Frozen Desserts: Part 3

And now, on to the fun stuff.

I can't very well go ahead and do a frozen dessert series and not include ice cream cones, now can I? What is more fun than eating an ice cream cone? Do you remember the Drumstick ice cream cones you ate as a kid (and maybe still do)? Well, these are like those - a sugar cone lined with chocolate, filled with ice cream, dipped in chocolate again and rolled in nuts. But these are much better because by making them yourself you can use good quality chocolate and ice cream. And did I mention the flavor combinations are endless?

I'm going to give you the basic recipe, adapted from Bon Appetit, and then you can make it your own.

Chocolate Dipped Ice Cream Cones

9 standard sugar cones
12 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
1/3 cup coconut oil
3 pints ice cream, flavor of your choice
Toasted nuts of your choice, optional

Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a bowl set over simmering water. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile take out 9 cups to hold the cones. Bunch up some strips of foil into a ring shape and fit into each glass. This will help hold the cone upright after you dip it.

Holding one cone at a time over the bowl of chocolate, pour about a quarter cup of the chocolate into the cone. Swirl to coat the entire inside of the cone, then let the excess drip back into the bowl. Then dip the top half-inch of the cone into the chocolate and let the excess drip back in again. Place the cone back in the foil ring in its cup and place in the freezer for 15 minutes. 

Working one cone at a time pack some ice cream into the cone, then top with a small scoop of ice cream. Place the cone back in the foil ring in its cup, then freeze one hour.

Rewarm the chocolate mixture if it's gotten hard again. Set out toasted nuts in shallow bowls. Again, working one cone at at time dip the ice cream into the chocolate mixture rolling to coat. Immediately roll in nuts, if using, before returning to it to it's cup and placing in the freezer for another hour.

Makes 9 cones. 

Note: You can make up to one week ahead. Once the cones are finished and completely frozen, wrap each in foil and stack them on a platter in the freezer.

Vanilla ice cream with almonds, dulce de leche ice cream with cashews, and
chocolate ice cream with toasted coconut and pecans.

Frozen Desserts: Part 2

Banana Ice Cream. It's rich. It's creamy. And it happens to be vegan.

But, don't let that detour you. I think I made it pretty clear in my last post that I am an unabashed ice cream lover. Ice cream that's skimping on flavor and texture just won't cut it for me. But this banana ice cream fulfills all my requirements. It is the texture of soft serve ice cream with hints of vanilla and a bit of extra sweetness from the maple syrup. It's good on it's own, but it's absolutely delicious with the sweet and salty almond topping. If you don't believe me, then you can trust Roy - a man who would probably never intentionally choose something vegan off of a menu. He had it the other day, and mentioned three separate times throughout the evening how much he liked it. If you don't believe either of us, then you can trust Miles who said "Mom, this ice cream really yummy!" when he tasted it.

So, thanks to Gwyneth Paltrow and her new book It's All Good where I got the recipe. I'm loving this book as it's filled with light and healthy recipes that I can make all the time. Like the banana ice cream. Seriously, I make it all the time now.

Banana Ice Cream with Sweet and Salty Roasted Almonds

Almonds:
½ cup finely chopped toasted almonds
4 teaspoons real maple syrup
Big pinch flaked sea salt, such as Maldon

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside while you make the banana ice cream.

Banana Ice Cream:
4 ripe bananas sliced into thin rounds, frozen (see note)
½ cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tablespoons real maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place all ingredients in food processor and pulse until the mixture is the consistency of soft-serve ice cream, scraping the sides as necessary. Don't worry if it's not totally smooth at first; the heat from blade of the food processor will defrost the bananas slightly and an ice cream texture will take shape.  Serve immediately with almond mixture sprinkled over the top.

Serves 4.

Note: After thinly slicing the bananas into rounds, place in single layer (as best you can) in a large zip-top bag. Place in the freezer for at least several hours. Then proceed with the recipe. Now that I make this recipe regularly, I like to keep bags of frozen bananas in the freezer, so I can make it whenever I want. 

Frozen Desserts: Part 1

There was a bit of an ice cream issue when I was a kid. Well, actually, even until I was in high school. The thing is our family would fight over ice cream. Once the ice cream carton had run out we'd start blaming each other for taking more than their fare share. Hmm, maybe we had too much time on our hands.

My mom got so sick of us fighting over it that she literally got out five plastic containers, wrote each of our names on them in permanent marker, and starting dividing the ice cream evenly between each member of our family. So, every time she bought ice cream it would be divided between the containers before it even went into the freezer. Then we each had to monitor our own ice cream consumption. Once the ice cream in our container was gone, we'd have to wait until she bought more and refilled it to have it again.

You might have thought that this would have solved the problem, but I remember once accusing my sister of stealing mine. I'd waited all week to eat my ice cream and when I opened the container it was half gone. I rounded up both of my sisters and interrogated them until I figured out that it was the youngest one who'd taken the ice cream. On the verge of tears, she said that she'd meant to trade the flavor in her container with the flavor in mine and didn't know what had happened. I said, "I'll tell you what happened, you stole my ice cream." And I was mad at her the rest of the day.

Recalling this story makes me happy that I don't have a bunch of teenage girls. Also, sorry Em for being so ridiculous. We all laugh about the ice cream dividing today. And now as adults, we pretty much only eat ice cream out or bring it into the house for special occasions. I suppose it's best to not bring in something that has the power to tear me, and Roy and Miles apart.

Because of my extreme love for ice cream and really all frozen desserts, I decided that I'd do a whole series dedicated to some of my favorites this summer. Don't worry, most of the treats that I'll post will not require an ice cream maker and for the most part they will be simple. So, to kick off the series, here is an easy yet indulgent treat. It's an amazing and quick chocolate peanut butter sauce from Nigella Lawson.

Ice Cream Sundaes with Chocolate Peanut Butter Sauce

4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (do not use natural peanut butter here)
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
Vanilla or chocolate ice cream (or both), or flavor of your choice
Chopped salted peanuts

In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the milk chocolate, peanut butter, heavy cream, and corn syrup until smooth. It will take just a few minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly while you scoop the ice cream. Place 2 scoops of ice cream in a bowl, drizzle desired amount of sauce over, and top with peanuts. Repeat for remaining guests. Serve immediately.

Makes enough sauce to serve 4 - 6 people generously.

Note: You can make the sauce a few days ahead and keep in a glass container in the refrigerator. Reheat in microwave until warm and smooth again.

The Birthday Boy

Miles is two!

His birthday was last week, and I'm still feeling a little bit shocked by the fact that I have a two year old. Time goes by really fast and I've enjoyed this past year with him so much. He continues to get more and more fun so I'm sure age two will have even more funny moments.

Like when I took him for his two year check up, and the doctor asked, "Do you like Snoopy?" because he was wearing a Charlie Brown shirt. Miles enthusiastically replied, "I LOVE Snoopy!"

Or when we read his Spaceships book and he says "fuel tank!" and "rocket booster!" as we look at the pictures. Is it obvious that he has an aerospace engineer for a dad and rockets all over his room?

Or when we're driving in the car and he sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. For some reason he tries to sing it as fast as he can over and over, so it comes out as "TwinkleStarHowYouAreLikeDiamondSkyTwinkleStar!"

Since Miles is no longer allergic to anything I let him look through my Flour cookbook and pick out the cake he wanted me to make. He chose the yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Okay, I may have steered him toward that one, but he was very excited about it.

I'm not going to post that recipe here. But, I did make cupcakes to celebrate with our Bible study later that week. I made chocolate cupcakes and decorated half with vanilla frosting and raspberries and the other half with the chocolate-hazelnut frosting that I've been promising you since last year. So, finally, here is that recipe.

 Chocolate-Hazelnut Frosting

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (such as Nutella)
Pinch of salt

Mix butter in bowl of stand or hand-held mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds until smooth. Add powdered sugar and cocoa and mix on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Add vanilla, chocolate-hazelnut spread and salt and mix on medium-high until light and fluffy about 4 minutes more.

Makes enough to decoratively pipe 12-14 cupcakes.

Play Time

A few months ago I started making play dough for Miles. We were bored one afternoon, so after a quick internet search and a few minutes of stirring ingredients in a pot, we were rolling snakes, making snowmen and pressing it into car shapes. Since that day Miles asks to play with the dough, or "colors" as he calls it everyday. Now he's advanced. He likes to use my cookie cutters to make star cookies. Stars are also very popular in our house right now.

This morning Miles wanted his play dough right after breakfast. 

Play dough sometimes makes a nice hat.

Or you can even stick it to your cheek if you're in that kind of mood. 

Play Dough

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
Food coloring

Mix together the flour, water, salt, oil, and cream of tartar in a medium saucepan. Place over low heat and stir with a wooden spoon until dough forms a ball and stops sticking to the pan. This will take a few minutes. Let cool in pan 1 minute. Then place the dough on counter or cutting board. Apply several drops of food coloring to the dough and knead it in with your hands (be careful as it will still be warm when you first start to knead it). Add more food coloring and continue to knead until you get the desired color.

Store in a plastic bag for several months, or until your little one has pressed too many pieces of dirt, lint, food, etc into it and you decide it's time for a a fresh batch.

Strawberry Jam

Homemade jam is really quite easy. Throw some fruit, sugar and lemon juice into a pot and boil for a while until jam-like. You're done. And you end up with a jam that tastes like fresh, sweet fruit reminiscent of the season in which it was picked.

I stared making jam a few years ago. Before that I had always thought that making jam would be a daunting and time-consuming process. Fortunately, there are two ways to get around that:

First, you don't need to use pectin, the powdered gelling agent, to thicken your jam. Your grandma probably didn't use pectin. Fruit, plus lemon juice, plus sugar, and a long enough boil is all you need to make jam. Using pectin is totally fine (and in fact my brother-in-law made a great strawberry jam last summer using pectin), and doing so will give you a more firm consistency like the jam you buy from the store. But, I like to take a more simple route and just throw the fruit into the pot and get a softly-set jam that is great for spreading on toast, scones or even stealing a spoonful straight from the jar.

Second, canning a big batch of jam is a great way to enjoy your fruit all year long. Most summers I buy big batches of fruit and do just that. But, for a small batch of jam this really isn't necessary.  It can last for several weeks in the fridge, so you can save yourself all the time of the boiling jars, and just and chill it there. I like to store it in 1/2 pint mason jars, but any glass container will work.

Easy Strawberry Jam

3 pounds strawberries, washed, hulled and halved
2½ cups sugar
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Mix all ingredients in a heavy medium pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 90 minutes.

Ladle jam into jars, cover with lids, and screw on bands gently. Allow to cool to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator.

Makes approximately 3½ cups.

Notes: You can purchase with mason jars with the lids and rings at most major grocery stores.  You'll need four half-pint jars to store this jam. Even though you are not preserving this jam I still like to run the jars, lids and rings through the hottest setting on my dishwasher to sterilize them. Store for 2-4 weeks in the refrigerator. 

Here's a bonus recipe. Strawberries generally pair well with basil. And black pepper. And goat cheese. So, I like to combine all three, spread them on toast and top with the jam. It's a yummy and hearty breakfast.

Toast with Basil-Black Pepper-Goat Cheese and Strawberry Jam 

2 ounces goat cheese, softened
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon freshly chopped basil
1 grind black pepper
1 piece of whole-grain bread
Strawberry jam

Toast the bread. While the bread is toasting mash together the goat cheese, milk, basil, and black pepper in a small bowl with a fork. Spread goat cheese mixture on toast. Spread strawberry jam on top.

Serves 1.

Brownies

Confession: I usually make brownies from a box. Gasp! I know, you think I make everything from scratch and that's mostly true. But the thing is, I actually like brownies from a box better than homemade. I've tried to make brownies from scratch several times because I really want to find THE perfect brownie recipe, but each time I'm disappointed. They come out a little cakey and definitely not chewy enough for me.

Luckily, America's Test Kitchen solved this dilemma for me. (note: I learn so much from that show. You should watch it on your local PBS station if you don't already). They did a show about chocolate a couple of years ago and it featured a chewy brownie recipe. They explained why homemade brownies are not chewy but boxed brownies are. It has to do with the amount of saturated vs unsaturated fat in a brownie. If you've ever made a homemade brownie, you probably used butter (a saturated fat), but if you've made a box brownie you know you use oil (unsaturated). A higher ratio of unsaturated fat is what produces a chewy brownie. You can read more about it here.

So, since watching the show I now use their recipe every time I bake brownies. Whew! Now, I can really say that I do bake everything from scratch. The great thing about this recipe is that it's almost as easy as using a brownie mix. There is no mixer required and it's made in only one bowl.

Well, make that two bowls, if you choose to add this decadent peanut butter filling (and you should). To make the ultimate brownie, I like to add a peanut butter filling that I've been using for a while from Martha Stewart.

The nice part about the recipe I have below is that you can make it as is for the best peanut butter brownies, or you can omit the peanut butter filling and just make the rest of the recipe and you'll have the best chocolate brownies (you may need to reduce baking time by a few minutes). Or, if you are pressed for time, there's no shame in using a boxed brownie mix. Just whip up the peanut butter filling and swirl it into the batter as I've stated below and people will still be thanking you for the great brownies. I like to use Ghirardelli brownie mix as I think it has better chocolate flavor than other grocery store brands.

Peanut Butter Brownies

Brownie Batter
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ teaspoons instant espresso powder
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2½ cups sugar
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, or bittersweet chocolate cut into ½" pieces

Peanut Butter Filling
6 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter (do not use natural peanut butter)
¾ cup confectioners' sugar
¾ teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt

Adjust rack to lowest position in oven and heat to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 inch metal baking pan with foil leaving an overhang on all sides (this will help you remove the brownies from the pan later). Spray foil liberally with cooking spray.

Make brownie batter: Whisk cocoa, espresso powder and boiling water together in a large bowl until smooth. Add unsweetened chocolate and whisk until melted. Whisk in butter and oil (it's okay if the mixture looks curdled). Whisk in eggs, yolks and vanilla until smooth. Whisk in sugar until incorporated. Whisk in salt. Fold in flour with rubber spatula until combined. Fold in chocolate chips or pieces.

Make peanut butter filling: Whisk together all ingredients until smooth.

Pour half brownie batter into pan. Dollop half of peanut butter filling on top of batter in 12 evenly spaced mounds (no, it doesn't have to be perfect). Pour remaining brownie batter into the pan. Dollop the rest of  the peanut butter filling on top of batter in 12 evenly spaced mounds. Using a butter knife swirl the batter to create a marbleized effect, being sure to gently touch the bottom of the pan to ensure that all the peanut butter is swirled into the batter.

Bake for 30 -35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted halfway between the center and edge of the pan (you can see where I inserted the toothpick in the photo below) comes out with just a few moist crumbs.

Let cool in pan on rack for 90 minutes. Using sling, remove brownies from pan and allow to cool in the sling on the rack for another hour. Cut into 24 squares.

Makes 24 brownies.

Notes: Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days. If you use a glass pan instead of a metal pan, remove the brownies from the pan (but keep in sling) 10 minutes after baking otherwise the heat retention of the glass can cause them to over bake.

Snack Time

We eat a lot of yogurt at our house. Everyday when Miles wakes up from his nap he and I both have a yogurt. He gets to choose between blueberry (which he calls "boojew") and strawberry (shaboo). I usually have Greek yogurt. I love that it's so packed with protein - if I have it as an afternoon snack it really tides me over until dinner.

Lately, I've been loving my yogurt with a sprinkle of homemade granola on top. This is a great recipe from Bon Appetit. The nice thing is that you can adapt it anyway you like - switch out the almonds, pecans, or pumpkin seeds for your favorite nuts, the maple syrup for honey, or the cranberries for another dried fruit.

For me though, I'll have to to stick to the cranberries. Miles loves when he shouts "ceeboo!" and I fish out some cranberries and toss them into his yogurt.

Granola

1 large egg white
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup roughly chopped, unsalted almonds
1/2 cup roughly chopped, unsalted pecans
1/2 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut shavings (sometimes called coconut chips)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil or melted coconut oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup cranberries

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine all ingredients except cranberries in a large bowl and stir to combine. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden, stirring every 10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet. It will crisp as it cools. Mix in cranberries.

Makes approximately 8 cups.

Notes: If you don't have kosher salt, you can use 3/4 teaspoon table salt. Store in air-tight container at room temperature for up to two weeks. 

Happy Valentine's Day

At our house Valentine's Day consists of...absolutely nothing. I know, we're so boring, but the thing is that neither of us cares about Valentine's Day. So, every year it comes and goes with nothing special... except that I do manage to sneak in some sort of chocolate dessert. I mean, come on, it's Valentine's Day, you have to eat something chocolaty! I realize that I sound like a crazy person right now - not caring about Valentine's Day, but also insisting on a chocolate dessert. I guess I just need to get chocolate any time that I can.

It's best to make something simple on Valentine's Day as it most often falls on a weeknight. This year, I think we'll be having the recipe below for chocolate affogato. Affogato is an Italian dessert that is typically made by pouring a shot of warm espresso over a scoop of vanilla gelato, and it's absolutely perfect just like that. I like to take it up a notch though by using chocolate gelato and topping it with softly whipped cream and toasted, slivered almonds. It only takes a few minutes to make so you can easily do it after your kids go to bed.

And, if you're in the mood for a different, but still chocolaty dessert, luckily I have plenty including: chocolate peanut butter toffee cookies, fudge, maple chocolate pecan pie, chocolate zucchini cake, Texas sheet cake, coconut cake with dark chocolate chunks, chocolate caramel treasures, hot chocolate, flourless chocolate peanut butter cookies, banana streusel coffee cake, chocolate crinkle cookies, chocolate pots de creme, chocolate pecan macaroons, and chocolate chip cookies - two ways.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Chocolate Affogato

1 pint chocolate gelato or good quality ice cream
6 tablespoons hot, freshly brewed espresso
1/4 cup cold heavy cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons toasted, sliced almonds

Beat the cream, sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Set out two bowls and place two small scoops of gelato into each. Pour 3 tablespoons espresso over each. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with almonds. Serve immediately.

Serves 2.

Good Morning

If you read this blog regularly, you may be under the impression that I sit around eating desserts all day. I wish! No, in reality, while I definitely have a sweet tooth, I also enjoy eating light and healthy. I guess growing up with health conscious parents made a good impression on me. Often the dessert you may have been reading about here was preceded by something like kale and bean soup for dinner.

On Saturday mornings as a kid, sometimes my dad would make us a treat: pancakes. But, we always got whole wheat pancakes via a mix from the health food store. It didn't matter that they weren't the buttermilk pancakes that I ate at my friends' homes after sleepovers. They were delicious, and to this day I still prefer the nutty flavor of whole wheat pancakes over other kinds.

So, when I opened my Whole Living magazine several months ago and saw a recipe for whole grain waffles/pancakes, I knew I had to try it. I've adapted it, and it has become my go-to pancake recipe for the Saturday mornings when we want a departure from cereal.  Since it's fully whole-wheat I even feel okay giving Miles a pancake...without syrup that is, at least for now.

Whole Grain Pancakes

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk
1/4 cup canola oil, plus more for coating the pan
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pure maple syrup for serving

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, canola oil, egg, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined.

Heat a nonstick pan or griddle pan over medium heat. Lightly coat with canola oil. Pour batter in 1/3 cup portions into pan. Cook until the tops of the pancakes begin to bubble and the underside is golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook another 1-2 minutes until second side is golden. Serve warm with maple syrup.

Makes approximately 10 three-inch pancakes.