Category: Dessert

Recipes for desserts.

Categories
Dessert

Creating a decadent cheesecake isn’t ‘cherry’ difficult

Making chocolate cherry cheesecake is a whole lot of hurry up and wait, as the components need to come up to room temperature between steps, but the final dessert is a deliciously decadent dessert that is worth all the time it takes to create.
Making chocolate cherry cheesecake is a whole lot of hurry up and wait, as the components need to come up to room temperature between steps, but the final dessert is a deliciously decadent dessert that is worth all the time it takes to create.

“We’re in! What can I bring?” I texted my mom about Easter lunch.

“A dessert of some kind,” she wrote back. “Make something easy!!!!”

“Since when do I make complicated desserts?” I responded, punctuating it with a laughing emoji.

So, in other words, here’s a slightly complicated (but amazingly decadent) dessert I made for Easter lunch with my family.

This comes from “The First Year” blog. You can find the original post at https://thefirstyearblog.com/chocolate-cherry-cheesecake/. I added extra vanilla in my version and changed up the topping, as I’ll explain later.

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Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake

Making chocolate cherry cheesecake is a whole lot of hurry up and wait, as the components need to come up to room temperature between steps, but the final dessert is a deliciously decadent dessert that is worth all the time it takes to create.
Course Dessert
Keyword cherry, chocolate, chocolate ganache, chocolate graham crackers, cream cheese, fresh cherries, graham cracker crust, Italian creamer, semisweet chocolate chips, vanilla

Ingredients

Crust Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
  • 5 tablespoons butter melted

Cheesecake Ingredients

  • 3 8- ounce packages cream cheese use the full fat
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/2 cup Italian cream flavored coffee creamer use the full fat
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup cherries chopped (use fresh or thawed and drained frozen fruit)

Ganache Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 3/4 cup chocolate chips I used semi-sweet

Topping Ingredients

  • about 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
  • about 1 cup fresh cherries

Instructions

Crust Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Prepare an eight-inch springform pan by wrapping the bottom piece in aluminum foil and then assembling the pan. Wrap the outside in three more layers of foil, making sure it goes up along the outsides of the pan. Set it aside.
  • Find a nine-by-13-inch pan or something similar that your springform will fit into so you can use it to make a water bath. (I ended up using a large bowl.) You’ll need this later.
  • Make sure the graham crackers are crushed finely, and pour them into a bowl along with the melted butter, mixing well to coat all the crackers with the butter.
  • Press the crumbs into the bottom of your prepared pan, using a glass or measuring cup to compact them firmly.
  • Bake for eight to 10 minutes or until the crust is lightly toasted.
  • Set the pan aside and let it come up to room temperature.
  • Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Cheesecake Directions

  • In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese on high speed for two to three minutes, making sure it is smooth and creamy.
  • Beat in the sugar and vanilla until smooth. Next, beat in the creamer, and finally, beat in the eggs, one at a time, making sure the mixture is completely smooth in between additions.
  • Finally, beat on high for one more minute, and then fold in the cherries.
  • Once the springform pan is cooled to room temperature, pour the cheesecake mixture into it.
  • Place the springform pan into your nine-by-13 pan and fill the nine-by-13 with water until it’s about one inch below the top of the tin foil on the springform pan.
  • Carefully transfer the whole contraption to your 325-degree oven and bake for one hour or until just the middle of the cheesecake wobbles when you gently shake the pan, but the edges are firm.
  • When the cheesecake is done, turn off the oven and crack the oven door. Leave the cheesecake in the oven to cool for about an hour to an hour and one-half. Once it is at room temperature, remove it from the oven and water bath (you can toss the foil layers at this point) and put in the refrigerator for six hours or overnight to completely chill.

Ganache Directions

  • Remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator, run a knife around the outside to loosen the edges from the springform, and remove the cheesecake from the pan.
  • Move it to your serving plate.
  • Add the chocolate chips to a heat safe bowl.
  • In a small pot, bring the heavy cream to a boil over medium heat, stirring regularly to keep it from scalding. As soon as it boils, pour it over the chocolate chips. Stir to incorporate the chocolate and cream, and then let it sit for about five minutes to cool.
  • Using a spatula, spread the ganache over the top and sides of your cheesecake, trying to form an even layer. (It will harden as you go, so work quickly.)
  • Add chocolate chips and fresh cherries to the top for decoration. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.

This got rave reviews from everyone. It was creamy and fruity and chocolatey and fabulous. I ended up creating a homemade cherry pie filling that I put on top instead of fresh cherries, since I was using up fruit from my freezer, and that was fabulous, too.

And, in my defense, it was really only complicated because of all the waiting time between steps for this recipe. Overall, it actually wasn’t too bad.

See, Mom? I can totally do simple.

This piece first appeared in print on April 4, 2024.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Breakfast Cookies Dessert

Combining cookies and cinnamon rolls is totally friend‘chip’ goals

Chocolate chip cookie cinnamon rolls are exactly what the name implies: a gooey, delicious combination of cookies and sweet rolls. Since the recipe uses pre-made ingredients, it’s extremely easy for even amateur bakers to accomplish.
Chocolate chip cookie cinnamon rolls are exactly what the name implies: a gooey, delicious combination of cookies and sweet rolls. Since the recipe uses pre-made ingredients, it’s extremely easy for even amateur bakers to accomplish.

Every once in awhile, I run across a food idea so dumb but so obviously delicious that I just have to try it.

It happened when I made poutine tacos. It happened when I decided to try Mountain Dew and Doritos cupcakes.

And it happened again this past week, when I saw a simple recipe that promised to combine two high-calorie, delectable treats: cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip cookies.

So I went to the store, dumping a package of pre-made cookies and pre-made rolls into my cart and hoping no one who regularly reads my column saw me and wondered if I was losing a step.

And then I made magic in my kitchen.

I was right. They were dumb. But they were so, so good, and now that I have the knowledge that this can be done, it’s only right that I share it with all of you so you can shame buy packages of refrigerated dough and try this out at your house, too.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “Dude Foods” by Nick Chipman. (If you’re into weird food experiments, he’s your guy.) You can find the original post at https://dudefoods.com/chocolate-chip-cookie-stuffed-cinnamon-rolls/. There were only two ingredients for this, so I didn’t change those up, but I did clarify some directions that should make your life a little easier when trying these.

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Cinnamon Rolls

Chocolate chip cookie cinnamon rolls are exactly what the name implies: a gooey, delicious combination of cookies and sweet rolls. Since the recipe uses pre-made ingredients, it’s extremely easy for even amateur bakers to accomplish.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword canned cinnamon rolls, cookie dough, easy dessert, quick dessert

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
  • 12.4 ounce package of refrigerated cinnamon roll dough with icing

Instructions

  • Let the cookie dough come up to room temperature before starting assembly.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set it aside.
  • Cut two large pieces of parchment paper or waxed paper, and sandwich the cookie dough between them. Using a rolling pin, roll out the cookie dough to about one-quarter inch in thickness, trying to keep it in as much of a rectangular shape as you can.
  • Carefully remove the top layer of paper and set it aside. Unroll the cinnamon rolls and place them, lengthwise, evenly across the cookie dough. It’s OK if you end up with a little space between or if they hang off the end a little.
  • Take a table knife or pizza cutter and cut a line in the cookie dough between each cinnamon roll, making long strips.
  • Place the paper back on top of the dough. Slide it onto a baking sheet, place another baking sheet on top, and flip the stack over.
  • Now, peel the top layer of paper off and begin tightly rolling the cinnamon roll/cookie dough lines into rolls, and place them on your prepared baking sheet, spacing them at least an inch apart.
  • Once all of the dough is rolled, bake for about 15 minutes or until the dough is soft but set up on the bottoms. While the rolls are hot, cover them with the icing included with the cinnamon rolls. Serve them immediately and store any leftovers in an airtight container. This will make eight rolls.

I was seriously almost angry that these were so stinking good, because they were way too easy to make. They were soft and cinnamon-y and chocolaty and would be phenomenal with a big glass of milk. We were lucky to have a get together the day I made these, so I managed to get away with only eating half of a roll, which I shared with Joey, before passing these calorie bombs off on our friends. (Sorry, gang!)

I can officially cross another weird recipe off my to do list, though, and that’s pretty cool. I have discovered that curiosity is a large part of what drives my kitchen experiments, and I was happy to answer the “what if” of this food combination.

This piece first appeared in print on March 28, 2024.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

Put this ‘four’midable cake on your list for this week

This cake is made with only four ingredients—yogurt, eggs, vanilla extract and cornstarch. It’s a lightly sweet dessert that pairs well with fruit, honey or maple syrup and has a consistency a bit like a custard.
This cake is made with only four ingredients—yogurt, eggs, vanilla extract and cornstarch. It’s a lightly sweet dessert that pairs well with fruit, honey or maple syrup and has a consistency a bit like a custard.

I was recently given the opportunity to speak to the Newton Kiwanis about the many projects I have been working on at the newspaper.

We enjoyed a great lunch and good conversation before I spent a bit talking about my job, including my over 10-year expedition into writing this column.

I noted to them that sometimes the recipes I try these days get a little weird, because I often feel like I’m running out of ideas for something new each week.

This week was definitely one of those weeks, but it was also one of those recipes that once I saw it online, I had to try it. It’s a cake that is billed as having only three ingredients. It actually has four, though, if you don’t count the toppings, so I decided to change the name. (See? There is accuracy in journalism.) Regardless, the combination sounded super strange, and I couldn’t resist.

This recipe comes from the blog “The Modern Nonna.” You can find the original post at https://themodernnonna.com/3-ingredient-yogurt-cake/. I doubled the vanilla in my version below.

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Four-Ingredient Yogurt Cake

This cake is made with only four ingredients—yogurt, eggs, vanilla extract and cornstarch. It’s a lightly sweet dessert that pairs well with fruit, honey or maple syrup and has a consistency a bit like a custard.
Course Dessert
Keyword cornstarch, easy dessert, eggs, low-calorie, low-fat, vanilla, yogurt

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups vanilla yogurt
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 5 tablespoons cornstarch
  • Optional toppings: fruit honey, maple syrup, powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Line a nine-by-five-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, letting the excess hang over the edges a bit so you can remove the cake easily when it’s done.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a mixing bowl, whisk the yogurt and eggs until they are smooth.
  • Whisk in the vanilla and cornstarch, and continue stirring until everything is well combined.
  • Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Let the cake cool, gently remove it from the pan using the parchment paper, and transfer to a serving plate. Top with fruit, honey or maple syrup and sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Slice and serve.
  • Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container.

This. Was. Weird. It had a bit of a custard consistency, but it was firm enough to slice easily, too. I opted for honey and powdered sugar on mine, and it was very lightly sweet. Joey and I agreed it would have been even better with some fresh berries on top. The flavor profile reminded me a little bit of tapioca pudding.

Also, be ready for this to puff up a whole lot and then fall to being about two inches tall.

The recipe’s author also noted that you can use any other flavor of yogurt that sounds good, too, so if you’re in the mood to experiment even further, you have tons of options.

I really enjoyed my time with the Kiwanis, although no one seemed particularly excited by my explanation of this week’s weird recipe.

To each their own, I suppose.

This piece first appeared in print on March 14, 2024.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Breakfast Dessert

Try a great mini sweet that’s perfect to have ’round

Mini pumpkin spice donuts are completely addictive, with tons of delicious spices and a fabulous cinnamon-sugar coating.
Mini pumpkin spice donuts are completely addictive, with tons of delicious spices and a fabulous cinnamon-sugar coating.

When I was a kid, our Sunday morning breakfasts before church would often be something special from the day-old bakery we had in town.

One of my personal favorites was when we’d get mini donuts. I would dip them in milk, trading off between chocolate-covered and cinnamon sugar flavors.

I have been thinking about those donuts ever since I found a mini donut pan at our local thrift shop, and I finally took the plunge on baking some of my own.

Around Thanksgiving this year, I accidentally bought pumpkin pie filling instead of regular canned pumpkin, and it has been sitting in my pantry ever since, so I decided it was high time to both use up that can and break in my new pan.

The recipe I made is from the blog “Lovely Indeed.” You can find the original post at https://lovelyindeed.com/mini-donut-recipe-baked-pumpkin-spice-mini-donuts/. I added extra spices in my version.

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Mini Pumpkin Spice Donuts

Mini pumpkin spice donuts are completely addictive, with tons of delicious spices and a fabulous cinnamon-sugar coating.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword baked donuts, canned cinnamon rolls, cinnamon-sugar, cloves, donuts, ginger, mini donuts, pumpkin

Ingredients

Donut Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cloves
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

Coating Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup butter melted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Spray the wells of a mini donut pan with cooking spray and set it aside.
  • In a mixing bowl, beat the oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt and baking powder until the mixture is smooth. Beat in the flour just until it’s all incorporated.
  • Transfer the batter to a piping bag or a large zip-top plastic bag with the tip snipped off.
  • Fill each well on the pan about three-fourths full, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
  • Remove the donuts from the pan and let them cool.
  • In another zip-top bag, combine the sugar and cinnamon.
  • Lightly brush each donut with melted butter, and then drop them (a few at a time) into the bag, and gently shake to coat them in cinnamon-sugar. Serve immediately, and store any leftovers in an airtight container.

This took some time to make, as my donut pan only has nine wells, and this recipe easily made several dozen donuts, but it also gave me plenty of time to wash up my dishes and listen to a podcast.

And these were worth it. We shared them with our guests for a mingle at our office, and then we shamelessly snacked on the leftovers for a few days afterwards. They were moist, full of flavor and very addictive. I had a few with a cup of coffee, and it was the perfect pairing.

I didn’t get a chance to dip any of these in milk like when I was younger, but it was still nice to remember those Sunday breakfasts with my family. And the best part? I didn’t even have to share these with my sister.

This piece first appeared in print on Feb. 29, 2024.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

This gooey, fancy souffle can’t possibly fall flat

Making this chocolate caramel pecan souffle takes some time and energy, but the deep bitter chocolate flavor, along with the sweetness of homemade caramel and the nuttiness of pecans makes all the effort worth it.
Making this chocolate caramel pecan souffle takes some time and energy, but the deep bitter chocolate flavor, along with the sweetness of homemade caramel and the nuttiness of pecans makes all the effort worth it.

If you have been reading my column for very long, you might remember a fancy lemon tart I made last year about this time.

It was a French recipe and included making everything from scratch. I decided to try it as a donation to one of our local non-profits, Peace Connections, for their annual soup supper and dessert auction.

When the group contacted me this year to see if I wanted to come up with another dessert for the auction, I turned to my “complicated” list to see what I should make.

With most of the recipes I choose, I try to pick things that are fairly easy for anyone to make and don’t take hours in the kitchen to create, but my feeling on dessert auctions is that I want to make a recipe that most people have no desire to try to do themselves but would gladly pay for the opportunity to try.

So I decided this was my week to try something I have never made before: a souffle.

I was intimidated by the project, but I figured that the auction isn’t until next week, and this was just my test run, so if I failed miserably, I had time to come up with a new idea.

But it turned out really, really well, and in case you can’t make it to the auction, I’m sharing the recipe so you can try it, too.

This comes from the blog “Bake or Break” by Jennifer McHenry. You can find the original post at https://bakeorbreak.com/2012/09/chocolate-caramel-pecan-souffle-cake/. I actually followed this recipe to the letter, because making a souffle for the first time scared me.

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Chocolate Caramel Pecan Souffle

Making this chocolate caramel pecan souffle takes some time and energy, but the deep bitter chocolate flavor, along with the sweetness of homemade caramel and the nuttiness of pecans makes all the effort worth it.
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Keyword bittersweet chocolate, bourbon, caramel, fancy dessert, pecans, semisweet chocolate chips, souffle, vanilla

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter melted
  • 1 cup butter room temperature
  • 1 cup superfine sugar divided, plus extra for coating pan
  • 16 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chopped (I used bittersweet)
  • 8 eggs separated, room temperature
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Caramel Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • pinch cream of tartar
  • 1 cup pecan halves
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Brush the melted butter generously over the entire inside of a 10-inch springform pan.
  • Pour about a tablespoon of superfine sugar into the coated pan and rotate it until the entire inside is coated with a thin layer of sugar (add a little more to the pan, as needed). Tap out any excess sugar and set the pan aside.
  • Add the cup of butter and chocolate to a large, microwave-safe mixing bowl, and microwave for 90 seconds at half power. Stir the mixture, and if it’s not yet melted, microwave at half power again, 30 seconds at a time and stirring after each time, until the mixture is smooth and everything is melted together. Set the chocolate aside.
  • In another mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and salt on medium speed until the mixture is smooth. While continuing to beat the mixture, slowly add 1/2 cup of the superfine sugar, and continue to beat until the mixture turns a pale yellow color. This will take several minutes.
  • Beat in the bourbon and vanilla, and then hand stir the egg mixture into the melted chocolate.
  • In another mixing bowl, add the egg whites and the cream of tartar (it’s recommended to use a stainless steel bowl for this). Start with your mixer on low and beat until the egg whites are a bit foamy, then turn the speed up to high and beat until peaks begin to form. Add in the other 1/2 cup of superfine sugar, a little at a time, continuing to beat the mixture on high, and once it forms stiff peaks, you’re ready for the next step.
  • Stir about one-third of the whipped eggs into the chocolate mixture until all of the white disappears, and then gently fold the rest of the eggs into it, just mixing until all of the white is incorporated but being careful to keep the mixture as airy as you can.
  • Pour the batter to the springform pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cake puffs up, the top is firm, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs.
  • Let the souffle cool for at least 15 minutes before removing the sides of the pan. (Don’t worry if it falls a bit while it cools; that’s supposed to happen, and we’ll cover it all up with caramel soon.)
  • While the cake cools, make the caramel. In a heavy saucepan, add the sugar, water and cream of tartar and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the sugar is fully dissolved.
  • Turn the heat up to high and let the mixture boil for several minutes, continuing to stir intermittently, until it turns a deep amber. Remove it from the heat as soon as it reaches that color so that it doesn’t burn.
  • Off the heat, stir in the pecans, cream and salt. (Mine fizzed up a bit when I did this. Just keep stirring.)
  • Put the pan back on low heat and stir continuously for about five minutes or until the caramel thickens. Stir in the bourbon, and continue to stir for a couple more minutes until the sauce thickens again. You’re looking for a gooey consistency like an ice cream topping.
  • Pour the caramel mixture evenly over the cake, and let the cake cool completely before serving. Store in an airtight container.

This was definitely a several-hour project, but not only did my souffle turn out beautifully, it was absolutely delicious, too. It was extremely decadent with the bitter chocolate and the sweet caramel. It was amazing with a cup of coffee, and I bet it would be great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, too. This is one of those desserts where a small piece is the perfect amount because of how rich it is.

And if you don’t want to try to make this one yourself, I’ll be making another that could be yours.

The Peace Connections soup supper begins at 5:30 p.m. and is by donation. The dessert auction will go from 6:15 to 7 p.m. Everything will take place Thursday, Feb. 29, at Newton Nazarene Church, 1000 N Main St., Newton, and the proceeds will benefit Harvey County Circle of Hope, which helps community members reach financial stability. You can learn more at peaceconnections.org.

Plus, I can cross a souffle off my list, along with a French cream tart. Now I just have to figure out what I’ll make next year.

This piece first appeared in print on Feb. 22, 2024.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Breakfast Dessert

Roll through your cinnamon cravings with a simple cake

A cinnamon roll cake is an easy way to accomplish the great flavor of homemade cinnamon rolls without all the work.
A cinnamon roll cake is an easy way to accomplish the great flavor of homemade cinnamon rolls without all the work.

Do you have those friends in your life where you have to try several times to plan a get-together before you can actually find a date on the calendar that works?

This past weekend, the stars aligned for us to finally spend an evening with just such a pair. They were gracious enough to invite us to their home, where they had a delicious bowl of chili and fresh cornbread waiting for us.

Knowing that chili was on the menu, I started to wrack my brain earlier in the day about what kind of dessert goes with it, and my mind just kept going back to cinnamon rolls.

I mean, yeah, cinnamon rolls are a perfect compliment to a big bowl of chili, but they’re also generally pretty time consuming, and time was not on my side that afternoon.

Thank goodness I found a recipe for a cinnamon roll cake that came to my rescue instead, and I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

This comes from the blog “The Country Cook” by Brandie Skibinski. You can find the original post at https://www.thecountrycook.net/cinnamon-roll-cake/. I doubled the vanilla and quadrupled the cinnamon in my version.

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Cinnamon Roll Cake

A cinnamon roll cake is an easy way to accomplish the great flavor of homemade cinnamon rolls without all the work.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword brown sugar, cake, cinnamon, cinnamon roll, coffeecake, easy cinnamon roll, vanilla

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups milk I used skim
  • 1/2 cup butter melted

Filling Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup butter softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 4 tablespoons cinnamon

Glaze Ingredients

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 5 tablespoons milk I used skim
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a nine-by-13-inch baking pan by spraying it with cooking spray. Set it aside.
  • For the cake, in a mixing bowl, beat the flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and milk until everything is smooth and well combined.
  • Hand stir in the butter, and then spread the batter evenly into your prepared pan.
  • For the filling, in another mixing bowl, beat together all of the filling ingredients until it forms a smooth paste.
  • Drop the cinnamon mixture by the tablespoonful onto the cake batter, and then swirl it into the batter using a knife.
  • Bake the cake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • When the cake comes out of the oven, whisk the glaze ingredients until it is smooth. If you want a thicker glaze, add a little more powdered sugar. If you want it thinner, add a little more milk.
  • Pour the glaze over the cake and serve warm. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

This was very much like if a coffee cake married a cinnamon roll. The main difference is because you put the glaze on the cake while it’s still warm, it melts into the cake instead of staying visibly on top like a normal cinnamon roll. If you’d rather have that look and texture, I’d recommend letting the cake cool completely before glazing and making a bit of a thicker glaze.

I ended up making an eight-by-eight pan of this by halving the recipe. There was only going to be four of us, and I really didn’t need the leftovers in my kitchen all week, so that made it perfect.

Even better, we had an excellent meal with excellent people. Being able to spend time with friends, cinnamon rolls or not, is so, so sweet.

This piece first appeared in print on Jan. 11, 2024.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

Become ‘nut’orious for simple pecan brownies

Pecan brownies are flavored with butter, unsweetened chocolate and vanilla, along with lots of pecans to create a great dessert for a small gathering or cookie exchange.
Pecan brownies are flavored with butter, unsweetened chocolate and vanilla, along with lots of pecans to create a great dessert for a small gathering or cookie exchange.

We had a bit of a scaled-down celebration for Christmas this year, with several of our family members traveling outside of Kansas, so I very carefully considered what treats I would be making.

Normally, I overdo it with several types of candies and baked goods to share, but knowing that our group would be a bit smaller, I promised myself I would stick to only three things.

Well, I had to, of course, make my yearly batch of peppernuts. It just wouldn’t feel like Christmas without them.

Then I decided that I would go easy on myself and make just a few peanut clusters. You know, a couple dozen or so—a small batch.

And finally, I had to throw in a new recipe to try, and sticking to my simple theme for the year, I landed on what looked to be a yummy pan of pecan brownies. The recipe made a nice, eight-by-eight-inch batch of brownies that were perfect for our small celebration, and it’s a great one to keep in the recipe box for future gatherings.

This comes from Taste of Home. You can find the original at https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/pecan-brownies/. I doubled the vanilla in my version.

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Pecan Brownies

Pecan brownies are flavored with butter, unsweetened chocolate and vanilla, along with lots of pecans to create a great dessert for a small gathering or cookie exchange.
Course Dessert
Keyword baker’s chocolate, brownies, butter, cookie exchange, easy dessert, pecans, small dessert, unsweetened chocolate, vanilla

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Prepare an eight-by-eight-inch baking pan by lightly greasing it with butter, shortening or cooking spray. Set it aside.
  • In a medium-sized pot, melt the butter and chocolate, stirring constantly. Once they are completely melted, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the sugar.
  • Let the mixture cool for a few minutes.
  • Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl, and add the eggs, vanilla and flour to the pot, stirring to combine everything well.
  • Finally, fold in the pecans (save a few to sprinkle on the top of the batter).
  • Spread the mixture into your prepared baking pan and sprinkle the top with a few pecan pieces.
  • Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Let the brownies cool before slicing them and storing them in an air-tight container.

I liked these, because they were chocolatey and nutty and not sickeningly sweet. I also sliced them into small squares, which made them perfect for the Christmas snack table.

In addition to sharing these with our family, they were a nice addition to some Christmas gifts we dropped off with friends on Christmas Eve, and I was very happy with how they turned out.

Even better, they’re already gone and not hanging around on my kitchen counter, tempting me to have just one more.

I can’t quite say the same for the peanut clusters, but hey, at least I tried.

This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 28, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

We now know for whom the pie shell tolls

Toll House chocolate chip cookie pie is a rich dessert based on the classic cookie, with a chewy filling, crunchy walnuts and pops of sweet chocolate.
Toll House chocolate chip cookie pie is a rich dessert based on the classic cookie, with a chewy filling, crunchy walnuts and pops of sweet chocolate.

It turns out, chocolate chip cookies are a much newer invention than I would have thought.

An article on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library website notes that the famous cookies were first invented in 1938 by Ruth Wakefield.

Wakefield and her husband, Kenneth, ran the Toll House Restaurant in Massachusetts, hence the enduring “Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie” name.

There’s apparently plenty of debate surrounding the true lore of how Wakefield managed to create them, but that’s kind of how all of the stories of famous recipes seem to play out.

Regardless, her invention has become such a part of culture that most of us probably don’t even think about them having an origin. The only reason I looked into it was because I wondered where this week’s recipe for a Toll House chocolate chip cookie pie originally came from and stumbled on the history of the cookie. It makes for good reading along with a slice of pie.

The version of this recipe I tried comes from the blog, “A Family Feast” by Jack and Martha Pesa. You can find the original post at https://www.afamilyfeast.com/toll-house-chocolate-chip-pie/. I added vanilla and whipped cream to my version.

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Toll House Chocolate Chip Pie

Toll House chocolate chip cookie pie is a rich dessert based on the classic cookie, with a chewy filling, crunchy walnuts and pops of sweet chocolate.
Course Dessert
Keyword brown sugar, chocolate chip cookie pie, chocolate chips, cookie pie, semisweet chocolate chips, Toll House cookies, vanilla, walnuts, whipped cream

Ingredients

  • 1 pie crust
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips plus a few for decorating
  • 1 cup walnuts chopped
  • about 2 cups whipped cream

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
  • Roll out your pie crust and place it in a deep, nine-inch pie plate. Crimp the edges to your liking and set it aside.
  • In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs for about two minutes or until they are light yellow.
  • Beat in the flour, sugar and brown sugar, and then beat in the butter and vanilla until the batter is smooth.
  • Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts, and spread the batter into your pie crust.
  • Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
  • Let the pie cool completely and top with whipped cream and some extra chocolate chips.

When my pie came out of the oven, I didn’t think the top was very pretty, which is why I decided to slather it in whipped cream and chocolate chips. It gave it a real visual wow factor, and the flavors were great together.

This is also a great recipe for a beginning pie baker to try. It’s really easy to put together, and it’s easy to tell when it’s done.

It’s also a great way to enjoy a classic, 85-year-old recipe in a slightly different way. The only drawback is that you probably can’t dip this into a glass of milk, but I won’t fault you for trying.

This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 7, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Breakfast Dessert

Breakfast bars are ‘apple’utely great for a morning treat

Apple crisp breakfast bars are not overly sweet. The warm cinnamon flavor, along with the nuttiness of oats, makes these a fabulous morning treat with a hot cup of tea.
Apple crisp breakfast bars are not overly sweet. The warm cinnamon flavor, along with the nuttiness of oats, makes these a fabulous morning treat with a hot cup of tea.

Recently, I had the chance to meet one of our readers from Hesston.

We had a fairly short (but very pleasant) conversation, and before I left, he gestured to a bag on his kitchen counter.

“Do you like apples?” he asked me.

And that’s how I became the excited owner of four huge, beautiful golden delicious apples. He said he bought an entire case of them recently and had been working through them, little by little. I was happy to take these off his hands.

I was very tempted to just eat all of them, but instead, I felt like the gift deserved a spot in a new recipe, and after searching for an apple recipe that used sweet apples instead of tart, I landed on the one I’m sharing with you this week.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “Healthy Family Project” by Amanda Keefer. You can find the original post at https://healthyfamilyproject.com/recipes/apple-crisp-breakfast-bars/. I added extra maple syrup and cinnamon in my version.

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Apple Crisp Breakfast Bars

Apple crisp breakfast bars are not overly sweet. The warm cinnamon flavor, along with the nuttiness of oats, makes these a fabulous morning treat with a hot cup of tea.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword apples, breakfast bars, cinnamon, Golden delicious apples, maple syrup, quick oats, sweet apples

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quick oats
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup and 4 tablespoons maple syrup divided
  • 4 tablespoons butter room temperature
  • 4 teaspoons cinnamon divided
  • 1 egg
  • 2 sweet apples I used golden delicious, diced
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an eight-by-eight-inch baking pan by lining it with parchment paper, and set it aside.
  • In a bowl, mix the oats, flour, salt, one-fourth cup maple syrup, butter and two teaspoons cinnamon, and mix until everything is well combined and the texture resembles coarse crumbs.
  • Set aside one-half cup of the mixture.
  • In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg with a fork, and then pour it into the remaining crumb mixture, stirring to incorporate it completely. Spread the dough into the prepared baking dish into an even layer.
  • In another bowl, mix the apples, remaining maple syrup, remaining cinnamon and cornstarch until the apples are well-coated.
  • Spread the apple mixture evenly over the dough in the pan, and then top it with the oat mixture you set aside, crumbling it evenly over the top. (It won’t completely cover it; just get it evenly over the entire thing.)
  • Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the apples are fork tender.
  • Let the bars cool completely before slicing them into squares.
  • Store the bars in an airtight container.

These are not overtly sweet, even with the extra maple syrup I added in my version. They truly are a great breakfast bar, even though you could totally get away with sharing them as a dessert, too.

I ended up doubling my batch of these bars and sharing them as part of a brunch with friends. It’s an incredibly easy recipe to double.

It was nice to be able to take a simple gift and turn it into another gift for others. (I’m sure there’s a small-town metaphor in there somewhere.)

And it was a doubly sweet experience to have a nice conversation on a cold afternoon. Thanks again, Harvey; I hope we will chat again one day.

This piece first appeared in print on Nov. 9, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Cookies Dessert

Try a cookie recipe that is a piece of cake

Spice cake cookies are made very simply with a cake mix and a couple other ingredients. These are a great recipe when you need to bake something in a hurry.
Spice cake cookies are made very simply with a cake mix and a couple other ingredients. These are a great recipe when you need to bake something in a hurry.

For a recent get-together at our office, I decided I wanted my snack table to look ready for fall.

I set up a mini scarecrow, laid a garland of orange and red leaves along the back of the table and sprinkled candy corn strategically around the plates of goodies.

To compliment the look of fall, I decided it was time for some fall spices, too, but I had almost zero time leading up to the event to do a lot of baking.

Thank goodness for this week’s recipe, then, that let me use a cake mix and a few other ingredients to create some yummy cookies to share with our crew.

The recipe comes from the blog “Sizzling Eats” by Amy Desrosiers. You can find the original post at https://www.sizzlingeats.com/spice-cake-mix-cookies/. I did not add anything this one, because it was so easy. I did, however, roll my cookies much smaller than the original directions, which resulted in small, crispy cookies rather than big, soft ones. I made sure to note both options below.

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Spice Cake Cookies

Spice cake cookies are made very simply with a cake mix and a couple other ingredients. These are a great recipe when you need to bake something in a hurry.
Course Dessert
Keyword cake mix, easy cookies, fall dessert, fall spices, spice cake

Ingredients

  • 15.2- ounce spice cake mix
  • 1/2 cup oil vegetable or canola
  • 2 eggs
  • 3-4 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and line a couple cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • In a mixing bowl, beat the cake mix, oil and eggs until everything is well combined.
  • Pour the sugar in a separate, small bowl.
  • Roll the cookies into about golf-ball-sized balls for larger, soft cookies or about one-inch balls for small, crispy cookies, and roll them in the bowl of sugar to lightly coat each.
  • Place the balls one to two inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
  • Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned and set. Let them cool a bit before transferring them to an airtight container.

This made a ton of cookies, especially with making them a bit smaller, and they were perfect for everyone to have a few on their snack plates while they chatted and nibbled.

I do think you could still get a soft cookie out of the smaller option, but you’d want to under-bake them a bit to make sure they stay more pliable. I want to try these again sometime with the soft option—I’m a sucker for chewy cookies.

I was really happy with how these turned out, and I was especially excited to have cookies with a hint of cinnamon and clove sitting on the snack table. No matter how many mini scarecrows or candy pumpkins you have, it’s just not really fall until the right spices make their debut.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 26, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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