There is just enough time to make these tropical fruitcakes for Christmas. They are sweet, rich and full of fruit (that you can identify) and nuts, then you wrap them tight and keep them cool for 4 weeks while the flavors blend together (and mellow out) and they becomes REAL fruitcake. NO chunks of green candied mystery fruit in this recipe, just pineapple, coconut, apricot, pecans and banana. It is NOT the traditional boat anchor fruitcake.
1 cup butter room temperature 1 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup apricot jam 1/2 cup mashed RIPE banana 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon table salt 3/4 teaspoon coconut extract 5 eggs 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour 3 cups DRIED pineapple bits (16 ounces) (see note below) 3/4 cup rum (I use pineapple juice instead of rum) 2 cups sweetened coconut 1/2 cup coconut milk 2 cups pecan halves The day before you bake, mix the rum (or pineapple juice) and the dried pineapple bits together and microwave (or heat) until bubbles start to appear around edge of bowl. Cover tight with plastic and let it sit, at room temperature, overnight. Put the sweetened coconut on a dry baking sheet and toast in a preheated 300° oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until JUST light golden (watch it because it likes to burn). On day of baking, cream room temperature butter, sugars, jam, mashed banana, baking powder, salt and extract until very smooth.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. The batter will look slightly curdled after this step, but that's OK. Measure 3 3/4 cups of all purpose flour and set aside. Measure out 1/2 cup of coconut milk (find this in the ethnic food aisle)(shake the can really hard before you open it). Set it aside. Add the flour, a little at a time, alternately with the coconut milk, beating on low until well mixed. Stir in the toasted coconut and pecan halves. Grease the loaf pans and fill half way up with batter. Decorate with maraschino cherry halves that have been patted dry (optional). Place pans on a bigger cookie sheet and bake in PREHEATED 300° oven: 1 hour for small loaf pans (7") and 90-95 minutes for full size loaf pans. Finished fruitcakes should be golden brown and 200° in the center. While fruitcakes are baking, make some vanilla simple sugar syrup by bringing 1 cup water + 1 cup granulated sugar + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to a boil. Turn the temperature down to a very slow simmer and simmer for 3 minutes, then cool completely. When fruitcakes are still warm, baste the top of the cakes. When fruitcakes are completely cool, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and store in a COOL dark place for 4 weeks. Open them up once a week and brush with more vanilla simple sugar, then re-wrap.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
The dried pineapple bits are a little hard to find. Do NOT use fresh or canned pineapple because there's just too much water in them. Candied pineapple might work (I haven't tried it) but you would have to cut it up so that the pieces were about the size of a large pea.
This is a wonderful recipe for a special occasion. Roasted Brussels sprouts, cheese and bacon, what could be better? Even people who aren't sprout lovers, enjoy this easy dish!!
2 pounds small, tender Brussels sprouts (washed and cut in half) 4 ounces of thick cut bacon chopped 1 cup chopped sweet onion (like a Vidalia) 1 tablespoon butter 3 tablespoons flour 1/2 cup chicken broth 1 1/2 cups milk 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 6 ounces Gruyere cheese shredded (about 1 cup packed) Coat the sprouts with vegetable (or olive) oil and place, face side down on baking sheet. Bake in preheated 425° oven for 20 minutes (turning over about half way through). Remove from oven and set aside. In frying pan, brown the bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels. In bacon grease, sautee onions until tender and sweet smelling (about 3-4 minutes). Drain all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan. Sprinkle in the flour and pepper and stir around. Let this gently cook for a minute or so, to cook out any raw flour taste. Whisk in the chicken broth and milk. Stir/whisk until it's nice and thick, then stir in 1/2 of the grated cheese and stir till melted. Add the cooked Brussels sprouts and gently toss to coat. Place in greased baking dish and top with the rest of the cheese. Bake 25 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Here is the perfect dessert for the upcoming holidays!
Homemade rustic crostata with sweet and juicy apples, a dash of cinnamon, over a buttery and flaky crust.
Good morning!! Before I start telling you all about this delicious apple crostata recipe, I'd like to remind you that today is the last day to enter for your chance to win a $100 Visa gift card. You can enter for free and it's super easy. So make sure to check it out before it's too late! The entry instructions are at the bottom of my Chocolate Candy Cookie Bars recipe. Thank you so much MASTERCHEF JR on FOX and SheKnows Media for this opportunity :) Now, let's talk dessert. And not just any dessert, but something easy, elegant and deliciously tasty. Something that you will be proud to bring at your dinner table these upcoming holidays. Something that everyone will love, and will hunt you for the recipe. So how about this homemade crostata?!? Made with sweet and juicy apple slices, sprinkled with cinnamon and drizzled with lemon juice, over a buttery and flaky pie crust. There is nothing more I need to add ... Or wait! Think about a just-out-of-the-oven slice of this heavenly dessert, served warm next to a melting scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Now I've said enough! I can assure you that every bite of this dessert will be followed by lots of "mmmmm" little noises. Well, if you are sitting next to me, you'd hear that for sure :)
It goes without saying that I love apple desserts. This is my second recipe for the month. Remember my soft and moist apple cake? That's another easy and delicious recipe. It's apple season right now, so why not take advantage of it? Because, let's face it, your dessert can only be as good as the apples that you are using! You can now find delicious apples. McIntosh and Pink Lady are some of my favorite, but also Granny Smith and Golden Delicious (easier to find all year round). Sweet, perfectly tart, juicy and oh-so flavorful.
What makes this recipe a winner is how easy, delicious and elegant it is. A beautiful and impressive looking rustic tart, as delicious as a traditional apple pie, just easier and quicker to prepare. I made it from scratch, without using a food processor or a mixer. You are welcome to use these gadgets, and it will make the job a little faster for you. Everything you will need for this recipe is already in your kitchen. So, let's bake!! Here is a video recipe for you: See how easy it is?? So really, why wait for the holidays to bake this dessert, when you can make any day special with this apple crostata?!?
Enjoy :)
Ingredients: to make a 10 inch (25 cm) tart, serves about 8
1 and 1/2 sticks (6 oz, 170 gr) of unsalted butter, chilled
about 6 tablespoons (85 ml ) of chilled water
For the filling:
1/4 cup (50 gr) sugar
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, plus a bit to sprinkle on top (optional)
3 large apples, about 1.5 lb (680 gr) - I used McIntosh but you can also use Pink Lady, Granny Smith or your favorite.
2 tablespoons of lemon juice, about the juice of one medium lemon
3 tablespoons of butter, melted
1 beaten egg, for glaze (or milk if you prefer)
sugar crystals for decoration
Preparation time: about 90 minutes Directions: 1. Let's start by preparing the crust. Combine the flour, the cornmeal, the sugar, salt and lemon zest in a large bowl.
2. Add the butter, and using the tip of a knife, cut the butter and reduce it to small (pea-size) pieces or as small as you can. If you have a processor, the job is a lot faster. Pulse only for a few seconds. Do not over mix.
3. Add 4 tablespoons of water. Mix with a spoon at first (your fingers next if necessary) until the dough comes together. Add one or two more tablespoons of water if needed. I used about 6 tablespoons total (85 ml) but that can vary.
4. Move the mixture to a large piece of plastic wrap. Make it into a ball. Wrap it in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for at least half hour, or while you prepare the stuffing. You can also prepare the dough a day ahead and leave it in the refrigerator overnight.
5. Preheat the oven to 400º F (205º C) while you prepare the filling. In a bowl mix the sugar with the cornstarch and the cinnamon. Peel, core and cut the apple in slices. Add the apple slices to the bowl. Mix and add the lemon juice and the melted butter. Coat all the slices with the mixture.
6. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle the top with flour, and turn the dough often to make sure it doesn't stick to the counter. Roll to about a 14 inch (36 cm) circle (diameter). Place it on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, helping yourself with your rolling pin.
7. Distribute the apple slices on the dough. Leave an edge of about 1.5 inches. You can place the slices neatly like in my picture. Or just dump them all on the crust and distribute evenly. Brush the inside edge with the beaten egg.
8. Fold the edge over the fruit as shown in my picture. If the dough breaks at any point, don't worry! Pinch the dough to seal.
9. Brush the border (outer part now) with more of the beaten egg. Sprinkle with sugar crystals and more cinnamon if you wish.
10. Bake at 400º F (205º C) for about 40 minutes until golden on top. Let the crostata cool a little bit before cutting. Serve at room temperature, or warm ... and how about with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream?!
If you are looking for a GREAT recipe for a holiday potluck, this is it. It is very quick and easy to make and disappears from the buffet table first, followed by lots of requests for the recipe. You can double or even triple this recipe for a big crowd. These photos were taken recently when I made just 1/4 of the recipe since we are empty nesters. You'll just have to use your imagination for the 9 x 13 size.
CRUST 2 1/2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup melted butter Combine all crust ingredients and press into a 9 x 13 pan (pushing up the sides a little) and bake in preheated 375° oven for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack before you add the filling. FILLING (2) 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, softened 2 cups creamy peanut butter (see note) 2 cups sugar 2 tablespoons soft butter 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups whipping cream In your stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth, then add the peanut butter, sugar, butter and vanilla. Beat until the mixture is very well mixed and smooth. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until you get stiff peaks, then gently fold it into the peanut butter mixture by hand, making sure that it is well mixed and you don't see any streaks of white. Pour filling over the baked crumb crust. Frost with additional whipped cream and chill the whole thing for 3-4 hours. NOTE: OK......here's a warning.... if you are like me and you like to lick the beaters and spoons, you will notice sugar grains in the filling.....don't freak out. After it chills in the fridge for a couple of hours, they will totally disappear and the filling will be SILKY SMOOTH!! I promise.
ANOTHER NOTE: You would think that a recipe with TWO CUPS of peanut butter would be very heavy, but this dessert is light as air!! NOTE: HALF of this recipe will fill a 9" pie plate perfectly.
I make it in tiny batches because we are empty nesters. A 12 ounce bag of frozen raspberries (which will give you 2 cups of mashed fruit) and 2 cups of sugar, that's it!! No need to thaw the raspberries. Just microwave them long enough to separate them, then mash them with a potato masher and Measure AFTER they are mashed.
Next, measure out an equal amount of granulated sugar BUT DON'T ADD THE SUGAR YET...... JUST SET IT ASIDE.
Put the mashed berries in a deep heavy pan and quickly bring to a HARD ROLLING BOIL stirring constantly(see important note at end).
Once it's at the hard boil, turn the heat down so that you still have a constant boil, but not boiling crazy hard. Set your timer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
At the two minute mark, dump in the sugar and quickly bring it back to HARD ROLLING BOIL again stirring constantly. Turn your heat down to a gentle boil and cook for exactly 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and skim off any pink foam you might have (I don't usually have any).
That's it!! You're done!!!
You made jam!!
Pour the jam into sterilized jars and put on the two piece lid and put it through a hot water bath for 10 minutes. If you don't want to mess with the hot water bath, just store the jam in the fridge.
A 12 ounce bag of frozen raspberries and 2 cups of sugar, makes just over 2 cups of finished jam. It is absolutely delicious, fresh and bright tasting, plus it couldn't be quicker or easier.
A note about "hard rolling boil". If you are a new cook, don't let this cooking term concern you. A hard rolling boil is simply a boil that doesn't slow down when you stir it.
My rule of thumb is to bring it to a hard rolling boil quickly, then turn it down to about medium. What you want is a slow hard rolling boil. Does that make sense? Just don't let it boil crazy hard and you will be ok, just keep stirring.
Spend quality time with your children around the kitchen
and together you can easily whip up these sinfully delicious cookie bars
loaded with all (...or some) of your leftovers Halloween chocolate candies
I hope you had a fantastic Halloween, and a relaxing, sugar-free Sunday. I meant ... sugar-filled Sunday! We all know what really happens the day after Halloween. The kids go crazy with all the goodies they have collected, and want to eat them all. The general rule in my house is to let the kids play, count, and compare their treasures. But they can pick only a few pieces to eat. I try to make the rest disappear. Well, not all of it! I would never get rid of chocolate candies. You all know that I LOVE chocolate. I could never say no to a melt-in-your-mouth piece of the finest chocolate, maybe filled with crunchy hazelnuts, and silky gianduia milk chocolate. Are you thinking about those fancy Italian baci too?!? So delicious!
Today I baked with one of my boy these fantastic cookie bars filled with leftover Halloween chocolate candies. This recipe is a great way to use those candies, and it's easy enough that your kids can do it by themselves, or maybe with a little help. You can let your kids decide which chocolate bars to use. From Snickers to Milky Way.Or Reese's Cups and M&Ms. Let them go wild! Just set the limit to about one and a half cups of candies cut in pieces for a batch of these cookies.
My kids love when they get to help in the kitchen. It gets very messy, but it's so much fun. Cooking is a great learning opportunity, and an amazing way to bring the family together. Sometimes it's hard to spend quality time with the children, when they are so busy with school, homework, sports and all that after-school activities. After today's crazy baking experience I can honestly say that I need to bake more with my boys and work on their cooking skills. Neither of them could be the next MASTERCHEF JUNIOR. Not a chance, at least for the moment! Have you seen what the kids on the show can actually cook?!? Simply amazing! In the finale of the last season, the remaining two contestants had to make a three course meal in only 90 minutes. One of the boys made an Italian inspired menu, starting with herbed homemade ricotta cheese, with roasted beets and pumpernickel bread. Yes, you heard correctly! Ricotta cheese made from scratch. I have never tried and never even thought about making it, until I saw this episode. If an 11 year old can whip up ricotta, I certainly can do it too. Well ... maybe :) Next on the menu, there was an impressive dish of beef cheek ravioli with pan gravy and shaved Parmesan. And for dessert a perfectly creamy sweet risotto (rice pudding style) with figs and verjus. Probably you wish you knew what "verjus" is, right?! Not even my laptop spell-checker knows it really. But I do! And I learned it from the show, of course! MASTERCHEF JUNIOR is super fun and exciting, for both adults and kids. And it's very inspiring, with all those impressive and mouthwatering dishes. I've actually decided I need to be one of the judges on the show! I can really see myself sitting next to Gordon Ramsey and sharing the fork ;) So make sure to watch the new season of MASTERCHEF JUNIOR. It's starting this Friday November 6, 8/7 c on Fox. Just one word of advice before the next show: make sure not to watch on an empty stomach. It will make you hungry,for sure!
Here is the recipe for these soft and gooey, rich and intense, dangerous cookie bars. Every bite is exploding with everything you love about leftover Halloween chocolate candies. You can make it as fun or as simple as you wish. Ingredients: to make an 8x12 inches (20x30 cm) baking pan, cut in about 16 bars
4 oz (115 gr) of unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
1 cup packed (200 gr) of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 cups (300 gr) of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
a pinch of salt
1 and 1/2 cups (about 200 gr) of Milky Way and Crunch bars, or other (Snickers, Butterfingers, Reese's cups, ...)
1/4 cup (40 gr) of M&Ms for decoration (optional)
Preparation time: about 40 minutes Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F (175° C). Melt the butter in a double boiler, or in the microwave for about 30-40 seconds. Let it cool, while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. 2. In a large bowl add the eggs and sugar. Mix well.
3. Whisk in the melted butter.
4. Blend in the flour, baking soda, and salt.
5. Stir in the two cups of chopped chocolate bars.
6. Press the dough to the bottom of a 8x12 inches (20x30 cm) baking pan, covered with parchment paper. Sprinkle the top with the M&Ms if you wish, to give a colorful twist to the bars. Press the candies down a bit with your finger, so they won't roll around.
7. Bake at 350° F (175° C) for about 20-22 minutes. Take the cookies out by pulling up on the parchment paper, and cut in pieces. To have perfectly cut bars, make sure to wait for the cookies to cool down a bit. Or if you don't mind... we didn't mind and couldn't wait to taste this - just go ahead, cut and enjoy! I made 16 bars, about 2 by 3 inches each. You could also cut smaller portions and make 24 bars ( 2x2 in ).
Enjoy :)
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