Wednesday, Just Desserts
Today's Just Desserts has a little of this, a little of that, and a whole lot of yum. Check out the Pumpkin Chai Latte Bars, the Cocoa Krispies Treats, and the rest of today's yumminess. Enjoy!
MILLIONAIRE BARS
This yumminess is from Sarah Brekke at allrecipes, and begins, "These millionaire bars are no-bake chocolate squares featuring crispy cereal, with a salty edge from roasted peanuts, but you could swap in another nut if you prefer."
Prep Time: 20 minutes; Chill Time: 2 hours; Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes; Servings: 36
To view this online, go to https://www.allrecipes.com/millionaire-bars-recipe-11747732.
Ingredients
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound vanilla caramels
2-1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
1 cup chopped salted roasted peanuts
1 (11.5 ounce) package milk chocolate chips
Directions
Line a 9x9-inch square baking pan with foil; grease well. Heat cream and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat until just steaming. Add caramels and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Stir in cereal and peanuts. Working quickly, spread mixture evenly in prepared pan.
Microwave chocolate chips in a bowl on High, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Spread over caramel slab. Chill until set, about 2 hours; bars will keep, refrigerated, for up to 5 days.
KITCHEN SINK COOKIES
This is from Erin Gardner and adapted by Julia Moskin at The New York Times cooking newsletter. For this yumminess, Julia wrote, "These salty-sweet, crisp-soft cookies are a great way to use up extra candy, baking chocolate and even pretzels and chips. Making toffee is surprisingly easy and it's fun to mix in chopped peanuts, sesame seeds or whatever you like — but store-bought toffee bits are fine, too. (And you can make the cookies smaller, or drop the chilled dough onto the cookie sheet instead of slicing it, if you prefer.)"
Total Time: About 1 hour, plus chilling
This was featured in "Why Work When You Can Procrastibake?" and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019313-kitchen-sink-cookies. While you're at it, if you haven't already signed up for The New York Times cooking newsletter, I highly recommend doing so. Great recipes, guides, and more. Go ahead, I'll wait. (Tap, tap, tap...)
Ingredients
For the Toffee (optional)
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup toasted nuts or seeds (optional)
For the Cookies
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt, more for tossing
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1-1/2 sticks), slightly softened at room temperature
1 packed cup light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 3/4 cup salty mix-ins, such as nuts, broken mini pretzels, corn chips or potato chips
About 3/4 cup sweet mix-ins, such as toffee bits (brickle), chocolate chips or chunks, M&M's, cut-up candy bars or dried fruit
Preparation
Make the toffee, if you'd like: Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
In a small saucepan, combine butter, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat and let bubble, whisking occasionally, until light golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes.
Turn off heat and, if using, stir in nuts or seeds. Pour onto the prepared pan and let the mixture run toward the edges. If necessary, use a rubber spatula to spread mixture; it should not be more than 1/4-inch thick. Set aside to harden completely. (If weather is very hot and humid, chill in refrigerator.) Break or chop into small (about 1/2-inch) chunks.
Make the cookies: In a bowl, whisk dry ingredients together. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together at medium speed until fluffy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg, then vanilla. In three batches, add the dry ingredients, mixing to combine each time.
In a bowl, combine the sweet and salty mix-ins and toss them with ½ teaspoon salt. Add mix-ins to dough and stir until evenly distributed.
Roll dough into a log about 2 inches in diameter, wrap and chill at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
Slice the dough log into approximately 1/2-inch-thick slices and arrange on cookie sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Don’t worry if the slices are slightly broken or misshapen; these cookies should be bumpy and rough.
Bake until golden, about 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. When done, the edges should be just browning and the tops should feel soft. Let cool on the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.
COCOA KRISPIES TREATS
This is from Samantha Seneviratne at New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this yumminess, Samantha wrote, "Rice Krispies treats are a classic dessert for a reason. They’ve got everything: crunch, chew, buttery sweetness and just the right amount of salt. You’ll get extra credit for browning the butter first. What happens if you also stir some cocoa powder into the browned butter before mixing in the rest of the ingredients? The classic transforms into something shiny and new: deeply chocolatey, gooey and even a bit sophisticated. These treats are reminiscent in flavor to hot chocolate, thanks to the cocoa and marshmallows, but you can enjoy them any time of year. For some campfire vibes, stir in about 1/2 cup broken pieces of graham cracker with the crisp rice cereal."
Ready in: 50 minutes; Yield: 9 servings
To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/756831951-cocoa-krispies-treats. While you're at it, if you haven't already subscribed to New York Times cooking enewsletter, I highly recommend doing so. Great recipes, guides, and more.
Ingredients
1/2 cup salted butter, plus more for greasing
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) or 1 teaspoon fine salt
1 (12-ounce) bag marshmallows
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 cups Rice Krispies, or other crisp rice cereal
Preparation
Butter a 9-inch square baking pan.
In a large pot, melt the 1/2 cup butter over medium heat. Cook, stirring often with a rubber spatula, until the milk solids on the bottom of the pan turn golden brown, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cocoa powder and salt until incorporated.
Add the marshmallows and stir until they are about 80 percent melted. Some lumps are OK. Remove the pot from the heat, add the vanilla and cereal and stir the mixture until all the cereal is coated.
Transfer to the prepared pan. Use the spatula to gently spread the mixture out evenly but avoid packing it down. Let cool completely.
Remove from the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 9 even squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
PUMPKIN CHAI LATTE BARS
This is from allrecipes, and begins, "These pumpkin chai latte bars are pumpkin-pie-like bars that sit atop a buttery shortbread crust, and get an extra boost of flavor from Chai tea. These require a good amount of time in the fridge, so plan ahead."
Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes; Chill Time: 4 hours; Total Time: 5 hours 25 minutes; Servings: 12
To view this online, go to https://www.allrecipes.com/pumpkin-chai-latte-bars-recipe-11801788.
Ingredients
1-1/2 cups half and half
3 chai tea bags (such as Twinings® Chai)
Crust
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
Filling
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 large eggs, at room temperature
Directions
Place half-and-half in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until mixture just begins to simmer, 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often. Remove pan from heat and add in chai tea bags. Allow mixture to steep, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line an 8x8-inch square pan with enough parchment paper to have overhang on all sides.
For crust, beat butter, white sugar, vanilla and salt together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth and combined. Add in flour and beat on low speed until mixture comes together to form a soft dough. Press dough firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven and until crust looks just set, 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, for filling, in the same bowl you used for crust (no need to wipe out the bowl), beat together pumpkin, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice with an electric mixer until smooth and combined.
Remove tea bags from half-and-half mixture. Squeeze bags to remove as much moisture from them as possible; then discard tea bags. With the mixer running on low speed, gradually pour half-and-half mixture into pumpkin mixture; beat until all is thoroughly incorporated. Add in eggs and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Once crust has cooled for 5 minutes, pour filling evenly over the top.
Bake in the preheated oven until bars are puffed and there is only a slight jiggle in the center of the filling, 50 to 55 minutes. Allow bars to cool completely to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours to overnight.
Once bars have chilled, lift them out of the pan using the parchment overhang. Cut into 12 bars.
If desired, served topped with a lightly sweetened whipped cream and an extra sprinkle of cinnamon.
SUPER STRAWBERRY FLUFF
This is from Everyday Diabetic Recipes, and begins, "Here's an easy, low-fat, strawberry dessert recipe that'll taste heavenly, but won't cost you any work at all. Our Super Strawberry Fluff combines two of our favorite fruity flavors to create an easy dessert that'll really satisfy your dessert cravings!"
Prep Time: 5 minutes; Serves: 12
To view this online, go to https://www.everydaydiabeticrecipes.com/Misc-Desserts/Super-Strawberry-Fluff.
Ingredients
1 (0.3-ounce) package sugar-free strawberry gelatin mix
1 (1-ounce) package sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup water
1 (8-ounce) container sugar-free frozen whipped topping
2 cups fresh strawberries, cut into quarters
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, well drained
1/4 cup mini marshmallows
Directions
In a large bowl, whisk gelatin mix, pudding mix, and water until smooth and thickened. Stir in whipped topping until thoroughly combined.
Fold in strawberries, pineapple, and marshmallows. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
APPLE DUMPLINGS
This is from Ree Drummond (otherwise known as The Pioneer Woman) on the Food Network.
Active Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 55 minutes; Yield: 4 to 6 servings; Level: Easy
To view this online, go to https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/apple-dumplings-3755854.
Ingredients
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
2 Granny Smith apples
Two 8-ounce cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces citrus-flavored soda, such as Mountain Dew (two-thirds of a 12-ounce can)
Cinnamon, for sprinkling
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch pan.
Peel and core the apples, then cut each into 8 slices. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll piece, then transfer to the prepared pan.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the sugar and barely stir. Add the vanilla and stir slightly, then pour the entire mixture over the apples. Pour the citrus soda around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake until golden brown and crispy on top, about 40 minutes.
Serve, spooning some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.
MILLIONAIRE BARS
This yumminess is from Sarah Brekke at allrecipes, and begins, "These millionaire bars are no-bake chocolate squares featuring crispy cereal, with a salty edge from roasted peanuts, but you could swap in another nut if you prefer."
Prep Time: 20 minutes; Chill Time: 2 hours; Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes; Servings: 36
To view this online, go to https://www.allrecipes.com/millionaire-bars-recipe-11747732.
Ingredients
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound vanilla caramels
2-1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
1 cup chopped salted roasted peanuts
1 (11.5 ounce) package milk chocolate chips
Directions
Line a 9x9-inch square baking pan with foil; grease well. Heat cream and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat until just steaming. Add caramels and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Stir in cereal and peanuts. Working quickly, spread mixture evenly in prepared pan.
Microwave chocolate chips in a bowl on High, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Spread over caramel slab. Chill until set, about 2 hours; bars will keep, refrigerated, for up to 5 days.
KITCHEN SINK COOKIES
This is from Erin Gardner and adapted by Julia Moskin at The New York Times cooking newsletter. For this yumminess, Julia wrote, "These salty-sweet, crisp-soft cookies are a great way to use up extra candy, baking chocolate and even pretzels and chips. Making toffee is surprisingly easy and it's fun to mix in chopped peanuts, sesame seeds or whatever you like — but store-bought toffee bits are fine, too. (And you can make the cookies smaller, or drop the chilled dough onto the cookie sheet instead of slicing it, if you prefer.)"
Total Time: About 1 hour, plus chilling
This was featured in "Why Work When You Can Procrastibake?" and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019313-kitchen-sink-cookies. While you're at it, if you haven't already signed up for The New York Times cooking newsletter, I highly recommend doing so. Great recipes, guides, and more. Go ahead, I'll wait. (Tap, tap, tap...)
Ingredients
For the Toffee (optional)
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup toasted nuts or seeds (optional)
For the Cookies
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt, more for tossing
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1-1/2 sticks), slightly softened at room temperature
1 packed cup light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 3/4 cup salty mix-ins, such as nuts, broken mini pretzels, corn chips or potato chips
About 3/4 cup sweet mix-ins, such as toffee bits (brickle), chocolate chips or chunks, M&M's, cut-up candy bars or dried fruit
Preparation
Make the toffee, if you'd like: Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
In a small saucepan, combine butter, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat and let bubble, whisking occasionally, until light golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes.
Turn off heat and, if using, stir in nuts or seeds. Pour onto the prepared pan and let the mixture run toward the edges. If necessary, use a rubber spatula to spread mixture; it should not be more than 1/4-inch thick. Set aside to harden completely. (If weather is very hot and humid, chill in refrigerator.) Break or chop into small (about 1/2-inch) chunks.
Make the cookies: In a bowl, whisk dry ingredients together. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together at medium speed until fluffy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg, then vanilla. In three batches, add the dry ingredients, mixing to combine each time.
In a bowl, combine the sweet and salty mix-ins and toss them with ½ teaspoon salt. Add mix-ins to dough and stir until evenly distributed.
Roll dough into a log about 2 inches in diameter, wrap and chill at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.
Slice the dough log into approximately 1/2-inch-thick slices and arrange on cookie sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Don’t worry if the slices are slightly broken or misshapen; these cookies should be bumpy and rough.
Bake until golden, about 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. When done, the edges should be just browning and the tops should feel soft. Let cool on the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.
COCOA KRISPIES TREATS
This is from Samantha Seneviratne at New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this yumminess, Samantha wrote, "Rice Krispies treats are a classic dessert for a reason. They’ve got everything: crunch, chew, buttery sweetness and just the right amount of salt. You’ll get extra credit for browning the butter first. What happens if you also stir some cocoa powder into the browned butter before mixing in the rest of the ingredients? The classic transforms into something shiny and new: deeply chocolatey, gooey and even a bit sophisticated. These treats are reminiscent in flavor to hot chocolate, thanks to the cocoa and marshmallows, but you can enjoy them any time of year. For some campfire vibes, stir in about 1/2 cup broken pieces of graham cracker with the crisp rice cereal."
Ready in: 50 minutes; Yield: 9 servings
To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/756831951-cocoa-krispies-treats. While you're at it, if you haven't already subscribed to New York Times cooking enewsletter, I highly recommend doing so. Great recipes, guides, and more.
Ingredients
1/2 cup salted butter, plus more for greasing
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) or 1 teaspoon fine salt
1 (12-ounce) bag marshmallows
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 cups Rice Krispies, or other crisp rice cereal
Preparation
Butter a 9-inch square baking pan.
In a large pot, melt the 1/2 cup butter over medium heat. Cook, stirring often with a rubber spatula, until the milk solids on the bottom of the pan turn golden brown, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cocoa powder and salt until incorporated.
Add the marshmallows and stir until they are about 80 percent melted. Some lumps are OK. Remove the pot from the heat, add the vanilla and cereal and stir the mixture until all the cereal is coated.
Transfer to the prepared pan. Use the spatula to gently spread the mixture out evenly but avoid packing it down. Let cool completely.
Remove from the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 9 even squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
PUMPKIN CHAI LATTE BARS
This is from allrecipes, and begins, "These pumpkin chai latte bars are pumpkin-pie-like bars that sit atop a buttery shortbread crust, and get an extra boost of flavor from Chai tea. These require a good amount of time in the fridge, so plan ahead."
Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes; Chill Time: 4 hours; Total Time: 5 hours 25 minutes; Servings: 12
To view this online, go to https://www.allrecipes.com/pumpkin-chai-latte-bars-recipe-11801788.
Ingredients
1-1/2 cups half and half
3 chai tea bags (such as Twinings® Chai)
Crust
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
Filling
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 large eggs, at room temperature
Directions
Place half-and-half in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until mixture just begins to simmer, 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often. Remove pan from heat and add in chai tea bags. Allow mixture to steep, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line an 8x8-inch square pan with enough parchment paper to have overhang on all sides.
For crust, beat butter, white sugar, vanilla and salt together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth and combined. Add in flour and beat on low speed until mixture comes together to form a soft dough. Press dough firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven and until crust looks just set, 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, for filling, in the same bowl you used for crust (no need to wipe out the bowl), beat together pumpkin, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice with an electric mixer until smooth and combined.
Remove tea bags from half-and-half mixture. Squeeze bags to remove as much moisture from them as possible; then discard tea bags. With the mixer running on low speed, gradually pour half-and-half mixture into pumpkin mixture; beat until all is thoroughly incorporated. Add in eggs and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Once crust has cooled for 5 minutes, pour filling evenly over the top.
Bake in the preheated oven until bars are puffed and there is only a slight jiggle in the center of the filling, 50 to 55 minutes. Allow bars to cool completely to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours to overnight.
Once bars have chilled, lift them out of the pan using the parchment overhang. Cut into 12 bars.
If desired, served topped with a lightly sweetened whipped cream and an extra sprinkle of cinnamon.
SUPER STRAWBERRY FLUFF
This is from Everyday Diabetic Recipes, and begins, "Here's an easy, low-fat, strawberry dessert recipe that'll taste heavenly, but won't cost you any work at all. Our Super Strawberry Fluff combines two of our favorite fruity flavors to create an easy dessert that'll really satisfy your dessert cravings!"
Prep Time: 5 minutes; Serves: 12
To view this online, go to https://www.everydaydiabeticrecipes.com/Misc-Desserts/Super-Strawberry-Fluff.
Ingredients
1 (0.3-ounce) package sugar-free strawberry gelatin mix
1 (1-ounce) package sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup water
1 (8-ounce) container sugar-free frozen whipped topping
2 cups fresh strawberries, cut into quarters
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, well drained
1/4 cup mini marshmallows
Directions
In a large bowl, whisk gelatin mix, pudding mix, and water until smooth and thickened. Stir in whipped topping until thoroughly combined.
Fold in strawberries, pineapple, and marshmallows. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
APPLE DUMPLINGS
This is from Ree Drummond (otherwise known as The Pioneer Woman) on the Food Network.
Active Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 55 minutes; Yield: 4 to 6 servings; Level: Easy
To view this online, go to https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/apple-dumplings-3755854.
Ingredients
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
2 Granny Smith apples
Two 8-ounce cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces citrus-flavored soda, such as Mountain Dew (two-thirds of a 12-ounce can)
Cinnamon, for sprinkling
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch pan.
Peel and core the apples, then cut each into 8 slices. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll piece, then transfer to the prepared pan.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the sugar and barely stir. Add the vanilla and stir slightly, then pour the entire mixture over the apples. Pour the citrus soda around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake until golden brown and crispy on top, about 40 minutes.
Serve, spooning some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.
Comments
Post a Comment