A Crispy Ice Cream Crunch Cake for Kids Large and Small

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I love recipes that draw children into the kitchen and involve them in food preparation. Supervision is, of course, necessary, but this dessert - an ice cream cake - can be made by a ten year old. The result is a cake worthy of a minor feast. Aspiring young chefs will need an apron or old clothes, and you'll need lots of paper toweling and a smidgen of patience to pull this off. It's a messy but doable dessert. Their pride when the cake is unmolded is unmistakable. That alone would make it worthwhile, but the cake is actually good. Over the next two weeks, I'll be working on the recreation of prize winning recipes. Some will be mine, some will belong to friends who've taught me grace in defeat. This recipe is an award winner from the Utica Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Festival. Wilma Griffin fashioned a cake that blends crisp rice cereal with chocolate and peanut butter to form a soft crunchy brittle that's worked into ice cream. You wouldn't want to serve this to the queen or your gourmet club, but it's great for any other occasion where family and friends gather to break bread. There are no special ingredients here, but good ice cream and chocolate help this along. You'll want to make this at least 8 hours before serving. Once you've tried this you'll probably want to experiment with other flavors, but here is the basic recipe.

Dream Jumbles

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...While you probably called them by a different name, I suspect that most of you have sampled these cookies before. When I was a child, a cookie very similar to this one was served during the Christmas holidays. We called the cookies "rocks" because of their craggy appearance. They were jam-packed with fruit and nuts, and, if I recall correctly, they were also lightly spiced with cinnamon and just a hint of nutmeg. When I saw these cookies in Midwest Living they triggered memories of the nicest sort, but I was a bit taken back by the name they were given. I set off to do some research that might explain why my "rocks" were being called jumbles. Apparently, jumbles can be traced back to the 14th century in the Middle East. They were brought to Europe by the Moors who twisted the them into knots and rings, so pieces of the cookies could be broken off to feed hungry travelers. Over time, the cookies lost their elaborate shape and became lumps of baked dough. Martha Washington had a recipe for jumbles and the cookie was popular in colonial America. In one form or another, the cookie has remained popular for centuries. Now, Martha and her friends had no access to chocolate chips, but they had dried fruit and nuts aplently and their jumbles were very similar to the ones we make today. The recipe to make these gems is a study in simplicity and the cookies themselves are simply delicious. I hope you will give this recipe a try. You will not regret it. Here is how the cookies are made.

Dream Jumbles...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Midwest Living Magazine

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup raisins
1 cup large semisweet chocolate pieces
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
3/4 cup slivered or sliced almonds

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2) In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt and beat until well combined. Beat in egg and vanilla.
3) Beat in flour. Use a wooden spoon to fold in raisins, chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
4) Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove cookies from cookie sheet and cool on wire racks. Makes about 36 cookies.

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One Year Ago Today: Rigatoni with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Two Years Ago Today: Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake

Three Years Ago Today: Baked Tomatoes

Four Years Ago Today: Berry Patch Cake

Easy Peasy Pumpkin and Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...These cupcakes are easy enough for a child to make, and while they'll never win a beauty contest, I can tell you they are are absolutely delicious and will become a favorite of all who try them. The recipe for these moist pumpkin and chocolate chip wonders was developed by Anne Coleman and it first appeared in the blog Spoonful. If you like pumpkin desserts, you'll love these moist and mildly spiced cakes. They can be iced or sprinkled with confectioners' sugar, but I like to eat them out of hand while they are still warm and completely unadorned. When served with a cup of steaming coffee or warm cider, they make a perfect afternoon pick-me-up or after school snack. If you use paper-liners for your cupcake pans, be sure to spray the liners with a nonstick spray before they are filled with batter. While it adds an extra step to the recipe, it will prevent the cakes from sticking to the liners and makes for a better presentation. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. Yes, it is simple and inelegant, but the cakes are packed with that kind of old-fashioned down-home goodness that even city slickers will love. Here is how they are made.

Easy Peasy Pumpkin and Chocolate Chip Cupcakes...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Anne Coleman and Spoonful

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Optional: your favorite frosting or powder sugar for dusting

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease or paper-line 12 muffin cups.
2) Combine eggs, vanilla extract, pumpkin, white and brown sugar, and vegetable and olive oil in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth.
3) Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Fold in chips.
4) Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 full.
5) Bake for 16 to 20 minutes or until cupcakes test done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
6) Frost or sprinkle with powder sugar if desired. Yield: 12 cupcakes.

If you have enjoyed your visit here, I hope you'll take a minute to...

      

One Year Ago Today: Vegetable Strata

Two Years Ago Today: Banana Muffins

Three Years Ago Today: Sweet Pickles

Four Years Ago Today: Salmon Chowder

Pecan and Chocolate Chip Squares

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I had to smile when I found this recipe on Yahoo's Shine. They were featuring this bar cookie, originally developed for Food and Wine magazine, as part of a collection called "Back-to School Cookie Bars". Now, unless the editor's children are a great deal different than mine were, this cookie will not end up in many lunch boxes. It's a pretty grown-up treat and I think the kids would be happier with the oatmeal or peanut butter variety. Their, teachers, however, would be delighted to have one or two of these flavorful gems along with  their morning coffee. I'm not a big fan of sweet treats, but these cookies have a European sensibility that I really enjoy. They are bearly sweet and the dominant flavor in the cookies is that of the toasted pecans. If you prefer, hazelnut or walnuts can be used instead of pecans, but I'm really partial to the pecan version. The cookies would be wonderful with tea or a glass of sippin' sherry and if you prefer less sweet treats I know you will enjoy these. As you skim the recipe, you'll see that the cookies are made whole wheat pastry flour. If you have it, fine. If not, use all-purpose flour. I think the health benefits of whole wheat pastry flour are overstated, but I keep it on hand because I like the flavor it imparts. These cookies are very easy to make and they transport beautifully. I do hope you'll give the recipe a try. Here is how the cookies are made.

Pecan and Chocolate Chip Squares...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Food and Wine magazine

Ingredients:
1 cup pecans
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup +  2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and and line bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
2) Spread pecans in a pie plate and toast for about 8 minutes, until golden. Chop pecans and let cool.
3) In bowl of a standing electric mixer, beat butter and oil with granulated sugar and brown sugar until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth.
4) In a small bowl, whisk flour with baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients into mixer at low speed. Add chocolate chips and pecans and beat just until incorporated.
5) Transfer dough to prepared baking pan and press into an even layer. Bake for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned and nearly set in the center. Let cool completely, then run a knife around edges and invert rectangle. Peel off paper and invert onto a cutting board. Cut and serve. Yield: 24 squares.

If you have enjoyed your visit here, I hope you'll take a minute to...

      

One Year Ago Today: Orange Pumpkin Sheet Cake

Two Years Ago Today: Maida Heatter's Popovers

Three Years Ago Today: Tomato Clafouti

Four Years Ago Today: Moroccan Shepherd's Pie

Apricot-Oatmeal Bars with Pistachios and Chocolate Chips

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I love a parade and because I am relentless, my friends have learned to love them, too. Today, I shanghaied them for a trip to Portland to see the Rose Parade. Our crew gets larger every year and when we get together, we look like we're on a field trip, enjoying a day away from the home. I suspect we were quite a sight. In addition to chairs, we were also lugging picnic hampers for lunch in the park to round out the day. Food for the picnic was a communal affair and I was the designated dessert lady. I made several types of bar cookies because they travel well and could hold up to the jostling that would get them from here to there. I'll eventually be sharing all the recipes with you, but tonight I'd like to focus on the one that made the cookie that I liked least. Let me hasten to add, there is absolutely nothing wrong with these cookies, save for the fact they are too sweet for my taste. The sweet lovers in the group enjoyed the bars and they were gone by the end of the afternoon. The cookies, while expensive to make, are simple to prepare and all the information you need to successfully make them is in the recipe below. If you have a sweet tooth, I suspect you'll love these bars. Here is how they are made.

Apricot-Oatmeal Bars with Pistachios and Chocolate Chips...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Fine Cooking magazine

Ingredients:
9-ounces (2 cups) all purpose flour
1-1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon table salt
8 ounces (1 cup) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 ounces (about 1 cup) chopped, shelled natural pistachios
1/2 cup diced dried apricots
1/2 cup white chocolate or semisweet chocolate morsels
1 (15-1/4-oz.) jar apricot preserves

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Using an electric mixer, combine flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, and salt; mix on low speed until well combined. Add butter and mix on medium until butter is mostly blended and mixture appears moist and begins to pull together, about 3 minutes. Stir in pistachios. Transfer 1-1/2 cups of crumb mixture to another bowl, then stir dried apricots and chocolate morsels into it, and refrigerate.
2) Firmly press remaining mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake in middle of oven for 25 minutes. Let cool for about 20 minutes (leave the oven on). Spread apricot preserves evenly on top, leaving a 1/8-inch border around the edge of the crust.
3) Crumble reserved crumb mixture over apricot preserves. Return to oven and bake until lightly browned and fruit filling is bubbling all over, including the center of the pan, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing into 18 bars (or into smaller pieces, if you like).

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One Year Ago Today: Chicken Tostadas with Pink Pickled Onions















Two Years Ago Today: Poulet Saute aux Herbes de Provence















Three Years Ago Today: Curried Turkey Salad















Four Years Ago Today: Bulgur Salad with Pomegranate Dressing and Toasted Nuts

Chocolate Chip and Walnut Mandelbrot for Hanukkah

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've finally found the perfect "dunker" for the holiday baskets I'm constructing. It is an Eastern European biscuit that some folks call a Jewish biscotti. Of course, if you your background is Eastern European, you probably prefer to call it mandelbrot, or almond bread. While no one can pinpoint its origins with certainty,  it's thought that itinerant Jews carried biscotti with them on journeys from the Piedmont in Italy into Eastern Europe, where the cookie was assimilated because its ingredients adhered to Kosher dietary law. I love biscotti, but I've found it hard to find really good recipes for this twice baked treat. I was delighted to find this version on the King Arthur Flour site. The step-by-step instructions that accompany this recipe are outstanding and can be found here. I'm planning to adapt their baking method to some of my other biscotti which occasionally get too hard. These are perfect. The add-ins to the basic recipe can be altered to reflect seasonal preferences and I'm willing to wager that dried cranberries and pistachios would be perfect changes for the Christmas cookie tray. I'll let you know. I hope you'll give this recipe a try. The mandelbrot are really easy to make and the results are outstanding. I'll be baking them often. Here's how they are made.

Chocolate Chip and Walnut Mandelbrot...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1 cup (7 ounces) vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
3-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups walnut pieces
Optional: coarse white sparkling sugar

Directions:
1) Combine eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla and salt and beat in bowl of a stand mixer and beat until thickened and light-colored, about5 minutes.
2) Beat in flour and baking powder.
3) Mix in chips and nuts. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours, or overnight.
4) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
5) Divide dough into four even pieces, about 13 ounces each if you have a scale.
6) Working with one piece at a time, place dough on prepared baking sheet, shaping it into an 8 x 2-inch log. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough, leaving at least 2 inches between them. Place 2 logs on each baking sheet. Sprinkle logs heavily with coarse white sugar, if desired.
7) Bake logs until they're set and beginning to brown on edges and sides, but not brown all over, about 28 to 30 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
8) Spritz logs lightly with water. Spritzing logs will make them easier to cut. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes.
9) Cut each log into 1/2 to 3/4-inch slices. Cutting them on the diagonal will make the mandelbrot longer; cutting them crosswise will yield shorter cookies.
10) Place pieces on edge, quite close together, on the baking sheets, and return them to the oven. Bake for an additional 35 to 45 minutes, or until a cookie feels baked through when you pinch it between your fingers. You'll also notice some browning around the edges, though cookies shouldn't be browning all over.
11) Remove from oven, and cool mandelbrot right on the baking sheets. Yield: about 58 cookies.

One Year Ago Today: Greek Lemon Yogurt Mousse

Two Years Ago Today: Quick and Crusty Hard Rolls

Three Years Ago Today: Sauteed Christmas Peppers

Peanut Butter and Banana Bread

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I wish all delicious things could be beautiful and appealing to the eye. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work that way. This quick bread is a perfect example of what I mean. It is wonderfully moist and flavorful, but it is homely in the extreme, and when these ingredients are used, there's not much that can be done to improve its appearance. The combination of bananas, peanut butter and chocolate is irresistibly tasty, but as you can see, they turn the batter a blotchy, muddy tan that is less than pleasing to the eyes. I normally wouldn't bother with something like this, but the bread has such outstanding flavor, that I keep granting it clemency, and bake it over and over again. The recipe was developed by Beth Lipton and I found it at the library in her book, You Made That Dessert?. I really like the earthiness of this bread and I recommend it to you, but with a caution or two. First, do not attempt to make this with natural peanut butter. It is too thin to work as a butter replacement in this recipe. Second, avoid using regular chocolate chips if you can. They will blotch more than the miniatures as the loaf bakes and you'll end up with a hot mess on your hands. Last, and, most important of all, the bread should sit for a day before it is eaten. The flavor improves remarkably when it's given the opportunity to ripen. This is a moist loaf and it keeps well if properly wrapped. I think you will like this. Here's the recipe.

Peanut Butter and Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts ...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Beth Lipton

Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (do not use "natural")
2/3 cup sugar
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or chopped pecans (optional)
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mist a 5 x 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2) Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl until combined.
3) Place peanut butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium-low speed until well-blended, about 2 minutes. Beat in mashed banana and eggs; mix well.
4) Using a wooden spoon or flexible spatula, stir flour mixture into the peanut butter–banana mixture, mixing until just combined, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in chopped nuts and/or chocolate chips, if using. Scrape batter into the pan and smooth top.
5) Bake 45 minutes. Cover pan loosely with foil and bake 10 to 15 minutes longer, or until a toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Cool bread on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan. It helps to run a paring knife around edges of pan to loosen bread before turning it out. Invert bread onto a wire rack. Carefully turn bread right-side up. When cool, slice and serve. Yield: One 9-inch loaf. Serves 8.







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Two Years Ago Today: Apple Custard Pie with Streusel Topping








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