Dessert Recipes

Chef Shelley R. Pogue asked:


Macaroons are a Passover favorite for many, who have a sweet tooth. For this new harvest season celebration, I have come up with a new recipe. If you love espresso, and also love coconuts and almonds then you should try this recipe. This is a delicious treat for any and all who love coconut but we are going to spice them up just a little bit, by adding espresso coffee flavor to these little coconut desserts. These mini espresso, coconut and almond macaroons will melt in your mouth, and are made with just a few ingredients. These will take some time so you may want to make these in advance.

Coconut Almond Mocha Macaroons:

1/2 cup honey

1/4 Teaspoon of vanilla bean paste

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 Tablespoon instant powdered coffee or espresso

2 1/2 Cups shredded, sweetened coconut

1 Cup of ground almonds

3/4 Cup matzo cake meal

2 Egg whites

1 Bag of Chocolate covered coffee espresso beans, from your local store or Starbucks has them.

First things first you will line a baking tray with non stick baking parchment paper. You will finely grind the 1 cup of almonds in short bursts in a food processor until they form a fine meal and set aside until ready for them. In a small saucepan you will combine the honey, cocoa powder and coffee powder while cooking and stirring over a low to medium heat until powders are dissolved and mixture is smooth. You will remove from the heat and let cool about 10 to 15 minutes.

While the cocoa mixture is cooling you will place the egg whites in a bowl, and whisk until they form stiff peaks, when they start to get stiff you will start to gradually add the sugar, and you will continue whisking until it forms a thick and shiny or glossy meringue.

You will then stir in the coconut, matzo cake meal, vanilla bean paste, and ground almonds into the somewhat cooled espresso mix, and stir for about 30 seconds or so. You will then start to combine the glossy egg whites in thirds until well-folded in. When ingredients are well mixed you will spoon out about one tablespoon of the mixture and roll into a ball. You will place the macaroon balls on the parchment-lined baking sheet. You will continue to repeat with remaining dough, placing the macaroon balls about one inch apart. You will press one of the coffee beans into the middle of each macaroon ball.

You will then bake at 300F for 15 - 20 minutes, or until firm. You will then remove the baking sheet from oven, and remove with a spatula from the parchment covered baking sheet and cool on wire baking/cooling racks for about 20-30 minutes. Once cool you will remove the macaroons from the

wire cooling racks and store in airtight container for about 4-6 hours to make sure they are good and set. I hope that you enjoy this recipe.

Chef Shelley Pogue, a *** Laude, Le Cordon Blue graduate and Executive Research and Development Chef, for Vertical Sales and Marketing, San Ramon, CA. Shelley is also the desserts editor for BellaOnline.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shelley_Pogue



Hopper

Chef Shelley R. Pogue asked:


Sicilians are supposed to have created this great dessert recipe, and I think that they are just delicious. I hope that this recipe is fairly easy to follow. You will need some type of dowel or metal tube that you will use to form out your cannoli shells. If you have a 3 ½ inch in diameter ring or even a 3 inch ring, you will need this to form the shape of your shells, also. You will also need a deep fryer, or a pan that is deep enough for these shells to float in oil.

Ingredients for Cannoli Shells:

3 Cups of unsifted flour

1/4 Teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon of salt

3 Tablespoon of granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 Tablespoon of firm butter cut into small cubes

1/4 Cup of a good Marsala wine

1-2 egg whites, whisked slightly

First thing is to sift the flour with salt, cinnamon, and granulated sugar. You will make a well in the center of your sifted flour mixture. In the middle of the well you have made you will add the egg and butter and start mixing with a fork. You will work the egg mixture with the fork from the center out, to incorporate the moist egg with the flour mixture. You will then add your Marsala wine slowly until dough begins to come together like a playdough mixture. You will then start working the dough with your hands to form the dough into a dough ball. You will then cover and let the dough rise for about 10-15 minutes.

If you have a stainless area to work on great, if not you will need a wooden cutting board. You will need to slightly dust the area you plan to work on with a small amount of flour. You will then roll out the dough into 1/4 inch thickness. You will then use your 3 ½ “rings and cut the cannoli shell circles. You will then use a rolling pin to roll the circles into oblongs or ovals. You will then take your dowels or tubes and wrap the dough around cannoli forms. You will then whisk your egg white, and seal your dough edges by using a brush or very clean hands if you have no brush. You will then roll up ever so slightly the ends so they will have a very faint lip or ring on the edge of the cooked product.

At some point when you are ready to get your shells into the oil to start cooking them you will heat your oil to around 350 degrees. Once it is at the proper temperature you will begin to fry two, or three at a time in “deep” hot fat for about 1 minute, or until lightly golden. Remove with tongs to paper towels to drain, you will then let cool for about 30 seconds to one minute and then slip out cannoli form, holding shell carefully so you will not break it. Cool shells before filling. Let them hang out while you will start to make your filling.

Ingredients for the Cannoli filling:

3 lb. ricotta cheese, that has had moisture removed

2 1/2 Cup of confectioners’ sugar

1/4 Cup of semi-sweet chocolate pieces or grated sweet chocolate

1/4 Cupcandied cherries, finely chopped

1/2 Teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 Cup of chopped pistachio nuts

Confectioners’ sugar to dust each of the finished Cannoli’s maybe about 1/2 Cup

First thing you will want to do is take your ricotta and place into cheesecloth and wrap it into a ball and then you will tie a knot in the top part of the ball you have made. You will want to hold over night if possible to drain the water from the ricotta. If you have some way to hang the cheese ball in your refrigerator that would be best. You will need to have a bowl under the cheese to catch all of the moisture that will drain off of the ricotta. The shells that you have made will hole for a couple of days if you want to make these in stages. They are worth the wait, and the time taken to make these little delicacies.

First you will take the drained ricotta and get it into the bowl and work it for a minute or two to get it more pliable. You will gently start to combine the cheese, and the sugar into a mixing bowl, and fold in with a spatula until you obtain a light, airy blend of ingredients. You will start to fold in the minced candied fruit and the chocolate very gently. You will then start to spoon the cheese filling into a pastry bag, or a large Ziploc if you do not have a pastry bag. You will then twist the top into a knot to keep the filling from emerging, and fill each of the Cannoli shells, ********* the filling in from either end.

Once you have all of the shells filled you will dip the ends of the cannoli in the pistachios. You will then arrange all of the Cannoli’s on a platter, and sprinkle with a little powdered sugar, and they’re ready. If you would like to garnish you can save some of the candied cherries and place them on the center of each Cannoli after the powdered sugar has been applied. Then serve, and enjoy.



Vazquez

Jill Seader asked:


In our effort to get healthier, eat better, and watch our waistline, we often take drastic measures like cutting all sweets out of our diet. And those diets rarely last because we feel deprived. So rather than going completely drastic, here is a question I ask you to consider: Why not try small changes that you can live with? So instead of cutting all sweets out of your diet, why not replace the typical sweets you eat with a dessert that is healthier and that you can feel good about? And what tastier way to help you get that daily intake of veggies than through dessert? Here are a couple of recipes to help you in your urge to get healthy but not feel deprived.

Zucchini Crisp

5 cups sliced zucchini, peeled and seeded

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup lemon juice

3/4 cup water

Combine all of the above ingredients in a large saucepan. Cook the mixture until it starts to boil. Then boil the mixture for 15 to 20 minutes. Put the mixture in an 8- or 9-inch square pan.

Topping:

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, brown sugar, and baking powder. Mix well. Cut the flour into the mixture and combine until it is crumbly. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the zucchini mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

Avocado Pie

1 (3-ounce) package lime or lemon-lime jello

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 can (8-ounce) crushed pineapple

1 medium avocado

1 cup boiling water

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 package (3-ounce) cream cheese

1 cup whipped cream

9-inch graham cracker pie crust

In a large bowl, put the jello, salt, and boiling water. Stir the mixture until the jello is dissolved. Drain the pineapple juice into a measuring cup. Add the lime juice to it. Add enough cold water to make the mixture equal 3/4 cup. Add this mixture to the jello mixture. Put the jello mixture in the refrigerator until it is very thick. While that is cooling, peel and half the avocado. Cut up half of the avocado into small pieces. In a small bowl, mash the other half of the avocado until it is smooth. Add the cream cheese to the mashed avocado and mix until well blended. Add the cream cheese mixture, avocado pieces, pineapple, and whipped cream to the jello mixture. Mix well and put into the pie crust. Refrigerate until the mixture is firm.



Good

Guido Nussbaum asked:


Chocolate is one of the oldest processed foods enjoyed over the past millennium. It came from the tropical tree called cocoa. This tree is native to South America, Central America and Mexico. The seeds of the cocoa tree are dried and fermented and finally grounded and liquefied. As a result of these processes, pure unsweetened chocolate is formed.

There are different kinds of chocolate. Each is classified according to its composition and color. Milk chocolate is the combination of sugar, cocoa butter and milk. It is considered not a true chocolate because of the absence of cocoa solids formed from the processes involved in production of pure chocolate. White chocolate can be consumed by animals. The addition of sugar and fats makes up the third kind of chocolate. Dark chocolate has high cocoa content and is believed to have health benefits by reducing the occurrence of heart attack. One example of dark chocolate is semisweet chocolate which is used in cooking recipes. Sometimes vanilla is added for a more pleasing aroma.

Chocolate is enjoyed in a wide variety of preparations nowadays. If one would go to a nearby restaurant, cafeteria or snack bar, one would definitely come across chocolates in various attractive servings ranging from breads, cakes, drinks and ice creams.

Below is an easy chocolate dessert recipe that you can enjoy doing. It’s a recipe on how to make your ice cream richer, creamier and attractive when served after a sumptuous meal. It is very easy to prepare.

Chocolate Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

½ gallon vanilla ice cream of any flavor

10 caramels

¾ cup of Nestle Carnation Evaporated Milk

1 ¾ cups of Nestle Toll House Milk Chocolate Morsels

Directions:Combine caramels, 1 ½ cups morsels and evaporated milk in a saucepan under low heat. Continuously stir until mixture is smooth. Serve as a topping on ice cream.

This easy chocolate recipe has an estimated cooking time of ten minutes. It yields to seven servings of ¼ cup each. In case of left over, refrigerate and reheat in saucepan while continuously stirring.

You can also use this sauce to add flavor to your brownies and cheesecakes. You can even add peanut butter chips, colored chocolate chips to make it more attractive for kids. This stuff is heavenly and your friends will compliment you for its rich and tempting taste.

This is just an example of an easy to prepare chocolate recipe. Other recipes vary from their ingredients, procedures, cooking time, skill level and the number of servings. Nestle, a multinational packaged food company, offers a wide range of easy chocolate recipes for you to choose from to fit your interests. With its line of chocolate products, dairy products, and ice cream you can surely select a wide variety of easy recipe suggestions to satisfy your eagerness to learn more about easy chocolate recipes.

These easy chocolate recipes let you spend little time in your kitchen yet let you delight anybody’s taste buds. These are easy to follow recipes that you alone can enjoy doing even on a busy day. Enjoy the chocolates. Enjoy the recipes.



Dave