Something sweet!

We wanted a new recipe to model with our placemats so we selected a pineapple upside down cake as our alternative to freshly baked cookies as a prop. The cake's topping features a sweet and gooey mixture of brown sugar, butter, and pineapple in lieu of frosting. The cake itself has a similar flavor to a sponge cake, making it the perfect complement to the pineapple's slightly chewy texture.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

For cake:

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 cups flour 

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup pineapple juice

For topping:

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 can of pineapple, chunks or slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Drain the can of pineapple and reserve juice for cake batter.

In a large bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter, granulated sugar, and eggs. Mix remaining dry ingredients separately and add alternately with juice to creamed sugar mixture.

In a cast iron skillet* on the stovetop, melt 4 tablespoons butter and stir in brown sugar. Simmer together until sugar is dissolved. Arrange pineapple chunks or slices on top of brown sugar mixture. Then pour batter into skillet and bake for 45 minutes.

Let cool for 15 - 20 minutes, then invert skillet over platter. Let stand until cake falls out of skillet (may take 5 minutes or longer). Serve warm, if desired. Any leftovers will keep in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

*Or other 9 to 10 inch diameter oven-proof dish.

Cream Cheese + Dark Chocolate + Berries

...equals something seriously good! We love having cheesecakes for birthdays and family celebrations, but even with our wonderful springform pan, it is still a little hard to slice the "cake" and serve it intact. (Doubly hard when we've topped the cheesecake with our favorite chocolate/berry combo.) Enter the mini cheesecake - with its shiny foil wrapping, serving is a cinch. Topped with a rich, dark chocolate ganache and a slightly tart, mixed berry sauce, these little cheesecakes end any meal with a perfectly delicious note. In this recipe, we have modified a favorite to include xylitol (a low-glycemic sweetner with numerous health benefits), but it does work just as well with normal white sugar!

Mini Cheesecakes with Dark Chocolate Ganache
and Berry Sauce

2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
1/3 cup xylitol (or granulated sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (or 2 teaspoons cornstarch)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat cream cheese in mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and follow with remaining ingredients. Beat all ingredients for about five minutes.

Spoon mixture into foil-lined muffin tins, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Centers should be set, and a knife poked in the center should come out clean. Cool for at least 10 minutes before topping with ganache and berry sauce. Chill for at least one hour before serving, and store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Makes 12 standard muffin-sized cheesecakes.

Dark Chocolate Ganache

4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
1/2 cup cream or half and half
1/4 cup xylitol (or powdered sugar)

Melt ingredients together in a double-boiler. Stir carefully until the chocolate is completely melted and the sweetener is dissolved. Let cool slightly before mounding onto the cheesecakes.



Berry Sauce

1 cup frozen mixed berries (can substitute any berry, except strawberries)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
1/8 cup xylitol (or granulated sugar)
1/4 teaspoon glucomannan or 2 teaspoons cornstarch, mixed with a few tablespoons of water.

Warm berries and lemon juice together in saucepan. Add sweetener and stir until dissolved. Carefully blend in thickener while stirring with a wire whisk to prevent lumps. Heat through or until thickener is fully cooked, if using cornstarch. Cool to room temperature before spooning onto the mini cheesecakes.

Holiday Cheer

What makes the perfect accompaniment to a hot cup of cocoa on a cool December day? Why, a spritz cookie, of course. Light and crispy, buttery and sweet, with just a dash of crunchy sugar or colorful sprinkles top, these are the cookies that impromptu Christmas parties should be made of. Start with a simple dough and use a cookie press to fashion a variety of adorable shapes. For our own Christmas spritz cookies, we choose to divide the cookie dough in half, coloring one part bright green and leaving the remainder its natural creamy color. The green trees we decorated with red sprinkles, like so many Christmas ornaments, while the cream trees received a sprinkle of gourmet sugar, reminiscent of freshly fallen snow.

Christmas Spritz Cookies
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Food coloring, optional
Sprinkles

Preheat oven to 375F. Thoroughly cream together butter and sugar. Add egg, milk, vanilla, almond; beat well. Stir together flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture, mixing to make a smooth dough. Do not chill.

Place dough into cookie press and press cookies on to ungreased cookie sheet. Top with sprinkles or sugar. Bake 9-10 minutes or until lightly browned around edges. Remove cookies from cookie sheet; cool on rack.

Can be made without cookie press, just shape and bake.

Makes 7-8 dozen cookies.

 

Walnuts, Apples, and Cinnamon...

Fall sweets...they just seem to require some crunchy nuts, fragant spices, and a hint of molasses, don't they? Our applesauce cookies combine the rich flavor of walnuts and brown sugar with the spiciness of ginger and cinnamon, with a little white chocolate for added appeal. They make a tasty treat to share with family and friends as the days begin to shorten and the leaves fall.

Walnut Applesauce Cookies
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cup white flour
½ cup wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ cups white chocolate chips
½ to ¾ cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 400F. Mix butter and sugar together in mixer. Add applesauce, beat. Add eggs and vanilla, beat. Add dry ingredients, mix well. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 7 minutes. Cool. Store whatover cookies don't get eaten during the baking process in an airtight container, placing wax paper between layers of cookies.

Makes 5 dozen medium sized cookies.

An American Classic...

It's one of the quintessential American dishes - simple, tasty, home-spun comfort food - and, like a good pan of brownies, disappears like it's going of out style. You can serve it on a bun or a slice of fresh bread, you can pair it with potato wedges or fresh cole slaw, you can broil a slice of cheddar or smoked gouda on top, or you can just eat it plain...but please, remember to wipe your mouth afterwards. These are sloppy joes, after all!


Sloppy Joes
2 pounds ground beef
2 onions, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, optional
3 tablespoons Worchestire sauce
2 teaspoons red or white wine vinegar
1 4 ounce can of tomato paste
1 8 ounce can of tomato sauce OR 1 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes

Brown beef over medium-high, adding chopped onions, minced garlic, salt, and pepper as the beef cooks. Cook for ten minutes, or until beef is fully cooked. Add chili powder, dry mustard, ketchup, and dijon mustard. Stir well. Add remaining ingredients, and simmer for 10 to 20 minutes before serving. Serves 8.

This mixture is well-suited for slowcooking (the longer, the better!), if you'd like to prepare in the meal in advance, and for freezing, should you have any leftover.

Chocolate times two!

What could be better than a fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookie? A chocolate chocolate chip cookie, naturally. Double the chocolate for double the fun! This "Doubly Chocolate Chip Cookie" is a great way to satisfy your chocolate and cookie cravings at the same time, or just to add a little variation to your usual baking repertoire.

Doubly Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips
½ cup chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture. Mix in chocolate chips and nuts, if desired.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoon onto cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool slightly; remove cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Makes about 4 ½ dozen cookies.

Lemon & White Chocolate

Summer calls for sweet treats of all kinds, and these lemony white chocolate bars certainly suit this season of warm and sticky! A riff on a traditional brownie recipe, these bars are an excellent dessert to share with your family and friends that can't (or even more sadly, just don't) eat chocolate.

Lemon & White Chocolate Bars

¾ butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons lemon extract
1 ¾ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ½ cups white chocolate chips

Melt butter, remove from heat. Add sugar, eggs, vanilla, and lemon extract. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, stir until well blended and smooth. Stir in white chocolate chips. Spread in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool and serve.

Luscious lime...

Shown here with our white trivet, these sweet vanilla cupcakes with a swirl of lime frosting are a refreshing dessert for a warm summer day. The soft green tint from the lime zest is the perfect color to complement a party scheme, while being free from artificial food coloring.

Vanilla Cupcakes:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and whip again.

In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18 minutes or just until set and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, pipe on frosting. (We used Wilton’s 1M tip.) Sprinkle with white sugar for a sparkling finish.

Lime Buttercream Icing:

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup shortening

6 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

5-6 teaspoons lime juice

Zest of 5 limes

Cream butter and shortening with electric mixer. Add lime zest and juice. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all the sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at high speed until light and fluffy. Keep icing covered with damp cloth until you’re ready to decorate. For best results, keep icing in refrigerator when you’re not using it.

Makes about 3 cups of frosting.

Baking with Chocolate...



Modeled with these two trivets in spring and fall colors, our chocolate scones are satisfyingly rich, a tasty treat to serve as a dessert or an afternoon snack.

Milk Chocolate Scones
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or whole wheat)
3 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter (does not need to be softened)
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 - 10 tablespoons milk
1 cup milk chocolate chips, divided

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add butter to dry ingredients and blend until dough resembles coarse sand. (A pastry cutter works best for this!)

Add in vanilla and approximately 8 tablespoons of milk; mix with a fork until just until the dough comes together. Use additional milk if the dough is too dry. Stir in 2/3 cup chocolate chips.

Turn out dough and knead several times. Pat into an 8-inch circle and place on a baking sheet. (We prefer to use either a cast iron skillet or a stoneware pizza pan.) Cut into 8 to 12 wedges and sprinkle with sugar (optional). Bake for 15 to 19 minutes, until scones are set and lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack and cool.

Finishing touches:

To make chocolate drizzle, melt remaining 1/3 cup chocolate chips in a double-boiler on the stovetop or in the microwave. Drizzle over scones with a fork before serving. Equally good with a dollop of cream cheese or whipped cream on the side!