Apple-Rhubarb Crisp

Last week I made Jackson's Apple Crisp and in my haste forgot to add the spices (cinnamon & nutmeg). Sometimes mistakes turn out in your favor, as is the case with this dessert. My husband actually liked it better than before! After tasting, I thought it could use Rhubarb so last night, we had dinner with friends and I made my altered version with Rhubarb. Wow! Yummy! Enjoy! (Sorry for the 'Crumby' picture) Apple-Rhubarb Crisp

Butter a 9x13 baking dish; fill with sliced apples and rhubarb pieces (I used frozen), about 2/3 full.

Mix:

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c sugar

3 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 c water

Pour over apples.

Sprinkle with topping.

Topping:

1 c flour

1 c. sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 to 3 Tbsp butter or margarine

1 egg

Mix dry ingredients. Work margarine in with a fork or pastry blender. Work in egg with a fork.. Sprinkle over apples.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with ice cream.

Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin Cookies with Brown-Butter Icing

thanks to Rhonda for sharing this one - yum!

2 3/4 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/4 tsp ground ginger

3/4 tsp ground nutmeg

3/4 c unsalted butter, softened

2 1/4 c packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 c evaporated milk

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 c canned solid-pack pumpkin (14 oz. can)

3/4 c cinnamon chips (optional)

FOR THE ICING:

4 c confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 1/4 stick unsalted butter

1/4 plus 1 Tbsp evaporated milk

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside. Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low. Add pumpkin, evaporated milk and vanilla; mix until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add flour mixture; mix until combined. Transfer 1 1/2 cups batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip (or just use a Ziploc bag and cut the tip off). Pipe 1 1/2-inch rounds onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until tops spring back, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely.

Make icing: Put confectioners' sugar in a large bowl; set aside. Met butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling pan occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Immediately add butter to confectioners sugar, scraping any browned bits from sides and bottom of pan. Add evaporated milk and vanilla; stir until smooth. Spread about 1 teaspoon icing onto each cookie. If icing stiffens, stir in more evaporated milk, a little at a time. Cookies can be stored in single layers in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days. Makes about 6 dozen.

Scrumptious Apple Crisp

My thanks to Jacksons for this recipe!

Butter a 9x13 baking dish; peel, chop or grate enough apples to fill pan about 2/3 full of apples.

Mix:

1 c sugar

3 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 c water

Pour over apples. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Sprinkle with topping.

Topping:

1 c flour

1 c. sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 to 3 Tbsp butter or margarine

1 egg

Mix dry ingredients. Work margarine in with a fork or pastry blender. Work in egg with a fork.. Sprinkle over apples.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with caramel topping and ice cream.

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Rasberry Sauce

 

1/2 Cup water

3/4 Cup white sugar

18 squares of bittersweet chocolate (1 ounce squares) or 18 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips (I think the chocolate chips are just as good and I have them on hand)

1 Cup butter

6 eggs

Preheat oven at 300 degrees. Grease a 9 or 10 inch round cake  pan.

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water over medium heat. Stir until completely dissolved. Set aside.
Melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave and pour it into a bowl of an electric mixer. Cut butter into pieces and beat into chocolate one at a time. Beat in hot sugar water. Slowly beat in eggs, one at a time.

Pour mixture in to the prepared pan. Cook cake in water bath. I used a 9x13 pan and filled it half-way with water. Bake in water bath for 45 to 50 minutes. I found that 45 minutes was not enough in my oven. It is best when the top of the cake turns into a sort of hard crust that is a slightly lighter color.

After you remove from oven, let it cool. Then put in the refrigerator over night (at the very least 4 hours) or in the freezer for an hour.  Dip in hot water for about 10 seconds to help remove it from pan onto serving plate.

Rasberry Sauce
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 to 2 cups of raspberries (blackberries work too, you want it very tart to offset the rich chocolate)

Combine sugar, water, and cornstarch in saucepan and bring to boil. Add berries and boil, stirring until thickened.

Serve with berry topping and whip topping.

Cheese Flan

I have a neighbor from Puerto Rico who kindly shared this recipe. It is so yummy and probably the reason I gained 2 lbs this week. Here is her recipe:

Cheese Flan

For Caramel:

1 c sugar

1/4 c water

5 drops lemon

For Custard:

12 oz can evaporated milk

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

5 eggs

8 oz cream cheese

1 Tbsp vanilla

To make caramel, put ingredients in pot and slowly cook until the mixture is clear and golden in color. Place mixture in pie pan. Warning: Caramel will be REALLY hot! Let cool and set aside while making the flan custard.

Mix ingredients for flan custard in a blender until well blended.. Pour into pie pan and bake for 1 hour at 350.

notes

*I have a different recipe that uses a bain-marie or water bath and so I did half and half to compare (which is why my flan is so thin). It made quite the difference in texture AND taste! Even my husband thought so. Conclusion: use water bath! (Place pie dish or casserole dish in slightly larger dish then fill remaining space of larger dish with water) Bake at 300 or 325 (depending on your oven) for 45-50 minutes.

*Next time I may try a couple less eggs. It was pretty thick. Anyone else have a good flan recipe?

Cinnamon Rolls

Basic Roll Recipe:

1 egg + enough warm water to equal 1 1/2 cups

2 1/4 tsp yeast

4 c bread flour

1/4 c sugar

1/4 c vegetable oil

2 Tbsp dough enhancer

2 tsp salt

Cinnamon mixture:

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/4 c sugar

Brown sugar

Icing:

1/4 c butter

1/4 c cream cheese

Powdered Sugar

vanilla

milk

For the rolls, dissolve yeast in water for 5-10 minutes then let the bread maker do the work! My bread maker kneads for about 30 minutes then raises for an hour. When dough is ready, roll out into big circle on clean counter. Cover dough completely with super thin layer of melted butter then layer of brown sugar. Sprinkle with cinnamon/ cardamom combination. Roll up and cut into rolls. Let rise and bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes.