Category: Desserts

Economy Ice Cream

Title of Recipe: Economy Ice Cream

Ingredients:
2 eggs
6 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp white corn syrup
1 cup top milk
1 cup light cream
1 tsp. Vanilla

Instructions:
Beat egg yolks, sugar and corn syrup until thick and lemon colored. Add milk, cream, flavoring. Pour into refrigerator tray. Freeze until firm. Remove to chilled bowl. Add unbeaten egg whites and beat until fluffy. Return to freezing compartment for 20-25 minutes or until frozen.

Peanut Brittle Ice Cream – substitute 1 cup crushed peanut brittle for sugar. Add 1 tsp vanilla.

Strawberry Ice Cream – Substitute 1 cup finely sieved strawberries for 1 cup milk. Add ¼ cup sugar.

Coffee Ice Cream – dissolve 1 tbsp instant coffee in 1 tsp boiling water. Add to milk in basic recipe.

Texas Sheet Cake

Title of Recipe: Texas Sheet Cake

Ingredients:
2 cu sugar
2 cu sifted flour
½ tsp salt
2 cubes butter (1/2 lb)
1 cu water
4 tbsp cocoa
½ cu sour cream
2 eggs
1 tsp soda
1 box powdered sugar
¼ cu butter
vanilla
milk

Instructions:
In lg bowl put sugar, flour & salt. In small heavy pan bring butter water, cocoa to a boil. Take from heat. Add immediately to sugar/flour/salt ingredients. Add sour cream, eggs and soda to mixture, mix till well blended. Batter will be very thin. Pour into greased, floured 10 ½” x 15 ½” pan. Bake 20-25 min at 350°. Don’t overbake while warm, frost.

Special Steps:
Frosting; ¼ lb butter, 6 tbsp milk, 4 tbsp cocoa. Boil milk, butter and cocoa until bubbly. Mix in nuts, 1 box powdered sugar & 1 tsp. vanilla. Beat until smooth. Spread over warm cake.

Avocado Cream

Title of Recipe: Avocado Cream

Ingredients:
3 ripe avocados
1 lg lime
3 tbs sugar
pinch salt
½ pint vanilla ice cream

Instructions:
Remove rind and pits from 3 avocados. Put fruit thru blender. Combine puree with juice of 1 lg lime, 3 tbs sugar, pinch salt and ½ pint vanilla ice cream. Pour into pan and freeze about 1 hour or until semisolid. Several drops of maraschino may be added before freezing.

Three Christmas Treats

from Chef Chris Nicosia from Sassi Restaurant

Nutella No-egg Dessert

INGREDIENTS

  • 250 gm whole milk
  • 250 gm Nutella
  • 250 gm cream (heat to scald)
  • 1 TBL gelatin

STEP BY STEP

  1. Mix milk and Nutella
  2. Heat cream in separate pot
  3. Add gelatin to cream and mix
  4. Pour cream into Nutella mixture blending as you pour
  5. Pour into glasses and let it set overnight uncovered
  6. Once cooled, you can cover it

Amaretti Cookie

  • 8 oz Almond Paste – Dried (in a can)
  • 1 C Sugar
  • Incorporate in Kitchen Aid
  • 2 egg whites
  • Blend till smooth
  • Put into piping bag
  • Lightly greased pan with wax paper
  • Put buckeye sized dollops
  • 375º for 8-10 minutes
  • Cook till they start to brown

Spinchi – Ricotta Fritters

  • 1 LB ricotta
  • 4 eggs
  • Mix above
  • 1/4 C sugar
  • Cake flour
  • Baking powder
  • AP flour
  • Vanilla
  • stir
  • Put little drops into 365º oil

Get amounts from YourLifeAZ

Basic Angel Food Cake

INGREDIENTS

  • Muffin rings lined with paper and sprayed
  • 3/4 C castor (confectioner) sugar
  • 1 C Cake Flour – NOT self-rising
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
    Meringue
  • 2 tsp Cream of Tartar
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 14 large Egg Whites
  • 1 TBL warm water
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 C granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Citric Acid
    Topping
  • 1/2 C granulated sugar (for fruit)

STEP BY STEP

  1. Place muffin ring in center of an oven-safe skillet
    For Meringue:
  2. Beat egg whites to foamy peaks – not stiff peaks
  3. Add salt, cream of tartar and 1/2 C granulated sugar early into beating process
  4. Add castor sugar, citric acid, vanilla and warm water as you approach stiff peaks
  5. Pour into large mixing bowl
    For Cake:
  6. Fold in CAKE flour 1 TBL at a time – Don’t use AP flour.  Cake flour is a finer grind than AP flour.  DO NOT overmix
  7. Fill baking ring about 3/4 full
  8. Even out top and tap to remove bubbles
  9. Preheat oven to 350º
  10. Place pan of hot water on the bottom shelf
  11. Bake pie at 350º for 60 minutes (see note at bottom)
    Topping:
  12. Add 1 stick butter ti skillet
  13. 1/2 C sugar
  14. 1/2 C grand marnier or rum
  15. Mix together then add quartered strawberries, blackberries and blueberries – or other fruit topping
    Cake:
  16. Cool before removing from ring for at least one hour
  17. Serve with macerated (eg) strawberries and lemon juice plus sour cream, vanilla and sour cream

Topping

  1. Use strawberries, blueberries, etc
  2. Sprinkle 1/2 C sugar
  3. Mash the fruit slightly using two forks
  4. Let them macerate while you bake your cake

Variation
You can use biscuit rings or lady-finger molds instead of a bundt pan.  If you do this, reduce cooking time to 30 minutes.

 

Peach Dump Cake – EASY DESSERT

Ingredients

  • 1 box Betty Crocker yellow cake mix
  • 2 cans peach pie filling ( or prepared – see below )
  • 1 stick of butter
  • 1/4 C Half and Half
  • 1 large cast iron skillet

Step by Step

  1. Preheat oven to 350º
  2. Pour cake mix into a mixing bowl and break apart any lumps
  3. Put about 1/4 of dry cake mix into bottom of a cast iron skillet
  4. Empty peaches onto the first layer of cake mix
  5. Dump the dry cake mix on top of the peaches and press down firmly
  6. Cut butter into small pieces and scatter on top of cake mix
  7. Sprinkle top with cinnamon.
  8. Bake for 60 minutes @ 350º

Preparing your peaches if not using canned

  1. Blanche 10 peaches
    Boiling water for 30 seconds, then ice bath
  2. Remove skins
  3. Cut into pieces
  4. Toss with 1/4 C granulated sugar
  5. Let rest for 30 minutes

Apple Tart

INGREDIENTS

  • Frozen puff pastry
  • 3 granny smith apples ( peel, core & slice ¼” thick, or thinner )
  • 1/3 C granulated sugar
  • eggs (w/ egg yolk separated)
  • Jelly – about 2 tablespoons
  • 2 TBL butter + 2 TBL butter
  • Turbinado sugar for garnish
  • Cinnamon
  • Optionally, you can add 1 TBL cornstarch to help your custard set

STEP BY STEP

  1. Roll out frozen puff pastry, that’s been thawed, rolled out w/o unfolding to twice size.
    OR make your own tart crust. Get a recipe by using the link at the top of the page
  2. Trim edges
  3. Put onto flat baking sheet
  4. Score perimeter with a knife about ½” all around, DO NOT CUT THROUGH. This will allow edge to puff up.
  5. Refrigerate for 10 minutes
  6. Egg wash – brush entire crust, but don’t brush edges outside of the knife mark
  7. Mix apples w/ 1/3 cup sugar
  8. Layout apples in a pretty pattern
  9. To glaze, mix 2 TBL each of butter, water & jelly
  10. Heat glaze in microwave about 30 seconds, and paint on
  11. Dot top w/ 2 TBL cold butter – in pieces
  12. Sprinkle with Turbinado sugar
  13. Sprinkle with cinnamon
  14. Bake at 350º for 35 min

OPTIONAL FILLINGS

  • Lemon Curd
  • Peaches
  • Apricots
  • Raisins and Grated Apple
  • Mincemeat
  • Berries (frozen or fresh)
  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Strawberry and Rhubarb

 

Key Lime Tart

key-limeINGREDIENTS

  • 1 C sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 C key lime juice
  • 2 tsp key lime zest
  • Prepared graham cracker shells in bottom of ring molds
    • Alternate, you can use a muffin pan lined with papers

STEP BY STEP

  1. Whisk and combine all ingredients except lime
  2. Fold in lime, mixing gently
  3. Press a thin layer of graham cracker in the bottom of the receptacles
  4. Pour mixture into shells
  5. Bake 8 minutes
  6. Rotate pan
  7. Bake another 6 minutes
  8. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

  1. Crush six graham cracker
  2. Mix in 3 TBL melted butter
  3. Sprinkle graham crackers in bottom of baking rings or muffin pan

 

Basic Lemon Curd

Also called Zabaglione by the Italians, who claim to have invented it.

Basic Lemon Curd

This does not follow all of the rules, but it is about as easy as you can get.  I like easy, and this is the way I do it.

You will need a double boiler or a bowl which fits into a saucepan to make lemon curd. This restricts the temperature from never getting hotter than 212º – which is actually too hot for lemon curd, so you still need to be careful. 202º is the perfect water temperature. This also reduces the risk for scorching. You CAN do it in a sauce pan alone, but your chances of failure increase greatly.

The eggs will need to heat between 150º and 170º  – NEVER exceed 175º

Limes and Lemons both work really well in this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

  • lemon zest and juice of 4 lemons
    ( about 1/2 C )
  • 6 egg yolks
    Reserve the whites for an omelet
  • 1/2 cup Karo Syrup
  • 1 dash of salt
  • 1/4 C ( 1/2 stick – 8 TBL ) butter ( cut into tabs )
  • 2 TBL corn starch
  • Scant vanilla or Grand Marnier at the very end

STEP BY STEP

NOTE:  Just the yolk makes custard.  Yolk plus lemon makes lemon curd.

  1. Wash lemons.
    • Info: The lemons and the eggs should be at room temperature. Roll the lemons firmly on a table as a preparation for extracting the maximum quantity of juice from them.
  2. Grate rind, leaving white pith
    • Info: Using a citrus zester or a fine microplane grater, remove the yellow portion of the lemon rind, leaving behind the white pith (the white part under the rind which is bitter). Put the grated peel (also known as the zest) into a large mixing bowl.
  3. Squeeze juice from lemons into the mixing bowl.  Don’t worry about the seeds and the pulp, we will be straining in Step 14.  Plus, the seeds have a bit of pectin in them, which will help with your custard creation.
  4. Mix together eggs, sugar, salt, corn starch in a large mixing bowl.  Your mixing bowl should be a larger diameter than your stock pot.  We will be using the bowl as a double boiler.  Cream together the eggs and dry ingredients.  This will break apart the strings of white.
  5. Pour the egg into the large mixing bowl.
  6. Fill a large stock pot about 2 inches with water and bring to a rapid boil, then reduce the heat to a light simmer.  As I mentioned 202º – 205º is the perfect temperature
  7. Cut your butter into pieces and put into your mixing bowl.  This will become your “wok” bowl.
  8. Put your mixing bowl on top of the pot to create kind of a low-temperature wok.  This is called a double-boiler.
  9. Everything (except the vanilla) should now be in your double-boiler.  You need to stir VERY frequently.  About every 15 seconds, at least.
  10. When butter has completely melted, stir continually.
  11. Cook over double boiler until thickened ( 10-15 minutes ) then add your vanilla.  Mixtures continues to thicken upon standing.  If the temperature of the egg mixture rises above 175 the egg will cook and develop clumps.  Ideally, keep the egg mixture temperature between 150 and 170º.  The clumps can be removed in Step 14 if this happens.
  12. Put in about 1/2 tsp of vanilla or Grand Marnier. 
  13. Put bowl into an ice bath and stir until temperature drops.
  14. Strain the custard into a measuring cup, lined with a plastic bag.
  15. Cut the merest tip from the bag, and pipe into bowls or dump into tart crust (see recipes at top of this page)
  16. Cool at least an hour before serving

NOTES and ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

  • Lemon curd is a summer treat which isn’t difficult to prepare.
  • You can transfer the curd to a clean jar or store in the refrigerator, covered with wax paper.
  • Use the lemon curd to fill tarts, as a pie filling, or spread on crackers, toast or waffles.
  • You can also just serve this in a little bowl as a side dish.

 

Peach Tart

Filling

  1. Cut peach into 12 slices
  2. Melt 2 TBL butter in a skillet
  3. Glaze the peaches
  4. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar
  5. Sprinkle with a bit of 5 spice powder (* or below)
  6. Add 1/4 C brandy
  7. Reduce and caramelize
  8. Remove peaches
  9. Add a bit of water to deglaze the pan
  10. Reserve deglaze liquid

Pie Dough *

  1. 1 C AP flour
  2. 1/2 C corn meal
  3. 2 TBL sugar
  4. 1 tsp salt
  5. 1 stick very cold butter – cut into pieces
  6. 1 crushed ice cube
  7. Pulse in food processor drizzling in ice water VERY slowly just until a ball forms.  It’s OK if it looks a bit dry
  8. Finish on the counter.  Mix and press by hand to combine
  9. Cover with plastic wrap and rest in fridge for 30 minutes
  10. Cut into four pieces and flatten into sheets – roll and flour
    Optionally, roll into one large sheet for a pie pan
  11. Put on trays with parchment paper and refrigerate for an hour
  12. Place fruit jam in the center of each, and arrange peaches around the center of rounds
  13. Roll up edges
  14. Egg and water wash the edges
  15. Sprinkle with Turbinado sugar
  16. Bake at 400º for 10-12 minutes for little rounds, or 15-20 minutes for large pies

* Five Spice Powder Substitute
Cinnamon, alspice, anise, pepper, ginger

* Alternate to making your own pie dough
Use store-bought dough
Use puff pastry

 

Strawberry Desserts

Strawberry Info

  • About 200 seeds called the Achene.
  • Cold water bath, THEN cut
  • Remove tip  – Remove leaf, then use piping bag to remove plug
  • Put washed, tipped strawberries in red wine to prevent browning.  Add honey and let marinate 2 hours
  • Add sugar to macerate and make them softer – refrigerate
  • To freeze strawberries, clean them (don’t stem them) and put in the back of the fridge to get really cold – layer between paper towels – freeze by mixing with crushed dry ice in a pan, then place in a cooler (not latched) – move to a zip lock and then freeze for up to 12 months

Strawberry Chocolate

Ingredients

  • 3/4 C Ricotta cheese
  • 1/4 C Grated dark chocolate
  • Zest (fine) from one lemon
  • 1/2 C powdered sugar
  • Nice big strawberries

Step by Step

  1. Mix first four ingredients
  2. Pipe a base pile of filling on a plate
  3. Slice an X in tip of strawberry
  4. Place upside down on the pile (for stability)
  5. Pipe cream inside the strawberry
  6. Garnish with powdered sugar and mint leaves

Summer Berry Pudding

  • Cleaned, sliced and macerated strawberries
  • 8 slices of brioche or hallah – two lightly buttered
  1. Use muffin rings to cut 8 rounds out of the brioche, doing the buttered piece last, so it is on the bottom, face down
  2. Place 2 muffin rings on the parchment paper, butter side down and put the rings over top of the brioche rounds
  3. Put in about 2 TBL strawberries in each
  4. Add a second bread layer and more strawberries
  5. One more time (third layer)
  6. Add the final (fourth) bread layer
  7. Add a canning lid, then put a can of food or soda on top to gently press down
  8. Refrigerate 8-12 hours
  9. Remove ring, then pipe clotted cream over the top
  10. Top with a fresh strawberry

 

 

Puff Pastry Cream Horn

Here is a recipe I created after seeing the contestants make Puff Pastry Horns on The Great British Bake-off.  This recipe makes 12 horns.

Ingredients

  • Commercial Puff Pastry Sheets

Lemon Curd Filling

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 dashes of salt
  • lemon zest and juice of 4 lemons ( 3/4 – 1 C )
  • 1/2 C ( 1 stick – 8 TBL ) butter ( 1/2 stick melted, and 1/2 stick cold )
  • 1 TBL corn starch in 1 TBL water
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla at the very end
  1. Combine above ingredients and cook in double boiler (stirring continually) until thickened
  2. Pipe into Puff Pastry Horns

Alternate Filling

  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • 1/4 C powdered sugar
  • Juice and zest from one lemon
  • 1 8 oz tub of cool whip
  • a few drops of almond extract
  1. Combine above ingredients and stir until combined
  2. Pipe into Puff Pastry Horns
You don’t need a fancy piping bag, a baggie with the tip cut off works just fine.

Step by Step

  1. Obtain Puff Pastry Horn forms
  2. Use only 2/3 of the frozen puff pastry sheet (broken into two rectangles)
  3. Place on a lightly floured surface until it softens
  4. Roll sideways to expand it to about 4 inches
  5. Using a pizza cutter, cut it into thirds long ways, and then half across the middle – creating six rectangles
  6. Flatten each rectangle “the long way” creating a long flat ribbon
  7. Wrap the dough around the form (securing the bottom) and pressing the dough (to seal) as you go
  8. Place on baking sheet with the tail end down (so it does not unwrap)
  9. Refrigerate for one hour before baking
  10. Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes – or until browned
  11. Let cool slightly, then slide the cone off the form
  12. Flip over so that unbaked side is now facing up
  13. Bake for an additional five minutes
  14. Let the form cool, then bake more
  15. Let all horns cool to room temperature before attempting to fill them
  16. Let filling cool as well
  17. Pipe in your filling, being sure to get it all they way to the tip of the horn
    You can cut the tip off a baggie if you don’t have a piping bag (see photo)
  18. Make a day or two ahead, and store in the refrigerator tightly covered
  19. When ready to serve, put on a serving plate and dust with powdered sugar

 

Carrot Cake – COLLECTION

Grandpa’s Carrot Cake

  • 2 large carrots (grated)
    DRY INGREDIENTS
  • 1/2 C AP raising flour
  • 1 TBL raw Old Fashioned oatmeal
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
    WET INGREDIENTS
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 C light brown sugar
  • 1 TBL melted butter
  • 2 TBL raisins
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  1. Pre-heat oven to 400º
  2. Prepare Dry Ingredients:  Sieve flour, spices and baking powder into bowl and fold in with big movements.
  3. Lightly grease 1 large round springform pan
  4. Fold waxed paper into a triangle four times – ending up with a thin wedge
  5. Place point of wedge in the center of your round pan and trim to the edge of the pan.
  6. Open up your circle and place in the bottom of your pan.
  7. Grease lightly with cooking spray.
  8. Peel carrots and grate into small strips
  9. Whisk eggs and sugar together with whisk until doubled
    Move whisk side to side, not in a circular motion
  10. Whisk in melted butter.
  11. Add carrots, oatmeal and raisins and fold in with spatula.
  12. Fold in dry ingredients
  13. Bake for 50 minutes at 400º or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
  14. Serve with cream cheese icing (see below) or just sprinkled with icing sugar.

Cream cheese icing

  • 100 g cream cheese
  • 1 lemon – well washed – zested and juiced
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 TBL whipping cream
  • 30 g confectioner sugar
  • Mix all ingredients together with the hand mixer.

Third Party Recipes

The information below this section is from a third party. It is part of Grandpa's Personal Recipe box. Feel free to browse, but know that this information is from someone else.

• Personal Carrot Cake

This makes a cake small enough for two people

• Showpiece Carrot Cake

As tasty as it is beautiful

• James Ormshy’s Whole-Wheat Carrot Cake

This is from Cindy’s Recipe Cards

Personal Carrot Cake

You will need a scale to do this recipe justice.

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 large carrot – grated and weighed (eg) 130 gm
  • ± 1 C AP flour (sifted and weighed (eg) 130 gm – same weight as your carrot
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • 2 tsp Grandpa’s CinnaSugar®
  • Dash  allspice

Wet Ingredients

  • same weight as your carrots :: 3 parts white, 1 part brown sugars
    (eg) 130 gm – approx 100 gm white, 30 gm brown
  • 2 eggs – assuming APPROXIMATELY 8 ounces of sugar
  • 2 ounces (weight) Greek Yogurt
  • 1.5 ounces (weight) crushed pineapple
  • 1.5 ounces (weight) mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp ginger, grated
  • ½  lemon, zest and juice
  • ½  cup (volume) blended oil
  • granulated sugar

Step by Step

  1. Combine wet and dry ingredients – folding gently
  2. Pour into buttered springform pan
  3. Bake at 300º for 45 minutes – or until internal temp is 200º
  4. Let cool for 30 minutes
  5. Using a fork, poke about 200 holes in the top
    Not exactly 200, just a lot of holes
  6. Combine in sauce pan (over low heat) 1 TBL butter, vanilla, 1/4 C sugar, cinnamon and 2 TBL buttermilk
  7. Pour evenly on top of poked cake
  8. While this soaks in, mix the cream cheese topping:  2 oz Softened cream cheese, 3 TBL powdered sugar, 2 oz butter and vanilla
  9. When cake has cooled to about 80º or lower (about 1 hour) spread topping
  10. Remove springform pan

 

Crepes – COLLECTION

Your crepe batter should be like EXTREMELY thin pancake batter, but not as thin as milk.  After pouring into the skillet quickly tip the pan to spread the batter around making it as thin as possible.

HINT:  Mix only half of your liquid into your flour and stir until smooth, THEN pour in the rest of your liquid.  This will help avoid lumps.

Quick and Simple All-Purpose Crepe Batter
1 C flour
1/2 milk
4 TBL butter (melted)
1/2 C water
3-4 eggs
1 tsp canola oil or melted butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 TBL CinnaSugar

 

• for savory – sub 1/4 C of buckwheat flour for AP flour,
and add a dash of French Toast seasoning or cumin

Wholly Crepes – Halifax, Nova Scotia

Crepe Lasagna

Cok au Vin Crepe Filling

Grandpa’s Breakfast Crepe
with cream cheese and jam filling
Crepe Cake
Cullen Campbell
Crepe Notes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blinchiki (Russian Style Crepes)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 3 minutes

 

12-15 crepes

Ingredients:

1 eggs

2 cups milk

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1,5 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons of any oil, plus more for pan

For Serving:

Any fillings

Russian traditional fillings:

Desserts: Sour cream, sweetened condensed milk, any jam, honey, cottage cheese

Savory: Caviar, smoked salmon with sour cream

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, and salt. Mix in flour, 1/4 – 1/2 cup at a time, until a runny batter forms. Whisk in the oil and let rest for about 15 minutes.

In a 10 inch skillet or pan, rub a little oil and heat over medium low to medium. Once thoroughly heated, add 1/4 – 1/3 cup batter to the center and immediately tilt the pan in a circle to coat the bottom in a thin layer. Cook until bubbles begin to form and the bottom turns golden, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until the other side is golden, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove to plate. Rub the pan with more oil and repeat with remaining batter.

Enjoy from Blinchiki!

Brownies and Fudge – COLLECTION INDEX

Sugar Chemistry

Sugar Temperature Chart

The Chemistry of Brownies

The Chemistry of Brownies

Equivalents

CLASSIC FUDGE

The Easiest Fudge in the World

– not necessarily the best, but the easiest

Easiest Fudge in the World

Basic Chocolate Fudge

– understand the basics before venturing out

Basic Chocolate Fudge

Easy Peasy Fudge

Easy Peasy Fudge

Old Timey Chocolate Fudge

– be careful to NOT overbake

Old Timey Chocolate Fudge

CLASSIC BROWNIES

Grandpa’s Brownie Snack

– a mixture of OTC ingredients for night snacks

Brownie Snack

David’s Chocolate Fudge Brownies

David’s Fudge Brownies

Late Night Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix

Late Night Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix

Basic Fudge Brownies

– from a friend – Dueling recipes

Fudge Brownies

Salted Caramel Fudge Brownies

– from Food and Wine magazine

Salted Caramel Fudge Brownies

Caramel Pecan Brownies

Caramel Pecan Brownies

Batter Brownies…

– or Cookies or Cupcakes

Brownie Batter Cookies or Cupcakes

Chocolate Chunk Brownies

– a deconstructed recipe from Grandpa

Chunk Chocolate Brownie

BROWNIES WITH ANOTHER STORY

Alice B Toklas Brownies

– a special recipe for the boomers

Alice B Toklas Brownies

Pumpkin Chocolate Brownies

– a treat worthy of The Great Pumpkin

Pumpkin Chocolate Brownies

Lemony Lemon Brownies

– a Facebook share

Lemony Lemon Brownies

Multi-Level Brownies

  • Mix a brownie box mix
  • Spread 1/3 brownie mix onto a baking pan lined with parchment
  • Spread a layer of Nutella
  • Spread another third of the brownie mix
  • Put down a layer of lightly crushed oreos
  • Add a layer of Biscoff caramel spread
  • Add the final third of the brownie mix
  • Bake 375º for 40 minutes
  • Let cool 10 minutes before cutting

Strawberry Fudge

– by Chef Country Velador of Super Chunk Sweets & Treats – Your Life A to Z

Strawberry Fudge

Momma Reiner’s Chocolate Fudge

Momma Reiner’s Chocolate Fudge


– from Martha Stewart

Momma Reiner’s Chocolate Fudge Marshmallows

Momma Reiner’s Chocolate Fudge Marshmallows


– from Martha Stewart

SM – Sour Orange Marmalade

4 Jar – Overview

This recipe makes enough marmalade to last you for a couple of months.   If you want enough marmalade to last you through to next season, CLICK HERE for the amounts used to make a larger batch.

Marmalade is traditionally made with Seville oranges (also called sour oranges) which are FAR too sour to eat. They do, however, have a high amount of pectin in them. With the proper amount of sugar, this makes a great marmalade base to which other fruits can be added.  Prep your oranges the day before, so they can soak overnight.  Total hand-on time for this recipe is 3 – 4 hours, so make sure that you allow yourself enough time to cook safely.

PREPARATION

  • Wash one lemon and 3 Seville oranges thoroughly.
  • Peel the orange skin using a peeler.  Don’t peel too deeply, you do not want the white (pith) which tends to be bitter.  The orange peel will remain in the marmalade after cooking.
  • Cut apart, discarding any bad spots
  • Separate the innards and pith from the outermost orange peel.  Keep the innards and tie them into a cheesecloth bag.  This is where most of your pectin lives.

OVERNIGHT SOAK

  • Pulse pith, pips and guts in food processor
  • Place 2/3 C  pips, guts, seeds, membrane innards into 1+1/3 C  of water
  • Pulse peel in food processor – only briefly
  • Place 2/3 C peel into a second bowl containing 1+1/3 C of water

You should put the cut up and pulsed skin and innards into bowls covered with water overnight in the refrigerator.  This will soften them so that the pectin is more easily released.

FIRST BOIL (90 MINUTES)

  • Strain innards, pouring the soaking water into your stock pot
  • Put innards into a cheesecloth – a bouquet garni – and secure with a string, keeping the end available for easy removal.
  • Pour water and peel into your stock pot
  • Add 1/3 C orange juice into your stock pot
  • Bring up to boil, then reduce heat to simmer
  • Skim foam as necessary.  Stir with a WOODEN spoon.  Metal will react with the acids in the orange
  • Simmer for 90-120 minutes over low heat – this will release much of the pectin
    If the oranges have not been soaked for at least 8 hours, go ahead and simmer for 120 minutes.

The seeds contains the pectin, and will be discarded after about 90 minutes. The outer orange peel will become the meat of the marmalade. I prefer to dice half and mince half of the rind, so that you have a variety of sizes of orange rind in your marmalade.

Definition: bouquet garni – A bag (frequently in a cheesecloth) that is used for infusions, and removed later as the recipe progresses. CLICK HERE to read more.

NOTE: DO NOT ADD SUGAR YET.  If you add sugar too early, it will freeze the production of pectin, and your jam may not set properly, so don’t add it until after the 90 minute boil.

SECOND BOIL (HEAT TO 221º F – 105º C )

  • Remove pips and pith in the mesh bag at 208º. Use a tongs to squeeze the juices from the bag back into the pot. Discard the bag.
  • Increase heat and stir to dissolve. If sugar is added too soon, peel may become tough. Wait until temperature reads at least 210º
  • BRING HEAT UP TO 210º BEFORE ADDING SUGAR
  • 1 1/4 C  granulated sugar
  • 2 TBL  Karo Syrup
  • 1 TBL lemon juice
  • Add the Second Boil ingredients slowly, stirring continually
  • As soon as it starts boiling, stop stirring.  Stir very infrequently.
  • IMPORTANT NOTE:  Until most of the water boils away, the sugar may stay at 215º for about 10 minutes.  Once it hits 216º it will increase about one degree per three minutes.
  • Keep heating until the temperature reaches 221º This could take up to an hour. I’ve had success with 119º but only marginally.  Be patient and wait until it reaches full jell temperature.  A few minutes will make all the difference.  If possible, use a calibrated thermometer (or a scientific thermapen) to make sure your thermometer is not off by 2-3 degrees.
  • Meanwhile, sterilize canning jars. Details not included on this page.
  • When 221º is reached, remove the pot from the heat and let rest for 5-10 minutes.  Skim off any scum or foam.
  • Orange rind will rise to the top.  Stir the rind back into the mixture before canning.
  • Put into canning jars and cover with a lid put into hot water for at least 60 seconds.  When properly canned and cooled, this will last you for about a year.

NOTE:
Temperature will plateau at 215 for quite awhile – for as long as 15 minutes
After that, you will get 1º increase in temperature about every 3 minutes
Be patient.

MORE INFORMATION

Alternative Recipes

There are SWEET ORANGE marmalades which do not use as much sugar as this recipe. CLICK HERE for Alton Brown’s recipe for Sweet Orange Marmalade, or USE THIS LINK for Strawberry Marmalade.

A Word of Caution

A word about POT SIZE. The first time I made this I nearly boiled over. It was a constant battle between foam and the size of my pot. This will foam up about 400% of its size.  NO KIDDING.  Make sure you use a pot large enough, or you will end up with a huge dangerous mess.  This does not ALWAYS happen, but you can be prepared if it does.

I reuse my canning lids. If they fail to seal, I eat that jar first. Put an X on the failed lid so you don’t save it after the jar is empty. If they seal, they will generally not fail after cooling.  I prefer to use the small canning jars, because once exposed to light and air, the marmalade starts to lose its flavor.

The canned jars will last longer if you process them in a water bath for 10 minutes after putting into jars.

        1. Put marmalade into sterilized canning jars
        2. Soak lids about 60 seconds in boiling water
        3. Wipe rim clean and put lids on
        4. Tighten only finger tight
        5. Submerge in water (1″ over top) and process 10 minutes
        6. Cool (undisturbed) on the counter

What is shown in the photos are quantities to make two entire large batches of marmalade.

Optional Ingredients

Optional ingredients reserved for the very end:

Minced strawberries, blueberries, rhubarb, shredded carrot, or other contrast

Chemistry

If you do not use enough sugar, the liquid will be unable to reach 221º (as water only gets 212º) and it will NEVER set. Sugar can get up to 300º   If you try to decrease the calories, and use a marginal amount of sugar, you may heat it too long and you will get inverted sugar which has a longer shelf life, but is similar to high fructose corn syrup and is not as good for you as regular sugar.

Realistically, if you don’t have a thermometer, you can test the gel level but putting glass plates in the fridge, and then dripping jam onto the plate to see if it runs or just sits there.  CLICK HERE

  1. If desired, after the temperature has reached 221º you can mix in some contrast fruit such as minced strawberry – but something that is ready to eat just as it is. Don’t use anything that needs cooking or softening.
  2. Pour into canning jars. If you completely can the marmalade, it should last for up to a year. Otherwise, refrigerate it for up to six months. I personally just put them on my shelf for up to a year, but if you do this, proceed at your own risk.

If your marmalade does not set, it is still good for steamed marmalade pudding, marmalade tarts, marmalade ice cream and much more. CLICK HERE if your marmalade did not set properly.

Bottom right: Some of your oranges may be older and nubbly. You will need juice from many oranges, but the peel that you want to use is from about eight oranges that have fairly smooth skin.

Top right: To get the amount of pips and pith that you need for the larger sized recipe, you will have to juice a lot more than eight, but just throw the extras into the trash.

The ingredients freeze really well. Hot pack canning is another good option. If you freeze, be sure to leave an inch of headroom in your water bottles.

Another photo

This photo gives you a good close up of the smoother skinned oranges and the older nubbly ones. The juice from the older oranges is perfectly usable, but the skin will be a bit more bitter than the younger oranges, so get rid of them.

I prefer just a few larger dices of orange, but most of the skin that I use is minced in a food processor.

Another good way to do it is with a zester. It takes more oranges, but you can leave the white pith behind, which actually gives you a better end product.

Lemon Curd and Tarts – COLLECTION

Basic Lemon Curdkey-lime

Basic Tart Crust

Advanced Tart Crust

Lemon Lime Tart

Key Lime Tart

Apple Tart

Peach Tart

THIRD PARTY RECIPES – RecipeBox.XYZ

The information below this section is from a third party. It is part of Grandpa's Personal Recipe box. Feel free to browse, but know that this information is from someone else.

– Grandpa’s Recipe Box: CLICK HERE

Dutch Baby with Lemon Curd

– Third Party Recipe: CLICK HERE

Portuguese Custard Tart

– Third Party Recipe: CLICK HERE

Sugar Cream Pie

Ingredients for full pie crust

  • 1 DEEP DISH pie crust, at room temperature
    FILLING
  • 4 TBL cornstarch
  • 3/4 C white sugar
  • 4 TBL butter, melted
  • 2 1/4 C heavy cream
  • 1 TBL vanilla
    FOR TOPPING
  • 4 TBL butter, melted
  • 1/4 C sugar
  • 1 TBL ground cinnamon

Alternate for ramekin

  • Roll out puff pastry to line a ramekin – Bake at 325º for eight minutes
    FILLING
  • 1 TBL cornstarch
  • 3 TBL white sugar
  • 1 TBL butter, melted
  • 1 C heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
    FOR TOPPING
  • 1 TBL butter, melted
  • 3 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Step by Step

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Place the pie crust onto a baking sheet. Or, if using a refrigerated crust, lightly grease a 9″ pie pan, put the crust in, and set the pan on a baking sheet.
  3. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until partially baked.
  4. Set aside.
  5. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and sugar until blended.
  6. In a medium saucepan, bring the cornstarch-sugar mixture, melted butter and heavy cream together over medium heat, stirring constantly. The mixture is done when it’s thick and creamy.
  7. Stir in the vanilla.
  8. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie crust and smooth out the top.
  9. Drizzle on the melted butter and evenly sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar.
  10. Bake for approx. 25 minutes, then turn on the broiler and broil for about 1 minute, watching carefully.
  11. Remove from oven and allow to come to room temperature before refrigerating for at least one hour to set.
  12. Store in fridge.
  13. Put under broiler for 2 minutes just before serving.
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