Ice Cream Cones

Today is the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, so for dessert we had ice cream sundae cones. This delicious recipe is from Food Network magazine.
6 waffle cones


1 cup malted milk balls, plus 6 more for the cones

4 large chocolate-covered peanut butter cups, chopped

2 quarts vanilla and/or chocolate ice cream

1/4 cup chocolate fudge sauce

5 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 ounce milk chocolate, chopped

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 1/2 tablespoons corn syrup or agave syrup

1/2 cup roasted peanuts, finely chopped

Directions

Place a stainless steel bowl in the freezer to chill, about 20 minutes. Set 6 tall glasses on a baking sheet and put a cone in each. Drop a malted milk ball into each cone.



Roughly chop the remaining malted milk balls and put in the cold bowl with the peanut-butter-cup pieces and ice cream. Use a metal spoon to smash and stir the candies into the ice cream, working quickly to keep it from melting.



Press 1 small scoop of the candy ice cream into each cone. Dot with a heaping teaspoon of fudge sauce and top with 2 generous scoops of the candy ice cream. Freeze the cones (in the glasses) until firm, about 2 hours.



Meanwhile, melt the semisweet and milk chocolate with the butter and corn syrup in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water), stirring until smooth. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and let sit until the chocolate is cool but still pourable, about 10 minutes.



Remove the cones from the glasses and dip the ice cream into the chocolate, swirling to coat. Immediately sprinkle the peanuts over the chocolate; place the cones upright in the glasses and freeze until the chocolate shell is set, at least 1 hour or overnight.

Triple Layer Sweetheart Cheesecake

I made this on Sunday for the Feast of Pentecost.
24 chocolate wafer cookies


3 Tbs+ 1 2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

4 pkgs 8 oz cream cheese, at room temp

6 Eggs

1 1/2 cup bitter-sweet chocolate chips, melted, cooled

1 tsp raspberry extract

5 drops red liquid food coloring

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups raspberries, about 1 1/2 (6oz each) pkgs

3 Tbs apple jelly, melted, cooled



Directions

1. Position racks in center and lower third of oven. Place roasting pan on lower rack; fill halfway with water. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat 9 in x 2 3/4 in heart shaped or 9x3 in round springform pan with cooking spray. In food processor, pulse cookies and 3 Tbs sugar until finely ground; stir in butter. Press onto bottom of pan.

2. On medium high speed, beat cream cheese and remaining sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in 1/2 cup of cream and flour until blended.

Saint Joseph's Cupcakes

In honor of  Saint Joseph's Feast Day we had cupcakes for dessert.
The recipe for the cupcakes comes from http://www.recipegirl.com/
EMERGENCY BLENDER CUPCAKES


www.RecipeGirl.com



1 cup flour

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)

1 cup granulated sugar

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup hot water

½ cup canola oil

1 large egg

1½ tsp vanilla extract



1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 12 regular-sized muffin tin with paper or foil liners.



2. Combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a blender. Cover with the lid and blend on medium-speed until blended. Pour in the water, oil, egg and vanilla. Cover with the lid and blend on medium-high speed until smooth and well-blended, stopping to scrape down the sides once or twice.



3. Pour into prepared pan/cups, dividing evenly. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of one cupcake comes out clean, 15-17 minutes.



4. Transfer to rack to cool for about 10 minutes, and then carefully remove cupcakes from the pan and set them on the rack to cool completely before frosting.



Servings: 12

Recipe Source: Abby Dodge
For the frosting I used the following recipe for Buttercream frosting:


Makes 3 cups, enough to frost 24 cupcakes (2 1/2-inch size) generously


Preparation time: 10 minutes



8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 to 5 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract



1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture is soft and well combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons of the milk, and the vanilla. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons more milk if the frosting is too stiff.

Strawberry Mousse

For Mothering Sunday ( pink Sunday) I made this strawberry mousse.

1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon plain gelatin
3 cups frozen strawberries (from a 16-oz. bag), thawed
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1. Make mousse: Combine lemon juice and 1 Tbsp. water in a small saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over and let stand for 10 minutes.
2. In a food processor, blend strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl; discard solids. Place pan with gelatin over very low heat and warm, stirring to dissolve gelatin. Whisk into strawberry mixture.
3. Using an electric mixer at medium-high speed, beat cream until it forms stiff peaks. With a large flexible spatula, fold 1/3 of whipped cream into strawberry mixture until well combined, then fold in remaining cream until no white streaks remain. Cover with plastic (pressing it onto surface of mousse to prevent a skin from forming) and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 1 hour.

"Oreo" Cheescakes

27 Late July organic "oreos'
2- 8 ounce cream cheese softened
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 ounces of semi sweet chocolate chips melted
Thawed Extra creamy cool whip

In a saucepan, melt the chocolate chips and set aside to cool.
Beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla for 3 minutes
Take ½ cup of the batter and mix with melted chocolate chips-set aside
Line muffin pan with paper liners. Place 1 tablespoon of white mixture into each cup.
Push down 1 oreo into each cup. Fill ¾ of muffin cup with white mixture.
Spoon teaspoon of chocolate batter onto white batter and swirl
Bake for 20 minutes at 350
Allow to cool.
Put 1 dollup of cool whip on each cheesecake. Cut remaining Oreos in half. Place an Oreo half diagonally into each dollup of whip cream on each cheesecake

Refrigerate

Tiramisu Brownie

12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped


1 cup butter, softened

1-1/3 cups plus 1/4 cup sugar, divided

8 eggs

1 cup cake flour

1/4 cup instant coffee granules or espresso powder

2 cartons (8 ounces each) Mascarpone cheese

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking cocoa

Directions

In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate. Stir until smooth; cool slightly. Beat in butter. Gradually beat in 1-1/3 cups sugar. Add six eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Combine flour and coffee granules; add to chocolate mixture. Beat on low speed just until combined; set aside.

For filling, in a small bowl, beat the cheese, vanilla, remaining sugar and eggs until smooth.

Pour 4 cups of chocolate batter into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Spread with filling. Top with remaining batter, spreading evenly to completely cover filling.

Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until center is almost set and brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan.

Cool on a wire rack. Dust with cocoa. Cut into squares. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 3 dozen.





Tiramisu Brownies published in Taste of Home February/March 2008, p6

Magic Layer Bars

1/2 cup butter
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 can (14-oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips
1 cup chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup white chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter in 9x13-inch baking dish and melt in oven. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs evenly over butter. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumbs, keeping at least 1/2 inch from the edge. Evenly layer the rest of the ingredients. Press down with fork to help it all stick together a little better. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden around the edges.

Crockpot Carmel Apples

In a crockpot place: 2 bags of Kraft caramels and 2 T milk. Cover and cook on hign for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile wash and completly dry the apples. Place a popsicle stick or lolipop stick in the bottom of the apple. when the carmel is ready ladle the carmel over the apple and swirl to coat. You can then roll the apples in sprinkles, candy or chopped nuts.

Slow Cooker Rice Pudding

This recipe was excellent. I added raisins the last hour of cooking.

4 cups milk
4 cups half and half
1 cup long grain white rice( I used basmati rice)
1 cup sugar

then:
1/4 cup heavy cream or half and half
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

The Directions.

I used a 4 quart slow cooker. Spray the stoneware insert with cooking spray, then combine the milk, rice, and sugar. Stir well and cook on low for 4-6 hours, or high for about 4. It took longer than I expected for my rice to become bite-tender---I did low for 3 hours, then high for another 2.

When the rice is tender, mix in a large mixing bowl, the eggs, cream, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Scoop a 1/2 cup of the hot rice mixture into the mixing bowl and whisk. Keep adding 1/2 cup at a time of the rice and milk mixture into the egg bowl until about half of the milk and rice mixture is gone from the slow cooker. Then pour everything back into the pot. Stir well. This is called "tempering your eggs"---you have to do this step, or your eggs will scramble on you when you add them to the crock.

Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Stir well, then take the lid off of the cooker and unplug it. When the rice pudding is room temperature, you can refrigerate it. Some people like their pudding hot or warm, and some prefer it chilled----it's completely up to you.

Baklava

This recipe is from allrecipes.com

1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
1 pound chopped nuts
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

Chocolate Cake for Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Tomorrow is the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel so I made a scapular cake using this recipe. I was amazed how moist the cake was. Excellent recipe. This will be my go to recipe for chocolate cake. I baked the cake in a 9"X13" pan and split the cake into 2 cakes.

Mini Walnut Pies

For the dough:

1/2 C walnuts, finely ground

1/2 C mascarpone cheese

4 T unsalted butter, softened

3/4 C all purpose flour

pinch of salt

For the filling:

1 large egg

1/4 C brown sugar, packed

2T maple syrup

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 t unsalted butter, softened

a dash of salt

3/4 c walnuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put mascarpone cheese and butter into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on high-medium speed until well blended. Add flour, walnuts and salt.Mix just until dough comes together. Roll dough into 16 one inch balls and press into bottoms and up sides of cups of mini muffin tins. Make the filling: Whisk together egg, sugar , maple syrup, vanilla, butter and salt. Stir in the walnuts. spoon about 1 1/2 tsp. filling into each muffin cup. bake until crust begins to turn golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely in tins on wire racks.

Swag Bars

This recipe is from Cooking Light magazine. These peanut butter bars are excellent. The kids could not stop eating these treats! A keeper recipe.

Creamy Rice Pudding

In a deep pot melt 1 stick of butter. Add 1 can of condensed milk, stir to combine. Add 2 cups of cooked rice plus 1/2 c raisins and heat until mixture has thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1 T vanilla. The rice pudding will thicken a bit off the heat. Serve with cinnamon sugar. I like to place the rice pudding in the refrigerator( this also thickens it) and eat it cold.

Watermelon Pops

These Popsicles are so cute and easy to make. i used strawberry and lime for my gelatin. The kids really loved this dessert.

Lemon Bars

Recipe can be found here. I added about 2 T lemon zest to the filling.

Gelatin Oranges

Tonight's dessert was a big hit.

Chocolate Lover's Pizza

Another recipe from the months Taste of Home magazine. I made a few changes:1. I used Hershey kisses and Hershey Hugs 2. for the nuts I used macadamia nuts. Great, easy recipe.

Mascarpone Cheesecake

I made this wonderful cheesecake for Easter. If you like cheesecake , you will love this easy delicious recipe. The cheesecake is great with or without the caramel and topping.

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

First spray a 9"X13' pan with cooking spray.

In a food processor pulse into fine crumbs 22 Oreo cookies. Add 1/3 c melted butter and pulse a few times.

Pat down cookie crumbs into pan. Spread 1/2 gallon softened ice cream of your choice ( I used vanilla) on top of cookie crumbs. Freeze for 30 minutes. Heat slightly 1 jar of hot fudge. Spread on top and freeze for 30 more minutes. Cut into squares and serve with whipped topping. I also served Chocolate Peanut butter Fudge Sauce( on the stovetop: combine 3/4 c heavy cream, 1/4 C semi sweet chocolate chips, 1/2 C smooth peanut butter, 3 T sugar and 3 t water. Bring to a boil and turn down heat to simmer for 5 minutes, serve) and sprinkles.