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Archive for the ‘Desserts’ Category

Baked Custard

Posted in Comfort Food, Desserts, Recipes, tagged , , , on October 29, 2010| 2 Comments »

If you are looking for a simple, comfort-food type of dessert to finish off a meal, Baked Custard is a great option.

It is one of the few desserts that Hubby actually likes and has been known to beg for. I usually don’t mind, because it is so easy to make.

So without further ado…

Baked Custard Ingredients

Beat eggs until combined but not foamy, mix in sugar, flour, vanilla and milk.

Pour custard into cups.

Optional - top with cinnamon before baking.

You know the custard is done baking when a knife inserted comes out clean.

 

Baked Custard

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Beat eggs until well combined but not foamy. Add in remaining ingredients and mix well. Using an 8×8 glass baking pan, place in four custard cups (or ramekins or small oven-safe bowls). Pour boiling water into pan until it is standing about 1 inch.

Pour batter into custard cups and then carefully place pan in an oven preheated to 325 degrees. Bake about 35-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of a custard cup comes out clean.

We like to sprinkle cinnamon on top of the custard just before baking. So good and so simple!

Enjoy!

Happy Entertaining!

Shanna

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Raspberry Bars

Posted in Desserts, Easy Recipes, Entertaining at Home, Recipes, tagged , , on October 8, 2010| 2 Comments »

Delicious Raspberry Bars

Way back during my junior year of college, I somehow worked it out to have Fridays free from classes.  It was awesome. Then I realized I really, really needed a job, so I found one babysitting.

Fridays were great days for me. I got to go hang out at a nice house with the sweetest little baby, and the fun lady I babysat  for always gave me open range in the kitchen. She kept a secret stash of  delicious raspberry cookies, only sharing their hiding place with me because her husband and older son would devour them all in seconds. So I managed to not eat them all when I babysat. But even one of them was plenty. They were rich and delicious and divine.

Even though that baby is now a college student, I still remember how good those cookies tasted (and how much I loved babysitting Jake).

This recipe is close to what those cookies tasted like, especially if you dust them with powdered sugar before serving.

Try them out and enjoy!

Ingredients for Raspberry Bars

Combine the crust ingredients until crumbly.

Press the crust mixture into the bottom of the baking pan.

Much to everyone's surprise, I made raspberry jam this year and boy is it tasty!

Spread the jam over the crust.

Sprinkle jam with remaining crust.

Once bars are cooked, remove from oven, cool and then dust with powdered sugar.

 

Raspberry Bars

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats, uncooked

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup raspberry jam

Powdered sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in oats and sugar. Cut in butter with a fork or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Press two-thirds of the mixture into an 11 x 7 inch pan. I gave mine a light spray of PAM. Once you have the crust pressed into the pan, top evenly with jam. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture on top.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool, cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar.

Ta-Da! Don't you just want to eat one now!

 

Happy Entertaining!

Shanna

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Caramel Toffee Bars

Posted in Desserts, Recipes, tagged , , , , , on September 24, 2010| 3 Comments »

I was standing in the baking aisle at the grocery store the other day trying to decide what to make for an upcoming party when my eye landed on these.

I think I heard music playing and someone shout “Yahoo!” (that may have been me). Caramel bits. What a concept. Little bits of delicious caramel ready to turn into something amazing. The part that I really loved is the line that says “Unwrapped for Easy Melting.” Right on! Call me lazy and a slug, but I hate wasting time and precious brain cells unwrapping caramels. So I generally just don’t make anything with caramel for that very reason.

The file of recipes stored in my head immediately went to a recipe I have for toffee bars. They are moist and delicious and completely bad for you. What would happen if I threw in some of these caramel bits? I had to find out!

So I brought them home and whipped up a batch of caramel toffee bars. I almost fainted when I took a bite out of one warm from the oven. They are sooooo good. No really, in the top 10 of bar cookies I’ve ever tasted (and believe me, there has been a lot of cookie tasting!).

The cast of characters for Caramel Toffee Bars, minus the coc0nut I forgot to put in the photo.

You start with a simple crust pressed into a baking pan.

While the crust is baking, melt the caramels with a bit of cream.

Pour the melted caramel over the top of the crust.

Top the caramel layer with the filling layer and return pan to oven. Try to keep from melting in a puddle while this bakes. When you take it out of the oven, it will be all golden brown and smelling incredible. Sprinkle with Heath Toffee Bits, which will start to melt into the top.

Take a deep breath, take a bite - and then melt in a puddle before eating the rest of the bar.

Caramel Toffee Bars

Crust:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup flour

Cream together and press in bottom of baking pan. I used an 11 x 7  inch pan but you could also use an 8 x 8 inch pan for a thicker bar or an 9 x 13 inch pan for a thinner bar. Bake 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Caramel Filling:

bag of caramel bits (11 ounce bag)

1/3 cup of heavy cream

Put caramels and cream in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30-second intervals, stirring until caramels are melted. If you aren’t a lazy slug like me, you could use regular caramels. You’ll need about 2 cups. When melted, pour over the top of the cooked crust.

Topping:

2 eggs

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 cup coconut

1/2 tsp. salt

1 package of Heath Bits ‘o Brickle Toffee Bits

Mix ingredients together and pour over the caramel on top of the crust. Return to the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

When done, remove from the oven and top with Heath Toffee Bits. If you want to turn this dessert from something incredible that will make your taste buds scream “Thank you!” for days into something even more wicked…. try drizzling a bit of melted chocolate on top. You may need someone nearby to help you off the floor after you take a bite. Melt about 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips with 2 tbsp. of heavy cream in the microwave. Just use a spoon or a knife to drizzle over the bars.

Happy Entertaining and Enjoy!

Shanna

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Berry Crisp

Posted in Desserts, Easy Recipes, Recipes, tagged , , on September 3, 2010| 3 Comments »

Raspberry Crisp

Here’s a recipe for a quick and easy crisp that can be used with a variety of fruit. It works well with everything from apples and peaches to berries.

Since I love raspberries (and it was what I had at the 11th hour when I decided to throw this together) that is what I am featuring today.

Start with your basic ingredients.

Mix a heaping spoon of cornstarch and some sugar into the berries. Let this rest for about 10 minutes. Note - I am using frozen berries, so just pretend they are fresh. They'd be so much prettier!

Mix up your crumb topping while the berries are resting and then sprinkle it on top of the berries. Bake and try to keep yourself from self-destructing while waiting for the crisp to get done.

Enjoy the finished crisp warm with a scoop of melting ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

Berry Crisp

3 cups of raspberries (you can use any type of berry or fruit)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon corn starch

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup oatmeal

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup butter – softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix corn starch and granulated sugar with berries. Let rest for about 10 minutes.  I mix this right in the baking dish – using a square 8-inch pan. While the berries are doing their thing, mix the remaining ingredients together with a pastry blender, food processor or a fork. You want the mixture to have a crumbly texture. Sprinkle on the berries and bake until fruit bubbles and topping is a golden brown.

Serve warm with ice cream or whipped topping.

Enjoy and Happy Entertaining!

Shanna

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