Blueberry Rhubarb Delight (with Fig Bars)

I found the basic idea for this recipe several years ago, but changed it around quite a bit to make it easier to prepare and to use what I had on hand.  Other than 10 minutes or so it takes to slice the rhubarb (use thawed frozen rhubarb if you can find it), it’s very quick to make, delicious and a bit different from anything I’ve ever had before. The fig bars give it a unique flavor.

When I picked up the rhubarb at my local Meijer store, the young man at the checkout asked me what it was.  When I told him it was rhubarb, he asked, “Do you eat it like celery?”  I told him it was extremely tart and better cooked in a pie or dessert (like this one).

RHUBARB BLUEBERRY DELIGHT

• 3 cups prepared fresh rhubarb (about one pound)*
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 12 fig bars (Fig Newtons)
• ½ to ¾ cup whipped topping, thawed (Cool Whip) or whipped cream

*Wash and dry rhubarb and cut down the center lengthwise if thick.  Cut into pieces approximately 1-½ inches long, removing tough skin and strings.

In a medium pan, combine rhubarb, sugar and water.  Bring to a boil over medium low heat.  Continue to cook for 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb is tender and a sauce has formed.  Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Set our 4 dessert dishes.  I wanted to use my vintage two-handled bowls which measure about 1-½ inches deep x 4-¾ inches across the top.

In the bottom of each bowl, crumble one fig bar.

Top with cooled rhubarb/sauce.  Crumble a fig bar over the top of the rhubarb.

Add one tablespoon of whipped topping/cream.

Sprinkle ¼ cup of blueberries over each serving.

Crumble a fig bar over the blueberries.  Top with one tablespoon of whipped topping/cream.

Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

Makes 4 servings

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Country Cherry Pudding

I found this recipe in a 1945 Calumet booklet – Favorite Recipes for Country Kitchens.  This makes a quick and easy dessert for lunch or supper.  As it bakes, the sauce becomes thick and cooks into the cake.  Cuts and serves nicely.

COUNTRY CHERRY PUDDING & SAUCE

• ½ cup plus 2 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 Tblsp. Canola oil
• ¾ cup frozen tart cherries, thawed and drained

Sauce:

• ½ cup water
• ½ cup cherry brandy or cherry juice
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tblsp. butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Grease a 9-inch baking pan

In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking powder salt and ¼ cup granulated sugar.  Add milk and canola oil to make a stiff dough.

Spread the dough in the bottom of the baking pan.  Dampening your fingertips with water will help spread the dough evenly.

Arrange the thawed/drained cherries on top of the dough.

In a small saucepan, combine the water, cherry brandy or juice, ¼ cup sugar and butter.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Pour boiling mixture over cherries.

Place in oven and bake for approximately 45 minutes @ 375 degrees F.  Cool on a wire rack.

Serve warm.

4 servings.

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Cranberry Cake and Brandy Sauce

This dessert was adapted from a recipe on AllRecipes.com.  I first made it for Christmas dinner in 2004 and my daughter and I loved it.  The original was for a large bundt cake and I cut the recipe in half to make this version which I bake in an antique 7-inch tube pan.  It could also be baked in a 9-inch loaf pan.

CRANBERRY CAKE AND BRANDY SAUCE
Cake

• 3 Tblsp. butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 cup evaporated milk, undiluted
• 6 oz fresh cranberries

Sauce:

• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 Tblsp. brandy

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease/flour 7-inch tube pan or 9-inch loaf pan.

To make the cake
In a large bowl cream butter and sugar.  In a medium bowl mix together dry ingredients.  Beat flour mixture into creamed mixture alternately with evaporated milk, beginning and ending with flour.   Stir in cranberries.

Pour into prepared pan and bake 50-60 minutes @ 325 degrees F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (loaf pan may take longer).

Let cool in pan 10 minutes then remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

To make the sauce:
In a small pan combine the butter, sugar and cream.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce heat and let simmer 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in brandy.  Drizzle warm sauce over slices of cake.

The sauce is quite rich and this amount is just right for drizzling over 6 individual slices of cake.

6 servings

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Pear Cheese Cups

On September 14, 1995, my oldest daughter and I were planning to leave the next morning to take the youngest daughter on a surprise pre-wedding bachelorette trip to Cleveland to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which had just opened on September 2.  For supper, I made a 9-inch Pear Cheese pie from a recipe in a 1965 Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, using a vanilla wafer crust.  We all enjoyed it very much (and also the bachelorette trip).

Today, I wanted to make a dessert for lunch that would be lower in fat/calories and would make just 4 servings.  I cut the original recipe in half, used vanilla wafers in place of the crust, and made these very good individual Pear Cheese Cups.  Use a deep custard cup – my granddaughter in St. Louis gave me some nice Pampered Chef deep cups which also have lids.  They are especially good for transporting desserts to my daughter’s house for lunch each Friday.

PEAR CHEESE CUPS

• 4 vanilla wafers
• 2 cups fresh ripe Bartlett pear slices  (about 3 medium pears)
• 1 egg yolk
• 4 oz softened light cream cheese
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• ¼ tsp grated lemon peel
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Have four deep custard cups at hand

Place a vanilla wafer in the bottom of each of 4 deep custard cups.

Place ½ cup of pear slices in each of the cups.

In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk and cream cheese, beat smooth.  Whisk in sour cream, lemon peel, lemon juice, sugar, flour, salt and nutmeg.  Pour over pears in each cup (about ¼ cup each) and spread to cover pears.

Bake @ 375 degrees F about 25 minutes until brown around the edges and just set.  Let cool on a wire rack.

4 servings.  Good room temperature or chilled.  This is a light, delicious dessert.

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French Onion Soup and Tart Cherry Dessert

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 last Friday.

I adapted this recipe from one in a cooking newsletter I received awhile back (can’t remember source) and found this amount of soup is perfect for the 4 servings I like to make for our  Friday lunches.  I leave one serving on the table for my daughter who works at home and take three servings in a picnic basket to my youngest daughter – two for our lunch and an extra for her to use another time.  This is the first recipe I’ve seen for French Onion Soup that uses chicken broth and since I cook a chicken almost every week, I have a lot of broth in the freezer.  I also freeze any leftover broth from roast beef and this enhances the flavor of the soup quite a bit.  I also think the red wine vinegar gives the soup a special boost in taste.  Canned broth can also be used but the flavor may not be as good.

FRENCH ONION SOUP

• 1-½ lbs. sliced yellow onions  (7 cups)
• 1 Tlsp. olive oil
• Approx. 2 Tblsp. water
• Chicken stock, plus beef broth and water as needed, to make 4 cups total
• 1 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 Tblsp. dark brown sugar
•  ¾ tsp. salt (taste before adding especially if using canned broth)
• 1 Tblsp. red wine vinegar
•  4 slices sturdy bread (I used my homemade Italian bread*)
•  4 half-slices Swiss cheese
•  ¼ cup parmesan cheese

Saute onions in olive oil, add water.

Stir often on medium low heat until onions are soft.  Turn heat to low, stirring occasionally, cooking for an hour or so until onions are sweet and lightly browned.  Add small amounts of water as necessary to keep onions from sticking to pan.

In a large pot, place chicken stock/beef/water to make 4 cups.

In a small bowl, whisk until smooth the flour, brown sugar and salt.

Add red wine vinegar.  Bring stock to a boil and add the flour mixture, whisking well and bring back to a boil.  Boil on medium heat for 2 minutes.  Add sautéed onions last.  Pour into 4 oven-proof bowls and top each bowl with a slice of sturdy bread, a half-slice of Swiss cheese and a tablespoon of parmesan cheese.

Broil for a minute or so, watching carefully so the cheese doesn’t burn.  Serve immediately.

4 servings

*Italian Bread

Based on 4 servings, the soup with bread and cheese is 264 calories.

For dessert, I made a light but very flavorful dessert from an old Shaker cookbook, We Make You Kindly Welcome.

TART CHERRY DESSERT

• 3 oz. package of cherry Jello
• 1 cup boiling water
• ½ cup cherry brandy/liqueur or cherry juice
• 1 Tblsp. Lemon juice
• 1 cup frozen tart cherries
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

In a medium bowl, place cherry Jello and  pour boiling water over.  Stir for 2 minutes.  Stir in cherry liqueur/juice and lemon juice.  Pour into a 9-inch dish and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, pour cherries into a small bowl and add sugar.

Let stand at room temperature for 2 hours while gelatin mixture is chilling.

Remove gelatin mixture from refrigerator (should be partially set) and stir in cherry/sugar mixture.  Cover and refrigerate for another 2 hours.

4 servings

Can be served plain or with a bit of whipped topping.

Based on 4 servings, this dessert is 192 calories.  Add 20 calories if using lite whipped topping (2 Tblsp.).

The soup and dessert were a good combination – low in calories and very tasty.

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Apple Goo

I found this recipe in an old cookbook, Favorite Recipes of Indiana.  It makes a very good suppertime dessert – easy and quick to make.

APPLE GOO

• 2 medium tart apples, pared and diced in small pieces (Golden Delicious, Granny Smith)
• ½ to ¾ cup granulated sugar (depending on tartness of apples)
• ½ cup chopped nuts
• ½ cup chopped dates
• 2 Tblsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 egg, beaten

In a medium bowl, combine apples, sugar, nuts and dates.  Mix flour with baking powder and salt; blend into apple mixture.  Stir in beaten egg.

Place mixture in a greased 8” baking pan.

Bake @ 350 for approximately 30 minutes until apples are done and top is golden brown.

Serve with whipped cream or topping.

Good warm or chilled.  4-6 servings

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Lemon Pecan Dream Cups

Every Friday, I fix lunch for my two daughters.  I leave lunch on the kitchen table for my oldest daughter (who lives with me and works at home) and pack a picnic basket with lunch for my youngest daughter and myself to take to her home.

I make four servings so she can have something extra to squirrel away for later.  Lunch is always simple – a main dish salad or casserole plus a light dessert.  I came up with this dessert today, using what I had on hand and basing it loosely on one of our favorites, The Next Best Thing to Robert Redford.  The crust is so good in this dessert and the lemon filling is light and tangy.  We all loved it.

LEMON PECAN DREAM CUPS

Crust:

• ¼ cup all -purpose flour
• 2 Tblsp. butter, cut in small cubes
• 1/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Filling:

• 2 oz. cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup frozen topping, thawed
• 3.4 oz pkg lemon instant pudding (4 servings)
• ¾ cup milk
• 1-½ tsp. lemon juice to enhance flavor (optional)

Topping:

• ½ cup frozen topping, thawed (divided)
• 4 pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Have four oven-safe custard cups at hand
To prepare the crust:

Place the flour and butter cubes in a small bowl.

Work the butter into the flour with your fingertips.  Stir in chopped pecans.

Divide this mixture between the four custard cups and press mixture down in the bottoms of the cups.  Bake @ 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Place cups on a wire rack to cool.

To make the filling:

Place cream cheese and sugar in a medium bowl.

Stir until smooth.  Stir in ½ cup frozen topping until blended.  Spread this mixture on top of cooled crust in custard cups.

In the same medium bowl, place instant pudding mix and milk.

Beat until pudding starts to thicken – about one minute.   Stir in lemon juice.  Spoon the pudding mixture on top of the cream cheese mixture in the cups.

Swirl 2 Tblsp. of  topping on each cup and place one pecan half in the center.

Cover and refrigerate for at least ½ hour.

4 servings

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Blackberry Pear Cobbler

It’s almost time for fresh blackberries and I wanted to use a bag of frozen blackberries before the farm markets open.  I needed 4 cups of fruit and only had 2-1/2 cups in the bag of berries, so I used a can of drained pear slices, which made the measurement exactly right.  Fresh blackberries can also be used but if you are substituting fresh pears, saute them first in a little butter until fork tender so they will be done within the 30-minute baking time.

BLACKBERRY PEAR COBBLER

Filling:

• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tblsp. cornstarch
• 1 cup boiling water
• 15 oz. can sliced pears in juice, drained (about 1-½ cups)
• 12 oz. bag of frozen blackberries, thawed, with juice – about 2-½ cups
• 1 Tblsp. butter
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. ground ginger

Topping:

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

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Have a 9×9 inch baking pan/dish at hand

To make filling:
Drain the pears – I like to save the juice in a jar in the freezer to substitute for a cup of cold water when making Jello.  A mixture of different juices makes it really flavorful.

Cut the pear slices in half.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, cook the sugar, cornstarch and boiling water over medium heat until mixture begins to boil; continue stirring and cooking for another minute.  Remove from heat and add blackberries and pears.  Stir in butter and spices and pour into a 9×9 baking pan/dish.  Set aside.

To make topping:
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Cut in the shortening with your fingertips.  Stir in the milk to make a soft dough.

Drop the soft dough by spoonful onto the hot filling.

Bake @ 400 degrees F for 30 minutes.  Place pan on a wire rack to cool.

Good warm or at room temperature.  Delicious plain or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

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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/

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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

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