1 C chopped walnuts

2 Tbsp cocoa                            2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

             Grease and flour a Bundt pan well.  Preheat oven to 325^o.

Cream butter and sugar.  Mix in eggs.  Sift dry ingredients.  Add to creamed mixture.  It may look a little unappetizing, but it'll be fine.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour.  Let cool slightly before turning out of pan.  Great on it's own, but even better with ice cream.

Cape Cod Cranberry Pie

This tastes so good right out of the oven on a wintry night.

1 pkg cranberries, sorted and rinsed 

¼ C brown sugar*

¼ C chopped nuts

1 egg

½ C sugar 

½ C flour

1/3 C melted butter

whipped cream or ice cream

Preheat oven to 325^o.  Butter a 9-10” pie plate and spread cranberries in it. Sprinkle with brown sugar and nuts.

In a bowl, beat egg until thick; gradually add sugar, then add melted butter and flour.  Pour over cranberries.  

Bake for 45 minutes or until golden on top.  Cut into wedges and serve warm.  It's great topped with whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.

*King Arthur Baking has a similar recipe, but half the cranberries, and twice as much everything else.

Nantucket Cranberry Cake

Yogurt Panna Cotta

This is one of the simplest desserts to make, and takes only a few minutes of preparation time, plus the time it takes to set up in the refrigerator, 2+ hours.  It is light and refreshing, too.

4 tablespoons (60 ml) water
2 1/2 teaspoons (1 packet or 1/4 ounce or 7 grams) unflavored gelatin
2 cups (460 grams) plain whole-milk Greek or regular yogurt*
1 ½-2 cups (475 ml) milk, heavy cream or a combination thereof, divided**
1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons (30 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1/2 lemon)

To serve

Fresh berries, or a berry sauce***
1/3 to 1/2 cup (110 to 170 grams) honey
1/2 to 3/4 cup (55 to 85 grams) walnuts, toasted, cooled and coarsely chopped

       Have enough small dessert cups. (You will have about 4 cups of liquid.)

       Place water in a small bowl. Stir in gelatin and set aside until the gelatin softens, about 15 minutes. 

        In a large bowl, whisk all of yogurt and 1 cup** of milk, cream or a mixture thereof. In a small saucepan, bring remaining milk or cream and sugar to a simmer. Stir in water-gelatin mixture (it will dissolve immediately) and remove from heat. Whisk this mixture into the yogurt mixture, then stir in lemon juice at the end. Pour mixture into small cups and chill in fridge for at least 2 hours.  It’s best to do this the night before you need it, to be safe.

         Right before you serve the panna cotta, sprinkle it with walnuts and drizzle it with honey, berries or berry sauce. This needs to be done right before you serve it because the honey will (unfortunately) become liquidy and roll off if it sits on the panna cotta for too long. 

Do ahead: Panna cottas can be made two days ahead. Keep refrigerated. 

*  Greek yogurt will result in a little firmer set.

**For a firmer panna cotta, reduce the milk or cream by up to 1/2 cup.

https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/04/yogurt-panna-cotta-with-walnuts-and-honey/

***Berry Sauce

2/3 cup frozen blueberries

2/3 cup frozen blackberries

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Combine the 5 ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; gently simmer 10-20 minutes or longer until sauce thickens slightly.  It will continue to thicken as it cools.

Upside-down Apple Pie

Don't let the caramelizing scare you.  If you're uncertain, look online for more tips or videos.   (Here is a link: Caramelize-Sugar.  Use the second method, Dry caramelization.) Otherwise it's an easy and impressive dessert or teatime treat. 

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed

4 apples, peeled, cored, and quartered*

½ C sugar 

3 Tbsp butter
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg

Trim puff pastry to a little larger than the top of 10” pie plate.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375.

Over moderate heat, caramelize sugar in a light-colored skillet (9-10”) so you can monitor the color more accurately. 

As the sugar begins to brown, use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to move the liquefied sugar from the edges of the pan to the center.

Turn the heat lower for more control, if necessary.  Watch carefully as it can turn from golden brown to burnt quickly, if not watched carefully!

With heat turned down, when golden amber color is reached, add butter and stir until it melts and mixes together.

Add apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the caramel.  Caramel may clump up, but it will remelt as it continues to heat up.  Cook for about 5 minutes or until the caramel is smooth and liquid again.

Place apples in the pie plate with rounded side down, starting around the rim and fill in the middle using all the apples.  Pour caramel over the apples.

Place trimmed pastry on top, pushing the edges down over the apples.  Bake for 35-45 minutes, until pastry is golden.

Carefully flip over onto a platter with slightly sloped sides to catch any juices.

Serve warm with ice cream.

*You could use a variety of other fruit such as peaches or pears.  Berries would be delicious, but not as impressive looking.

Brown Butter Berry/Peach Tart

This crust is not the typical one that you roll out.  Instead you press it in with your fingers.  And it is so buttery and very yummy!  You can use other fresh fruit, berries or  peaches are good choices. 

           Crust:

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted until brown bits form, using a saucepan wth a light-colored    bottom, (save pan for  melting butter for filling)

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Pinch of salt

            Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

12-ounces fresh berries or 2 large peaches, sliced

          For crust:

          Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F.

Using a rubber spatula or fork, mix melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in medium bowl. Add flour and salt and stir until incorporated. Put dough into a 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Using fingertips, press dough evenly onto bottom and up the sides of pan about 3/4-1".  (I place a cookie sheet lined with a piece of foil with the edges folded up about 1/2" all around, just in case there is a leak through the bottom, for both baking the crust and once the crust is filled.)

              Bake crust until golden, about 18-20 minutes (crust will puff slightly while baking). Transfer crust to rack and cool in pan. Maintain oven temperature.

          For filling:

          Whisk sugar, eggs, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add flour and vanilla; whisk until smooth. Cook butter in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until deep nutty brown (do not burn), stirring often, about 6-8 minutes. Immediately pour browned butter into glass measuring cup. Gradually whisk browned butter into sugar-egg mixture; whisk until well blended.

          Arrange fruit in bottom of cooled crust. (Be careful of hot pan when filling with fruit.) Carefully pour browned butter mixture evenly over fruit. Place tart on rimmed baking sheet. Bake tart until filling is puffed and golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool tart completely in pan on rack.

          Remove tart pan sides. Place tart on platter. Cut into wedges and serve.  Good with ice cream or a little whipped cream.

Test-kitchen tip:

When browning butter, use a saucepan with a light-colored bottom so that you can gauge the color of the butter.

Recipe from this site.