Pecan Clusters

These Pecan Clusters are so easy to make. With only 3 ingredients, they are truly more than the sum of their parts. Everyone in my family enjoys these, even my two year old. They're a delightful addition to any gathering, or as a treat for a super sweet Hubbie. Don't skip the toasting step, it's mostly hands off and it really brings out the flavor of the pecans.

Ingredients:

3 cups of Pecan Halves
3 TBS of Butter, I use salted
12 oz Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 300 °. Scatter the pecans on a baking sheet. Dot with the butter. Place in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Line a baking sheet or large cutting board with waxed paper. Place the chocolate in a large microwave safe glass bowl, microwave on high for 1 minute, stir. Continue microwaving at 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval until melted. Stir in the pecans. Drop by the spoonfuls onto the waxed paper. Allow them to set and enjoy.

How gorgeous are toasted pecans?

Stabilized Whipped Cream

This was the first time I had made the stabilized whipped cream, so I wasn't sure how it would work or if it would make it taste different. I am happy to say it worked great and there was no difference in flavor. I intended to take pictures of it, but I dropped the dish of whipped cream I had set aside before I could. However, I did have a slice of pie left over, and 24 hours later, my dollop was still perfectly shaped, there was no weeping or melting of the cream, and it still tasted great.

The season of pie is upon us! I adore pie, this time of year, pumpkin is my favorite. I recently posted a recipe for a delicious Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie, which I think should be on every Thanksgiving table this year. No custard based pie is complete without whipped cream, and let's face it, even fruit pies are only enhanced by its presence. I'll be the first to admit that I will shamelessly top my pie with the stuff from the can, if that's all that is available. I just think homemade is sooo much better, and it is sooo simple to make. Also, you can customize it. You can add various extracts or even booze to create a custom whipped cream to compliment your dish.

Most of my desserts are made for church potlucks, and my whipped might be used to top desserts other than the one I brought, so I usually just stick to adding a little vanilla, since its flavor won't adversely affect any dessert. Also, our potlucks are after church service is over, so in that in addition to our 30 minute commute, means my whipped cream is sitting for at least 3 hours, and that's if I make it immediately before leaving my house. Sure, whipped cream that has lost a little of its volume still tastes good, but I wanted it to still look good. I searched the internet and found several methods, but this one seemed to be the most popular, so I tried it. Most of the methods didn't contain recipes for the whipped cream itself, so I'll include my recipe and the method.

I sweeten my whipped cream, but I've noticed a lot of people don't, so feel free to leave the sugar out if that's your thing. Just warn me before I eat it. When we traveled to Germany in 10h grade, my friend and I went to Starbucks and ordered our usual drinks with extra whipped cream, we were unpleasantly surprised to discover it was unsweetened.

This recipe yields about 2 cups of whipped cream.

Ingredients:

1 cup of heavy cream, very cold
4 TBS powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
The above ingredients are for the whipped cream, and are all you need if you don't want to stabilize it.
1 tsp unflavored plain gelatin powder
1TBS water

Pace your mixing bowl and whisk in the freezer for 5 minutes prior to making your whipped cream. 
I make whipped cream in my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. It can be done with a hand mixer or even a whisk and some elbow grease, if you're into that sort of thing

Place gelatin powder in a small microwavable bowl, add water and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Microwave for 10 seconds and allow to come to room temperature, about 5 minutes.

Mix the cream, sugar, and vanilla together and pour into the chilled mixing bowl. Whip on medium speed until soft peaks form, this takes about 2-3 minutes in the KA on speed 4. If you are adding the stabilizer, turn the speed down to 2 and slowly drizzle in the gelatin mixture, then kick it back up to 4 for a minute or two until you have medium-stiff peaks. If you are just making plain whipped cream, don't turn it down, just let it go on 4 until you have stiff peaks.



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Peach Crumb Bars

Peaches are in season! One county over from ours is the home to several peach farms. I love to go visit during peach season. Fresh peaches abound and I like to stop at a little restuarant and enjoy a scoop of Peach Ice Cream or a Fried Peach Pie. My local grocer had peaches on sale, so I stocked up. I wanted to make homemade peach ice cream, but I had to order a replacement part. I was going to make peach pie, but I didn't want to have to wait hours for it to be cool enough to eat. So I came up with this recipe based on a lemon bars recipe I like.

For the Dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cold
1 egg, lightly beaten

For the Filling:
5 cups diced ripe peaches (about 7 peaches, peeled)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 TBS cornstarch
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Dough: In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter, and then the egg. The dough will be crumbly.  Place the bowl of dough in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

Filling: Place the diced peaches in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix gently. In a separate bowl whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over the peaches and mix gently.

Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan. Spread the peach mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the peach layer.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares. Sprinkle with powdered sugar for extra cuteness.

These did not last long in our home.

 

 

 

 

Bread Pudding

I fell in love with bread pudding as a teenager when my Mom and I shared some for dessert at Mimi's Cafe. I had never made it myself until recently for a church potluck. For something so good, it is really easy to make. Mimi's drizzles theirs with a rum sauce, but I made a vanilla sauce since I was taking it to church. It is an excellent dessert and it would be delicious for a brunch as well.

 

1 loaf French bread (cut into 1" cubes)
½ cup Raisins (soak ½ hour in
warm water and drain)
1 pinch Nutmeg
¼ lb. Butter (melted)
¼ cup Sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla
3 cupsHalf & Half
4 Eggs (beaten)

Fill a 9"x 9"x 2-½" baking pan with the bread cubes and sprinkle the raisins on top. Whisk the remaining ingredients together to make a batter, pour over the top of the bread and stir lightly. Allow the bread to soak for 30 mintues. The pan will be very full. Bake in a 325° oven for about 40 minutes, until the pudding is golden brown and puffed up around the edges. The center should be "set" but still a little soft.

Vanilla Sauce:

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

pinch salt

 

Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Combine sugar and cornstarch, blend well. Add sugar and cornstarch mixture to boiling water; reduce heat to medium, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and add the butter, vanilla, and salt, stirring until butter is melted. Spoon over dessert.
Makes 3/4 cup.

 

Homemade Dark Chocolate Sauce

This stuff is ridiculously good. The first time I tried it, I was home by myself. I considered consuming the entire thing and not telling anyone, or hiding it in the back of the fridge. I don't care for most store bought chocolate sauces, as I find them to be overly sweet. This one is just perfect. I lowered the sugar called for in a recipe given to me by a friend, and swapped regular cocoa powder for dark. It is delicious over fresh fruit,  ice cream or brownies, and makes a perfect glass of chocolate milk. It is way easier to prepare at home than I ever dreamed. I halved the batch because it's just my husband and I that use it, and having a lot around could be bad news for us. If you have a bigger family or can control yourself around chocolate, go ahead and double this recipe. It would make an awesome gift.

You will need:

3/4 cup Water
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 TBS Corn Syrup
3/4 Cup Dark Cocoa Powder (I use Hershey's Special Dark)
1 TBS Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt (I use Kosher)

Bring the water, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low, whisk in cocoa powder 1/4 cup at a time. Cook for 5 minutes, or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and salt.

Sometimes I sub out part of the vanilla for other extracts. Hazelnut extract makes a delicious sauce that tastes like Nutella.

Sugar Cookies - Step by Step

This is a great recipe for cut out cookies. I made these to give out as favors at my son's Little Man birthday party. My Hubbie is a sugar cookie fanatic, he loved them.

3 all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 c sugar
2 sticks (salted) butter, cold & cut into chunks
1 egg
 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Sift together  the flour and baking powder, set aside.

Cream the sugar and butter.

Add the egg and extracts and mix.

Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Flour your work surface. I saw a show where Bobby Flay was making pie dough, his trick for flouring the work surface evenly is to sprinkle the flour with more of a side arm motion. It really does help. Roll dough out.

Cut into Shapes

 Place on parchment lined baking sheets, place baking sheet in freezer for 5 minutes, then transfer to the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Once they were cool, I popped them in the freezer for a few mintues, then I piped and flooded them with a Chocolate Royal Icing.