Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ribbon Dessert June 23, 2008

I made this dessert about 4 years ago (before I started my blog) and I made it again for a cookout we had this past week.  It came from the Kraft Foods website.  I like a lot of their recipes when I’m looking for something to make with few ingredients and that doesn’t take a lot of time.  Obviously this is a good dessert, otherwise I wouldn’t have made it a second time.  Heads up though!  It is a bit rich so all you need is a small piece to satisfy.

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ribbon Dessert

(Recipe from:  www.Kraftfoods.com)

12 Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies, divided

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1 pkg (8 oz) Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 12 oz tub whipped topping, thawed, divided

2 squares (2 oz) semi-sweet chocolate, melted

CRUSH 8 of the cookies in resealable plastic bag with rolling pin.  (I used blender)  Mix cookie crumbs and butter.  Press onto bottom of foil-lined 9×5 loaf pan. 

MIX cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in 3 cups of the whipped topping. Spoon 1/2 cup of the cream cheese mixture into small bowl. Stir in melted chocolate until well blended; set aside. Spoon half of the remaining cream cheese mixture over crust. Top evenly with chocolate mixture; cover with remaining cream cheese mixture.

FREEZE 4 hours or overnight until firm. Invert onto plate. Remove foil, then re-invert onto serving platter so that crumb layer is on bottom. Coarsely break the remaining 4 cookies. Top dessert with remaining whipping topping and cookies.

Tiarmisu goes healthy June 5, 2008

It’s too bad New Year’s is already far behind us, because I just thought of a good New Year’s Resolution for myself.  I could wait till next year…but that wouldn’t be any fun for me now, so instead I’ll make it my goal for June 2009.  I’m giving myself a year but I hope it won’t take that long.  My goal is to make one recipe out of each cookbook I own that I have not made before.  (I find myself making recipes I find on other blogs instead of using my own cookbooks!)  I really couldn’t tell you how many cookbooks I have, maybe 12-15-20ish (I’ll have to count them sometime), so I doubt it will take all year, but you never know! 

Don’t forget, I love to get your comments, questions, suggestions!  If you ever try a recipe on my blog, let me know how it turned out and what you thought!

So here goes, my first recipe to reaching my goal.  I went with one out of The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook by Arthur Agatston.  First of all, I want to make it clear that I do not follow this diet.  The only reason I have this book is because I won it through our local Christian radio station Shine 89.7 probably about a year ago and have not made a thing out of it, until now! 

I decided on the Tiarmisu recipe since I had all the ingredients in the house.  I’m sure any normal recipe for Tiarmisu has a ton of calories and fat, this one, 130 calories and 2.5 g fat (1.5 sat) for 1/4 of the recipe.  Not bad!  The taste…I’ll admit, it is not close to being as good as the real thing, but I thought it was really good considering how many cals/fat it doesn’t have in it.  (Although instead of using sugar substitute, I used the real stuff, so it probably tasted better than it was supposed to…)  Anyway, I would definitely make this again, especially if I need to make a dessert for someone on some kind of diet, I think this would be a hit.

South Beach Diet Tiarmisu

(Recipe from:  The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook by Arthur Agatston)

Prep Time:  20 minutes   |   Cook Time:  20 minutes   |   Cool Time:  30 minutes

A favorite Italian dessert, tiramisu (meaning “pick-me-up,” in reference to the espresso and cocoa it includes) makes a light yet rich finish for summer supper.

6 large egg whites

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/8 tsp salt

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp granular sugar sub

6 Tbsp whole-grain pastry flour

1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup fat-free or light whipped topping

1/4 cup strongly brewed decaffeinated espresso

1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Mint sprigs for garnish (optional)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly coat an 8 by 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer at high speed, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes.  Add 1/2 tsp of the vanilla and beat to combine.  Add 1/3 cup of the sugar substitute and beat until stiff peaks form.  Sift 2 Tbsp of the flour over beaten egg whites and gently fold to incorporate.  Repeat twice with remaining flour until all of the flour is incorporated.

Pour batter into the pan and gently smooth the top.  Bake, turning once halfway through, until cake is golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Cool completely.

In a small bowl, combine ricotta, whipped topping, remaining 2 tsp sugar substitute, and remaining 1/4 tsp vanilla.  Cut cake in half vertically down the middle to make two 4 by 8 inch pieces.  Place the halves on a flat work surface.  Drizzle 2 Tbsp of espresso onto each half.  Spread half of the ricotta mixture onto one of the halves and dust with half of the cocoa powder.  Top with remaining cake half; spread the top with remaining ricotta mixture and dust with remaining cocoa powder.  Using a serrated knife, gently cut cake crosswise into 4 slices and serve with mint leaves for garnish, if using.

Makes 4 servings.

Cheesecake Pops — April’s Daring Baker’s Challenge April 27, 2008

I have folders and folders of recipes that I eventually want to make, and of those folders I have one recipe for Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pops, and now I have a reason to make them, or at least something similar!  Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms & Deborah from Taste and Tell were the lucky ones to decide on the recipe for this month.  I really enjoyed this challenge.  I made my pops into squares (I got the idea from the PB pops I mentioned above), it didn’t involve digging the hands into the cheesecake and dipped the cheesecake in Wilton Chocolate Melts (I used these also in my Chocolate Shots and loved working with them).  I dipped some of the pops in ground peanuts and some I left alone for those with braces (my little bro who ended up digging the cheesecake out of the chocolate mold with the sucker stick and then eating the mold on its own, he always comes up with creative ideas to eat his food). 

I find that if I make something and eat it the same day, the flavors don’t come out and I don’t enjoy it as much as I do if I eat it the next day or a few days later.  This could be because of working with all the ingredients and sometimes, yes I’ll admit, lickin’ up the remaining batter from the bowl or spat.  I wonder if I’m on my own with this…even cookies, cake, pretty much any baked good!  I thought about this because about a week after I made them, I took one out of the freezer, brought it to room temp and enjoyed every small bite of it, more than I did when I ate one the night I made them.  I was surprised at how smooth and creamy the cheesecake was and thought that it didn’t even need the chocolate, but the choc sure made them look pretty :)

For the recipe and to see how other Daring Baker’s cheesecake pops turned out, check out Feeding My Enthusiasms & Taste and Tell.

     

 

Strawberry Margarita Freeze April 15, 2008

This dessert would be great on a warm summer day, but it can also be enjoyed on a colder, not quite spring-like, night at about 10 p.m., which it was last night!  My mom and I headed over to the salon in our friends house to get new hairdos and I brought a dessert just because. :)  It was a late night for me considering it was a Monday, but worth it!  My mom and I both love our new dos (I’m sure we could use some styling practice yet) and dessert was icily refreshing.  Next time I would crush the pretzels up a bit more, run them through a food processor so they it is more of a crumb, but other than that I don’t think I would have changed a thing!  I left it in the fridge last night to see if it would hold up, it did sink around the edges, but I think it will still taste good.  If you are not a strawberry fan, I’m sure this recipe would work great swapping out the strawberries with raspberries or blueberries or any other creative flavors you come up with!  Maybe even chocolate…maybe…I’d have to think through that one.

Strawberry Margarita Freeze

1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 pkg cream cheese (1/3 less fat)

3/4 cup sugar (a bit less)

1 1/3 cups orange juice

1 cup crushed strawberries

1 8 oz tub cool whip, thawed (cool whip free)

Mixpretzels and butter;press firmly onto bottom of 9-inch spring-form pan.

Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.  Gradually add orange juice, beating well after each addition.  Stir in crushed strawberries.  Add whipped topping; stir with wire whisk until well blended.  Poor over crust.

Freeze several hours or until firm.  Remove from freezer; let stand in refrigerator about 15 minutes before cutting into slices to serve.  Store leftover dessert in freezer.  

I should have tried to shave off that little bubble to make it more attractive huh?

Berry Ricotta Dessert April 9, 2008

 

I made lasagna the other day and ended up with leftover ricotta cheese so I went on a search, like usual, to find something to make with the leftovers.  There are always other Italian dishes that I could have made but I wanted something people don’t think of making ricotta cheese with often.  I found this recipe on DK’s Culinary Bazaar, thought it looked good and decided to give it a whirl.  This was a very nice light dessert with just the right amount of sweetness from the honey.  Instead of adding more honey to the berry sauce, I added sugar free syrup which minimized the tartness.

Berry Ricotta Dessert

(Recipe from:  DK’s Culinary Bazaar)

• 1 generous cup ricotta cheese ( I used fat free)
• 2 egg whites, beaten
• 4 tbsp honey, plus extra to taste
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups mixed fresh/frozen berries

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place the ricotta cheese in a bowl and break it with a spoon.  Add the beaten egg, honey and vanilla extract and mix till the mixture is smooth.

 

Lightly grease 4 ramekins.  Spoon the mixture into the ramekins and level the top.

 

Bake them for 20 minutes (mine took 30-40) or until ricotta are risen and golden. 

 

While you are waiting for them to bake, place the fruits in a saucepan with a little water (no water if you are using frozen) and heat it gently until softened.  Add honey or syrup to taste and let cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easter Dessert - Chocolate Eclair March 25, 2008

Last Easter my husband and I went to my parents for Easter dinner along with my aunt and uncle, their family and my grandmas.  I offered to bring a dish that one of my co-workers brought to a potluck at work once, Brussels Sprouts au Gratin.  Yes, I know, brussels sprouts are not a favorite but think about them mixed in with ooey gooey cheese, wine and seasonings.  Well, I will have to say this dish was not a big hit.  I believe most of the fam gave it a try and I got some criticism from a select few that know I can take it. (we’ll keep the names confidential and just call them the laughing till they weep sisters)   Straight from one of their mouths was, “they taste like cigarette butts.”  FIRST of all I’m not sure how they would know that unless they have eaten a cigarette butt…I didn’t question them and SECOND who, especially me a newlywed still trying to find her way around the kitchen, knew that when picking out the brussels sprouts, the SMALLER the better.  I went to 3 different grocery stores looking for the most gigantic sprouts I could find!  Bummer, there was my problem.  Anywho, I believe my grandma said she liked them, she probably got one of the smaller ones and I was sent home with the rest.  But that was last Easter.  This Easter we went to my mom-in-laws and I was in charge of dessert.  That’s a safe one for me.  I decided on the good old Eclair Dessert.  One of my favorites.  I wonder if I should try the brussel sprouts again next year when we go back to my side of the family and get the right size sprouts and hopefully impress everyone…well, I have a year to decide on that one.  In the meantime, here is the recipe for the Eclair Dessert:

Chocolate Eclair Dessert

(Note:  This recipe is best made at least 24-48 hours before serving so the crackers get nice and soft)

(Recipe from:  I believe I copied this one from my mom who got it from who knows where)

1 box graham crackers

2 small pkgs french vanilla pudding

3 cups milk

9 oz carton cool whip

Mix the last 3 ingredients together.  Layer graham crackers on bottom of a 9×13, spread half the pudding over the graham crackers, another layer of crackers and spread the rest of the pudding.  Put the last layer of graham crackers and spread the chocolate frosting (recipe below) on top of that.  Refrigerate for at least 24-48 hours before serving.

Chocolate Frosting

2 pkgs Choco bake

2 Tbsp margarine

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp maple syrup

3 Tbsp milk

Mix all ingredients together.  Add more milk if needed to get the right consistency.  Spread on last layer of graham crackers.