Category: Desserts

CARAMEL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

2 1/4 c. all purpose flour (11 oz)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar (5.25 oz)
3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar (4.75 oz)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
12 oz. pkg. semi sweet chocolate morsels
15 caramel squares, cut into 8 pieces
4 oz pecans (1 cup)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In large mixer bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract; beat until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in semi sweet chocolate morsels and caramel bits. Drop by rounded measuring tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 11 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen 2 1/4 inch cookies.

This is adapted from the September ’96 issue of Bon Appetit.

Crust:
6 oz (1.5 sticks) butter, softened
1.5 oz (6 tbs) powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
7 1/4 oz (1.5 c) flour

Filling:
2 lbs baking apples, peeled, cored, cut into .5″ slices
1/4 c sugar
3 tbs butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon

Topping:
4.5 oz (1 scant cup) flour
1/2 c light brown sugar
1 c rolled oats
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
5 oz (1 1/4 sticks) chilled butter, cut into small pieces

For crust: Preheat oven to 350F. Combine first four ingredients in large bowl, beat until fluffy. Add flour, beat just until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Press dough over bottom and up sides of 9″ pie pan. Freeze until firm, about 10 min.

Bake crust 10 min. Using rubber spatula, press up sides of crust if beginning to fall. Bake until crust is pale golden, about 20 min. longer. Cool completely on a rack.

For filling: Toss apples with remaining ingredients. Transfer filling to crust, mounding in center.

For topping: Mix all but butter in medium bowl. Using fingertips, rub in butter until moist clumps form. Sprinkle topping over filling, pressing gently to compact.

Bake until topping is golden and apples are tender, covering crust edges with foil if browning too quickly, about one hour. Cool to room temperature.

From NPR in ’01:

Wells got this recipe from a woman who sells her family orchard’s apples at a Paris farmer’s market “in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.” This cake, Wells says, is “the sort of homey recipe that makes French home cooking so incomparable.” She recommends serving it with honey-flavored ice cream.

1/2 cup (2.5 oz) flour
1/3 cup (2.5 oz) sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup whole milk
4 baking apples (about 2 pounds total), cored, peeled, and cut into thin wedges

The topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Equipment:
1 9-inch springform pan
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and set it aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and sea salt, and stir to blend. Add the vanilla extract, eggs, oil, and milk, and stir until well blended. Add the apples and stir to thoroughly coat them with the batter.
4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Place the pan in the center of the over and bake until fairly firm and golden,a bout 25 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the topping. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, egg, and melted butter, and stir to blend. Set it aside.
6. Remove the cake from the oven and pour the topping mixture over it. Return the cake to the oven and bake until the top is a deep golden brown and the cake feels quite firm when pressed with a fingertip, about 10 minutes.
7. Transfer the cake pan to a rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Then run a knife around the sides fo the pan, and release and remove the springform side, leaving the cake on the pan base. Serve at room temperature, cut into thin wedges.

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
12 ounces unsweetened apple juice concentrate
6 cups thinly sliced apples
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Whisk together the cornstarch, cinnamon and 1/4 of the apple juice.
In a saucepan over medium heat, simmer the apples in the remaining apple juice until tender. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened.
Pour into bottom crust and cover with top crust. Bake for 45 minutes.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 medium peaches, peeled
1-ounce finely chopped crystallized ginger, approximately 3 tablespoons
2.5 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1/2 cup
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped cream or ice cream, for serving, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Divide 2 tablespoons of the butter between 4 (6-ounce) ramekins. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and set aside. Evenly divide the brown sugar between the ramekins; sprinkling it into the bottoms of the dishes. Cut each peach into 12 to 14 pieces. Lay the peaches on top of the sugar; evenly dividing them between the dishes and sprinkle with the ginger. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the sugar, buttermilk, vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir just until combine. Pour the batter over the peaches; dividing the mixture evenly between the dishes. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake reaches an internal temperature of 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.

Remove from the oven to a rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each dish and turn upside down onto a serving plate. Repeat with each cake. Serve immediately with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

My mom sent me this recipe and it is SO good. And I don’t even like Heath bars! I’m still monkeying with the refrigerator time to get the spread just right. I also cut the size of the cookies back so my baking & cooling times aren’t 100%

2.5 oz (½ cup) flour
1 teas. Baking powder
¼ teas. Salt
1 lb. Bittersweet chocolate, I use Ghiradelli
2 oz (¼ cup) unsalted butter
13 oz. (1 ¾ cup) light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
1 tbl. Vanilla
5 (1.4 oz) heath bars (or similar)
4.25 oz (1 cup) walnuts or pecans, toasted

Combine flour, baking powder and salt and set aside

Microwave chocolate and butter until almost melted, 1-3 minutes. Stir to melt fully, cool to lukewarm

With electric mixer, beat the sugar and eggs in a large bowl until thick, about five minutes. Beat in the chocolate mixture, vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture (don’t overmix) then the toffee and nuts.
Chill until firm, at least 45 minutes. If you let it chill too long it will be very difficult to scoop and you’ll have to let it sit at room temperature for a while.

To speed things up you can scoop the dough onto cookie sheets then freeze for 20 minutes or so, then bake.

Heat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment. Portion out golfball size lumps of dough, I use a #24 disher. Bake until dry and cracked on top but soft to the touch in the center, about 10-12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for 10 min, then remove to a wire rack.

The original recipe, at 24 servings, is 10 WW points per serving. The changes below will reduce it to 7 points.

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces) (8 oz white flour, 4.5 oz WW pastry flour)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 pound medium carrots (6 to 7 carrots), peeled
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (10 1/2 ounces) (1 cup/7 oz)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (3 1/2 ounces) (3 oz)
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil , safflower oil, or canola oil (1 cup oil, 1/2 cup pureed carrots)

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13 by 9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment and spray parchment.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in large bowl; set aside.

3. In food processor fitted with small shredding disk, shred carrots (you should have about 3 cups); transfer carrots to bowl and set aside. Wipe out food processor workbowl and fit with metal blade. Process granulated and brown sugars and eggs until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds. If using carrot puree, add it now. With machine running, add oil through feed tube in steady stream. Process until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 seconds longer. Scrape mixture into medium bowl. Stir in carrots and dry ingredients until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Pour into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time. Cool cake to room temperature in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.

Frost with Cream cheese frosting.

Filling:
3 ½ cup seedless grapes (all kinds)
½ cup sugar
3 – 4 tablespoons flour
dash of cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

Slip skins off fresh grapes. Cook pulp to a boil. Separate the seeds by pressing pulp through a sieve. Mix skins and pulp together. Can freeze this mixture and use throughout the year.

Mix sugar, flour and cinnamon together. Add to grapes.

Pastry:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup Crisco
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup cold water
1 tablespoon half and half
1 teaspoon sugar

Mix flour and salt. Cut in shortenings until like cornmeal. Add cold water and form a ball. Let rest 20 minutes. Roll out and place in pie pan. Add filling. Cover with top crust. Use pastry brush to lightly brush on half and half. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 and continue baking for 30 – 40 minutes until crust is golden brown.

This is one of the winning recipes from a pie contest I saw on the Food Network and was a huge hit at thanksgiving. For some reason I managed to take a picture of the unbaked pie, but not the finished product. It looks even better baked!

Unbaked pie shell
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
3 TBS melted butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
2 cups pecans, toasted, chop 1 cup
½ cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Toast pecans on cookie sheet.

In a large bowl lightly beat eggs. Stir in sugar, corn syrup, melted chocolate, butter, vanilla and salt.

Into prepared crust layer chocolate chips, 1 cup chopped pecans, then carefully arrange 2nd cup of pecans in pan. Slowly pour egg mixture over pecans, deflecting with a spoon to prevent moving pecans.

Bake for 15 min at 350. Cover edge with foil or pie shield. Bake for another 40 min. until knife inserted in center comes out clean.