Banana Swirl

Banana Swirl

This is such an easy, dairy-free dessert that is on the healthy side. My kids watched Daniel Tiger and wanted to make the banana swirl from the show. We have made it plain, like Daniel Tiger did, with just frozen bananas and we have also made versions with cocoa powder, nutella, peanut butter and honey (separately). Any way we've done it has been delicious. This is a great way to use up any bananas that are past their prime.

-6 bananas, sliced then frozen for at least 2 hours
-1-2 Tbsp nutella, peanut butter, honey or chocolate (if desired, but not necessary)

Place the bananas and any extra ingredients you are using in a food processor. Process until everything is smooth and uniform. Serve immediately for a soft serve texture or return to freezer for at least 2 hours to scoop and serve like a traditional ice cream.

Cherry Clafoutis

Cherry Clafoutis

This is one of my favorite desserts. It's simple yet elegant. It's not overly involved or overly sweet. Most importantly, it's delicious!

-3 eggs
-1/2 c sugar
-6 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled slightly
-1 c flour
-1 c milk
-1/2 tsp almond extract
-2.5 c frozen cherries, thawed

Beat the sugar and eggs together with a whisk until they lighten in color. Gradually add butter, beating to incorporate. Add the flour and whisk until everything is evenly incorporated into the batter. Next slowly pour in the milk a little at a time. Add the extract, mixing well.

Place the cherries in a greased round baking dish or cake pan (9 or 10 inches in diameter). Pour the batter over the fruit. Bake at 400 25 to 30 minutes, until slightly browned and almost completely set in the middle. Let sit at least 15 minutes before serving in wedges. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.

Cream Cheese Blueberry Galette

Cream Cheese Blueberry Galette

I took the quick and easy route on this one using store bought pie dough for the pastry. You can easily substitute your favorite pie crust recipe for the store bought variety. This is one of my favorite desserts. It's pretty, easy yet elegant, not overly sweet or heavy and  is delicious!

-1 store bought refrigerated pie crust
-2.5 cups frozen blueberries, thawed and drained
-1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp granulate sugar, divided use
-4 tsp cornstarch
-1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk

Place the pie crust on top of parchment paper on a sheet pan. 

Toss the blueberries, 1/3 cup sugar and cornstarch in a bowl. 

With a mixer, beat the cream cheese, vanilla, egg yolk and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a separate bowl.

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Top with the blueberries. Fold the edge of the dough over the filling working your way around the entire circle a few inches at a time.  Brush the crust with the beaten egg and sprinkle with a little extra sugar. Bake at 425 until the crust is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool slightly before slicing.

Blondies

Blondies

This is a good base recipe and then you can change up the mix ins. White chocolate and dried cranberries would be good. Or any kind of nut, butterscotch or caramel chip would work also. Sometimes I do a light sprinkling of sea salt over top before popping in the oven. This recipe easily doubles to do a 13 x 9 pan if you're feeding a crowd.

-1 stick butter, softened
-1 cup brown sugar
-1 egg
-1 tsp vanilla
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 c flour
-1 c chocolate chips (or mix in of your choice)

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Stir in egg, vanilla and salt, Stir in flour. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread batter into a greased 8 x 8 pan and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Dairy-Free Fudge

Dairy-Free Fudge

I got this recipe from a friend, who I think got it from somewhere else, so I have no idea where it originated from. I will says that it is delicious and tastes just like peanut butter fudge made with butter and refined sugar- I don't miss those ingredients at all!

-1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
-2/3 c smooth, natural peanut butter
-1/2 c maple syrup
-1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-dash salt
-1/3 c coconut oil, melted

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process for 8-10 minutes. Spread mixture into a loaf pan that has been greased or lined with wax paper. Freeze for 1 hour, cut into squares, freeze for 1 additional hour until fully set.

Bread Pudding

Bread Pudding

This is my twist on the traditional New Orleans dessert. I use whole wheat sandwich bread because I have it on hand and it adds a little nutrition with the whole grains but sliced french bread would be the most authentic option.

Pudding

-2.5 cups milk
-4 eggs
-2 Tbsp butter, melted
-3 Tbsp whiskey, bourbon or rum
-1 Tbsp vanilla
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 tsp cinnamon
-2 c sugar
-1/2 c raisins (optional)
-1/4 c chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
-10 slices bread, cut into bite sized chunks

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk through cinnamon. Add sugar and whisk again. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into a greased 13 x 9 dish and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, until set but still moist.

Sauce

-1 stick butter
-1/2 c sugar
1/4 c whiskey, bourbon or rum

While pudding bakes, combine sauce ingredients in a small pot. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring often. Once pudding is baked pour sauce over top and serve warm.

Pumpkin Cobbler

Pumpkin Cobbler

This is one of our favorite desserts. It bakes up with a warm pumpkin pudding/ sauce on the bottom and a cake-like pumpkin layer on top. Serve it warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.


-1 cup + 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-3/4 cup granulated sugar
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
-1/4 teaspoon cloves
-1/2 cup pumpkin puree
-1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Topping:
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

-1 1/2 cups hot water

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and spices. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk pumpkin, milk, melted butter and vanilla together to combine. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir to form a thick batter. Pour into mixture into a greased 8 or 9 inch square casserole dish.

In a separate bowl, stir sugar, brown sugar and nuts together. Sprinkle the sugar/ nut mixture over the top of the batter evenly. Pour hot water over the entire thing. Do not stir. Bake for 40 minutes or until the middle is set. Cool 5-10 minutes before serving. 

Coconut Cupcakes

Coconut Cupcakes

I've made this as a 2 tier cake or cupcakes interchangeably. I take a short cut using a boxed cake mix in this one, you can substitute your favorite yellow or white cake recipe for the box- but make sure you add almond extract and the shredded coconut.

Cupcakes
-1 white or yellow boxed cake mix
-ingredients needed according to box- usually some combination of water, oil and eggs
-1 tsp almond extract
-1 cup shredded coconut

For the frosting:
-1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
-2 sticks butter at room temperature
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1 teaspoon almond extract
-3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
-1 cup shredded coconut

Mix cake according to package directions, adding the almond extract with the wet ingredients. Stir in shredded coconut. Bake according to package directions.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

Snickers Rice Krispie Bars

Snickers Rice Krispie Bars

-1/2 stick butter
-5 cups mini marshmallows
-5½ cups rice krispie cereal
-½ cup peanuts
-11 oz caramels (unwrapped) or caramel bits

-3 TBS heavy cream
-2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt butter over medium low heat in a large sauce pan. Add in marshmallows and stir together untill the marshmallows are completely melted. Pour in rice krispie cereal and stir together untill the cereal is completely coated. Pour cereal mixture into a greased 9x13 in pan and press down evenly.

Sprinkle peanuts evenly over the top of the rice krispie treats.

Combine caramels and heavy cream in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir until caramel is melted and smooth. Pour caramel evenly over the top of rice krispie treats.

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments (for about 90 seconds total), stirring after each interval until smooth. Pour chocolate over the caramel layer and spread evenly.Let chocolate set completely, cut and serve.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies

These are one of our favorite desserts. The texture of the chocolate part is more cake-like than brownie-like, but the original recipe I started with calls them brownies, so I stuck with it. I always use light sour cream and cream cheese and they come out great, but go full fat if you prefer.

Brownie layer
-1 stick butter, melted
-3/4 c water
-1/4 c cocoa powder
-1/2 c sour cream
-2 eggs
-1 tsp vanilla
-2 c sugar
-2 c flour
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt

Cheesecake layer
-8 oz cream cheese
-1 egg
-1/3 c sugar
-1/2 tsp vanilla
-1 c chocolate chips

Mix melted butter with water and cocoa powder. Add sour cream, eggs and vanilla and mix. In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 c sugar, flour, baking soda and salt. Stir dry ingredients into the wet ones. Pour brownie mixture into the bottom of a greased 13x9 pan.

Mix cream cheese, egg, 1/3 c sugar and vanilla for cheesecake mixture. Drop spoonfulls of cheesecake mixture over the brownie mixture. Use a knife to swirl and marble the batters. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the entire pan. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature and enjoy.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Nutella Cookie Bars with Sea Salt

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Nutella Cookie Bars with Sea Salt

I got this recipe from Two Peas in a Pod and then made a couple changes to suit my taste. These were really yummy.

-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
-3/4 cup processed cocoa
-1 cup butter, at room temperature
-1 cup granulated sugar
-1 cup light brown sugar
-2 eggs
-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-1 cup chocolate chips
-1/2 cup Nutella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, sea salt, and cocoa. Set aside. With a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla extract and mix until combined. Gradually add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Divide the dough in half. Press half of the dough into the prepared pan. Spread the Nutella over the dough. Top the Nutella evenly with the remaining cookie dough. It is ok if some of the Nutella peaks out, but try to cover it as much as possible. Sprinkle the cookie bars with sea salt. Bake cookies for 30 minutes, or until cookie bars are set around the edges, but still a little soft in the center. Don't overbake. Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack. Cut into squares and serve.

Toasted Brie and Nutella Croissants with Red Wine Cherry Compote

Toasted Brie and Nutella Croissants with Red Wine Cherry Compote

This my knock off of a dessert at a local restaurant. One of our friends requested that I attempt this dish for his birthday. This was such a fun, delicious, sophisticated, unexpected dessert. This cherry sauce would also be delicious served alongside a pork tenderloin.

Croissants

-croissants
-nutella
-brie

Split the croissants in half; spread the bottom with nutella, then cover with sliced brie. Place the top on the croissant and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes until warm and crispy. Serve croissant with the cherry compote and dust with powdered sugar if desired.

Red Wine Cherry Compote

-1/2 cup sugar
-1 1/4 cups red wine

-1 lb fresh or frozen cherries, stemmed and pitted
-2 Tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 2 Tbsp water
-1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Bring the red wine and sugar to a boil in a medium pan, stirring to mix. Add the cherries; reduce heat to low, and simmer 5-10 minutes. Add the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly, cook until thickened. Remove sauce from heat, allow to cool and serve at room temperature.

Berry Ricotta Cake

Berry Ricotta Cake

This is slightly adapted from a Molly Wizenberg/ Orangette recipe, which was slightly adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe. In some the reviews people mentioned adding lemon zest or almond extract to this cake and I am super eager to try each of these additions individually, but wanted to make the cake as is once first. I used a combination of frozen blackberries and frozen cherries but think this cake would be great with frozen mixed berries, blackberries or raspberries. I doubled the berries from Molly's recipe and next time I might even increase the amount to 3 cups. Other than that I LOVE this cake. It is so easy to throw together and comes out so delicious and moist!

-1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
-1 cup sugar
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-¾ teaspoon salt
-3 eggs
-1 ½ cup ricotta
-½ teaspoon vanilla extract
-1 stick butter, melted
-2 cups frozen berries, divided


Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan, and press a round of parchment paper into the bottom.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, ricotta, and vanilla until smooth. Gently stir ricotta mixture into the dry ingredients until just blended. Then fold in the butter, followed by 1 1/2 cup of the berries, taking care not to crush them. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it evenly, and scatter the remaining berries on top.

Bake the cake until it is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool at least 20 minutes before unmolding. Cool completely before serving.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

These are Pat's Bars from the book Kitchens of the Great Midwest. The only change I made was to increase the amount of chocolate and change to semi-sweet rather than milk chocolate. These bars are super easy to throw together and taste like a giant Reese's cup.

-2½ cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
-1 cup melted Grade A butter

-1 cup peanut butter

-2½ cups powdered sugar

-2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips with 2 tsp. Grade A butter

Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, 1 cup melted butter, peanut butter and sugar. Pat into a greased 9 x 13-inch pan. Melt the chocolate chips and 1 tsp. butter and spread on top of the bars. Refrigerate until firm. Cut into bars.

Chocolate Pound Cake

Chocolate Pound Cake

This past weekend was the birthday of a dear friend and said friend apparently loves her mother-in-law's chocolate pound cake. Her hubby got me the recipe so that I could make it to surprise her. This cake turned out great. I was quite temped to top it with a glaze, ice cream, whipped cream or strawberries but my friend's husband assured me that his mom serves it plain, as is. Apparently she does dust it with powdered sugar sometimes, which would add to a pretty presentation, but is completely unnecessary for flavor purposes.

-1 1/2 cups butter, softened
-3 cups sugar
-5 eggs
-1 cup milk
-1/2 cup cocoa powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-3 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1 Tbsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Sift the dry ingredients 3 times (I cheated and just whisked them together in a bowl). Add the dry ingredient mixture to the butter/ sugar/ eggs mixture about a cup at a time, alternating with half of the milk. Once everything is combined mix on low for 2 minutes. Add vanilla and mix to incorporate. Pour into a greased and floured bundt or tube pan and bake at 325 for 80 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (I had to bake it for at least an extra 10 minutes). Allow cake to cool in pan for 10 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Mixed Berrry Cobbler

Mixed Berry Cobbler

This cobbler is very versatile, you can use your favorite combination of berries, all of one type of berry, or really use any fruit that you like. I've also used frozen berries straight from the freezer, just increase the baking time by at least 10 minutes. I've doubled the recipe to fill a 13x9 pan and feed a crowd and I've used whole wheat flour instead of the all purpose flour and no matter what I do, this turns out delicious! You can eat it as is, or my preference is to serve vanilla ice cream scoop over the top.

-1 cc plus 1/4 c sugar, divided use
-1 c flour
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 c milk
-4 Tbsp butter
-3 c (fresh or frozen) mixed berries or your choice of raspberries, blackberries or blueberries

In a medium bowl whisk together 1 cup of the sugar, the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in the milk and butter. Pour batter into the bottom of a greased 8x8 dish. Top with the berries. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes, until the dough has risen above the berries and browned nicely.

Dark Chocolate Sea Salted Toffee

This is yet another recipe from the book Bread and Wine.  Every recipe in that book is just outstanding!  Several of the recipes have been in my favorites rotation since I first read the book a year and a half ago.  This toffee though... it's buttery, chocolatey, salty perfection!  I have made it several times and it always gets oohs and ahhs.  I follow Shauna's recipe as listed below, except I use way more than the 1 tsp of salt that she calls for.  That is way too light for my taste, and I tend to find that some salt falls off when I break the toffee up so I eyeball it and shake with a heavy hand directly from the canister.  As pictured above, I decided to forgo my traditional Christmas cookie baking this year and hand out little packages of this toffee instead.  With only 4 ingredients, and no need to heat my oven {if you don't live in New Orleans you may not understand why this is a problem in Dec., but it has been over 70 every day for the last week here and we have had our a/c running} I have concluded that toffee instead of cookies was definitely a win this year, and may need to be a tradition going forward.

Dark Chocolate Sea Salted Toffee

Shauna Niequist, Bread & Wine

-1 cup butter (2 sticks)
-2 cups sugar
-1 cup dark chocolate chips
-1 tsp coarse sea salt

In a saucepan, combine butter and sugar, and bring to a boil.  Over medium-high heat, keep stirring until it turns a deep amber color.

Remove from heat and pour onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or until cool and solid to the touch.

Melt chocolate chips in a glass bowl over a pot of gently boiling water.  When the chocolate is smooth, pour it over the toffee and spread with a spatula.  Sprinkle sea salt, and then refrigerate until cooled and solid.  Break into irregular pieces.

Apple Dumplings

I have made this recipe a few times now.  I am sort of horrified at, and embarrassed by the processed ingredients in this, but I gave it a try because the Pioneer Woman has never steered me wrong.  And she didn't this time either.  These are super easy, super delicious, and a great vegan dessert option.  Serving these with vanilla ice cream is a must, in my opinion.  The few changes that I made were to reduce the butter by half, use reduced-fat crescent rolls, cut the apples into larger slices (4-5 per apple instead of 8,using 2 apples rather than 2) and to use sprite instead of mountain dew.

Lime Bars

I used my go to lemon bar recipe and substituted the juice and zest of some fresh local limes that I was given.  We love lemon bars and were a little nervous that the lime bars just wouldn't taste right, but we actually ended up liking the flavor of these a little better than lemon bars.

{Lightened Up} Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie

Unless your limes are key limes (which mine weren't) this doesn't technically qualify as key lime pie, but "lime pie" doesn't sound like a fancy enough name, so key lime pie it is.  I was in a hurry today, distracted with the rest of dinner preparations (and my 2 rugrats) so I chose to make this easy and use a store bought crust, which is not something I'd normally do, so please substitute your favorite homemade graham cracker crust if you like.  To me this dessert screams summer; it only bakes for 15 minutes, not overheating your kitchen, is easy to prepare, and is cool, tart and refreshing.

-1 graham cracker crust (homemade or store bought)
-1 heaping Tbsp lime zest
-1/2 c fresh lime juice
-4 egg yolks
-1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- (optional) whipped cream for topping

In medium bowl, mix together lime zest, lime juice and egg yolks.  With mixer on medium high, beat in sweetened condensed milk until thoroughly mixed.  Pour filling into crust.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Allow pie to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate at least 2 hours prior to serving. 
Serve with whipped cream, if desired.