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Archive for the ‘Dessert’ Category

Presidential ballot 2012: Which cookie will win?

Posted in Baked goods, Dessert, Recipes, tagged , , on October 11, 2012| 2 Comments »

Michelle Obama’s “White and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie” (l.) beat out Ann Romney’s “M&M Cookies” (r.) by a slim margin with readers of Family Circle. (Courtesy of Family Circle)

If you are one of the scores of independent voters yet to decide how you will cast your vote come November, here’s a taste test that could tip your ballot: the great Presidential Cookie Bake-Off. A recipe for success is what this country needs, after all.

For the past 20 years, Family Circle‘s Presidential Cookie Bake-Off has squared-off the mixing bowls of the candidates’ spouses and asked their readers to decide: Who has the better cookie recipe? The editors at Family Circle claim their contest, in which readers test the dueling recipes and vote for their favorite, has resulted in correctly calling the actual elections outcome since 1992 – except once. (more…)

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Chocolate peanut butter rice krispie treats

Posted in Dessert on September 27, 2012| 6 Comments »

Candy corn, peanut butter and chocolate, and rice krispie treats all say “Halloween.” So why not combine them all into one decadent treat? A crunchy, gooey crust topped with a creamy milk chocolate-peanut butter layer and topped with a dark chocolate ganache and a candy corn gem.

Rice Krispie treats may say “kiddie food” to you – but so what? You should have stopped wearing Halloween costumes a long time ago, too. Get in the make-believe spirit by whipping up a batch of these delicious treats. The only trick here is to set aside (one or two) for yourself before they all magically disappear.

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Happy Birthday, Julia Child!

Posted in Dessert, Food musings, tagged , , on August 14, 2012| 4 Comments »

August 15 is Julia Child’s birthday and 2012 marks her 100th. I wanted to honor Julia by baking a birthday cake for her on my birthday, just a few days before on August 12, using a recipe or two from one of her many collections.

 

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Red, white, and blueberry trifle

Posted in Dessert, Holiday dishes, tagged , , , , , , on July 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »

My Grandma Ruth’s birthday fell on the Fourth of July and hardly a year went by that she wasn’t presented with a sheet cake made to look like a flag with a blueberry-studded square in the upper left corner and rows of slivered strawberries marching across white frosting. Sometimes the sugary Old Glory was topped with sparklers.

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Ricotta cheese delight

Posted in Breakfast, Dessert, tagged , , , on May 25, 2012| 4 Comments »

Earlier this spring, I rediscovered ricotta cheese as a simple dessert. Similar to cottage cheese, ricotta can serve as a substantial filling for both sweet (cannolis) and savory (lasagna) dishes. But it can also stand on its own as a low-fat, high protein dish. A recent brunch order in a New York City restaurant delivered a plate full of ricotta as the main course. And it totally worked.

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Kentucky Derby bars for Cinco de Mayo

Posted in Baked goods, Dessert, Holiday dishes, tagged , , , , , on May 1, 2012| 8 Comments »

The Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Ky., falls on May 4-5, 2012. I’m not really swept up in the culture around the Derby, even though my mom lived in Lexington for nearly two decades. In my most cynical moments, I can’t understand the big to-do around a 2 minute race.

But I admit, I cried through “Seabiscuit,” “Secretariat,” and “War Horse.” There is something about these majestic, beautiful, intelligent creatures in motion that stirs the human spirit, no matter how intellectual one becomes about the trappings and heartbreak of betting on a horse.

What I do love without question is a Kentucky Pie That Shall Not Be Named – gooey pecans and chocolate over a buttery crust and smothered in a dollop of fresh whipped cream. With the Derby falling on Cinco de Mayo this year, I got to thinking about the perfect marriage: Mexican chocolate and buttery pecans.

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Chocolate Easter Baskets

Posted in Dessert, Holiday dishes, tagged , , , , , on April 7, 2012| 1 Comment »

Forget plastic green grass. Go au naturel with these delightful and easy-to-make Chocolate Easter Baskets. You will need exactly three ingredients: a bag of pretzel sticks, a bag of semi sweet chocolate chips (or your favorite chocolate), a bag of mini candy-shelled Cadbury Eggs.

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Homemade bacon milkshake

Posted in Dessert, Recipes, tagged , , , , on February 20, 2012| 11 Comments »

The other day Thomas sent me an e-mail. It simply said, “Bacon milkshake is trending on Yahoo.”

Huh?

My first reaction was: “Don’t say things like that to me.”

The second one was: “Does it taste good?”

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Molten lava cake for National Chocolate Cake Day

Posted in Dessert, tagged , , , , , , , on January 27, 2012| 4 Comments »

January 27 is National Chocolate Cake Day in the United States. To be honest, I thought every day was chocolate cake day. This warm (and flourless) chocolate lava cake is delicious enough to declare a national celebration. But to help keep us all focused, there are several national food day lists floating around like this one to make sure all kinds of decadent delights get their day.

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Cherry Winks Christmas cookies

Posted in Baked goods, Dessert, Holiday dishes, tagged , , , on December 21, 2011| 5 Comments »

In the middle of the rush to get ready for the holidays, Rebecca stopped by armed with two shopping bags full of ingredients. As I wrapped presents she worked on these Cherry Winks for her colleagues at the private school on Beacon Hill where she teaches.

Cherry Winks aren’t a part of my Christmas memory index, but they do bring to mind Christmases of times past when our family Christmas tree was festooned with wildly blinking colored lights. (I’m partial to the calmer, classic white lights now.) The unnaturally bright red and green of the maraschino cherry toppers fit right in with all that sparkles and glows this season.

A reader of Stir It Up! shared an interesting history of Cherry Winks with me: “That recipe has a long history. Ruth Derousseau of Rice Lake, Wisconsin, entered it into the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest of 1950 as Cherry Winks and won the Junior First Prize. I think pecans and dates were actually part of the original recipe.”

When I finally stretched out in a chair Cricket climbed into my lap and started purring loudly as if to say, “Stay here for awhile.”

Faster than a wink of an eye, Rebecca handed me a mug of peppermint tea and a plate of warm cherry blinks. She changed things up a bit from the traditional recipe, using pecans and dried dates. Crunchy and sweet with their festive cherries, these would make a delicious addition to any Christmas cookie platter.

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