Day 4 - All-Time Favorite Lemon Bars

Saturday June 19th, 2010

All-Time Favorite Lemon Bars

Today, by my husband's request, we made Lemon bars. These lemon bars are really good, and not to "lemony". They are pretty easy to make. It only took us about 2 hours, including cooking.

Ingredients;

Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup margarine or butter (I used butter)

Filling:

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 to 3 teaspoons grated lemon peel

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, combine flour and powder sugar, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press crumbs mixture into bottom of an ungreased 8 or 9 inch pan. bake for 15 minutes

Next, in a small bowl, combine eggs and sugar, blend well. Stir in remaining filling ingredients. Pour filling over baked crust.

Return to oven,bake for an additional 18 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 1 hour or until completely cooled. Cut and serve.

Day 3- Applebee's Blondie Brownies

Friday June 18th

Applebee's Blondie's "brownies"

Today i am making brownies, not ice cream. I know shocker right.

Ingredients:

Brownies

1 cup sifted flour (I didn't sift mine, oops)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup butter or margarine (I used butter)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Sauce:

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup butter

1/2 brown sugar

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 teaspoon maple extract or flavoring, ( I used extract)

Now, combined the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, mix. Then add nuts and set aside.

Next, melt butter, add brown sugar and mix well. The add the egg, vanilla and mix.

Gradually combine with flour mixture, mixing well. Stir in white chocolate chips.

Pour into a 9inch square pan and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

SAUCE:

Combine syrup and butter, cook over low heat until butter is melted.

Stir in brown sugar until dissolved and remove from heat. Beat in cream cheese and maple extract until smooth.

Day 2-Cinnamon Honey "Fried" Ice Cream Balls

Today is Thursday June 17th, 2010

Cinnamon Honey "Fried" Ice Cream Balls

We are sticking with the Ice Cream theme, it has been a little hot here in Utah. We are trying to give you some desserts to not only to satisfy your sweet tooth, but to also cool you down. This dessert is not very hard to make, nor requires a lot of time, like our last dessert. This dessert is a much simpler alternative to you "standard" deep-fried ice cream.



What you will need:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) chocolate or vanilla ice cream (We used vanilla)
3 cups finely crushed cinnamon toast-flavored sweetened cereal (We used Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal)
1/3 cup Honey (We used more Honey)
1/4 cup Honey, warmed


You need to let your ice cream soften, just a little, so you can make 12 (1/2-

cup) balls, and lay them out on a cookie sheet. When you have finished

getting all 12 of your ice cream balls, freeze for 15 minutes.

Well your ice cream is getting frozen, chilled, again you can start on your

cereal mixture. In a shallow pan (we used a pie pan) place your cereal and

drizzle honey evenly over cereal; mix well with a fork until crumbly.

Once you have your cereal all make and you have waited your 15 minutes, quickly roll your ice cream balls in your cereal, be such to only do them one at a time. Return all them to the cookie sheet and freeze for about 20 minutes or until firm. You can also cover and serve later on.




Just before serving, drizzle each with a teaspoon of warm honey, I would recommend place on individually plates, before drizzling with honey. Then eat and enjoy.


Now my brother, was the only one of us who could handle 2 desserts in one night. He said these were amazing. I will have to take his word on it, until I can try it for myself tomorrow.

Signing off,
Courtney

The Panels 'Taste'aments. Rocky Road Ice Cream Cake

So, we were able to taste our first and second desserts today! My family, mostly my dad, are Rocky Road ice cream lovers. I was a little worried as to if they would like this dessert because it wasn't "real" rocky road ice cream.

The census is that this dessert is definitally for the CHOCOLATE LOVER, it has a ton of chocolate. I also used a little to much Fudge sauce so we really had a lot of chocloate. This dessert is also not for a quick, I need it now, kind of dessert. I was definitally was glad we made our's at night and ate it the next day. It turned out wonderfully, if you have the time to wait all day!!!

So, all in all, this dessert get a 8 out of 10, we aren't very much of a "chocolate lover" kind of family.

Our FIRST Dessert.

It started today!! Wednesday, 16 June 2010.

Our first day at the "365 Days of Desserts".

We started this endeavour with a simple Rocky Road Ice Cream Cake from Good Housekeeping's Best-Loved Desserts. It is a simple five layer cake that took us roughly 45 to assemble, 2 hours to set, another 10 minutes to top, and then a good 6 hours to stand. Currently we are awaiting the 6 hour standing period waiting for the final product. When that happens, we will then update with a sample 'taste'ament. Now, how to make it:

First you need to start the fudge sauce that covers the cake.
This is made with the following ingredients:

1 cup of heavy or whipped cream (we used heavy whipping cream)
3/4 cup sugar
4 squares (4 ounces) unsweetened chocolate (we used 1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips ... we're not sweet toothed :)
2 tbls light corn syrup
2 tbls butter or margarine (we used butter)
2 tsp vanilla extract



In a 2 quart sauce pan, heat the chocolate, whipping cream, sugar, corn syrup over medium heat. Stir occasionally until mixture boils. Once sauce thickens, (should take about 4 minutes) remove from heat and add butter and vanilla and stir until sauce is smooth and glossy. Cover sauce and refrigerate until cool, takes about 2 hours. Makes about 1 2/3 cup of sauce. (The extra can be used at a great ice cream topper.)

(If sauce is ever too firm, you can microwave briefly to soften, but DO NOT HEAT)

While that's cooling down, move on to the cake it's self.
It's ingredients are as listed:



2 pints Chocolate ice cream; softened
14 chocolate sandwich cookies (We used Oreos)
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped



Using a 9x3 spring form pan with heavy duty foil lining it (we used a 9 inch round cake pan) spoon one pint chocolate ice cream into pan. Then insert cookies upright along edges of pan pressing cookies to the bottom of the pan through the ice cream. Sprinkle 1 cup marshmallows and 1/2 cup peanuts evenly over ice cream. Press in gently. Spoon the remaining ice cream over top of the marshmallows and nuts.

Right: The first Layer of Ice Cream

Left: The Cookies, Marshmallow and Nuts

At this point, take the previously made fudge sauce and pour 2/3 cup over the top layer of ice cream evenly (reserve remaining sauce to serve later if desired). Then use remaining chopped peanuts and marshmallows and evenly distribute over top of the fudge sauce. Cover and allow to re freeze until firm. Recommended time at least 6 hours.







Right: Putting the Fugde Sauce on. (We used extra)


Left: Our Finished product.





Now to let it sit for at least 6 hours, and then we will let our "panel" of judges ( a.k.a my family) and be back tomorrow with our 'taste'aments.

Signing Out-
Courtney

Welcome Welcome!!

As you can tell from the title this blog is going to be documenting my journey through 365 wonderful days of DESSERTS!!

I know I know in your head you're thinking hasn't this been done already......didn't I see a movie about this? And the answer is yes my friend it probably has, and yes the movie Julie and Julia has a similar theme. But this is MY journey and my struggles with learning new things, tasting new desserts (I know sounds like a hard job huh), and branching out of my comfort zone, not to mention finding the time to make a new dessert everyday!

Im up for the challenge though........

I hope you will follow along with me, and maybe have a few DESSERT adventures of your own!