Category: Dessert

Recipes for desserts.

Brownies prove spices not ‘cinnamon’ous with fall

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date September 12, 2019

Mexican cinnamon brownies have a very simple spice mix of cinnamon, sugar and vanilla and are an addictive, easy dessert.

“It smells like fall in here,” Joey announced this weekend when he came home to the scent of fresh cinnamon brownies in our kitchen.

I forget that cinnamon normally evokes a cold weather feeling from people. I’ll eat it any time of year. Find me some cinnamon ice cream, and I’d be all in.

But I suppose the waning days of summer put me in the mindset to grab my big shaker of cinnamon out of the pantry to try a new recipe.

I wasn’t initially certain what made these Mexican cinnamon brownies rather than just cinnamon brownies, but the recipe’s author explains in his post that cinnamon is widely used in Mexican cooking and these brownies would be a good dessert to show up at a Cinco de Mayo party, and that explanation was good enough for me.

I found this recipe on the website “One How To.” The recipe is by Max D. Gray. You can find the original at https://food.onehowto.com/recipe/how-to-make-mexican-cinnamon-brownies-10574.html. I fixed up some of the directions to make them more clear and added extra cinnamon.

Mexican Cinnamon Brownies

Mexican cinnamon brownies have a very simple spice mix of cinnamon, sugar and vanilla and are an addictive, easy dessert.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword brownies, cinnamon

Ingredients

2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter softened
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 2/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 340 degrees.
Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan and set aside (an easy trick is to use the empty butter wrappers from the recipe to grease it).
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla.
Beat in the flour, baking powder and salt until the mixture is smooth and everything is completely incorporated.
Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and then evenly sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over the top (in full disclosure, I just used a spoon and sprinkled both until I felt satisfied I had good coverage, so I likely used a bit more cinnamon than is listed in the ingredients list).
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the brownies cool for about 20 minutes and then slice into bars and store in an airtight container.

As Joey pointed out, these made the whole house smell amazing, so if you’re having an open house and want to use the trick where you bake something right before people come over, tuck this recipe away.

They were great warm, but right out of the oven, I thought the cinnamon didn’t come through as much as I would have liked. I was vindicated the next morning, after they sat in their airtight container over night, when the cinnamon flavor popped perfectly in each bite.

They’re also the perfect texture to carry around and eat—no plates or forks required.

So maybe I’m pushing into fall spices too quickly in the year, but I figure any desserts that are good fodder for a Cinco de Mayo party can’t possibly only belong to autumn.

Now to see if cinnamon ice cream really does exist.

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 12, 2019.

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.

Tags brownies, cinnamon, Mexican

Cookies Dessert

These cookies are a ‘cream’ come true

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date August 29, 2019

Boston cream pie cookie bites are creamy, delicious and slightly addictive.

Early on in our marriage, Joey told me he loves Boston cream pie, and I kept that in the back of my mind for a long time as a recipe I should try to make for him.

But then I didn’t.

I think it’s probably because I often balk at making layer cakes, as though they’re somehow supremely more difficult than making one with a single layer.

But then I was gifted a mini muffin tin very recently, and I finally knew how I could give Joey a taste of Boston cream pie without making a large dessert.

I found a recipe for some Boston cream pie cookie bites not long ago on the blog “Practically Homemade.” You can find the post at https://practicallyhomemade.com/boston-cream-pie-cookie-bites/. The only thing I changed was a bit of the procedure, and I highly recommend using dark chocolate chips for the ganache rather than semi-sweet if you have it available.

Boston Cream Pie Cookie Bites

Boston cream pie cookie bites are creamy, delicious and slightly addictive.

Course Dessert

Keyword boston cream pie, cake mix, chocolate, cookies

Ingredients

1 box yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1 stick butter softened
3.25- ounce instant vanilla pudding
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup milk I used skim
2 tablespoon chocolate chips I used dark chocolate
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spray the cups of a mini muffin tin with cooking spray and set it aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs and butter until smooth.
Use a small scoop to evenly distribute the batter into all the cups (about a tablespoon or dough or so). Pat each cup down so that it has a smooth, flat top, and then bake for seven to eight minutes or until the edges are browned slightly.
Set the cookies aside to cool for about five minutes, and then use a tart shaper or a similarly shaped spoon handle to press down the middle of each cookie and create an indentation.
Let the cookies cool completely before going on to the next step, and remove them from the muffin tin.
For the filling, beat the pudding mix, cup of heavy cream and milk until the mixture forms stiff peaks.
Using the same scoop as before, evenly distribute the filling into all of the cups.
In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and two tablespoons heavy cream and microwave 10 seconds at a time, stirring between each heating, until the mixture is smooth. Spoon a little of the ganache over each of the cookies, and then refrigerate them until the ganache is set.
Store the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

These were a huge hit. So much so that when I took the last few cookies over to dinner at my sister and brother-in-law’s house, they announced I wasn’t allowed back without making them another batch (I think they were joking…). And then, when I returned home, Joey was a bit perturbed that his last few cookies ended up disappearing from the fridge.

I guess you can’t win them all.

I probably should still try making a real Boston cream pie, but I’m now obligated to make another batch of cookies for my sister and for Joey, so it still might be awhile before I get that recipe checked off my bucket list.

This piece first appeared in print on Aug. 29, 2019.

Tags Boston cream pie, cake mix recipe, chocolate

Dessert

Gelatin pie will make you say ‘Jell-O, there’

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date August 22, 2019

Strawberry gelatin pie is a cool treat for a hot day, with very simple ingredients and preparation.

With heat advisories peppering the weather reports this past week, I found myself in serious need of a cool, summer dessert that wouldn’t heat my kitchen past its breaking point.

I guess I didn’t really “need” it, but when the heat index is pushing into the triple digits, I often search for something sweet to try to cool things down a bit. Of course, I’m nearly always in search of something sweet.

This time, I opted for a non-ice-cream treat, which is rare for me, and I instead reached for a box of strawberry gelatin sitting in my pantry.

I was in the mood for a slice of pie, and since I’d recently found a recipe for a gelatin pie I wanted to try, I decided it was high time to whip one up.

The recipe I found was on the blog “Spaceships and Laser Beams.” You can find the original post at https://spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com/no-bake-strawberry-jello-pie/. I changed absolutely nothing, except I realized quickly that there is way too much filling produced by this recipe for just one pie, so I added an additional crust. If you’d rather make just one, you’ll just have leftover filling that you can let setup in the fridge and eat in non-pie form.

Strawberry Gelatin Pie

Strawberry gelatin pie is a cool treat for a hot day, with very simple ingredients and preparation.

Course Dessert

Keyword gelatin, Jell-O, no bake, strawberry

Ingredients

2/3 cup boiling water
3- ounce package strawberry gelatin
1 cup ice cold water
16 ounces frozen whipped topping defrosted
2 prepared 9-inch graham cracker crusts

Instructions

Add the gelatin to the 2/3 cup of boiling water and stir until it is completely dissolved.
In a large bowl, combine the gelatin and cold water and stir it until it begins to thicken just a little. Add in the whipped topping and stir well.
Refrigerate the filling for 30 minutes to let it begin to set up.
Stir the filling and spoon evenly into the two crusts.
Refrigerate the pies for at least three hours or overnight before slicing.
Store covered in the refrigerator.

This is one of those recipes that would be perfect for a beginning cook, especially if you do like I did and boil the water in the microwave instead of on the stovetop.

I also lazily created my ice water by putting a cube in my one-cup measuring cup, filling it with cold water, and waiting. As you can imagine, it didn’t take long to dissolve into nice, super cold water.

If you’ve never tried a gelatin pie before, it’s incredibly airy, making it the perfect, light after-dinner treat, and since it’s such a pretty shade of pink, it’s a nice addition to the table. You could easily decorate it with some more whipped cream if you wanted to.

And, while I won’t claim this as a health food, I did use the low-fat whipped topping and a reduced-fat graham cracker crust, so despite the fact that it’s most certainly still a dessert, it didn’t pack the calorie wallop that most pies tend to have.

Plus, it did cool me down, for at least a couple minutes, which was nice, but full disclosure, if Mother Nature persists with this balmy weather, it will probably take more than one slice to do the job.

This piece first appeared in print on Aug. 22, 2019.

Tags gelatin, Jell-O, no-bake, pie, strawberry

Cookies Dessert

You’ll love these caramel apple cookies to bits

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date July 25, 2019

Caramel apple oatmeal cookies have bits of caramel and fresh apple sprinkled throughout a soft oatmeal cookie dough.

While hunting for something in the freezer recently, I caused a bit of an avalanche of frozen food and discovered a bag of caramel bits tucked away on the bottom that I was gifted a few weeks ago by someone cleaning out their pantry.

I’ve never used caramel bits in baking before, and although I was tempted to just open the bag and eat them like candy, I decided it might be better to transform them into something so I could share the caloric wealth with family and friends.

From what I can tell, Kraft might be the only vendor that sells something called “caramel bits,” but the recipe I found for some caramel apple oatmeal cookies could also be achieved by buying normal-sized caramels and chopping them up.

I will also admit that this is clearly more of a fall recipe, but I’ll eat caramel any time of the year.

This recipe comes from the blog “Brownie Bites” by Erin Browne. You can find the original post at http://www.browniebites.net/caramel-apple-oatmeal-cookies/. I doubled the vanilla in my version.

Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies

Caramel apple oatmeal cookies have bits of caramel and fresh apple sprinkled throughout a soft oatmeal cookie dough.

Course Dessert

Keyword apple, cookies, oatmeal, salted caramel

Ingredients

1 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups old-fashioned or quick oats
11 ounces caramel bits
2 small Gala apples peeled, cored and diced

Instructions

(You’re going to refrigerate your dough, so no need to preheat your oven yet.)
Beat the butter and sugars until fluffy, then beat in the eggs and vanilla.
Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and oats until everything is well combined.
Stir in the caramel bits and diced apples.
Refrigerate your dough for about three hours or overnight. (I sped this up by putting mine in the freezer for an hour instead.)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
Scoop the dough in about two-tablespoon-size scoops and place them about two inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown.
Refrigerate the rest of the dough while the first batch bakes.
Let the cookies cool before placing them in a container. If they’re too warm, the caramel bits will want to melt out of the bottom of the cookies.
Using two baking sheets will let you keep going with the rest of the dough while each batch cools.

I normally advocate for putting warm cookies into an airtight container pretty quickly after coming out of the oven, but in this case, these are such soft cookies that they hold up better if you let them cool down before storing them.

I really liked the flavor of these, and while I thought at first I should add in a little cinnamon, too, these didn’t need it. They were great the way they were.

This is probably a good sign that I should clean out my freezer more often. Who knows what kinds of treasures are hidden away in there? More likely, who knows what kinds of strange, freezer-burned mysteries may be concealed beneath bags of frozen vegetables?

This piece first appeared in print on July 25, 2019.

Tags apple, caramel, oatmeal

Cookies Dessert

Sprinkle in some fun this Fourth

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date July 4, 2019

Cheesecake sprinkle cookies come together quickly and add lots of color to your dessert table.

For July 4th this year, Joey and I were invited to spend the afternoon and evening with my sister and brother-in-law, and of course, my wonderful niece.

She’s quickly approaching 2 years old, and although she probably won’t stay up long enough to see any fireworks this year, I’m sure we’ll have plenty of fun playing in the backyard before it’s time for bed.

I’m also going to bring along a little treat to spoil her just a bit, since that’s what aunts are for (at least that’s what I decided long ago).

So, when I was looking online for a recipe to use a box of cheesecake flavored instant pudding, I found in the back of my pantry, I discovered the perfect Fourth of July treat to share: cheesecake sprinkle cookies.

They’re perfect for the Fourth because there’s no frosting to melt, they don’t require refrigeration, and they’re full of bursts of color, just like Fourth of July fireworks.

The recipe I found came from the blog “Simple Sweet Recipes.” You can find the original post at http://simplesweetrecipes.com/sprinkles-cookies/. I doubled the vanilla in my version.

Cheesecake Sprinkle Cookies

Cheesecake sprinkle cookies come together quickly and add lots of color to your dessert table.

Course Dessert

Keyword cheesecake, cookies, instant pudding, sprinkles

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
3.4 ounces cheesecake instant pudding mix
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sprinkles plus more for topping cookies

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
Add the baking soda, pudding mix, and one cup of flour and mix until combined. Add the other cup of flour.
Once everything is combined, mix in the sprinkles.
Roll the dough into about one-inch balls and place them about one inch apart on a baking sheet. Press a few extra sprinkles into the top of each cookie.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies are set (they won’t really brown on top). Let them cool for a bit on the cookie sheet before transferring them to an airtight container.

I didn’t think there was anything that screamed “cheesecake” about the flavor of these cookies. Really, they’re just excellent, soft sugar cookies that look super fun.

The recipe author suggests that you could use other types of instant pudding, too, so you could easily toss in some vanilla or even lemon with these if you don’t want to use the cheesecake flavor. I’m tempted to try using chocolate, but then again, I’m always tempted to use chocolate.

After I finished this batch, I couldn’t wait to get them over to share with my family, but since I decided to bake several days early, I’ll just have to let them sit in their container on the counter until then.

But, since I also believe in sampling my own baking, I’m just hoping they last that long.

This piece first appeared in print on July 4, 2019.

Tags cheesecake, instant pudding, sprinkles, sugar cookies

Bread Breakfast Dessert

Sweet roll recipe is the only ‘bun’ for me

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date June 27, 2019

No one will be able to tell that you completely transformed a cake mix into these delectable chocolate sweet rolls.

When I first started going solo in the kitchen as a youngster, I was very concerned with cooking by the book.

Mom never minded me hovering over her shoulder (or if she did, she hid it really well), and I asked a lot of questions.

Once I felt ready to make meals on my own, I asked her to help me write out my own recipe cards, which I still have in my recipe box at home. My favorite one is for canned corn. She didn’t make fun of me when I asked her to help me write down the steps for how to heat it up and how much salt and pepper to add, and from the food stains on my notecard, I clearly used the “recipe” more than once over the years.

Nowadays, though, I’m a lot more adventurous and tend to tweak recipes regularly and without hesitation. Such was the case recently when I used a recipe for cake mix cinnamon rolls to make chocolate sweet rolls instead.

I actually used two authors’ recipes as my basis for this week. The rolls recipe comes from the blog “Norine’s Nest.” You can find her post at https://www.norinesnest.com/cake-mix-cinnamon-rolls/. The other recipe started as the filling recipe for some sweet rolls by Kate Wood on her blog “The Wood and Spoon.” You can find her recipe at http://thewoodandspoon.com/chocolate-sweet-rolls/. I made changes to each to come up with the concoction below.

Cake Mix Chocolate Sweet Rolls

No one will be able to tell that you completely transformed a cake mix into these delectable chocolate sweet rolls.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Keyword cake mix, chocolate, glaze, icing, sweet rolls

Ingredients

Rolls

1 Dutch chocolate cake mix
2 packages yeast instant or active
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups flour
2-1/4 cups hot water

Filling

6 ounces dark chocolate chips or chop up a bar
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons espresso or instant coffee powder I used a mocha-flavored
1/2 cup powdered sugar
about 1/2 cup sliced almonds or your favorite nut, chopped

Icing

1-1/3 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk you may need to add more
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

In a mixer with a dough hook (or you can start by mixing with a wooden spoon and switch over to kneading to bring it together), combine the cake mix, yeast, salt and two cups of flour.
Mix until it’s well combined and add the water slowly while the mixer continues to run.
Add in the rest of the flour, and mix until everything is well combined and the dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl to form a ball.
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured workspace, sprinkle the top with more flour and knead five or six times with floured hands until it forms into a well-shaped ball.
Cover the dough with a clean cloth and allow it to rise until it’s doubled in size (mine took about 20 minutes).
When the dough is almost ready to work with, combine the chocolate chips and butter into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 10 to 15 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until the mixture is smooth. Add the remaining filling ingredients except the sliced almonds and set aside.
Punch the dough down and roll out into a large rectangle about 1/4-inch thick.
Spread the filling out evenly over the entire rectangle of dough and sprinkle on the almonds.
Tightly roll the rectangle from the long side so that you get a nice, long, snake-like roll.
Cut the roll into 1-1/2-inch thick slices.
Grease two 9×12-inch pans and place the slices, with one of the cut sides up, into the pans. Space them out a bit to give them room to rise.
Cover both pans with a clean cloth and let them rise for about 30 more minutes or until they double in size.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the rolls for 20 minutes or until they are a golden brown.
Before serving, mix the icing ingredients together until smooth. If it’s too thick, add a little more milk until you get the consistency you like.
Let the rolls cool for about 10 minutes, and then drizzle or spread the icing over top of them.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

These were absolutely delicious. I immediately delivered them to friends and family to get them out of the house before we ate too many of them ourselves.

The best part of this recipe is that it’s super easy to customize. Just choose another cake mix and filling ingredients, and you have a completely new type of sweet roll to enjoy.

Younger me would have been amazed at how off script I went with this recipe, but we all start somewhere. Looking back, I’m just so thankful I had someone willing to patiently show me the ropes in the kitchen—canned corn recipes and all.

This piece first appeared in print on June 27, 2019.

Tags cake mix recipe, chocolate, glaze, icing, sweet rolls

Dessert Snack

Cherry Garcia brownies makes friends ‘Grateful Fed’

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date June 13, 2019

Cherry Garcia brownies are patterned after the Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor of the same name.

Over the seven years since I started writing this column, my family has gotten very used to being guinea pigs for new recipes.

So much so, that when I showed up with a dish of still-warm brownies for a board game night with my sister and brother-in-law last weekend, my sister looked at me and said, “I’m going to get quoted about this, aren’t I?”

I just shrugged, but yes, Sis, you are.

As I often do when summer rolls around, I bought a big bag of fresh cherries last week, and these brownies seemed like the perfect candidate to include them. I also might have spent some time sampling cherries while I baked, too. Job hazards.

My sister said she generally hates the taste of cherries and chocolate together (she might be adopted), but she gave two thumbs up for the new recipe.

I found this one by Lauren Miyashiro on the website “Delish.” You can find the original at https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a48932/cherry-garcia-brownies-recipe/. I doubled the vanilla, added more cherries and specified a dark chocolate brownie mix in my version.

Cherry Garcia Brownies

Cherry Garcia brownies are patterned after the Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor of the same name.

Course Dessert

Keyword brownies, cherry, dark chocolate

Ingredients

1 box dark chocolate brownie mix plus ingredients it calls for
8 ounces cream cheese slightly softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup pitted and quartered fresh cherries
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and prepare an 8-by-8-inch baking pan by spraying it with cooking spray.
Prepare the brownie mix according to package instructions and dump into the prepared pan. Set it aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, vanilla, egg and sugar until it’s light and fluffy (mine actually ended up mostly soupy, which works, too. Just make sure it’s well combined).
Stir in the cherries and chocolate chips and dump the cream cheese mixture over the brownie mix in the pan. Swirl the mixture with a knife to get some of the cream cheese layer into the brownies.
Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted down into the brownie layer comes up clean (mine took a bit longer than 45 minutes) and the cheesecake layer on top is set up.
Let the brownies cool a bit before slicing. I stored mine in an airtight container in the fridge.

I would recommend cutting these on the smaller side, because they’re a bit rich. The top is creamy, and the bottom is dense and chewy. And then there’s a little layer in the middle between the cheesecake and the brownie layer that’s perfectly gooey.

We had a great time playing games and eating brownies together, and we all decided the recipe was a winner, which was the only winning I did all night.

Maybe next time we get together I can earn some victories with the board games in addition to the kitchen.

This piece first appeared in print on June 13, 2019.

Tags brownies, cherries, chocolate chips, dark chocolate

Breakfast Dessert

Coffee cake comes highly rec’almond’ed

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date May 23, 2019

Almond coffee cake is pretty to look at and delicious to eat.

I only have a few rules for choosing recipes I want to try.

First, it has to be decently easy and not need a bunch of weird kitchen implements. Second, the ingredients need to be something I can find locally and not have to order online. Third, I have to want to eat it.

I feel like that third one goes without saying, but I thought I’d mention it anyway.

This week’s recipe just barely met my criteria, because I had no idea almond paste even existed until I examined the ingredients list. I was able to find it in my local grocery store, so I’m hoping the rest of you can, too. If not, there are also other recipes online to make it yourself.

It also nearly upset my rules because the part of the recipe where you’re supposed to “spread” the batter is not an easy task. This stuff is thick and tough to spread, so I recommend dolloping the batter and filling into the pan before spreading it so you have an easier time.

The recipe’s author said she used her fingers to spread it, but I had more luck with a rubber scraper instead.

I found this recipe on the blog “Curly Girl Kitchen.” You can find the original at https://www.curlygirlkitchen.com/2013/01/almond-cream-cheese-coffee-cake.html. I doubled the almond extract and cinnamon.

Almond Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Almond coffee cake is pretty to look at and delicious to eat.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Keyword almond, almond paste, coffeecake, cream cheese

Ingredients

Streusel Ingredients

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold butter
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Filling Ingredients

8 ounces almond paste
2 tablespoons sugar
4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Batter Ingredients

1/2 cup butter room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by coating it with cooking spray.
For the streusel, combine the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl, add the cold butter and use a pastry cutter or fork to work it in until it’s nice and crumbly and stir in the almonds. Put in the refrigerator for now.
For the filling, beat the almond paste, sugar and cream cheese until it’s smooth and set it aside (you’ll add the almonds later).
For the batter, beat the butter and sugar for about three minutes to get it light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla and almond extract until it’s well combined.
Beat in the sour cream.
Once the mixture is smooth, beat in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon until everything is just combined.
Put half of the batter into your prepared springform pan and spread it to an even layer (it’s a thick batter, so this is easier said than done).
Spoon the cream cheese filling in dollops all over the batter layer and spread it out as best as you can. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of sliced almonds on top of the filling.
Spoon the remaining batter in dollops on top of the almonds and spread it again.
Bake the cake for 15 minutes.
Remove it from the oven and top it with the streusel and then bake for another 40 to 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (don’t stick it all the way down to the filling layer, since that will stay gooey even after baking).
Let the cake cool for about 20 minutes before removing it from the pan. Let it cool completely and then store in an airtight container if not serving right away. (I kept mine in the fridge.)

While this recipe was a bit more complicated than I often choose, it was totally worth it. The cake was beautiful, and it would be great for breakfast or dessert.

And although it stretched rules one and two, definitely fit rule three, since I managed to eat more than one slice of this cake before it was gone. I guess one out of three ain’t bad.

This piece first appeared in print on May 23, 2019.

Tags almond, almond paste, coffeecake, cream cheese

Dessert

Try a cake that will have you ‘plum’ ready for summer

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date April 25, 2019

A plum cake is not only visually appealing but a delicious addition to a summer dessert table.

Summer fruits and veggies are just starting to make their appearance in the grocery stores, and I’m getting so excited for when gardens are in full swing and all of those delicious offerings are coming from local growers.

For Easter with my family, I volunteered (as I normally do) to bring dessert, and as I walked the produce department at my local grocery store, some beautiful, purple plums caught my eye, and I knew what I was going to make.

The cake I made was not only visually appealing, but it was delicious, too, and it wasn’t all that hard to put together. I can’t wait to see how this cake will turn out with plums later this summer when they’ll be even more flavorful.

I found this recipe on the blog “Once Upon a Chef” by Jennifer Segal. You can find it at https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/late-summer-plum-cake.html. I changed up the spices and their amounts in my version to suit what was in my spice cabinet and for a bigger pop of flavor.

Plum Cake

A plum cake is not only visually appealing but a delicious addition to a summer dessert table.

Course Dessert

Keyword cake, plum

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk I used skim
1 pound plums pitted and quartered

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a nine-inch baking pan and set aside. (I served mine straight out of a nine-inch pie pan. The author suggests using a springform pan.)
Beat the butter and one cup of sugar for about three minutes.
Beat in the egg and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk, and mix until everything is just combined.
Pour the batter into your pan and spread it evenly. Placing them skin-side up, place the plums in concentric circles around the pan, leaving a little bit of batter between each.
Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of sugar all over the top of the cake, and bake for about 60 minutes or until the cake is golden brown a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake part comes out batter free.
Let the cake cool before slicing and store it in an airtight container.

One of the happy side effects of making this cake was having several plums left over, which our schnauzer, K.C., was extremely happy to help me eat. (Side note: always remove the pits before giving plums to pups.) As a fruit and veggie fan herself, she’s looking forward to more fresh produce coming into the house, too, especially carrots.

Unfortunately for K.C., only the humans got to enjoy the finished cake, though. It got good reviews from my tiny cousins all the way up to the older members of the family.

It will be a great summer recipe to have on hand—as soon as Mother Nature cooperates.

This piece first appeared in print on April 25, 2019.

Tags cake, plum

Cookies Dessert

Do ‘nut’ miss out on some delicious cookies

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date April 4, 2019

These classic white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies are a real crowd pleaser.

According to the “New World Encyclopedia,” the macadamia nut hails from Australia originally, but once the Europeans discovered them in 1828, the evergreen trees they grow on eventually made their way to Hawaii in 1881.

It wasn’t long before they became a commodity, and while the United States produces quite a few, Australia is still the leader in growing them.

The website “Australian Macadamias” notes that the nuts were considered a delicacy by Aboriginal people and were used in trade and ceremonies for a long, long time. They even had a special legend for how macadamia nuts came to be.

I’ve always loved macadamia nuts. I will sometimes pick them first out of a bowl of mixed nuts, and every time I was ever approached over the years to buy cookie dough from my students, I opted for white chocolate chip macadamia nut dough.

To be honest, most of that dough ended up as a snack out of the freezer, but I really like the baked cookies, too, so I decided to whip up a batch this week—avoiding the temptation to polish off the dough before it made it into the oven.

The recipe I used comes from the blog “Back for Seconds” by Stephanie Brubaker. You can find the original at https://backforseconds.com/the-best-chewy-white-chocolate-macadamia-nut-cookies/2/. I doubled the vanilla in my version.

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies

These classic white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies are a real crowd pleaser.

Course Dessert

Keyword cookies, macadamia nuts, white chocolate

Ingredients

1 cup butter softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until very well combined.
Beat in the vanilla and eggs until smooth.
Beat in the salt, corn starch, baking soda, baking powder and flour. Stir in the chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
Drop the dough about two inches apart in about two to three tablespoon scoops onto a baking sheet.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown around the edges.
Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool for about five minutes and them place them into an airtight container to keep them soft.

I wish I could say more of these cookies made it out of the house to be shared with others than they did, but we thoroughly enjoyed them over the course of the week.

They were a nice change from my normal inclination to make something with darker chocolate or oatmeal, and the taste of macadamia nuts always makes me think about summer, too.

It also makes me thankful to those folks in Australia thousands of years ago who first started harvesting those little treasures so that they made it to my kitchen in 2019.

This piece first appeared in print on April 4, 2019.

Tags macadamia nuts, white chocolate