Desserts

I want something snacky!

Who hasn't said that once in a while? Most of us do love an occasional snack. With that in mind, here are six yummy dessert recipes, including Frosted Peppermint Brownies and 7Up Cake. Enjoy!

SUMMER FRUIT “CREAM” WITH LADYFINGERS

This is from the July/August 2005 issue of Vegetarian Times (page 33). It begins, “Elegant and creamy, this fruit dessert comes together in a snap. You can make it ahead and refrigerate it, or assemble it while the coffee perks.”

Serves 6 in 30 minutes or less.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

12 plain ladyfingers

1 12.3-oz. pkg. silken soft tofu

1/2 12.3-oz. pkg. silken firm tofu

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 pint fresh raspberries, rinsed

1/2 pint fresh blackberries, rinsed

1 3-oz. pkg. dried tart cherries

3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Preparation

Line bottom of 3-qt. bowl with ladyfingers; set aside.

Put all tofu into food processor or blender, and purée until smooth (or beat with electric mixer until smooth). Add extracts and confectioners’ sugar, and blend well. Transfer to large bowl, and gently stir in berries.

Pour mixture over ladyfingers, and top with dried cherries. If making ahead, chill. Before serving, garnish with almonds.

EASY CHOCOLATE SAUCEPAN BROWNIES

This is from Diana Rattray on The Spruce Eats. Diana wrote, “Chocolate saucepan brownies are a quick, super-easy and delicious preparation. Just melt the butter and chocolate, beat in the sugar, eggs, and dry ingredients, then bake. That's all there is to it!”

Total: 35 mins; Prep: 10 mins; Cook: 25 mins; Yield: 16 Brownies (16 servings)

To view this yummy brownie online, click here.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Optional: 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions

Heat oven to 325 F. Grease and flour an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool. With a whisk, beat in the vanilla and sugar. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir flour, measure into a small bowl, and stir in the baking powder and salt, blending well. With a wooden spoon, stir the flour mixture into the first mixture.

Stir in the chopped nuts, if using, blending well. Spoon into the prepared pan and spread evenly.

Bake the brownies for about 25 minutes.

Recipe Variations

Add chocolate chips or white chocolate chips

7UP CAKE

This comes from Sam Sifton in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Sam wrote, “I love a clandestine soda in the preparation of food, a flash of carbonation where the French might use wine, or brandy. It may be transgressive to say so, but I’m hardly alone, for all those who cringe at the thought. Page through church or community cookbooks and you’ll find examples: Coke-spiked Jell-O situations, root beer-glazed fillets of salmon, beans simmered in Moxie. This recipe for a lemon-and-lime soda cake came to me a while back from a Times reader who thought I’d appreciate it (I did!). She said she’d gotten it from a grandmother down south, who stored it on an index card placed in her copy of the cookbook published by the Symphony League of Jackson, Miss., in 1971. The original called for oleo and Crisco oil. I swapped these out for dairy and neutral oil, and a little less soda, and an additional 15 minutes in the oven. This leaves the cake toast-brown and glistening, glossy-crumbed and high-risen, a marvelous moist yellow within. I’m no shill for Big Soda. You could just as easily make it with plain sparkling water and a spritz of lemon or lime. You could make it with sparkling wine!”

Yield: 10 to 12 servings; Time: 1 hour 30 minutes, plus cooling.

This was featured in “The Secret to Poundcake That Really Pops”, and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020510-7up-cake.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature, plus additional for greasing

1/2 cup vegetable, canola or other neutral oil

3 cups granulated sugar

5 large eggs

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup 7Up

3 cups all-purpose flour

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, oil and sugar at medium speed. Add eggs one at a time, blending until incorporated, then blend in the lemon, vanilla and almond extracts. Add half the 7Up, blending until combined, then half the flour; repeat with the remaining 7Up, then the remaining flour until evenly blended.

Grease a 10-inch Bundt pan with butter; add cake batter. Bake until golden on top and firm to the touch, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert onto serving platter, and let cool to room temperature before slicing and serving.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND MERINGUES

Recipe Yield: Yield: About 2 1/2 dozen; Serving size: 1 meringue cookie

Source: MealLeaniYUMM!

Book Title: MealLeaniYUMM!

To view this online, go to https://diabeticgourmet.com/diabetic-recipes/chocolate-almond-meringues.

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar, divided

1/4 cup ground almonds

1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp. cornstarch

2 egg whites

1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 tsp. vanilla (or 1/4 tsp. almond extract)

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Spray a foil-lined baking sheet with non-stick spray. In a small bowl, mix 2 tbsp. of the sugar with almonds, cocoa and cornstarch. In a stainless or glass bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat on high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add flavoring and remaining sugar. Beat until stiff and shiny. Gently fold cocoa mixture into meringue.

Drop cookie mixture from a teaspoon onto the baking sheet to form small mounds. Leave about 2 inches between each mound. (Mixture could also be piped through a large pastry bag fitted with a large star tube.) Bake at 250 degrees F for 40 minutes. Cookies should be dry and slightly browned. Cool completely. Store in a tightly covered container.

Notes

These can be frozen.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 18; Fat: 0.3 g; Sodium: 7 mg; Protein: trace g; Carbohydrates: 4 g

Diabetic Exchanges: 1/4 Bread/Starch

FROSTED PEPPERMINT BROWNIES

This is from Betty Crocker, and begins, “Easy brownie-mix brownies get dressed up for the holidays with frosting and crushed peppermint candy.”

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes; Servings: 16

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 box (16 oz) Betty Crocker™ Supreme original brownie mix

Water, oil and egg called for on brownie mix box

1 1/4 cups Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting (from 16 oz container)

1/8 teaspoon mint or peppermint extract

Betty Crocker™ green or pink gel food color

Peppermint or spearmint candies, crushed, if desired

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom of 9-inch square pan with shortening or cooking spray. Make and bake brownie batter as directed on box. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 1 1/2 hours.In small bowl, stir together frosting, extract and food color until smooth. Spread frosting evenly over brownies. Sprinkle with crushed candies. For easier cutting, refrigerate about 15 minutes until frosting is set. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store covered at room temperature.

Expert Tips

Cut brownies into bite-size pieces and serve in holiday paper liners for easy dessert pickups.

MAPLE-APPLE PIE

This comes from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list, and begins, “Experience a whole new apple pie taste! Just a touch of syrup adds the sweet familiar taste of maple for a flavorful new twist on a classic dessert.”

Ingredients

Double-Crust Pastry (See Below)

6 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples, (5 medium)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

6 tablespoons maple-flavored syrup

Directions

Heat oven to 425°F. Make Double Crust Pastry.

Mix apples and brown sugar. Turn into pastry-lined pie plate. Drizzle with butter and 3 tablespoons of the syrup. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1/2 inch from rim of plate. Cover with top pastry that has slits cut in it; trim overhanging edge 1 inch from rim of plate. Fold and roll top edge under lower edge, pressing on rim to seal; flute as desired.

Bake 15 minutes. Make diagonal cuts about 1 inch apart through top crust. Pour remaining syrup over top. Cover edge with 2- to 3-inch strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking. Bake about 25 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown. Cool.

Double-Crust Pastry

Ingredients

2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening

4 to 6 tablespoons cold water

Directions

Mix flour and salt in medium bowl. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary). Gather pastry into a ball. Divide in half and shape into 2 flattened rounds on lightly floured surface. Wrap flattened rounds of pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.
Roll one round on lightly floured surface, using floured rolling pin, into circle 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.