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15Mar
How To Make Chia Cherry Cobbler
Author: Allison // Category: Desserts
Hot Logic Original Recipe: Chia Cherry Cobbler
I absolutely adore tart Michigan cherries. Last year, I pitted and froze a huge batch of them, so I decided to clean out the last bag with a Hot Logic experiment. Cherry pie and cherry cobbler are delicious, but who has the time to fuss? For the Hot Logic, I decided to keep it simple. Just cherries, some seasoning, sugar and a dusting of graham cracker crumbs.
Now, with normal cherry pie and cherry cobbler, I always use tapioca pearls to absorb the extra juice from the cherries. Using enough tapioca and flour to suck up the juice is important to getting your cobbler or pie to stand up, and not be soupy.
Since Hot Logic’s shelves don’t need to cook as high as a regular oven, I decided a more healthful, lower heat solution to tapioca: chia seeds.
These little seeds are packed with protein and good fatty acids, and they act like tapioca without any heat at all. When in liquid, they suck it up and turn into little balls very much like tapioca, but with a crunchy little center. They’re delicious, filling and relatively tasteless, so they’re great for desserts.
Anyway, here’s the recipe:
4 cups tart red cherries, frozen
1/4 cup cane sugar
1 tblsp corn starch
3 tblsp chia seeds
1 tblsp lemon juice
1 package graham crackers, finely crushed
Toss the chia seeds, corn starch and sugar together, then toss them in with the cherries in the flat-bottomed container. Sprinkle the lemon juice and graham cracker crumbs over, and then FORGET ABOUT IT.
It turned out delicious. And, considering a little sugar and graham crackers were the only bad ingredients in it, super healthy, too!
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26Jan
How To Make Apple Crisp
Author: Allison // Category: Desserts
Apple Crisp
1-2 Serving Size
- 1/2 Gala apple
- 1/4 cup blueberries
- 2 large strawberries
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 cup of old fashion oats
- 1 tablespoon of all purpose flour
- Mix in bowl & Place in HotLogic
- Scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream
- Top with granola
- Dust with a pinch of cinnamon.
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31May
How To Make Grilled Strawberry Shortcakes
Author: Allison // Category: Desserts, Snacks
Grilled Strawberry Shortcakes
Ingredients for Grilled Strawberry Shortcakes
1 store bought shortcake loaf, cut into 2 inch cubes
1 (2 lb) pkg strawberries, washed
1 (1/2 gal) frozen vanilla yogurt or ice cream
8 wooden skewers
Orange Marinade:
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/2 C orange juice, fresh squeezed
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp water
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions for making Grilled Strawberry Shortcakes
Spray grill with cooking spray. (so it won’t stick)
Preheat grill, medium high setting.
Thread alternating strawberries and cake on each wooden skewer.
Place on the grill, brushing with orange marinade.
Grill 30-60 seconds per side, until lightly grill marked and warm.
Serve with vanilla yogurt.
Enjoy!
Marinade:
Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl; apply as placing skewers on grill, reapply while grilling.
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31May
How To Make Cookie Shots
Author: Allison // Category: Desserts, Snacks
INGREDIENTS for Cookie Shots
For the cookies:
1 cup shortening
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light-brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips
For the cookie shots:
1 cup dark-chocolate candy melts
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Making Cookie Shots
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the molds of a popover pan.
In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and brown and granulated sugars. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract, and mix until completely incorporated. Gradually add the flour and salt, and mix until completely incorporated. Add the mini chocolate chips, and mix together until evenly distributed. The dough should be a little crumbly at this point.
Form the cookie shots inside the molds, making the walls of the cookie shot about 1/4 inch thick. Chill for 20 to 30 minutes before baking.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cookies just start to brown. Remove from the oven, and let cool completely.
Melt chocolate candy melts, and then pour the melted chocolate into the well of each cookie. Let it sit for a minute, and then pour the excess chocolate back into the pan. Chill cookie shots until the chocolate has set.
Mix together milk and vanilla extract, and serve inside each cookie shot.
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22May
How To Make Easy Apple Dumplings
Author: Allison // Category: Desserts
Ingredients for Easy Apple Dumplings
2 (8 ounce) cans crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1½ cups brown sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ cup 7 Up (or other lemon soda)
2 Apples
Instructions for making Easy Apple Dumplings
Butter a 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
Preheat the oven at 350 F.
Peel and core apples, than cut each apple into 8 slices
Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll and place in a buttered dish.
Melt butter, stir in sugar, vanilla and cinnamon, and when it’s thickened, remove from heat and pour over the dumplings.
Pour the soda in the middle and along the edges of a pan(not over the rolls)
Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until they become golden brown.
Serve warm.
NOTE* 2 Apples to makes 16 dumplings
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28Apr
How To Make Easiest Homemade Cake
Author: Allison // Category: Desserts
Ingredients for Easiest Homemade Cake
Box Cake
Eggs
Butter
Milk
Steps for making Easiest Homemade Cake
Step 1: Look at the directions on the cake mix,
Step 2: Add one more egg (or add 2 if you want it to be very rich),
Step 3: Use melted butter instead of oil and double the amount,
Step 4: Instead of water, use milk.
Step 5: Mix well and bake for the time recommended on the box.
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07Apr
How To Make Peeps Pudding Cups
Author: Allison // Category: Desserts, Holiday Desserts
Peeps Pudding Cups
Ingredients for Pudding Cups
1 Oreo for each cup (crushed)
1 Peep for each cup
Starbursts (orange)
Rips Candy (green)
Directions for making Peeps Pudding Cups
First step is to make the candy carrots. Cut your orange Starburst in half, make one end pointed and flatten the top part. Add a green candy Rips to the top part that is flattened and wrap it around the Rips to form a carrot shape.Crush one Oreo for every pudding cup, I put them in a bag and smash them with a soup can. Open your pudding cups, place a Peep in the middle of the pudding cup. Sprinkle the crushed Oreos around the peep and then add the candy carrots.
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10Mar
How To Make Caramel Apple Milky Way Bars
Author: Allison // Category: Desserts
Ingredients
For the Cookie Layer
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. shortening
2 Tbsp. sour cream
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
2 c. chopped Milky Way candy bars (I used the Caramel Apple)
For the Cheesecake Layer
1 pkg. cream cheese (8 oz.)
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. caramel ice cream topping
2 Tbsp. flour
For the Topping
4 oz. caramel candies (about 14 squares)
4 Tbsp. heavy cream
1/4 c. chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. shortening
Instructions
For the Cookie Layer
Cream the butter, shortening, sour cream, and sugars until creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Sift together the flour, crumbs, baking soda, and salt and slowly add to the butter mixture. Stir in the candies by hand. Press half the mixture into a greased 8 inch pan. Pour the cheesecake mixture on top. Drop the rest of the dough by spoonfuls gently on top of the cheesecake. Bake at 350* for 45 minutes. Let cool completely. Drizzle with caramel and chocolate. Refrigerate.
For the Cheesecake Layer
Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until creamy. Add the egg and caramel and beat again. Stir in the flour. Pour on cookie dough in pan.
For the Topping
Place the caramels and heavy cream in a small saucepan. Heat and stir until melted and creamy. In a small microwave safe bowl, place the chocolate chips and shortening. Heat for 20 seconds. Stir and repeat until melted and smooth. Place in a bag and cut one corner off.
Notes
*The Caramel Apple Milky Ways are a seasonal candy, so feel free to use regular Milky Ways instead. *You can also bake this in a 9×13 pan by decreasing the bake time to 30 minutes.
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03Mar
How To Make Homemade Peppermint Patties
Author: Allison // Category: Desserts
Ingredients:
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons shortening
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine condensed milk and peppermint extract. Beat in enough confectioners’ sugar, a little at a time, to form a stiff dough that is no longer sticky. Form into 1 inch balls, then place on waxed paper and flatten with fingers to form patties. Place patties in the freezer until the patties are froze.
In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate with shortening, stirring often. Remove from heat. Dip patties, one at a time, into chocolate by laying them on the tines of a fork and lowering the fork into the liquid. Let cool on waxed paper until set.
Recipe makes 28 patties
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13Feb
How To Make Red Velvet Ice Cream
Author: Allison // Category: Desserts, Holiday Desserts
Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
2 free range eggs (whole)
2 cups of full cream
1 cup of milk
1t vanilla extract
2t of red food colouring (I used Moirs Crimson red food colouring)
4 red velvet cupcakes
1/2 a cup of cream cheese frosting (1/4 of a cup + 1/4 0f a cup)
Directions:
Beat the eggs and sugar in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy (about 5 minutes).
Add the cream and milk and mix.
Add the vanilla and the food colouring.
Crumble up the cake and either add it all now, or half now and half at the end.
Churn your ice cream through an ice cream machine until it is set.
Remove and decant into a desired container that is suitable for freezing.
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13Feb
How To Make Sweetheart Cherry Pie
Author: Allison // Category: Desserts, Holiday Desserts
Ingredients:
Pie dough
Fresh cherries, chopped
Ricotta cheese
Sprinkle of sugar
1 TBSP butter, melted
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll out your pie dough (I like to do this between 2 sheets of plastic wrap). Cut out shapes with cookie cutter.
Sprinkle and stir the sugar with the chopped cherries in a bowl.
Lay out your heart cut outs on the baking sheet. Spoon on some fresh ricotta cheese, then spoon on the cherries. Lay down the top dough, seal to press with a fork.
Brush the top with melted butter.
Bake for about 15 minutes or until mini hearts are golden brown. The baking time will largely depend on the thickness of your pastry dough and your oven. Just keep close watch.
Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
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13Feb
How To Make Raspberry Cobbler with Dark Chocolate Biscuits
Author: Allison // Category: Desserts, Holiday Desserts
Ingredients:
For the filling:
24 oz. frozen raspberries
3½ tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
For the biscuits:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tbsp. sugar
Pinch of salt
4 oz. (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 oz. coarsely chopped chocolate
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Lightly grease a 2 to 2.5 quart baking dish. In the dish, combine the raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and vanilla. Fold together gently with a spatula until evenly mixed. Transfer to the oven and bake 10 minutes without the topping.
Meanwhile, make the biscuits. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, and salt. Whisk well to blend. Add in the butter pieces and toss with the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture is crumbly and the largest butter pieces are the size of small peas. Stir in the buttermilk and mix gently with a fork until a dough begins to form. Knead together gently, just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Gently fold in the chopped chocolate. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat down into an even layer about 1 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out heart-shaped biscuits, rerolling dough scraps if needed.
Add the biscuits to the warmed fruit and return the baking dish to the oven. Bake about 15-20 minutes more, until the fruit mixture is bubbling and the biscuits are just set and baked through. (The juices will settle after resting a few minutes, but if the fruit is too juicy, feel free to spoon a bit of the juice off or wick away with paper towels.) Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired.
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13Feb
How To Make Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes
Author: Allison // Category: Desserts, Holiday Desserts
Ingredients:
RED VELVET COOKIE LAYER
1 and 1/2 cups + 1 Tablespoon (198g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (32g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature.
3/4 cup (150g) light brown sugar (or dark brown)
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 egg, at room temperature*
1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon red food coloring (liquid or gel)
CHEESECAKE LAYER
12 ounces (336g) full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 Tablespoons (30g) yogurt*
1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (90g) mini or regular semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line two 12-count muffin pans with cupcake liners. Set aside.
Make the red velvet cookie layer: toss the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed. Switch the mixer to medium speed and beat in the brown sugar and granulated sugar until combined. Beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla extract, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Once mixed, add the food coloring and beat until combined. Turn the mixer off and pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and slowly beat until a very soft dough is formed. Beat in more food coloring if you’d like the dough to be redder. The dough will be sticky.
Press 1 scant Tablespoon of cookie dough into the bottom of each cupcake liner. I say “scant” because otherwise you won’t have enough to make 22-24 mini cheesecakes. Bake each batch for 8 minutes to pre-bake the crust before layering the cheesecake on top.
Make the cheesecake layer: using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-high until completely smooth. Add the yogurt and sugar, beating on high until combined. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium until combined. Try not to overbeat, which will cause cheesecake cracks. Gently fold in the chocolate chips. Dollop 1 Tablespoon of cheesecake batter on top of the pre-baked cookie, spreading it to make sure it completely covers the cookie.
Return the mini cheesecakes to the oven and continue to bake for about 20 more minutes, making sure the tops of the cheesecake does not get too brown. The cups are done in the oven when the cheesecake topping no longer jiggles when you shake the pan. Cover the cups with aluminum foil if the tops are getting too brown too soon. Allow to cool for 30 minutes on the counter, then in the refrigerator to set for another 1.5 hours.
Cookie cups stay fresh covered at room temperature for 12-24 hours, and then must be refrigerated after that for up to 3 more days.
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13Feb
How To Make Raspberry Lava Cake
Author: Allison // Category: Desserts, Holiday Desserts
Ingredients:
3 tbsp spelt, all-purpose, or Bob’s gf flour
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp dutch or unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar of choice or xylitol
pinch stevia or 1 extra tbsp sugar of choice
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 tbsp milk of choice
2 1/2 tsp vegetable or coconut oil (Although I don’t personally like the cake when applesauce is subbed for the oil, many commenters do think it tastes good this way. Sub at your own risk.)
2 tbsp mashed raspberries or raspberry jam (If using the raspberries, feel free to mix in a little of your favorite sweetener.)
small handful mini chocolate chips, optional
Directions:
If using the oven, preheat to 350F. Grease a small dish or 1-cup ramekin. In a separate small bowl, combine first 6 ingredients and stir very well. Add the oil, vanilla, and milk and stir to form a batter. Spoon half the batter into the greased dish, spoon the raspberries and optional chocolate chips on top (only in the middle of the batter), then top off with remaining chocolate batter. Either microwave 30-40 seconds or bake 13-14 minutes. If you don’t want to eat it straight out of the dish, be sure to wait for it to cool before trying to remove the cake.
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13Feb
How To Make Homemade Snicker Bars
Author: Allison // Category: Desserts, Snacks
Ingredients:
24 oz of Milk Chocolate + 2 Tbs. Solid Shortening) for coating
2 oz butter
1/4 cup condensed milk
7 oz Marshmallow Creme ( marshmallow fluff)
14 oz caramels (unwrapped)
1/3 cup peanut butter
14 oz of whole peanuts
10 oz chocolate for background
1 tablespoon of water and 4 tablespoons more
Directions:
Line a 9 x 13 dish with foil, “grease” with butter.
Melt 10 oz of Chocolate over a double boiler, once melted pour onto the buttered foil, spreading evenly with the back of a spoon. Place in fridge to set.
In the meantime…
In a med. saucepan combine marshmallow creme, 1 Tbs Water, butter, stirring until combined. Add condensed milk, stirring constantly over med heat until mixture thickens to nougat consistency, simmer about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and add peanut butter.
Pour the mixture over the chocolate & stick it in the fridge.
Heat the caramel in the microwave or a double boiler with a few tablespoons of water ( about 4)
Then add peanuts and mix.
Pour mixture over marshmallow layer and spread well.
Cool a few minutes to let them set, then cut into bars.
Melt the 24 oz of Chocolate & 2 Tbs Solid Shortening, mixing well & Dip the bars into the chocolate.
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09Feb
How To Make Glow in the Dark Cupcakes
Author: Allison // Category: Desserts, Holiday Desserts
Ingredients:
Ghoulishly Glowing Cupcakes
1 black light
24 prepared and cooled cupcakes
White Glow In The Dark Frosting
7 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
5 tablespoons tonic water {diet tonic water works too}
mini chocolate chips morsels
Extras Needed for Green Glowing Frosting
Neon Food Color
0.3 ounce package of either Lime or Orange Gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1 cup chilled tonic water
Directions:
Prepare desired cupcakes and allow to cool. Begin frosting by adding confectioners’ sugar, shortening, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons tonic water into a large bowl. Beat on low speed until no loss sugar is visible. Add remaining two tablespoons as needed to bring frosting to piping consistency. Mix at high speed for about a minute to allow frosting to become light and fluffy. Place half of white frosting into a separate bowl and set aside. Add neon food coloring to frosting until it reaches desired color {orange for orange gelatin, green for lime gelatin}. Pipe colored frosting onto cooled cupcakes and place in the freezer for at least an hour. Meanwhile pipe white frosting on half of the cupcakes using a large round frosting tip. Add two mini chocolate chip morsels for the ghost’s eyes to finish ghost cupcakes. After letting colored cupcakes freeze, prepare the gelatin by adding gelatin mix to 1 cup boiling water. Stir for about 2 minutes then add 1 cup chilled tonic water. Transfer to a container that will let you easily dip frosting into and place into an ice bath to cool. Keep gelatin in ice bath stirring occasionally until gelatin is cool but not yet set {about 5 to 10 minutes}. When gelatin is cool to the touch take cupcakes out of the freezer a couple at a time. Dip into gelatin upside down, submerging the frosting but not the cake {it is ok for the gelatin to drip onto cupcake, just don’t submerge it completely}. Rotate cupcakes dipping and then returning to the freezer for about a minutes to set gelatin, then re-dip. Dip 4 to 6 times for best results. Refrigerate until a couple minutes before serving to keep gelatin set. Then place cupcakes under a black light and watch then glow. {Make enough frosting for about 24 cupcakes}
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