Category: Dessert

Chocolate Pumpkin Rugelach

I love the combination of chocolate and pumpkin together. So when I was trying to think of an update to a traditional cookie, my mind went right to these flavors, which brings me to this recipe for Chocolate Pumpkin Rugelach.

Rugelach are the perfect cookies for this combo. Traditional rugelach uses an apricot spread that is sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, walnuts, and raisins, and then rolled into a spiral. The pumpkin butter takes the place of the apricot spread, and mini chocolate chips are substituted in for the walnuts and raisins.

 

I based this recipe off the recipe I used in my Apricot and Raisin Rugelach post last month, based off a recipe from American Cookie: The Snaps, Drops, Jumbles, Tea Cakes, Bars & Brownies That We Have Loved for Generations.

 

Ingredients:

Dough:

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 8 oz cream cheese, at room  temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling the dough

Pumpkin Butter:

  • 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup water
  • the juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Filling:

  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice if you have it)
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 (10 oz) bag mini chocolate chips
  • 1 cup pumpkin butter (recipe above)

Egg Wash:

  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 teaspoon water

Continue reading Chocolate Pumpkin Rugelach

Apricot and Raisin Rugelach

Note: I was sent a copy of AMERICAN COOKIE: The Snaps, Drops, Jumbles, Tea Cakes, Bars & Brownies That We Have Loved for Generations for review. Opinions are mine alone.

Every cookie recipe has a back story, from the chocolate chip cookie to thumbprint cookies. What’s truly interesting about these back stories is how they align with the shaping of American baking through the generations. I love cookbooks that provide a back story to the recipes, like AMERICAN COOKIE: The Snaps, Drops, Jumbles, Tea Cakes, Bars & Brownies That We Have Loved for Generations by Anne Bryn. Did you know that the first snickerdoodle cookie recipes were actually bars? Or that the first Girl Scout Cookies were baked at home to help raise money to send girls to camp?

Source: Penguin Random House

I assume I’m not alone in associating different recipes with different parts of my own life. I can’t look at a Peanut Butter Cookie without thinking of my family’s recipe, passed down from my great grandmother, or snack on a Neiman Marcus “$250” cookies without recalling many December weekends spent making them with my mom as a child.

I was first introduced to rugelach cookies — a cookie made by rolling a triangle of dough around a sweet filling — by my mother-in-law. She makes them every Christmas and has since my husband was little. So when I saw a recipe for Apricot and Raisin Rugelach in AMERICAN COOKIE, I knew I had to try them as a nod to my mother-in-law’s fantastic baking every December. This recipe differs from my mother-in-law’s version but the general idea is still there.

Rugelach cookies were first brought to America from Austrian-Hungarian immigrants, and has over time been adapted and modernized by Jewish-American bakers. Apparently, the original dough was quite time consuming to make. Somewhere along the line, cream cheese was added to rugelach dough, resulting in an easy to work with and flaky dough. Rugelach cookies have become a staple in many American households, and typically include raisins, nuts, spices and jam or preserves as a filling.

Ingredients:

Dough:

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 8 oz cream cheese, at room  temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling the dough

Filling:

  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
  • 1 cup apricot preserves

Egg Wash:

  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 teaspoon water

Reprinted from AMERICAN COOKIE. Copyright © 2018 by Anne Byrn. Published by Rodale Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House.

Continue reading Apricot and Raisin Rugelach

Overnight Chocolate Chia Pudding

I have such a sweet tooth. Seriously, if I could get away with eating ice cream and only ice cream for the rest of my life, I probably would. So, I am constantly looking for ways to satisfy my sweet tooth without, well, eating a pint of ice cream.

Cue this recipe for Overnight Chocolate Chia Pudding — its dairy-free, gluten free, and vegan. And, it tastes amazing!

The Coconut Almond Whipped Cream really puts it over the top. But the pudding is pret-ty darn awesome on its own!

Ingredients:

Chocolate Chia Pudding:

  • 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (check the label to make sure they are vegan)
  • 1/2 cup chia seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

Coconut Almond Whipped Cream:

  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 2-4 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Continue reading Overnight Chocolate Chia Pudding

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies

I’ve mentioned before that my husband is an avid runner. He’s currently training for a marathon, so I’ve been trying to support his training with more food geared toward fueling him both before and after his runs. It’s important to fuel up with  something protein rich after working out to help promote muscle recovery.

These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies are a yummy choice after a long run, while still satisfying my husband’s sweet tooth.

The cookies are made with peanut butter, protein powder and almond flour, so they are surprisingly filling too.

Ingredients (makes about 30 cookies):

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup vanilla whey protein powder (paid link)
  • 1/4 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cup gluten-free oats
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips (check for vegan chocolate chips for dairy-free)

Continue reading Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies

Smores Bars

I come from a fairly large family. Growing up, my cousins and I would see each other nearly every Sunday for dinner at our grandparents. As we’ve gotten older, we clearly don’t have as many opportunities to see each other. So we decided to have a cousin barbecue for those of us that still live in the Philadelphia area.

Whenever I think of outdoor cooking, I naturally think of S’mores for dessert.

Because I was hosting, I wanted to pre-make as much of the food as I could, so I decided to make Smores Bars for us to enjoy!

These are super easy, and absolutely addicting!

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 (12 oz) bags semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
  • 60-70 full-size marshmallows (about 1 1/2 10-ounce bags)

Continue reading Smores Bars

Cherry Slab Pie

Note: I was sent Northwest Cherries in order to write this post. All opinions are mine alone.

When it comes to summer get togethers, there tend to be plenty of mouths to feed. So I’m a big fan of crowd recipes that feed multiple people, or allow you to make ahead and portion out as you like!

With cherries in season, there is no better time to make a simple Cherry Slab Pie. Slab pie is just pie made in a sheet pan with sides, which is a great option for making dessert for a bunch of people. It’s a bit more rustic, so you don’t really have to worry about perfecting your pie crust skills (it will still taste awesome!)

Ingredients:

Slab pie (serves 12):

  • 8 cups fresh cherries, destemmed and pitted
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • the juice and zest of 1 large lemon
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 store bought refrigerated 9-inch pie crusts (2 packages)
  • 1 egg, plus 1 tablespoon water, whisked
  • granulated sugar, for garnish

Almond Whipped Cream:

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract

Continue reading Cherry Slab Pie

Chocolate Cherry Banana Bread

Note: I was sent Northwest Cherries in order to write this post and recipe for Chocolate Cherry Banana Bread. All opinions are mine alone.

My husband and I were recently invited to go down the shore with our friends, and I wanted to bring something as a thank you for a weekend at the beach. Luckily, I had some overripe bananas sitting on my countertop, so I made this chocolate cherry banana bread to bring with us.

As I mentioned in my recent post, I have quite a few cherries in my house at the moment, so I decided to snazz up the banana bread with some fresh chopped cherries and chocolate chips.

Ingredients:

  • 2 to 3 very ripe bananas
  • 1/3 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup cherries, pitted and roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Continue reading Chocolate Cherry Banana Bread

Homemade Maraschino Cherries

Note: I was sent Northwest Cherries in order to write this post. All opinions are mine alone.

July is peak cherry season, which means I have A TON of cherries in my fridge! I was sent quite a few bags of cherries from Northwest Cherry Growers, and had to dive right in to using them! Fun fact: Northwest Cherry Growers is a group of 2,500+ farms that produce at least three-quarters of the nation’s entire sweet cherry crop.

Source: nwcherries.com

Northwest-grown sweet cherries tend to boast the highest fruit sugar content of any cherries. The naturally high sugar content makes them such a yummy snack on their own, or great in baked goods and other recipes. They are also one of the lowest fruits on the glycemic index. (In case you’re wondering, a general rule of thumb is that the darker the cherry, the sweeter it is.)

Cherries are also a superfruit and have been credited with reducing the risk of some serious diseases. Published research points to the health benefits of sweet cherries, including a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The study discovered consuming sweet cherries can help prevent chronic inflammatory diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis and cancer. These powerful superfruits also contain melatonin, which may increase your quality of sleep and reduce jetlag.

Cherry season is pretty short, from July to mid-August, so I’m excited to have the opportunity to use these beautiful cherries in a bunch of different recipes. Fresh cherries keep for approximately two weeks when refrigerated in a sealed bag or container. If you want to enjoy them year-round, you can also freeze cherries by rinsing, drying, and packing them up in freezer bags.

Source: nwcherries.com

I’m kind of in a canning state of mind after making my Blueberry Chia Seed Jam a few weeks ago, so I wanted to can some of these beautiful cherries. You may have noticed I’m a fan of cocktails, so I just had to make homemade maraschino cherries!

Maraschino cherries are named for the Marasca cherry grown originally in Croatia, which when distilled, produce a liqueur. Whole cherries that are preserved in this liqueur became known as Maraschino Cherries.

These maraschino cherries are not those bright red guys you’ll find in a Shirley Temple. No no, these are the adult, more refined version. There is no artificial coloring, and much less sweetener added. And they are perfect for cocktails and adult ice cream sundaes!

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 bags (~100 cherries) fresh cherries, pitted
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • the zest and juice of 2 lemons
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cups cherry (maraschino) liqueur

Continue reading Homemade Maraschino Cherries

No Bake Blueberry Lemon Icebox Cake

I mentioned in my Blueberry Chia Seed Jam post that you’d see it pop up in a recipe shortly, and here it is! This No Bake Blueberry Lemon Icebox Cake is a great make ahead dessert that’s a beautiful end to a barbecue or summer dinner party.

If you’re not familiar with icebox cakes, they are layered frozen cakes traditionally made with whipped cream and chocolate wafers. This Bon Appetit version incorporates some of my favorite flavors, blueberries and lemon, to create a beautiful Blueberry Lemon Icebox Cake!

This isn’t a cake that involves much precision or patience, and looks pret-ty darn good even when giving off that “homemade” vibe, like mine does. You also don’t need any special tools – just a 9×5 loaf pan, some plastic wrap, and a hand mixer. An offset spatula would also come in handy if you have one.

Ingredients:

  • 1 (8 oz) container mascarpone, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • the zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream (leave in the fridge until ready to use)
  • 1 cup lemon curd, divided
  • 16 graham crackers, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups Blueberry Jam (like this Blueberry-Chia Seed Jam), divided
  • 1/3 cup fresh blueberries

Continue reading No Bake Blueberry Lemon Icebox Cake

Devils Food Cupcakes

These super chocolatey Devils Food Cupcakes are most certainly going to be a favorite of the chocoholic in your life.

There isn’t anything that specifically determines a chocolate cake as devil’s food cake, but they do tend to be a bit more airy and have quite a bit of chocolate in them!

This moist and fluffy recipe for Devils Food Cupcakes also uses coffee extract to further enhance the chocolate flavor.

Ingredients (makes approximately 30 cupcakes):

  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 2 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon coffee extract
  • 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  •  1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • chocolatey buttercream frosting

Continue reading Devils Food Cupcakes

Vegan and Gluten Free Peanut Crunch Brownies

A lot of people are pretty wary of vegan and gluten free baking. It seems like it would be difficult, but it’s surprisingly easy! Vegan baking can also be rich and decadent, like these oh so fudgy Peanut Crunch Brownies.

This recipe for Peanut Crunch Brownies is adapted from Heather Saffer’s well-named cookbook Crazy Easy Vegan Desserts. Heather Saffer, founder and CEO of Dollop Gourmet, has been featured on Shark Tank and Cupcake Wars for her delicious vegan desserts that can be enjoyed by anyone. I was sent a review copy and have loved paging through the recipes, they really are crazy easy!

The cookbook begins with a review of some dairy free and gluten free alternatives that can be used in baking.

 

So let’s dig into this recipe for Peanut Crunch Brownies, because, well, it’s delicious!

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup gluten free flour (I used almond flour)
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
  • 2/3 cups vegan chocolate chips
  • 2 ( ~3 oz) dark chocolate bars, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped roasted salted peanuts

Continue reading Vegan and Gluten Free Peanut Crunch Brownies

Chocolatey Buttercream Frosting

I make more frosting (and desserts!) than I probably should. Luckily, I have friends, family, and coworkers more than willing to help me out with my baking experiments, and this recipe for Chocolatey Buttercream Frosting is definitely a favorite!

I love making fun frosting flavors, like cinnamon cream cheese, vegan peanut butter, key lime, and bourbon-orange cream cheese. But, my absolute favorite frosting is, and always will be chocolate.

So it’s about time I shared my ultimate chocolatey buttercream frosting!

The secret to this frosting is a hint of coffee to really enhance the chocolatey flavor. I use Nielsen Massey’s Pure Coffee Extract to bring out the best chocolate flavor.

Ingredients (makes enough for 12 cupcakes):

  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 (16 oz box) confectioners sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/2 tablespoon coffee extract
  • 1/4 cup milk, plus more as needed

Continue reading Chocolatey Buttercream Frosting

Thumbprint Cookies

My mom and I just had a weekend of cookie baking. We ended up making ten different types of cookies!

We actually ended up making these thumbprint cookies because I misinterpreted what type my mom wanted to make. She mentioned wanting to make cookies with hard candies in them, and I decided that meant thumbprint cookies. Oops.

Anyways, who doesn’t like thumbprint cookies? They are really easy to make, and the shortbread combined with preserves is so tasty!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar, plus more for rolling
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • your favorite preserves, jam, or jelly (I used apricot and berry preserves)

Continue reading Thumbprint Cookies

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Every year, I have two responsibilities for Thanksgiving: make Bloody Mary’s as everyone arrives and show up with a dessert that is chocolate and/or pumpkin.

This year, I decided to make a dessert that is both pumpkin-y and chocolatey: Chocolate Pumpkin Cake!

This recipe for Chocolate Pumpkin Cake is adapted from a Country Living recipe, and uses my cinnamon cream cheese frosting from my Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes recipe.

Ingredients:

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake:

  • 2½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ tablespoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¾ cup low fat buttermilk
  • 1 (15 oz can) pumpkin purée
  • ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (2.25 sticks), at room temperature
  • 1½ cup dark brown sugar
  • 1½ cup granulated sugar
  • 5 large eggs, at room temperature

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 2 (8 oz) packages of Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 (16 oz) packages powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Optional Chocolate Frosting:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2-2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Continue reading Chocolate Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Dark Chocolate Dipped Lemon Almond Sugar Cookies

Note: Bob’s Red Mill and OXO provided items for this giveaway. All opinions are mine alone. 

Seven years ago today, I started this blog. How crazy is that? It started as a way to archive recipes I tried and what I liked about them, and eventually morphed into a way for me to learn how to cook and experiment along the way. 780 posts later, I’m still at it!

Bob’s Red Mill and OXO are helping me celebrate this milestone in style. They were generous enough to provide some goodies for a giveaway! Bob’s Red Mill is my favorite company for grains, flours, beans, and baking mixes. Their commitment to quality products makes any recipe better. Similarly, you can find OXO products throughout my kitchen. They are my go-to for kitchen and household gadgets.

Naturally, I used a bunch of OXO and Bob’s Red Mill products to produce this recipe. With the holidays fast approaching, this giveaway is filled with all the goodies you need for your holiday baking!

This giveaway includes baking ingredients from Bob’s Red Mill:

and baking supplies from OXO:

Details on how to enter the giveaway are at the end of this post.

I decided to make a very “me” cookie to also celebrate. These cookies are made with some of my favorite flavors – lemon, almonds and chocolate! Meet Dark Chocolate Dipped Lemon Almond Sugar Cookies!

Ingredients: (makes 2 to 3 dozen cookies)

Continue reading Dark Chocolate Dipped Lemon Almond Sugar Cookies

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