Eat a sweet muffin and feel like you’ve just had a mini piece of cake. Invariably, muffins are designated as breakfast. I can’t start my day with sweet treats and prefer to enjoy them as a dessert or snack. At breakfast, give me protein and fruit and send me on my way to a productive day. These Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins were tested as dessert and that is where they will dwell. Continue reading
Traditionally, Valentine’s Day keeps close company with chocolate of all kinds. Most say it’s because chocolate, as a mood booster, is an aphrodisiac. Skeptics say this union is a brilliant marketing strategy to sell more chocolate. Continue reading
Thanksgiving dessert : apple or pumpkin ? My inner child with a powerful sweet tooth says both. You could crank out the make ahead Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie and this Apple Walnut Tart. This tart is best on the day it is made, but my experiments yielded delicious results even with defrosting. Continue reading
Cool and creamy desserts are always in season. Moreover, when you have company and you need a quick and easy dessert, you’re likely to grab a pint (or two) during your grocery run. Continue reading
I gave my friend a bag of local peaches from a roadside stand. She took one whiff of the opened bag and declared that grocery peaches never ever have fragrance. Or flavor, for that matter. While you still can, grab some stone fruits grown locally and enjoy summer’s last hurrah. Continue reading
My client requested the dessert his grandmother made many years ago. He sent a photograph of a weathered recipe card for angel pie written in spidery old school script. Splatters and tears in the paper showed me this was a much loved, and often made, family treasure. Continue reading
Carrot Cake Ice Cream is two desserts in one. The spices, walnuts, cream cheese and carrots of a favorite American cake plus the creamy chill of ice cream. Sounds like a good meal, no? Continue reading
Do you remember the Chunky Candy Bar? It’s loaded with chocolate, peanuts and raisins. I learned of its existence in college and became a fan. Haven’t had one since. An old advertisement triggered a memory and thus this easy cookie recipe. No mixer, no chilling and a quick way to see that treats fill the cookie jar. Continue reading
Inevitably, pumpkin pie graces the Thanksgiving table. Apples are at their peak in fall, so a sweet apple tart will bring joy, too. Continue reading
The thrill of the hunt begins each fall at the roadside stands. I look for unfamiliar varieties of apples to try for cooking and eating. This year it’s the Ozark Gold apple. This variety is a little over fifty years old, so not exactly new, but new to me.
Bright bands of sunny yellow and burnished red decorate this fruit. It’s an early type so I bought up a mess of apples before others take its place. Soon there will be Stayman and Empire and the marvelously crunchy Evercrisp. I do love a crisp apple to remind me of Virginia’s bounty. This chef also likes to add apples to all manner of sweet and savory dishes before the stands close for the season.
Maple Apple Dessert Sauce is a cinch to make and it stores in the fridge for a couple weeks. Plain vanilla ice cream becomes something ethereal. Waffles and pancakes get the salon treatment with an unexpected alternative to syrup. Apple and ginger make a compatible couple. Imagine the decadence of this sweet sauce ladled sparingly on top of Gingerbread Ice Cream .
This dessert sauce is chunky and thick with apples and toasted pecans. You will need to gently heat it in the microwave if not used right away. It becomes very thick once refrigerated. If you want the sauce to be more pourable, add a few drops of extra maple syrup after heating.
recipe by Michele Humlan, The Good Eats Company
makes about 2 ½ cups
ingredients
1 ½ pounds apples, peeled and chopped (about 5 cups total)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
⅔ cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 ½ cup apple cider
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup chopped toasted pecans*
*to toast pecans, keep halves whole for even toasting, then chop; 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes will give a nice color and flavor
directions