Honey Blackberry Creme

I made up this recipe for supper using what I had on hand.  It was really good.  The yogurt and cream cheese are smooth and creamy, the blackberry jam adds a nice sweet/tart flavor and the graham cracker crumbs are crispy.  My daughter and I really enjoyed it.

BLACKBERRY HONEY CREME

• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 6 oz. container of  Greek honey yogurt (Yoplait)
• 3 honey graham crackers, crushed (about ½ cup), divided
• ¼ cup blackberry jam*

Blend the cream cheese and yogurt together until smooth – a small food processor works well for this.

In each of 4 dessert dishes, place 1 tablespoon of graham cracker crumbs.  Divide the cream cheese mixture among the four dishes.

Top each with 1 tablespoon of blackberry jam.

Sprinkle remaining graham cracker crumbs over the top of each dish.

Cover and refrigerate at least two hours.

Makes 4 servings

*I used my homemade blackberry jam.  Click here for the recipe.  http://lillianscupboard.wordpress.com/2011/08/09/good-blackberry-jam/

Cherry Fudge Mousse

I wanted to make a dessert that would use up some leftover frozen tart cherries and a carton of Greek yogurt.  I thought about how much we like a Cherry Fudge Pie I make and translated it into this dessert.  It is easy to put together, can be made ahead of time, and is really delicious.  Using 2% milk and lite Cool Whip, a serving is 250 calories.

CHERRY FUDGE MOUSSE

• 1-½ cups frozen tart cherries, thawed, with juice
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. quick cooking tapioca
• Pinch of salt
• 1/8 tsp. almond extract
• ½ cup chocolate chips (Ghirardelli milk chocolate)
• 4-serving package of instant French Vanilla pudding
• 1 cup milk
• 5.3 oz. container of Greek yogurt (Dannon)
• 1 cup Cool Whip frozen topping, thawed

To make the Cherry Fudge Sauce:

In a small saucepan over medium high heat, mix the cherries, juice, sugar, tapioca and salt.  Cook until mixture begins to boil, stirring occasionally.  Boil for another minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and stir in almond extract and chocolate chips.  Let cool to room temperature.

To make the mousse:

In a medium bowl, place the instant pudding and milk – whisk until smooth and starting to thicken.  Whisk in the yogurt and then the Cool Whip topping.

Spoon into six small serving dishes.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Spoon the cooled Cherry Fudge Sauce over the chilled moose and serve immediately or cover and return to the refrigerator.  Further chilling will thicken the sauce.  Can be kept refrigerated for several days.

Yield:  6 servings.

You might also like this Cherry Fudge Pie

http://lillianscupboard.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/presidents-day-and-cherry-fudge-pie/

Twinkie Tiramisu

My youngest daughter loves Twinkies and dropped a big hint when she saw a recipe online for a recipe for Tiramisu that used them as the base.  I borrowed the idea of the Twinkies but otherwise used my own recipe for Tiramisu.

TWINKIE TIRAMISU

* 5-½ Twinkies
* 4 oz. light cream cheese (Neufchatel), softened
* 15 oz. light ricotta cheese
* 2 cups light Cool Whip whipped topping
* 1/2 cup Kahlua or coffeee liqueur (to pour over Twinkies)
* One Hershey chocolate Nugget

Place Twinkies in bottom of 9×9 inch dish.

Pour Kahlua or liqueur over Twinkies.  There will be some in the bottom of the dish which the Twinkies will soak up.

In a large mixer bowl, beat together the cream cheese and ricotta cheese until smooth.  Fold in Cool Whip whipped topping.

Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the top of the Twinkies.

A microplaner is good to use for grating the chocolate Nugget over the top of the dish.

Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

Yield:  6-8 servings

Since not everyone in the family is that fond of Twinkies, I also made a batch of my original version, using Italian lady fingers…

This recipe was first posted in November of 2008.  Click here for my original recipe.

For the big taste-off, only my youngest daughter and I were willing to try the Twinkie Tiramisu.  We found it to be very similar to the lady finger version -  a little bit sweeter.  My daughter said there was a faint Twinkie “aftertaste”, which I didn’t pick up.

The Italian lady fingers version would be lower in fat and calories, but for dyed-in-the-wool Twinkie lovers, there’s nothing like that jolt of sweet cream filling.

Tart Cherry Cobbler

Back in the 1980s we had a small house on about 2 acres of ground, almost every inch filled with something good to eat that my husband had planted.  We all loved the tart cherries and had to join in and pick quickly before the birds got them.  I used netting for a while, but got too upset when a bird got caught in it, although we were always able to set it free without injury.  Instead, we just kept an eye on the tree and tried to beat the birds to the harvest.

Eleven years ago, we had to leave the two acres and all its bounty behind and since then I’ve had no luck in finding fresh or frozen tart cherries – only the small cans of discolored fruit for an annual President’s Day pie.  But recently, my online friend, Darlene, mentioned on her blog that she buys tart frozen Morency cherries at her Meijer store in Columbus, Ohio.  I couldn’t wait to check out the freezer section of my Cincinnati area store, and, sure enough, they carry a 24-oz. bag.

TART CHERRY COBBLER

The Cherry Filling

• 24-oz. bag of frozen tart cherries, thawed with juice
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tblsp. quick cooking tapioca
• Pinch of salt
• 1 Tblsp. butter
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract

The Cobbler Dough:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tblsp. granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

To make the filling:

In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, mix the cherries, juice, sugar, tapioca and salt.  Cook until mixture begins to boil, stirring occasionally.  Boil for another minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in butter and almond extract.  Pour cherry mixture into a 10-inch or 1-1/2 qt. ungreased  baking dish.

To make the cobbler topping:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Cut in the shortening until well distributed.  With a fork, stir in the milk.  Drop batter by tablespoonful onto the top of the piping hot cherry mixture.*  Place baking dish on a flat pan to catch spills and bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 25-30 minutes until topping is golden brown.  Remove baking dish to a wire rack to cool.

Best when eaten warm with whipped cream/topping or ice cream.

Servings:  6

*I never had a lot of luck with cobblers until I read in an old Farm Journal cookbook that the filling should always be piping hot when the batter is spooned onto it.  This tip always works for me.

My President’s Day Pie

Leftover Biscuit Pudding

Normally, I make up my Biscuit Mix* and keep it in the refrigerator until I’m ready to make just a few biscuits for my daughter and me.  I use 1/4 cup of the mix and about a tablespoon of milk per biscuit.  This time, when I made up the mix, I forgot and added the full ¾ cup of milk and we had 10 biscuits which were good hot from the oven but not that great reheated.  Then, I remembered seeing a post on Syrup and Biscuits about her country grandma who made a kind of bread pudding out of leftover biscuits.  This sounded like a good answer to my problem and it was.  The pudding has a smoother, lighter texture than regular bread pudding and it’s very good – just like something Grandma might have made.

LEFTOVER BISCUIT PUDDING

• 4 or 5 baking powder biscuits (about 2-½ inches dia. )
• 2-½ cups milk, divided
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ½ tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

Butter or spray a 9-inch square baking dish

Crumble biscuits over the bottom of the 9-inch prepared baking dish.

Pour 1 cup of milk over the biscuit crumbles.

Allow the mixture to soak until milk is absorbed.  Sprinkle granulated sugar over the top of the mixture.

In a 2-cup measure, place the eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and the remaining 1-½ cups of milk.  Whisk until blended.

Pour milk mixture over top of biscuits.

Bake @ 325 degrees F for 40 to 45 minutes until top is browned and mixture is set.

Best served warm.  Leftovers could be warmed briefly in the microwave.

Servings:  6-8

One-fourth cup of raisins or nuts could be mixed with the biscuit crumbles before the milk is added.

The pudding is very good served plain, but Syrup and Biscuits served her pudding with a rich bourbon sauce.  I opted for a lower fat version with a mellow bourbon flavor.

LOWER FAT BOURBON SAUCE

• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tblsp. cornstarch
• 1 cup cold water.
• 2 Tblsp. butter
• 3 Tblsp. bourbon

In a small saucepan place sugar cornstarch and cold water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted.  Stir in bourbon.

Makes about 1-½ cups of sauce

*Biscuit Mix

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 Tblsp. baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening

This amount of mix combined with ¾ cup milk will make ten 2-½-inch biscuits.  Bake @ 410 degrees F for 12 minutes.

Refrigerate mix in a covered container and use ¼ cup of mix plus about 1 Tblsp. Milk for each biscuit.  This mix is also good for dumplings or as a topping for casseroles.

Fresh Peach Clafouti

I was looking for a supper dessert to use up some fresh peaches.  I wanted something that wasn’t too rich or too sweet and lighter than a pie or cobbler.  This recipe from Mennonite Girls Can Cook fit the bill perfectly.  It’s like peaches in a baked custard.  I had enough for supper, for the next day’s lunch and some to send to my youngest daughter.

PEACH CLAFOUTI

• 3-4 cups of sliced fresh peaches
• 1 cup whole milk (or light cream)
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Generously butter a deep-dish 9″ pie plate or a quiche pan.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Place sliced peaches in the buttered pan.

Put milk, eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla and salt in a blender; blend until smooth and creamy.

Add melted butter and blend.  Pour this mixture over the peaches.

Bake in a 375°F degree oven for 45 minutes or until Clafouti is puffed up and golden.  Place on a wire rack to cool.

The Clafouti will collapse as it cools.  This is best when it is slightly warm but also good at room temperature.  Makes 6 servings.

Margarita Mousse … with Leftover Cake

A few months ago, I made a cake with a thin glaze that used Margarita non-alcoholic frozen concentrate.  It was OK, but nothing special, so I cut the leftovers into slices and stuck them in the freezer.  For this past Sunday dinner, I decided to thaw the cake to use as both crust and topping for a delicious mousse, also made with the Margarita concentrate.

I adapted an old mousse recipe I have been using since 1976 and it turned out great.  I loved being able to make use of a rather ordinary cake and create an easy dessert that the family really enjoyed.

Although the Margarita-flavored cake added a bit of punch to the dessert, I believe any plain or lightly glazed cake would work just as well, since the mousse has a strong lime flavor.

MARGARITA MOUSSE DESSERT

• 3 cups leftover plain or lightly glazed cake
• 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk (Eagle Brand Non-Fat)
• 3 Tblsp. Margarita non-alcoholic frozen concentrate (Bacardi), thawed
• 2 cups frozen whipped topping (Cool Whip), thawed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Spray or butter a 9-inch baking pan and a flat baking sheet

Take 2 cups of leftover cake and crumble coarsely.  Place in the prepared 9-inch baking pan and press down.

Bake @ 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.

Take the remaining 1 cup of leftover cake and crumble into fine crumbs.  Spread on the prepared flat baking sheet.  Bake @ 350 degrees F for 5 minutes, stir and turn and bake an additional 5 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.

Note:  The two pans can be baked at the same time.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the condensed milk, Margarita concentrate and whipped topping.

Spread this mixture over the cooled crust in the 9-inch baking pan.

Sprinkle the fine toasted crumbs over the top.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Cut into squares to serve.  Makes 6 servings.

The mousse alone also makes a nice dessert.  Spoon into dessert dishes and chill.

Blackberry Cobbler and a Berry-Loving Dog

Rusty likes blackberries.  It came as quite a surprise to me.  We had gotten Rusty from the shelter in 1999 when he was four months old.

At the time, we lived on two acres in a rural area on the Ohio/Indiana border called Blue Jay.  One day, I was preparing blackberries and looked down to see Rusty staring expectantly at me or rather, at the plump blackberry in my hand.  I had never given a tart, wild blackberry to a dog before, but that’s what he seemed to want.  He loved it.  Luckily, I had buckets of berries picked from our wild thicket in the backyard, so he got a fair share of our bounty.

I took Rusty with me when I went out to pick berries – not always a good thing for me.  I had taken off my straw hat for a minute and looked around to see this.

I wasn’t happy that my hat was all gnawed around the edges.

I scolded him a little, but not enough to warrant this sad reaction.

A year later, I wrote a piece for a web site about Rusty and his favorite fruit.

BLACKBERRY TIME IN BLUE JAY -  Rusty, our year-old hound, seems to know when the blackberries are ready for picking.  He takes off toward the back yard on a brisk trot, straining at his leash  – past the asparagus bed and rhubarb, along the border of the vegetable garden, down to the very edge of the property where the wild blackberries grow.  Rusty plucks off all the berries he can reach, always choosing the choice center berry, ignoring the thorns that prickle his nose.  We still have plenty of dark, lustrous berries to carry back to the house in our graniteware bucket to cook up into summertime treats such as Blackberry Cobbler.

That was the last summer I could put on my tattered straw hat and take Rusty down to the blackberry patch.  My husband’s condition worsened and we had to move to a property I could manage alone.   David has been gone for over 7 years, but Rusty is still with me, an elderly 12-year-old, and I still get some blackberries at the farm market and make that good Blackberry Cobbler from a recipe found in an old Farm Journal Pie cookbook.

BLACKBERRY COBBLER

¾ cup granulated sugar
1 Tblsp. cornstarch
1 cup boiling water
4 cups blackberries
1 T butter
½ tsp cinnamon or ¼ tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat and continue to boil for one minute, whisking constantly.   Remove from heat and gently stir in the blackberries.

Pour this mixture into an ungreased 10” x 6 x 2 inch baking dish or a 1-½ qt casserole.

Dot with butter and sprinkle with spices.

DOUGH:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tblsp. granulated sugar
1-½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ cup shortening
½ cup milk

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

Stir in the milk.

Drop spoonsful of dough over the hot fruit filling.

Bake in a 400 F degree oven about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and fruit is bubbling.  Cool slightly on a wire rack.

Serve in bowls with cobbler juices.  Best when served warm.

6 servings

Rusty still gets an occasional ripe blackberry tossed his way.

Summer Strawberry Dessert

I had a small amount of strawberries to use and wanted something for a lunch dessert that wasn’t too heavy or rich.  This recipe, adapted from one on Allrecipes worked out quite well.

SUMMER STRAWBERRY DESSERT

• 1-1/2 cups cold milk
• 1 (1 oz.) package of instant vanilla pudding
• 4 oz. softened cream cheese
• 1 cup whipped topping, thawed
• 2 cups (1 pt.) of fresh strawberries, halved (divided)

In a large mixing bowl, combine milk and pudding mix.  Beat on low speed for 2 minutes.  Let stand for 5 minutes.

In another large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Add whipped topping on low speed until blended.  Add the pudding mix and mix on low speed until smooth.

Fold in 1-3/4 cups of halved fresh strawberries.  Transfer mixture to a large bowl or individual dishes.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

When ready to serve, top pudding with reserved strawberries.

Makes 5 servings.

Celebration Peach Cobbler

This recipe comes from two sources – the fruit portion is from a Crisco flyer, American Pie Celebration, and the cobbler topping is my favorite from Farm Journal’s Complete Pie Cookbook.  The Farm Journal stresses dropping the cobbler dough onto piping hot fruit.

CELEBRATION PEACH COBBLER

Fruit Mixture

• 4 cups sliced fresh peaches
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 T cornstarch
• ¼ tsp. cinnamon
• Dash of nutmeg

Cobbler Topping:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tblsp. granulated sugar
• 1-½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ cup vegetable shortening (Crisco)
• ½ cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Have a 9-inch square baking pan or 2-quart baking dish at hand.

To Make Fruit Mixture:
In a large saucepan, combine peaches, sugar, water and cornstarch.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook, stirring constantly for one minute.  Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg.  Pour into a 9-inch square baking dish or a 2-quart baking dish.

To Make Cobbler Topping:
Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Blend in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.  Stir in the milk to make a soft dough.

Drop tablespoons of cobbler topping over surface of piping hot fruit mixture.

Bake @ 400 degrees F for 20-30 minutes until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden brown.

6 servings.  Serve in bowls with cobbler juices.

This is a wonderful cobbler served warm.  I try to time it so it’s coming from the oven  to  cool for 20 minutes or so while we’re eating dinner.  It’s a lovely dessert  plain or topped with a little cream or whipped topping.