Monday Desserts

It's the first Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend. Here are six yummy desserts to get your week started off just right, including Best Apple Crisp, Tie-Dye Cheesecake, and Million Dollar Cream Pie. Enjoy!

MINI APPLE PIES

This is from Kristina Vanni on The Spruce Eats. Kristina wrote, “These deep fried hand pies are a fun and whimsical way to enjoy a mini apple pie! They are best when served warm with a light dusting of powdered sugar.

“They are shaped like turnovers, with a classic cinnamon and apple filling surrounded by a delicate baking powder pastry crust.”

Prep Time: 30 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 50 minutes; Yield: 1 dozen

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Baking Powder Pastry:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold unsalted butter

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

Apple Pie Filling:

3 cups sliced, cored, and pared tart apples

2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups vegetable oil

Powdered sugar

Directions

Gather the ingredients.

Start by preparing the baking powder pastry. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Using a pastry blender or two knives in a criss-cross fashion, cut in the cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg.

Gradually stir the egg mixture into flour mixture with fork until just combined and the dough cleans the side of bowl.

On a lightly floured surface, lightly knead for about 1 minute to form a soft dough.

Divide dough in half and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Refrigerate while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

To make the apple pie filling, heat the apples and water, covered, in a medium saucepan to boiling, then reduce heat to low. All to simmer, covered, until apples soften slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove the cover and cook, stirring constantly until liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the granulated sugar and butter. Cook, uncovered for 3 minutes and then stir in the cinnamon.

Mash the mixture with a fork or potato masher to form a chunky puree. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.

When you are ready to prepare the pies, roll one half of dough 1/8-inch thick on floured surface. Cut out 4-to-5-inch circles with floured cutter. (If you don't have a cutter large enough, you can trace around the edge of an inverted bowl to form the circles.)

Spread some of the apple mixture over half of each circle, leaving a 3/4-inch border.

Lightly brush borders with a little water. Fold the pastry in half and pinch the edges lightly with fingers. Seal the edges with a fork. Turn the pies over and again press the seams with a fork. (Do not pierce the dough). Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Heat oil in a large skillet to 375 degrees F. Fry the pies, 4 at a time so as to not crowd the pan. Turn the pies once, until they are golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, lift the pies out of the oil and drain on to a paper towel lined plate.

Dust the pies with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

MILLION DOLLAR CREAM PIE

This comes from Carroll Pellegrinelli, who wrote for The Spruce Eats. (Check out her website at https://carrollpellegrinelli.com/. You won't regret it!)

For this recipe, Carroll wrote, " Million Dollar Pie thankfully doesn't live up to its name cost-wise, but its popularity on Pinterest proves it's worth adding to the recipe vault. Also called Millionaire Pie or Millionaire's Pie, this creamy concoction blends canned pineapple, toasted nuts, and shredded coconut into sweetened condensed milk. It gets its lofty height from the addition of a whipped dessert topping. Some versions incorporate cream cheese, and others call for heavy cream, but they all result in a luxurious bite of sweetness.

"The basic recipe can branch into many directions, with maraschino cherries making frequent appearances, oranges joining the pineapple, shortbread or flaky pastry replacing the standard graham cracker crust, frozen adaptations, and even a chocolate-pecan impostor.

"You can start with this classic rendition, then adjust, modify, and remaster it to your stomach's content. The recipe makes two pies with one can of condensed milk, but you can cut the ingredients in half to make just one."

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 0 minutes; Total Time: 20 minutes; Chilling Time: 2 hours; Yield: 2 pies (16 servings)

To view this online, go to https://www.thespruceeats.com/million-dollar-cream-pie-304933.

Ingredients

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 (8-ounce) cans crushed pineapple (drained)

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup chopped toasted pecans

2 (8-ounce) containers frozen whipped topping (thawed)

2 (9-inch) graham cracker crusts

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the condensed milk and lemon juice. Let stand for 5 minutes to thicken.

Add pineapple, 3/4 cup of the coconut and 3/4 cup of the pecans. Stir until thoroughly combined.

Fold in whipped topping and divide evenly between two crusts.

Spread the remaining 1/4 cup of coconut on a cookie sheet and toast in 350 F oven, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, approximately 5 to 8 minutes.

Sprinkle toasted coconut and remaining pecans onto the pie.

Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.

BEST APPLE CRISP

This yumminess is from Betty Crocker, and begins, "Nothing says "fall is here" quite like the smell of tender-baked apples filling your home. This simple and downright delicious apple crisp gives you all the flavor you could ever ask for in a dessert, and is as quick to make as it is to finish. The cherry on top? A generous topping of cream or vanilla ice cream."

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 50 minutes; Servings: 6

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

4 medium tart cooking apples, sliced (4 cups)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

1/2 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats

1/3 cup butter, softened

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cream or Ice cream, if desired

Directions

Heat oven to 375°F. Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with shortening.

Spread apples in pan. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients except cream until well mixed; sprinkle over apples.

Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm with cream.

Expert Tips

No matter the name—crisp, crumble, or cobbler—any baked dessert filled with fresh fruit is defined by the topping. A crisp and crumble are close cousins, with their toppings of buttered flour or oats and sugar. A crisp is all about the oats that become browned and a little crunchy when baked.

Many sweet crumbly or streusel toppings include chopped nuts; walnut, pecans, or macadamia nuts are good choices and will toast during baking.

Dark brown sugar can be used if you want to bump up the caramel-like taste surrounding the fruit.

Choose crisp and tartly-sweet apples—Empire, Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, Braeburn, Cortland—they hold their shape and aren’t too juicy.

Get creative by adding your favorite dried spice, 1 tablespoon candied ginger, or 1/2 cup chewy dried fruits to add more layers of flavor and texture.

CHERRY SWIRL COFFEE CAKE

This is from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list.

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup shortening

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

4 eggs

3 cups flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 can cherry pie filling

Directions

Cream butter, sugar, shortening, vanilla extract and almond extract. Add eggs, one at a time. Stir in flour and baking powder. Pour 2/3 batter onto a greased 15 x 10-inch jellyroll pan. Spread on cherry filling. Drop the remaining 1/3 batter by teaspoon over cherry filling. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Frosting

Ingredients

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon melted butter

Directions

Mix confectioners' sugar and melted butter. Dribble frosting over cherry coffee cake while it is warm.

TIE-DYE CHEESECAKE

This is from The Food Network, and begins, “This outrageous psychedelic cheesecake is an ode to all the tie-dye of the 1960s. Making the vibrant swirls is much easier to do than it looks; all you need is a wooden skewer – groovy!” Total: 10 hr 45 min; Active: 35 min; Yield: 12 servings; Level: Intermediate

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 18 whole crackers)

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch fine salt

Filling:

Three 11.5-ounce containers whipped cream cheese

1-1/4 cups sugar

One 16-ounce container sour cream, at room temperature

1 cup heavy cream

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Neon blue, pink and purple food coloring

Yellow food coloring

Whipped cream, for serving

Directions

Special equipment: a 10-inch springform pan and a wooden skewer

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.

For the crust: Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar and salt and press into bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely. Wrap up the bottom and sides of pan with a large piece of foil and put in a large roasting pan.

For the filling: Beat the cream cheese and sugar, in a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the sour cream and mix until just combined. Add the heavy cream and mix until just combined. Mix in the eggs, by hand, 1 at time. Then mix in the vanilla, lemon juice, by hand as well, until just combined. (Overmixing can turn your cheesecake into a souffle.)

Using a ladle, divide the cheesecake batter into 4 separate bowls. Dye each a separate color; blue, pink, purple and yellow. Add enough food coloring so that the colors are very vibrant and intense.

Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to drop spoonfuls of the batter onto the crust, alternating the colors, until all the batter has been scooped. Use a wooden skewer and drag it through the colors to marble them for tie-dye effect, making sure the skewer reaches down to the bottom of the pan. Transfer the pan to the roasting pan. Add enough hot water to come about halfway up the side of the springform pan.

Bake until the outside of the cake is set and the center is still slightly loose, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour. Remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan to a cooling rack. Run a knife around the edge and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours.

Unmold the cheesecake and transfer to a serving plate or cake stand. Serve slices with a dollop of whipped cream.

BLUEBERRY CORNMEAL SHORTBREAD TART

This is from Alison Roman in The New York Times cooking newsletter. Alison wrote, "Part tart, part crumble, this blueberry shortbread is an excellent way to use up as many blueberries as you can get your hands on. The exposed surface allows the fruit to cook down, thickening and getting jammy with just a little bit of flour to help it along. It’s ideal for baking, slicing and bringing to any and all outdoor gatherings, or serving at home with a ridiculous amount of vanilla ice cream."

Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Time: 50 minutes

This was featured in "What to Do With All That Summer Fruit", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020390-blueberry-cornmeal-shortbread-tart.

Ingredients

For the crust and topping:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter (1-1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly

For the filling:

1 pound blueberries

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Small pinch of kosher salt

Preparation

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Make the crust and topping: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, confectioners’ sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Add melted butter, then use your hands or a wooden spoon to combine ingredients until no dry spots remain.

Press half of the cornmeal mixture into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom (alternatively, use a 9-inch cake pan or springform pan, lined with parchment), making sure the mixture is evenly pressed on the bottom and about 1/2 inch up the sides. (Using something large and flat, like the bottom of a measuring cup, will be helpful.) Reserve the remaining mixture.

Make the filling: Toss blueberries, brown sugar, vinegar, flour and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour the fruit into the crust.

Crumble the remaining cornmeal mixture over the blueberries, pressing bits of the mixture together into large clumps as you go, as you would with a crisp or coffee-cake topping.

Bake tart until the blueberry filling is bubbly and thickened, and both the crust and top are nicely browned, 40 to 45 minutes.

Let tart cool completely before slicing into triangles and serving. The tart can be baked up to 2 days ahead and stored tightly wrapped at room temperature or refrigerated (especially if your kitchen is hot or humid).

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