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Dessert Uncategorized

Cherry Cobbler

    Cherry Cobbler
    Cherry Cobbler

    May 17 is National Cherry Cobbler Day! I decided to make an easy cherry cobbler with more than a hint of cinnamon. I prefer the real “biscuity” kind of topping on cobbler, rather than a streusel, or sugar crusted type topping. Using the Stonewall Kitchen Cherry Pie Filling saves one from having to pit the cherries and cook them just right. My easy cobbler recipe takes about 10 minutes to prep and 20 minutes to cook. Done and done!

    icon
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    Cherry Cobbler
     
    Prep time
    Cook time
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    Easy cherry cobbler with a hint of cinnamon
    Author:
    Recipe type: Dessert
    Serves: 6
    Ingredients
    • 4 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
    • 2 Tbsp sugar
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • ½ tsp baking soda
    • ½ tsp cinnamon
    • ½ tsp salt
    • 1 cup whole milk
    • 29 oz Jar of Cherry Pie Filling
    Instructions
    1. Preheat oven to 425˚F.
    2. Add pie filling to a 9 x 12 casserole dish. While preparing the batter, put the dish in the oven for about 10 minutes so that the fruit has a chance to warm up.
    3. Meanwhile, in a standup mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar until fluffy.
    4. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture and mix in the mixer until a crumbly dough starts to form. Don't over mix.
    5. Add the milk and stir with a spoon until mixture is a smooth batter. Again be careful not to overmix it.
    6. Remove casserole dish from the oven and spread batter over the top, trying to reach all of the corners.
    7. Bake at 425˚F for 15-20 minutes or until biscuit topping is golden brown. The cinnamon in the mixture will make it appear more brown than a normal biscuit.
    8. Serve with vanilla ice cream or just on its own. Best when served warm.
      Categories
      Dessert

      Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

        Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
        Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

        May 15 is National Chocolate Chip Day. What better way to celebrate than to enjoy classic drop chocolate chip cookies with a peanut butter twist.

        Tips and tricks for getting great chocolate chip cookies
        1) Make them large. When they are large, the edge can be crispy while the center is still soft. That’s how I like them.
        2) Don’t forget the vanilla. It seems like an ingredient of little importance, but vanilla adds depth to chocolate chip cookies (peanut butter otherwise) and without it, they seem flat
        3) Don’t open the oven door while they’re cooking, but check on them through the window. You don’t want the temperature in the oven to drop, but near the end, you’ve got to watch so that they don’t over-brown.
        4) For these cookies: Creamy peanut butter or chunky peanut butter. It’s up to you!
        5) Use big, disc-shaped chocolate chips, like the ones made by Ghiradelli:

         

        Remember that 80’s commercial for Reese’s Peanut Butter cups?

         

         

        4.5 from 2 reviews
        Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
         
        Prep time
        Cook time
        Total time
         
        Hey, you got your chocolate in my peanut butter!
        Author:
        Recipe type: Dessert
        Serves: 24
        Ingredients
        • ½ pound (2 sticks) butter, softened
        • ¾ cup white sugar
        • ¾ cup dark brown sugar
        • ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
        • 2 large eggs
        • 2 cups all-purpose flour
        • ½ tsp baking soda
        • ½ tsp salt
        • 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
        • 2 tsp vanilla extract
        • ½ cup roasted, salted peanuts crushed
        Instructions
        1. Preheat the oven to 375˚F
        2. In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add peanut butter and beat until fully incorporated.
        3. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until each is well blended.
        4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients in 3 batches, mixing with a spoon until fully incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips and vanilla.
        5. Drop in large tablespoons onto a cookie sheet. I was able to fit about 8 cookies on each cookie sheet.
        6. Spoon a little bit of the crushed nuts onto the top of each cookies and press gently with your fingers.
        7. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Watch closely near the end. The edges should just be browning and the middle will appear a little soft.
        8. Remove and let cool for a couple of minutes before transferring to a plate or cooling rack.
        Notes
        Makes 4 batches of 8 cookies. Takes 40 minutes if you cook the batches one after the other.

         

        Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
        Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
          Categories
          Dessert Uncategorized

          Black Cherry Chocolate Parfait

            Black Cherry Chocolate Parfait

            It’s National Chocolate Parfait Day, so I was inspired to run to the grocery store and whip up a parfait. My goal was to make some delicious and fast. So I opted for instant pudding today, but when I have more time, I’ll go for the home-made version. I did make my own whipped cream, because although most people don’t realize it, making real whipped cream is just about as fast as pulling the canned stuff out of the fridge.

            I do have this great tool that enables me to whip with little effort and no noise. It’s a rotary egg beater and they have them on Amazon:

            I used the rotary egg beater to whip up the instant pudding and during the 2 minutes that was chilling in the refrigerator I used it to whip up the whipped cream. Done and done.

            Now for the layering. I love the flavors of chocolate and cherry together, so I used this lovely Black Cherry jam as one of the layers. It’s difficult to see in the photograph, but it’s lodged between the chocolate pudding and the whipped cream. It’s also available on Amazon if you can’t find it in your local grocery store:

            5.0 from 1 reviews
            Black Cherry Chocolate Parfait
             
            Prep time
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            Total time
             
            Chocolate pudding, cherry jam and real whipped cream come together for a National Chocolate Parfait Day treat.
            Author:
            Recipe type: Dessert
            Serves: 6
            Ingredients
            • 1 package Jell-O instant chocolate pudding
            • 2 cups milk (I use 2%)
            • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
            • 1 Tbsp confectioner's sugar
            • 1 tsp vanilla
            • 6 Tbsp Black Cherry Jam
            Instructions
            1. Using a rotary egg beater (or a whisk), beat the instant pudding mix and milk together for 2 minutes. Let chill and set in the refrigerator for 5 minutes.
            2. While the pudding is setting, use a rotary egg beater to beat together the cream, sugar and vanilla. It takes about 3-4 minutes to get nice peaks to form.
            3. Spoon pudding into the bottom of a champagne flute or other tall, narrow glass. Wipe rim with a paper towel to remove chocolate smudges. Spoon in a tablespoon of the jam into each flute, then top with whipped cream and garnish with a chocolate chip or a cherry or anything you like!
            4. Either eat immediately or chill for later.
              Categories
              Dessert Uncategorized

              Oatmeal Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

                Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies
                Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

                Today is National Oatmeal Cookie Day, so I thought it would be perfect to celebrate with these fudgy, chocolate, peanut butter oatmeal cookies that can be made with ingredients typically found in your pantry and cooked (from start to finish) in about 10 minutes. This video below, from the Food Network doesn’t demonstrate the proper technique for making these cookies at all. It’s funny to watch if you know how they’re really made. Read on for the proper technique!

                I first learned this recipe in my 7th grade home economics class at Wicomico Junior High School in Maryland in 1983. I remember distinctly our teacher stressing two important factors in the preparation of these cookies. First, you must boil the mixture for exactly one minute. If you boil it for under a minute, the cookies won’t harden. If you boil it for longer than a minute, they will come out dry.

                Well, to boil something for exactly one minute requires that you know exactly when to start counting. You need to know what “boiling” looks like. Is it when the bubbles to start to appear around the edge the pan? No. In this case, boiling means that there are bubbles all the way across the surface. Start your stopwatch then.

                Once it’s boiled for one minute, then you add the oats, peanut butter and vanilla. It’s important to work quickly, because as it cools, it starts to harden into fudge and you want to have all of your spoonfuls onto the wax paper before it gets too hard.

                4.6 from 18 reviews
                Oatmeal Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies
                 
                Prep time
                Cook time
                Total time
                 
                No bake cookies!
                Author:
                Recipe type: Dessert
                Serves: 12
                Ingredients
                • 2 cups granulated white sugar
                • 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
                • 1 stick butter
                • ½ cup milk (you can use evaporated milk)
                • ½ cup creamy peanut butter
                • 1 teaspoon vanilla
                • 3 cups Old Fashioned Quaker Oats
                Instructions
                1. In a medium saucepan stir add the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Over medium-high heat, bring it to a boil, stirring to help the butter melt. Boiling means that there are bubbles all the way across the top of the liquid. Start your stopwatch now and boil it for exactly 1 minute. Remove from heat and quickly add the peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal and stir to combine.
                2. Working quickly, drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a sheet of waxed paper. They will cool and harden within a few minutes. Voila. You're done!
                Notes
                You need wax paper!

                 

                  Categories
                  Dessert Uncategorized Video How-to

                  Pumpkin Ricotta Cheesecake for an Elegant Thanksgiving Dinner Finale

                    Pumpkin Ricotta Cheesecake
                    Pumpkin Ricotta Cheesecake

                    Looking for an elegant alternative to pumpkin pie? Want to enjoy the holidays without ruining your waistline? I have the recipe for you and a book to recommend. Marisa Churchill, a contestant on Season 2 of Top Chef and San Francisco resident, has recently published an inspired collection of low calorie desserts, called, Sweet & Skinny: 100 Recipes for Enjoying Life’s Sweeter Side Without Tipping the Scales.
                    Click on the book to purchase it at Amazon.com.

                    I recently spent an evening with her since we share a mutual friend, and she told me that the Pumpkin Ricotta Cheesecake in the book is one of her favorites, so I made it for my annual Halloween Dinner Party (more recipes to follow from that event). It was divine. The flavor of the cheesecake is subtle and sophisticated. It’s not too sweet, but it still retains the yummy flavors reminiscent of your favorite pumpkin desserts.

                    Marisa Churchill

                    The book is full of fabulous recipes and Marisa really takes the time to explain the techniques. She provides sugar-free alternatives for each dessert as well as all of the nutritional information you need to stay on track (calories, grams of fat, etc.) and stay healthy. Get this book in time for the holidays! There are lots of cookie recipes to satisfy all of your Christmas cookie-baking needs!

                    Click here to Follow Marisa on Twitter.

                    Like Marisa Churchill’s page on facebook.

                    Pumpkin Ricotta Cheesecake
                    Serves 12
                    From the book, Sweet & Skinny: 100 Recipes for Enjoying Life’s Sweeter Side Without Tipping the Scales

                    Ingredients

                    For the Crust
                    Nonstick pan spray
                    6 oz honey graham crackers (about 10 cookie sheets)
                    2 Tbsp 1% or 2% milk

                    For the Cheesecake
                    8 oz (1 cup) reduced-fat Kraft cream cheese
                    1 cup sugar
                    1/3 cup nonfat sour cream, at room temperature
                    2 large eggs, at room temperature
                    2 egg whites from large eggs, at room temperature
                    1 tsp pure vanilla extract
                    2/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
                    1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
                    1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
                    1/4 tsp ground ginger
                    1/4 tsp salt
                    1/8 tsp ground cloves
                    1 cup plus 2 Tbsp reduced-fat ricotta cheese
                    2 Tbsp large pecan pieces, toasted for garnish (I used hazelnuts)
                    2 Tbsp pomegranate seeds for garnish

                    Method

                    For the crust

                    1. Coat 9-inch springform pan with pan spray. Break up the graham crackers and process them in a food processor until they are reduced to very fine crumbs. Add the milk and process for 30 seconds, or until the crumbs hold together when you squeeze them in your fist.

                    2. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Press the crumbs firmly over the bottom and slightly up the sides of the pan, using your finger-tips to compress them.

                    For the cheesecake

                    1. Preheat the oven to 325˚F with a rack in the lower third of the oven.

                    2. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until it is completely smooth and well blended. (If using a standing mixer, use the paddle attachment). Add the sour cream, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla; mix for 2 to 3 minutes longer to blend well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, and cloves and mix for 1 minute longer. Add the ricotta and mix just until it is incorporated.

                    3. Pour the batter over the crust and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the cheesecake jiggles only slightly in the center when you gently shake the pan. (If the cheesecake browns too quickly or begins to crack, tent a piece of aluminum foil over the top, without touching the filling, for the remaining baking time).

                    4. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let it cool for 1 hour. Then run a knife around the edge of the pan if needed to loosen the cheesecake, remove the outer pan ring, and transfer the cake, on its base, to a serving plate. Cover the cake loosely with plastic film and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.

                    To serve: Cut the cheesecake into 12 wedges, and garnish them with the toasted pecans and pomegranate seeds.

                    Refrigerate any leftover cheesecake, tightly covered, for up to 3 days.

                    Nutritional Information:
                    Calories per serving: 221
                    Grams of fat: 9.5g

                    Watch Marisa whip up a Chocolate Mousse with Olive and Sea Salt:

                      Categories
                      Breads Breakfast/Brunch Dessert Pumpkin Uncategorized

                      The Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

                        [pinterest]

                        Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
                        Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

                        There’s nothing likely whipping up a little quick bread (muffin, cupcake, bread, whatever) to satisfy the baking need. Mix the wet ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients. Put them together without overmixing, bake and voila! A sweet, sumptuous little treat in no time.

                        October = pumpkin for me, in case you didn’t know. Psst. There are like 40 pumpkin recipes in this blog. I’ve done pumpkin-chocolate chip cookies before, but never pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (or cupcakes as the case may be). Some people love the combo, and I am one of them. These are equally good with or without the icing, I think. So if you can’t be bothered with the icing, don’t be!

                        Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

                         

                        The Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
                         
                        Prep time
                        Cook time
                        Total time
                         
                        Yummy pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes - perfect for a Halloween party.
                        Author:
                        Recipe type: Dessert
                        Serves: 18-20
                        Ingredients
                        • 4 eggs
                        • 1½ cups granulated sugar
                        • ½ cup light brown sugar
                        • 2 cups canned pure pumpkin
                        • 1 tsp vanilla extract
                        • 1 cup vegetable oil
                        • 3 cups all-purpose flour
                        • 2 tsp baking soda
                        • 2 tsp baking powder
                        • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
                        • ½ tsp ground nutmeg
                        • pinch ground cloves
                        • 1 tsp salt
                        • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
                        • For the frosting:
                        • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
                        • ¼ cup butter, softened
                        • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
                        • 2 cups confectioners' sugar
                        Instructions
                        1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Prepare muffin tins by either spraying them with cooking spray or lining them with paper liners.
                        2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, white sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil. Set aside.
                        3. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
                        4. In three batches, add the flour to the wet ingredients and stir to incorporate. Don't overmix, but incorporate thoroughly.
                        5. Fold in the chocolate chips. Fill muffin cups at least ¾ of the way full. I like to create a big muffin top, so I fill them almost all the way.
                        6. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown on top and a knife inserted comes out clean. If you have to have two layers of tins in your oven, rotate them halfway through the cooking time for even baking.
                        7. To make the icing:
                        8. While the muffins are baking, you can make the icing. With an electric hand mixer, cream together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and confectioner's sugar until completely smooth, Allow to chill if need be.
                        9. To ice the cupcakes:
                        10. Once the cupcakes come out of the oven, they will need to cool before you can ice them. Once they are cooled, you can fill a pastry bag with your icing and pipe it out into large concentric circles.

                         

                        Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
                          Categories
                          Dessert Produce Uncategorized Vegetarian

                          Blueberry Cobbler: Fast, Fresh and Easy

                            Blueberry Cobbler
                            Blueberry Cobbler

                            Blueberries are in season and therefore, they’re on sale at Trader Joe’s for just $6.99 for a 2 lb basket. Time for cobbler when that happens.

                            I wanted to see if I could toss a bunch of fresh blueberries into pie plate with as few other ingredients as possible and come out with a tasty cobbler half an hour later. The answer is yes. Yes I can.

                            I use less sugar and butter in this recipe than most recipes out there, because I know that these berries can stand on their own. And I don’t stew them first, because I want them to maintain their structure. You can see in the photograph that the berries are still berries. That’s just how I like it.

                            See if you like it too. Subtract some berries and add peaches if you’ve got those lying around too.

                            Blueberry Cobbler: Fast, Fresh and Easy
                            Serves up to 9

                            Ingredients

                            2 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix
                            2/3 cup reduced fat milk
                            4ish cups fresh blueberries
                            1/4 cup of sugar
                            2 Tbsp butter, cut into little pieces

                            Method

                            1. Preheat oven to 400˚F.

                            2. Put 3.5 – 4 cups of blueberries in a pie plate. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar (or a little more to taste) over the berries. Sprinkle the slices of butter around, evenly, on top of the berries.

                            3. If the oven is ready, put the pie plate with just the blueberry mixture into the over for 10 minutes to get the mixture heated through.

                            4. While berries are heating, mix together the Bisquick and the milk and stir until dough forms. Let sit for remaining time. (No kneading, no rolling – these will be like drop biscuits on top).

                            5. Remove berries from the oven at the end of 10 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 425˚F. Drop the biscuit dough on top of the blueberries, trying to drop 8 dollups in a circle plus one in the middle. Bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.

                            Serve immediately, if possible. Also sits well in the oven at low temperature. Cobbler is great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream too!

                            Blueberry Cobbler
                            Blueberry Cobbler w/Bisquick Biscuits
                            Home page basic 300 x 250
                              Categories
                              Dessert

                              Sharffen Berger Fudgy Brownies

                                Sharffen Berger Fudgy Brownies
                                Sharffen Berger Fudgy Brownies

                                You know, chocolate is a funny thing. It comes in so many flavors and textures and each person knows just how they like it. Me? I like rich, dark chocolate. Sharffen Berger gets my kind of chocolate just right. So I was lucky when the company just happened to sponsor a Food Blogging conference I attended and the goodie bag we got was filled with lots of Sharffen Berger baking chocolate. Like the 70% cacao bittersweet chocolate, which is the basis for these fudgy brownies. This recipe comes directly from the source. Sharffen Berger publishes this and lots of other recipes on their site. These are definitely the fudgiest, most decadent brownies I’ve ever had. Enjoy!

                                Sharffen Berger 70% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate
                                Sharffen Berger 70% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate

                                Sharffen Berger Fudgy Brownies
                                Makes 9 two-inch square brownies
                                Ingredients

                                6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus more for the pan
                                8 ounces SCHARFFEN BERGER 70% bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
                                3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
                                1/4 teaspoon salt
                                2 large eggs
                                1/3 cup all-purpose flour

                                Method

                                1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Cut an 8 by 16-inch piece of parchment paper. Lightly butter an 8 by 8 by 2-inch pan and line it with the parchment, allowing it to extend evenly over the opposite sides. Butter the parchment including the paper on the sides of the pan.

                                2. Place the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water and stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat.

                                3. With a large rubber spatula or wooden spoon, beat the sugar and salt into the chocolate mixture. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the flour and mix vigorously until the batter is very glossy and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

                                4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and tap the pan bottom on the countertop to level the batter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a skewer in the center comes out moist but clean.

                                Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Remove the brownies from the pan using the parchment “handles,” and cool completely on the rack before cutting into 2-inch squares.

                                  Categories
                                  Dessert Pumpkin Uncategorized

                                  Cardamom Spiced Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

                                    Cardamom Spiced Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

                                    Pumpkin is kind of a thing around here if you haven’t already noticed. What better way to put canned pumpkin to good use than to make it into ice cream? Well, making it into sorbet maybe if you’re vegan or lactose-intolerant. I’ll have to try that next, but for now, I just couldn’t resist making a full-throttle, (read full-fat) ice cream.

                                    Hey, do you know about Cardamom? It’s a Indian spice with an aromatic flavor. It’s a truly unique taste. You can buy it in pods, which keep longer, or you can buy it already ground. I used the ground version in this recipe for simplicity’s sake. It’s on the pricy side (actually, it’s the most expensive spice on the market, even more than Saffron. Isn’t that cool)? It can be left out, but if you want to try something new, you can also use it in this recipe for Pumpkin Cardamom Crackle Custard and in lots of Indian dishes.

                                    This is kind of a 2-day process unless you start early in the morning, so be prepared to wait to sink your teeth (ouch)! into this ice cream.

                                    Custard in the Ice Cream Maker
                                    Starting to freeze
                                    Ice cream churning

                                    [print_this]Cardamom Spiced Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
                                    Serves 8? or 2
                                    This recipe was inspired by David Lebovitz’s Pumpkin Ice Cream post, but then I kind of changed it. He adapted a recipe from the book The Craft of Baking: Cakes, Cookies, and Other Sweets with Ideas for Inventing Your Own by Karen DeMasco & Mindy Fox.

                                    Ingredients

                                    5 egg yolks (large eggs)
                                    2 cups heavy whipping cream
                                    1/2 cup 1% milk (it’s what I had)
                                    1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsb granulated sugar (the white kind)
                                    1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
                                    1/4 tsp ground ginger
                                    1/2 tsp ground cardamom
                                    1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg (I like nutmeg. You could cut back on this)
                                    1 whole cinnamon stick
                                    1/4 tsp salt
                                    1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
                                    1 tsp pure vanilla extract
                                    1 cup pumpkin purée

                                    Method

                                    1. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks and set aside.

                                    2. Make an ice bath (ice and water in a big bowl) and place another bowl in it.

                                    2. In a medium sauce pan, mix together the heavy whipping cream, milk, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon stick, and salt. Gently heat until the edges are bubbling. Add about half of the liquid to the egg yolks, stirring constantly. Pour that mixture in a steady stream (stirring all the time) back into the saucepan. Continue heating and stirring until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spatula. If you have a thermometer, the temperature of the liquid should be about 160˚F – 170˚F. Pour mixture through a fine strainer into the bowl nestled in the ice bath. Add the brown sugar and stir to mix and dissolve. Allow to cool and then cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Chill the canned pumpkin too while you’re at it. Make sure that the bowl of your ice cream maker freezes overnight too.

                                    3. Mix together the chilled custard, the pumpkin and the vanilla. At this point, you could press the mixture through a fine-meshed strainer (David Lebovitz did), but I skipped that step to see if I could and it came out great. Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and run for about 25 minutes or until ice cream stops looking like a custard and starts looking like ice cream. Remove immediately to a storage container and continue to freeze in the freezer.[/print_this]

                                    Cardamom Spiced Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
                                      Categories
                                      Dessert Produce Uncategorized Video How-to

                                      Strawberry Sorbet

                                        Strawberry Sorbet

                                        It’s day six of my blogging event: “How to host an elegant, flavorful, vegan, gluten-free dinner party” in which I feature recipes created by the wonderful Viviane Bauquet Farre of food and style. With husband and friends avoiding meat, dairy and gluten, I knew I needed to turn to my friend Viviane if I was going to pull off an elegant birthday celebration. Not all of her recipes are vegan or gluten-free, but she consistently uses fresh, seasonal produce to create inspiring, yet simple dishes. Today’s installment features the final course: dessert.

                                        Strawberries are in season again in California so I was able to purchase an entire flat of strawberries at the Mill Valley Farmer’s Market for $20 bucks. That’s 12 pints, people. Love it. So I made strawberry sorbet, strawberry ice cream, strawberry sandwiches, you name it.

                                        Strawberries

                                        To make the sorbet, I had to take a plunge I’ve been contemplating for years. I bought a Cuisinart ice cream machine.

                                        I’ll be able to make sorbet, ice cream, frozen yogurt and other frozen desserts (remember sherbet)? This is going to yield fun all summer long. And I can’t wait to make pumpkin pie ice cream next fall.

                                        But back to the sorbet.

                                        I learned a few things about my new ice cream maker. The insulated “chilling chamber” needs to be in the freezer overnight before using it. The model I purchased (click on the photo above) came with two chilling chambers and at first I thought, “What do I need two for?” Well, as it turns out, it’s helpful to have two because if you use one to make ice cream, then it’s at least a day before you can use it again. Even still, I thought, when am I going to need to make more than one batch of ice cream in a 24-hour period? Well, for the dinner party (12 guests), I felt compelled to make two batches and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the extra chilling chamber.

                                        Viviane demonstrates how to make the sorbet in this video. She uses a food processor to purée her strawberries, but I did it in a blender.

                                        I held off on adding Grand Marnier. The flavor of the strawberries jumped out of the dish all by themselves. The maple syrup made it just sweet enough. I served mine with a little piece of dark Sharfenberger chocolate: the perfect complement.

                                        Strawberry Sorbet with Grand Marnier
                                        A recipe by Viviane Bauquet Farre of food and style
                                        Reprinted with permission
                                        See her original post here.

                                        makes 3 to 3 1/2 cups

                                        Ingredients

                                        1 1/2 lbs ripe strawberries – washed and hulled
                                        1 tablespoon lemon juice
                                        1/4 cup Grand Marnier
                                        2/3 cup maple syrup (grade A or B)
                                        Mint leaves as garnish

                                        Method

                                        1. Place the strawberries, lemon juice, Grand Marnier (optional) and maple syrup in the bowl of a food processor (I used a blender). Process at high speed with a steel blade until ingredients are very smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about 2 hours to overnight in the refrigerator or 45 minutes in the freezer.

                                        2. Pour the chilled strawberry purée into the ice-cream maker and freeze according to the instructions of your ice-cream machine.

                                        3. Scoop sorbet in glass bowls or cocktail glasses and top with fresh mint leaf. Serve immediately. (Or put in an airtight container and store in the freezer. You may need to allow the sorbet to soften for about 10 minutes for trying to scoop it and serve).

                                        Strawberry Sorbet
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