Category Archives: Dessert

First Decision of the Day: Honey Vanilla Yogurt Parfait with Sweet Toasted Almonds

August 27, 2011 By in Breakfast/Brunch, Dessert Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Just like most of us, I am trying to eat healthier. My niece Kayla kept pushing me during her visit this summer. Every time she would do something healthy, like take the stairs instead of the elevator, she would chant…”one good decision leads to another”.  So I took her advice this morning and made my first food decision of the day a good one. However, I had to add a touch of sweet since my sweet tooth was telling me to ignore Kayla.

So, today’s mostly healthy breakfast is this Honey Vanilla Yogurt with Sweet Toasted Almonds. We will see how Kayla’s mantra helps me with my food decisions later in the day…

Honey Vanilla Yogurt Parfait with Sweet Toasted Almonds Recipe Continue reading →

Beat the Heat: Amaretto and Toasted Almond Ice Cream

August 15, 2011 By in Dessert Tags: , , , , , , 2 Comments

It is so hot outside. As I was walking the 50 feet from my car into the grocery store this weekend, I could feel my clothes start sticking to me and my hair start curling. Within thirty seconds of walking in the store, I was mentally adding the ingredients for ice cream to my shopping list. There was simply no way I was leaving that store without something refreshing and honestly, just plain cold. 

This ice cream has the decadence of amaretto and cream, with the crunch and delicious flavor of almonds. It is also so simple to make. Toast some almonds and mix some ingredients. It just doesn’t get any easier or any tastier. Don’t have Amaretto? Use different flavors such as rum and frozen cherries, vanilla and strawberries, or Irish Cream and chocolate chips.  Make it your own!

Amaretto and Toasted Almond Ice Cream

Ingredients

1/4 Cup Slivered almonds

1/4 Amaretto

1 Cup Whole milk

1 Cup Heavy cream

1/4 Cup Sugar

Pinch Salt
Directions

  1. Chill ice cream maker insert in freezer for 10 minutes.
  2. Toast almonds in single layer in 350 degree oven for approximately 7-10 minutes. Watch very closely so they do not burn. Allow to cool. Chop into small pieces.
  3. Whisk together all ingredients except almonds until sugar dissolves. Stir in almonds.
  4. Pour mixture into chilled insert. Freeze according to manufacturers instructions. Don’t forget the ice cream salt and lots of ice.

Dog Days of Summer: Summer Berries with Vanilla Whipped Cream

August 10, 2011 By in Dessert Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

In these dog days of summer there are times when eating anything that comes close to warm is just out of the question. I mean come on, the afternoon rain is steamy around here.  It seems to me that there is a reason why berries are in season right now…for us to eat something refreshing and sweet without heating up the house!

These berries are delicious for dessert or as a snack. They really are quite addictive and they can’t be beat with a light and fluffy Vanilla Whipped Cream. Use whatever mix of berries that works for you. They are all in season and oh so sweet right now. Think you don’t like blackberries? You probably haven’t tried them in season when they are no longer tart but as sweet as a strawberry. I chose to skip the strawberries because the other berries don’t get as much play in my house. Add some strawberries if you want. Either way, try this refreshing dessert on your family today! They will thank you for it.

Summer Berries with Vanilla Whipped Cream

Ingredients

1/4 Cup Water

1/4 Cup Plus 2 tbsp, sugar

1 Tbsp Plus 1 tsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp Lemon zest

1 Cup Heavy cream

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

4 Cups Mixed fresh berries

Additional sugar for sprinkling
Directions

  1. Combine water, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice’ and lemon zest in small saucepan over medium high heat to make a simple syrup. Simmer until sugar is dissolved and slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Pour in another bowl, cover and cool completely in refrigerator.
  2. Add cooled simple syrup to berries in a bowl. Toss and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  3. In a glass bowl, use an electric mixer to whip the cream, vanilla and 1 tsp lemon juice. Whip until soft peaks form.
  4. Serve berries with whipped cream alongside for a refreshing dessert or snack. Sprinkle lightly with additional sugar if desired.

Weekend Breakfast: Strawberry Muffins with a Streusel Topping

August 6, 2011 By in Breakfast/Brunch, Dessert Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Sometimes a muffin is the only thing you want for breakfast. You aren’t in the mood for cereal, oatmeal, or eggs and bacon. There is only one food to satisfy the craving…a muffin. Personally, I like my muffins fruity. Blueberry, apple-cinnamon, peaches and cream, raspberry almond…any fruity muffin works for me. During the summer, muffins become very plentiful in my house with all the fresh berries begging for me to take them home. Today, it is all about the strawberries I picked up yesterday. 

These strawberry muffins are moist and slightly sweet with a cinnamon background. The best part though is the muffin top. Before I bake these muffins I add a streusel topping that completely melts and becomes a crunchy, buttery, and very sweet muffin top. I save the muffin top for last because it the best and perfect bite. Give these strawberry muffins with the perfect top a try this weekend. Let me know if you enjoyed them as much as I did.

Strawberry Muffins with a Streusel Topping

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cups Strawberries, diced small

1 1/2 Cups Flour (All Purpose)

1 1/4 Cups Sugar

1 Tbsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 Cup Vegetable oil

4 Tbsp Water

2 Eggs, beaten

Streusel:

2 Tbsp All-purpose flour

4 Tbsp Sugar

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

2 Tbsp Cold butter, diced
Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or add muffin liners to pan.
  2. In large bowl, add flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Mix well.
  3. In a smaller bowl, combine eggs, oil, and strawberries.
  4. Add wet ingredients to dry. Mix just until moistened.
  5. In small bowl, combine all Streusel ingredients and cut in butter with fork until crumbs are coarse.
  6. Add muffin mix to pan, filling three quarters full. Sprinkle the Streusel mix over the muffins generously.
  7. Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool on wire rack in muffin pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan.

Sweet and Sticky: Honey Glazed Palmiers

July 27, 2011 By in Breakfast/Brunch, Dessert 2 Comments

Growing up, a special family treat was a giant elephant ear. Do you remember those? I don’t see them at the grocery store very often anymore. Elephant ears were big, sticky and sweet..and generally fried. My interpretation of those tasty elephant ears is a honey glazed palmier. Not only are palmiers easy to make but they are way too easy to eat – and baked, not fried. Layers of sugar sweetened puff pastry rolled into a pretty design.  A big bonus is that they can be prepared, baked and eaten in about 30 minutes. And if you are intimidated by how to make them, I have included some pictures of the rolling process below. It’s quick and easy!

Palmiers can also be made as a savory appetizer or snack. I can imagine a basil pesto filled palmier sprinkled with parmesan cheese or maybe a sundried tomato and goat cheese palmier. What sweet or savory flavor combinations would you like to see? Share your requests with me and I would be happy to attempt your concoction!

Honey Glazed Palmiers

Ingredients

1 Sheet Puff pastry

2 Tbsp White Sugar

1/4 Cup Honey

2 Tbsp Warm Water
Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line sheet pan with parchment paper.
  2. Lightly roll out the defrosted puff pastry to even thickness. Sprinkle pastry dough with 1 tbls of sugar.
  3. With the pastry’s longest edge facing you, roll the side closest to you in to the middle. Do the same with the top edge. See picture below for final result.
  4. Slice the roll into 1 inch Palmiers, approximately 12 in total. See the picture below.
  5. Place each palmier on parchment lined sheet pan, about 1 inch apart. Adjust palmier if it loses shape.
  6. Sprinkle Palmiers with remaining tbls sugar.
  7. Bake for 23-27 minutes, or until lightly brown.
  8. Mix honey with warm water, stirring until well mixed.
  9. While Palmiers are still hot, brush small amount of honey mixture on each pastry. Serve warm or store in airtight container.

A Taste of Miami: Guava and Cheese Tarts

July 21, 2011 By in Breakfast/Brunch, Dessert Tags: , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Over the past two years, I have spent quite a bit of time in the Miami area on business. Although it is a four hour drive from my home, there were times when I couldn’t wait to get back to Miami so I could try new foods that I just couldn’t find locally. Plantains that melt in your mouth, Cuban coffee that would keep me jittery for hours, cheesy Yuquitas, and my absolute favorite…Guava Tarts.  These delectable treats are basically guava filled pastries. My favorites included a sweet cream cheese filling.

Now that I am not spending much time in the Miami area, I have been seriously craving some Guava and Cheese Tarts. I started checking out the shelves of my favorite grocery store for the required guava paste and found nothing. I tried a different store this weekend and surprise, surprise – guava paste! In my haste to get home and try my personal recipe, I forgot to pick up the puff pastry so I turned right back around. Yes, I wanted these that badly.

Here’s the thing about this recipe – it is so forgiving. Put too much guava paste in? Not a problem if you love guava. Too much sweet cream cheese? Is there ever really too much sweet cream cheese? I even forgot to use the egg wash to hold the two ends of the tart together. As you can see by the picture below, this batch of tarts doesn’t look bakery ready but they were still delicious. Don’t make that mistake!

Guava and Cheese Tart - The Oops Batch

Give it a shot and have a taste of Miami today! This recipe is quick, easy and delicious. Try it out and let me know if you are hooked!

Ingredients

1 Sheet Puff pastry

6 Slices Guava paste

2 Tbsp Powdered sugar

4 oz Cream cheese (1/2 block)

1 Egg

1 Tbsp Water

Directions

  1. Roll out puff pastry slightly. Cut into 6 similarly  sized rectangles.
  2. Mix powdered sugar and cream cheese.
  3. Spoon approximately 1 tbls of cream cheese mixture on one side of the puff pastry, leaving at least 1/2 inch on the side.
  4. Place one slice of guava paste on other side of puff pastry, leaving approximately 1/2 inch on other side and slightly overlapping the cream cheese (see photo below).
  5. Mix egg and water in small bowl. Dot top right corner and bottom left corner with egg wash. Connect these corners in center (see photo below). Brush all exposed pastry with egg wash.
  6. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned.

Guava and Cheese Tarts Before Baking

Time for a Treat: Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies

July 19, 2011 By in Dessert Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Butter and brown sugar are two of my favorite things. Nutty melted butter with caramelly (yes, it’s a word – in my vocabulary anyway) brown sugar. Does it get any more comforting than that? I vote no. This buttery concoction reminds me of my youthful sweet tooth days. Butterscotch hard candies, butter pecan ice cream with butterscotch topping, even ooey-gooey blondies with butterscotch chips. Are you salivating yet? As an adult, I still lean towards this buttery sweet goodness. Just last year I pulled a pan out of the oven and
absent mindedly stuck my finger in a puddle of the syrupy stuff without even thinking about the painful consequences. I believe my sister’s only words, accompanied by an unbelieving head shake, were “Real Smart, Tanya”. I had a blister for days – it was well worth it.

So in my quest for a somewhat adult version of my favorite flavor combo, I tried these Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies. Sweet enough to feed my craving without overwhelming my grown up sensibilities. They are perfect alone or served with some butter pecan ice cream. Or better yet…serve that ice cream in between two cookies for a fantastic ice cream sandwich. Tell me how you served your cookies.

Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

2 Cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 Cup margarine

1/2 Cup vegetable oil

1 Cup packed brown sugar

1 Cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 Cups quick cooking oats

1 1/4 Cups butterscotch chips
Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, cream margarine, oil, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually stir in the sifted ingredients until well blended. Mix in oats and butterscotch chips. Drop from a teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheets.
  3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Let set up on the cookie sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

First Try: Key Lime Pie

July 17, 2011 By in Dessert Tags: , , , , , , , 1 Comment

As a new blogger, I really struggled with how to kick this blog off. What recipe would be my first? I swear I am more anxious about this than all of the other firsts in my life…first kiss, first home, first job, and all the rest. Then it just clicked. I was at the farmer’s market this weekend and saw the bag of fruit that would make up my mind. Key Limes! Although I live in Florida, I very rarely find any key limes at local stores or markets. These tiny citrus gems are famous for that perennial Key West, Florida favorite: Key Lime Pie. My version of this pie is smooth and creamy, tart and sweet, and is simply the perfect end to almost any meal. Join me here in sunny Florida with a refreshing slice of Key Lime Pie. Let me know if you enjoy it. I truly look forward to hearing from you.

Key Limes

Key Lime Pie

1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup sugar

6 tbsp butter, melted

2 tsp lime zest

2 cans (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup key lime juice (anywhere from 20-40 key limes)

1 tbsp lime zest

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp lime juice

1 tbsp powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter and lime zest (first four ingredients). Press into 8 or 9 inch  pie plate. Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees F for 9 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, key lime juice, and zest. Pour into pie plate. Bake 8-10 minutes. Do not allow pie to brown.

3. Chill pie for at least 2 hours.

4. While pie is chilling, whip heavy cream, lime juice and powdered sugar to whipped cream consistency.

5. Serve pie with whipped cream.