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/

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

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.

Blackberry Mountain

I found the recipe for this delicious dessert in an old cookbook, Our Favorite Recipes – Queen City Cake Decorating Club – Cincinnati.  I felt the original version was much too sweet and that it needed more berries, so this is my adapted recipe for a very easy, quick way to enjoy summer’s fresh blackberries.

BLACKBERRY MOUNTAIN

• ¼ cup butter, cut into small pieces
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• Dash of salt
• ¾ tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tblsp. milk
• 1-½ cups fresh blackberries
• Additional 1-1/2 Tblsp. granulated sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and melt butter in 9-inch pie plate while oven is heating.   Heat until butter is melted but not brown.

Meanwhile, mix flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, salt and baking powder in bowl.

Stir in milk.  Pour this batter over the melted butter – DO NOT STIR.

Drop in berries, scattering evenly over surface.  DO NOT STIR.

Sprinkle 2 Tblsp. granulated sugar on top…

…and bake for 30 minutes @ 350 F degrees.

The butter and batter rise to make a thin top crust that is buttery, sugary and crunchy at the edges.

Best served warm.  Delicious plain or with a bit of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

6 servings

Mini-Apple Pie in a Jar, 3 Weight Watchers Points/Plus

My youngest daughter is a busy stay-at-home mom who always finds time to get together with me on Fridays for lunch.  I try to make meals that are tasty, quick and easy, and reduced in fat and calories.  Here is what we enjoyed this week.

My youngest daughter and I watch our food counts all the time – I do mine on DietPower software and she’s a member of Weight Watchers.  We’re great pie-lovers and pie just wrecks any diet, so I thought about making a small portion without the temptation of cutting a larger slice or having anything left over.  There is a lot of talk among food bloggers about using Mason jars and in my case, I didn’t want to store or mail the contents – I just wanted something small to bake the pie and it was nice having a lid for transporting to my daughter.

Note that I’m using the small ½-cup/4 oz.  jars – usually reserved for samples or gifts.

This little pie is just four or five bites of old-fashioned apple pie goodness – and absolute heaven for someone who has been dieting all week.

MINI-APPLE PIE IN A JAR
For one pie:

• 1 Tblsp. pie pastry*
• ½ cup thinly sliced tart apple
• 2 tsp. granulated sugar
• ½ tsp. all-purpose flour
• Dash of salt
• Sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg

*Use your favorite pastry – here’s mine.  I keep small amounts in the freezer for quick desserts.

One ½-cup/4 oz.  Mason jar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Roll pastry dough on a lightly floured board.

Use the jar to cut out one round of pastry…

…and a small cookie cutter to make cut-outs for the top (a child’s cookie cutter works nicely for this).

Place the round of pastry in the bottom of the Mason jar.

In a small bowl, mix together the apple slices,

…sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Spoon the apple mixture into the jar.  Place the cutouts on top of the apple mixture.  Place the jar on a pie plate …

…and bake @ 375 degrees F for 35-40 minutes until apples are done and crust is golden brown.  Remove to a rack to cool.

Nutritional count for one pie per my Diet Power software is: 111 calories, 3.98 g fat, 21.2 g carbohydrate, 2.75 g fiber, 0.98 g protein

Weight Watchers Points/Plus:  3

The count is for one pie but I’ve included ingredients for 2, 3 and 4 pies in case there is more than one dieter to feed.  I made three pies for supper for my two daughters and myself.  The two dieters especially enjoyed them.

For two pies:

• 2 Tblsp. pie pastry
• 1 cup thinly sliced tart apple
• 1 Tblsp. plus 1 tsp. granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. all-purpose flour
• Dash of salt
• Sprinkle of cinnamon/nutmeg

For three pies:

• 3 Tblsp. pie pastry
• 1-1/2 cup thinly sliced tart apple
• 2 Tblsp. granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp. all-purpose flour
• Dash of salt
• Sprinkle of cinnamon/nutmeg

For four pies:

• ¼ cup pie pastry
• 2 cups thinly sliced tart apple
• 2 Tblsp. plus  2 tsp. granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. all-purpose flour
• Dash of salt
• Sprinkle of cinnamon/nutmeg

For our entree, we had a favorite from the 1970s – Beef Stroganoff.

Honey Blueberry Pudding–Low Cal

My youngest daughter is a busy stay-at-home mom who always finds time to get together with me on Fridays for lunch.  I try to make meals that are tasty, quick and easy, and reduced in fat and calories.  Here is the meal we had this week.

This something I whipped up from what I had on hand and it turned out to be a delicious, low-calorie, low-fat dessert.  My daughter particularly loved it because it was the same Weight Watchers PlusPoints count as a serving of cottage cheese!

It’s easy to put together and makes a great guilt-free ending to a meal.

HONEY BLUEBERRY PUDDING–LOW CAL

• One 1 oz. box of Jello vanilla instant sugar/fat free pudding
• One cup 2% milk
• One 5.3 oz container of Dannon Greek Honey Yogurt
• One cup Cool Whip frozen topping, thawed
• ½ cup fresh blueberries

In a medium bowl, whisk together the pudding mix and milk until it begins to thicken.  Whisk in the yogurt and then the Cool Whip until smooth.

Divide among five dessert dishes and top with fresh blueberries.

Chill until ready to serve.

5 servings

Nutritional count based on 5 servings per my Diet Power software:  112 calories, 2.66 g fat, 18.4 g carb, .4 g fiber

Weight Watchers PlusPoints:  3

For the entree, we had an old favorite, Chicken a la King.  It was a good meal.