Just Desserts

What is it about dessert that really grabs our attention? I’m really not sure, but I do know that dessert is that extra treat that many of us crave. Here are some wonderful desserts that, truth be told, can be enjoyed any time. Enjoy!

RASPBERRY SORBET

Carroll Pellegrinelli, About.com’s Desserts and Baking guide, writes, “The best way to describe this Raspberry Sorbet is by saying it's a little tart, but not too much. It's sweet, but not overly. Cold and refreshing says it all.”

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 15 minutes; Yield: 1-1/2 quarts

Ingredients:

3 cups water

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

5 cups fresh raspberries, gently washed and dried or 5 cups defrosted frozen raspberries with juice may also be used or 2 cups raspberry puree* may also be used

Preparation:

Bring 3 cups water and sugar just to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Cool.

Process raspberries, in batches, in a blender or food processor until smooth. Put through strainer to remove seeds. Stir lemon juice and puree into cooled sugar water. Mix completely. Cover and chill at least 2 hours or overnight.

Pour mixture into the freezer container of a 1-gallon** ice-cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturers' instructions

Notes in the Margin:

* If puree is already sweetened, omit the sugar.

** If you only have a quart ice cream freezer like I do, you can either make this in two batches or try this. Freeze extra raspberry mixture in ice trays. Use the raspberry cubes the next time you serve fruit punch or have a big punch bowl.

NUTELLA OREO TRUFFLES

Elizabeth LaBau, About.com’s Candy guide, writes, “Nutella Oreo Truffles are a twist on traditional Oreo Truffles. Chopped hazelnuts and chocolate-hazelnut spread are added to crushed cookies and cream cheese, to form melt-in-your-mouth truffles with a strong chocolate and hazelnut flavor.” This recipe yields about 36 truffles.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts

1 pound chocolate sandwich cookies (like Oreos)

1/2 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (like Nutella)

6 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature

12 ounces chocolate candy coating

White or milk chocolate for drizzling (optional)

Preparation:

Finely chop the toasted hazelnuts and set aside for now.

Place the cookies in the bowl of a food processor and process in short intervals until they are fine crumbs. Alternately, place them in a large zip-top plastic bag and roll over them with a rolling pin until they are completely crushed.

Combine the crushed cookies, chocolate-hazelnut spread, and softened cream cheese in a large bowl and stir until completely mixed. Add the chopped hazelnuts to the cookie mixture, and stir those in as well. Press a layer of cling wrap on top and refrigerate the truffle mix for half an hour, until firm enough to scoop.

Use a teaspoon or small candy scoop to form the mixture into small balls. Roll them between your palms to get them completely round.

Melt the chocolate candy coating, and dip each truffle into the melted coating. Place it on a foil-lined baking sheet to set completely. If desired, drizzle melted white or milk chocolate over the tops of the truffles for decoration.

Store Nutella Oreo Truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. For best taste and texture, bring them to room temperature before serving.

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

Peggy Trowbridge Filippone runs About.com’s Home Cooking guide. She writes, “These taste similar to the commercial peanut butter cups, but better! Great for gifts.”

Prep Time: 1 hour; Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate bar

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter (4 Tbsp or 1/2 stick)

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate bar

1/8 cup butter (2 Tbsp or 1/4 stick)

1 ounce paraffin wax, chopped

Preparation:

Place 1-inch mini-muffin or candy papers in a mini-muffin tin.

In a double boiler, melt 4 ounces chocolate bar, peanut butter, and 1/4 cup butter, mixing until smooth. Gently mix in graham cracker crumbs.

Place about 1 teaspoon chocolate graham cracker mixture in bottom of paper cups. Chill 15 to 30 minutes to harden.

Place 3/4 cup peanut butter in a bowl over hot water to soften. Mix in powdered sugar and graham cracker crumbs. Place 1 teaspoon peanut butter mixture on top of hardened chocolate cracker layer. Chill 15 to 30 minutes.

Melt 6 ounces chocolate bar with butter and paraffin wax. Top the peanut butter layer with about 1 teaspoon chocolate mixture. Chill to harden. Refrigerate leftovers.

Yield: 3 dozen peanut butter cups

MOLASSES GINGER COOKIE ICE CREAM SANDWICH

This is from Seattle’s Macrina Bakery. The recipe starts off, “I think it's the fresh ginger that makes these cookies so special. They also have the perfect balance of chewy and crisp. Sandwiching two of them with ice cream makes an exceptional treat.” Makes 16 cookies

2-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1-1/2 cups light brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons peeled and grated ginger

1/3 cup dark molasses

1 cup granulated sugar

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ground cloves and salt in a medium bowl. Mix with a whisk until evenly distributed and set aside.

Combine shortening, butter and brown sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed for about 5 minutes until the mixture is smooth and pale in color. Add 1 egg and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add remaining egg and scrape down the sides of the bowl again. Add ginger and molasses and mix on low speed for 1 minute. The mixture may look as if it's separating, but have no fear. It will come together once the dry ingredients are added. Remove the bowl from the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl again.

Using a rubber spatula, fold half of the flour mixture into the dough. After the flour is fully incorporated, fold in the rest of the flour mixture and continue folding until all of the flour has been absorbed. Scrape down the sides of the bowls and cover it with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. At this point the dough can be formed into cookies or stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and pour granulated sugar into a pie pan or shallow bowl.

Scoop dough out of the bowl (I like to use a medium ice cream scoop) and roll the dough into 2-inch balls. Toss each of the balls in granulated sugar until evenly coated, then place 8 on each baking sheet, leaving 3 inches between each ball. Slightly flatten each ball of dough with the palm of your hand to keep the balls from rolling around. Place 1 sheet of cookies in the refrigerator while baking the other sheet.

Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, on center rack of oven for 15 to 18 minutes each. To help the cookies bake evenly, rotate the baking sheet every 4 minutes or so. The finished cookies will be golden brown and slightly puffed up but will collapse while they cool. Let cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes. The cooled cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days.

Choose your favorite vanilla ice cream and  scoop a generous portion onto one cookie, place the other on top and voilá! A delicious treat to usher in fall.

BLUEBERRY ICE CREAM

For years, Kevin D. Weeks was About.com’s Cooking for Two guide. He wrote, “I'm not a huge ice cream fan, but sometimes I have clients ask for it so when I got a chance to buy a factory-rebuilt Cuisinart ice cream maker for $20 I jumped at the chance. I'm still learning the ins and outs of ice cream making, but I was pleased with this recipe. Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits (along with being, supposedly, a particularly healthy fruit) and this simple preparation is rich and luscious. Coriander has a particular affinity to blueberries, so I highly recommend including it. Makes 1 quart.” Prep Time: 45 minutes; Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. ground coriander

Pinch of salt

2 cups heavy cream

Preparation:

Dissolve sugar in 1/4 cup water in a medium sauce pan over low heat.

When sugar is dissolved, add berries, lemon juice, vanilla extract, coriander, and salt.

Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until berries begin to burst.

Remove from heat and mash berries.

Cool to room temperature, then chill in the regrigerator.

Thoroughly combine berries and cream. Pour into ice cream maker, and follow manufacturer directions.

Note: You can subsustitute half and half for the heavy cream.

CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE

This is from my ebook, Off The Wall Cooking. It’s for sale on Amazon.com; you can buy it here.

The first time I made this pie, I was 15 and wanted to impress a boyfriend. I did, but not the way I’d planned: the crust came out tasting like under-cooked pizza dough, I burned the chocolate pudding, and the whipped cream came out almost to butter. Hmmm…

9 inch pie crust

1 large package chocolate pudding mix (the cooked kind, not instant)

1 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons sugar

Cook pudding according to package directions. Pour into baked pie crust. Add sugar to cream and whip until peaks form. Cover pie. Chill.

Note: Now, what can be easier?