Desserts

On the following pages of Get Cooking, you’ll find a delicious collection of dessert recipes: Cakes, cookies, pudding, cobblers, candy, cupcakes, pies, pastries, brownies, and more!

How to Make Cake Pops and Doughnut Holes: Perfect Every Time

Turn Your Kitchen into a Bakery!

by Joi

Cake Pop and Doughnut Hole Baker

The cutie above is the Nostalgia Electrics JFD-100 Cake Pop & Donut Hole Bakery and, let’s face it, it’s a dream come true.  Who doesn’t LOVE cake pops and doughnut holes – in fact, I love them so much I’m officially dying for some of both right now.

Product Features

  • Make up to 7 donut holes or other baked treats quickly and easily
  • Non-stick coating for easy cooking and clean-up
  • Comes in injector for making jelly or cream filled donuts and more
  • Recipes included for donuts, muffins, brownies bites and more
  • Great for baking both sweet and savory treats of all kinds

Product Description

Now you can cook delicious donut holes and other pastries at home without even turning on an oven. Make jelly donuts, puff pancakes, mini cinnamon buns and more. It’s great for snack time, party time or anytime! A handy injector is included to give your donuts a variety of fillings such as jelly, cream or caramel. Delectable appetizers and h’ordeuvres are ready in minutes. Use your imagination and have fun!

Click through the link or image above for more information. The Nostalgia Electrics JFD-100 Cake Pop & Donut Hole Bakery would serve up countless smiles – the ear to ear variety!

More For Cake Pop Fans:

THE Perfect Gift for Mothers who Love Chocolate and Diamonds?

Azature Fine Chocolates: Diamond-Shaped Chocolates, of Course!

by Joi

Azature Black Diamond Chocolates

Consider my little chocolate-loving brain cells officially popped. They say that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but when THIS girl hears or reads the word “diamond,” I think of a baseball diamond and spending the evening with my husband and cat Alexa watching baseball on television.

Now, thanks to Azature Fine Chocolates, the word diamond will also conjure up chocolate perfection: Diamond-shaped chocolate candy! FINE chocolate, even.

If your mother is as big a chocoholic as I am, you simply have to get her diamonds this Mother’s Day… chocolate diamonds, that is.

From AZATURE Chocolates.com:

The origins of AZATURE chocolates developed from the sentiment of gratitude and appreciation. It was from the first box created as a thank you to AZATURE jewelry clients that AZATURE fine chocolates were born. Approaching the gift from the same philosophy of innovation and unique design, AZATURE created the first collection inspired from the precious gems that are featured in his fine AZATURE jewelry collections.

Now available in eight different flavor formulations, the chocolates have much in common with his signature AZATURE black-diamond pieces. Take the “Black Diamond – Wild Treasure Cocoa” for example, like its black diamond counterpart, it is inspired by its exclusivity. The chocolate begins with the rare “Wild Treasure” cocoa bean that grows in the Amazon basin of Bolivia to create a luxurious chocolate base for all of the confections. The infused flavors and delicate recipes are applied with care and creativity to create fresh taste all while applying the signature AZATURE gem design. Like fine jewelry, these pralines are a luxurious indulgence that we hope you will take the time to truly savor. From AZATURE and the chocolatier team, thank you as we are incredibly proud to share these handcrafted confections with you.

Visit Azature Fine Chocolate‘s website and make this Mother’s Day a day she’ll never forget. Trust me, she’ll be bragging about her chocolate diamonds all year long!

Azature Black Diamond Chocolates

Easter Candy Cookies: Beautiful and Delicious

Who Could Ask for More from a Cookie?

by Joi

Easter Candy Cookies

Easter Cookies Recipe

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 tbsp. vanilla
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 cups small chocolate Easter candies or coarsely chopped candy bars (Editor’s note: We used Hershey’s Solid Milk Chocolate Eggs)
36 jelly beans, if desired

  1. Heat oven to 375⁰F.  Beat butter, egg and vanilla in large bowl until well mixed. Mix in both sugars.
  2. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt until smooth. Stir or knead in chocolate candies (Target Tip: To make it easy for kids to chop larger pieces of hard candy, place candy in sealed plastic bag and let kids pound with a rolling pin or large wooden spoon.)
  3. Drop mixture onto cookie sheets using a tablespoon.
  4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown around edges. Press a jellybean into each cookie.  Let cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet.  Cool completely.

Yield: 3 Dozen Beautiful Cookies

Photo and Recipe Credit: A Bullseye view!

Chocolate Lovers and Chocoholics: Brace Yourself for Adventures with Chocolate

A Cookbook That Looks Good Enough to Eat

by Joi

Adventures wtih Chocolate Cookbook

First of all, Adventures with Chocolate: 80 Sensational Recipes looks good enough to eat. The chocoholic in me insists on keeping this beautiful cookbook out – front and center – on my kitchen hutch. It’s that gorgeous. The only problem is, every time I see it, I HAVE to have chocolate. The sooner the better.

I was sent this cookbook to review and pretty much all I have to say is this, I’m flat out in love with the book and if you call yourself a chocoholic, you must buy the book immediately. If you don’t, your chocoholic membership card may be taken from you.

True story.

Book Description

Famed for his exquisite chocolates and ingenious flavor combinations, Paul A. Young now shares his chocolate-making secrets for the first time. After teaching you the finer points of chocolate tasting, you are invited to his masterclass on how to make a classic chocolate truffle. Soon you’ll be melting, blending, and tasting chocolate like a true aficionado, and so your chocolate adventure begins. There are up to 400 flavors in a piece of fine dark chocolate, and the variety and origin of the cocoa beans, as well as the way they were processed, all affect the taste of the finished product. With Paul at your side, you’ll discover why Equadorian chocolate lends itself beautifully to flavors such as marmalade, pink peppercorns, and saffron, while Venezuelan chocolate tastes amazing when paired with cinnamon, chile, or lavender. Once you understand how to combine chocolate with other flavors, you can let your imagination run wild and experiment with your own tastebud-tingling combinations.

The recipes are divided into chapters such as Fruit & Nuts, Sugar & Spice, and Unadulterated, and offer much more than just truffles. You’ll find recipes for Paul’s famous hot chocolate, cakes, cookies, desserts, and even savory dishes—a sure talking point at any dinner party. Take your pick from Wild Strawberry and Pink Peppercorn Truffles, Sea-salted Caramel Tart, and the Ultimate Chocolate Martini. The Alchemy chapter is for the more adventurous cook, with wild and wonderful recipes such as Paul’s Venezuelan Chocolate Chile Chicken, Sweet Chocolate Pesto, and even a Honey-cured Bacon, Stilton and Chocolate Sandwich—which Paul swears by as a hangover cure! Paul’s enthusiasm for chocolate is irresistible and his stunning, easy-to-follow recipes are essential for all chocolate lovers.

Not only does Adventures with Chocolate: 80 Sensational Recipes give whatever room it’s in an instant makeover, the content is invaluable to chocolate lovers.

You’ll learn:

  • How to buy the right chocolate
  • How to identify different chocolates
  • How to make a chocolate truffle
  • How to make ganache
  • How to temper chocolate
  • How to decorate truffles

Of course the cookbook includes outstandingly delicious recipes for Chocolate lovers:

  • Paul’s Aztec-Style Hot Chocolate
  • Sea-Salted Caramel Tart with Javanese Milk Chocolate
  • Chocolate-Drenched Cacao-Nib Cookies
  • Dark Chocolate Sorbet (if the picture doesn’t make your mouth water, nothing will)
  • Trifle of Four Chocolates
  • Paul’s Chocolate Pudding Extreme
  • Three Chocolates Christmas Pudding
  • Salted Pecan Praline Ganache
  • Hand-Rolled Wild Strawberry and Pink Peppercorn Truffles (gorgeous)
  • Maple Macadamia Ganache
  • White Chocolate Goat Cheese Cheesecake with Raspberry Compote
  • Sweet Roasted Green Garlic Ganache
  • White Chocolate Sauce for Seafood
  • And many, many more.

See Adventures with Chocolate: 80 Sensational Recipes for more information.

Deceadent Dessert with Only 5 Ingredients

Chocolate Pot de Crème with Vanilla Whipped Topping

by Joi

Spice Islands Chocolate Dessert

Ingredients:

4 oz 61% cocoa bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups organic heavy cream, divided
1/4 cup white blond cane sugar
2 organic egg yolks
1 teaspoon Spice Islands® Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a kettle filled with water on the stove over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
  2. Place the chocolate in a large metal bowl.
  3. Combine 1 1/2 cups of the heavy cream with the sugar in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat on the stove and whisk until the sugar has dissolved.
  4. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate in a melt bowl and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
  5. In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly temper the eggs by adding a touch of the warm chocolate mixture at a time, about 1/8 cup. Continue to do this until the entire chocolate mixture has been added to the yolks.
  6. Place four 6-oz ramekins in a large baking or casserole dish. Pour the chocolate mixture evenly into the four ramekins.
  7. Using the water from the kettle, fill the baking dish so the water comes halfway up the ramekins.
  8. Carefully place the baking dish into the oven and bake for 30 minutes. When done, the pot de crèmes will slightly jiggle. Using an oven mitt, remove the ramekins from the water bath and let cool on a cooling rack.
  9. After cooling to room temperature, transfer the ramekins to the refrigerator and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. (These can be made a few days ahead of time and just left in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap.)

When ready to serve, whisk the remaining heavy cream and vanilla extract in a small bowl until film peaks form. Place a dollop over each of the pot de crèmes and serve.

Recipe and Photo Courtesy of Spice Islands.

Topsy Turvy Cake Pan Set

Wedding and Birthday Cakes They'll Never Forget

by Joi

Topsy Turvy Cake Pans Set

 

My youngest daughter, Stephany, and I are obsessed with baking. Sometimes the urge to bake will hit both of us at once and we’ll end up with so many sweets in our kitchen you’d swear it was a bakery.  Steph’s favorite thing to bake is probably cupcakes and the ones she made for Valentine’s Day were as delicious as they were adorable.

In addition to cookies (which I’m obsessed with), I’m all about baking cakes.  Most of my cakes are from scratch, but I’m happy to report that there are some very, very good cake mixes on the market.

I’ve started collecting different cake pans because they add a lot to the fun of making, serving, and eating cakes. Whether it’s a birthday, wedding, holiday, or simply the opening day of baseball (believe me, that’s a holiday in our house) – the right cake pans can transform your cake into a masterpiece that people take pictures of before they dive in.

You know you’ve created something memorable when they break out the cameras.

The highly unique and adorable Round Topsy Turvy Cake Pans Set shown above creates a cake that everyone will photograph.  I’ve seen these showstoppers used as wedding cakes as well as birthday cakes.  I’ve always thought they’d be IDEAL for Halloween and Easter.

Product Features

  • Time saving design.
  • Set comprises of 4-tiers. 12″, 10″, 8″ & 6″
  • Lowest side is 2 3/4″ and highest side is 4″
  • Make topsy-turvy cakes with ease

Product Description

Made from heavy duty anonized aluminum. U.S. Patent Pending. *Please note, our set only consist of 4 tiers. 6, 8, 10 & 12″ in diameter. We have discontinued the 14″ diameter because of the size of the pan, the cake does not bake in the middle even with the use of a 2 or 4 inch heating core.

Click here for a closer look.

 

Pull Apart Football Cupcakes

Just In TIme for your Superbowl Party

by Joi

Did your team make it all the way to the Superbowl? Mine (Broncos) didn’t, but there’s always next year, right?!

In the cooking tutorial video above, you’ll see how you can easily make a Superbowl Dessert everyone will rave about – whether their team’s playing or not.

If you’ll notice, I did indeed mark this post as a “Holiday” recipe. You see, with the football fanatics in our family, any day NFL is on tv, it’s a holiday. Same with baseball and college basketball. We pretty much have holidays every day in this house. :)

If You Love Cupcakes and Sweets

You'll Relate to These Ladies

by Joi

Lov'in Goodies

Lov’in Goodies
Buy This at Allposters.com
I was looking online earlier for chocolate art prints and I came across the adorable art print above. These little ladies don’t just make a statement, they’re making me hungry… for sweets! I’m about 2 minutes from raiding my kitchen for anything and everything chocolate. Hmmmmm, I seem to recall some chocolates left over from my husband’s Christmas stocking.

Santa meant to put them in mine anyway.

If you’re in the mood for something sweet, check out our cake recipes.

A Recipe for Hot Chocolate Season

From More Than Moonshine

by Joi

Naturally, I love recipes.  The fact that I have a recipe website and food blog sort of gives that away, doesn’t it?  As you probably know, I’m also a major chocolate addict – so to say that I”m always on the hunt for hot chocolate recipes is an understatement

Quite a few years ago (probably around 10 actually), I checked out a really, really fun cookbook from a local library. It was More than Moonshine: Appalachian Recipes and Recollections and I fell in love with so many of the recipes that I wrote just about all of them down.  I’ve been meaning to order a copy off of Amazon – I noticed they have some available.

One of the recipes in this adorable and highly unique little book was for Hot Chocolate. It’s extraordinary, so I guess the good people of the Appalachian Mountains knew as much about chocolate as they did moonshine.

Good on them.

Hot Chocolate

1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup hot water
1 cup whole milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
Marshmallows (optional)

Mix cocoa, sugar, and flour together in a saucepan; add water, and boil until somewhat thickened. Add the milk, vanilla, salt, and stir well.

Let come near boiling point, but do not boil. Put marshmallows in bottom of each cup and pour hot chocolate.

Yield: Makes 2 Cups

* You can substitute 1/2 milk and 1/2 whipping cream for the milk – but if you do so, DO NOT add the flour. (This is the way I always go – for some reason the thought of flour in my hot chocolate seems too much like gravy to me.)

Adorable Carrot and Zucchini Mini Muffins

A Giada De Laurentiis Recipe

by Joi

Carrot Zucchini Mini Muffins

Carrot and Zucchini Mini Muffins by Giada De Laurentiis
Makes 24 mini muffins

For the muffins
1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup grape seed oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 large egg, room temperature
1/3 cup grated carrots (from 1 medium peeled carrot)
1/2 cup grated zucchini (from 1 medium unpeeled zucchini)
1/2 cup raisins

For the frosting (optional)
1 cup (about 8 ounces) whipped cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1. Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 24 mini muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, sieve together the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add any solids leftover in the sieve to the bowl and mix in.

3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the oil, syrup and egg. Add the dry ingredients and mix well until combined. Mix in the carrot, zucchini and raisins.

4. Using 2 small spoons, fill the muffin cups 3/4 full with the batter and bake for 15 minutes until light golden. Cool for 5 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool, about 30 minutes.

5. Frosting: In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese and honey until smooth. Spread the cooled muffins with frosting and serve.

Credit: Recipe from A Bullseye View!

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