Italian Creme Cookies

This cookie recipe is a versatile one, it can be anisette, vanilla, or lemon by simply adding the extract you desire into the icing. Be bold and use food coloring to make your cookies festive and sprinkle with decorations like sprinkles or colored nonpareils.

Ingredients

1/2 lb margarine
2 c sugar
1 lb ricotta cheese
2 eggs
2 tbs vanilla
4 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt


Icing
1/2 box confectioners sugar
2 tbs milk
1 tsp anisette extract, or ..one of your desire

Cream together margarine and sugar. Add cheese, eggs and vanilla and mix well. Sift 4cups of flour and add the baking soda and salt and combine well. Slowly add flour mix to the butter and cheese mixture. Mix until it is mixed well, the batter should be soft.

Place on ungreased cookie sheets by teaspoonfuls. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 -15 minutes.
Cool completely, Meanwhile make up your icings when the cookies are cooled ice them and sprinkle them, place them on a rack to drip of excess icing and let them dry before storing them in an airtight container. This recipe should yeild about 4 dozen cookies.

Punch Bowl Cake, Submitted by PsSweeney Pat

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil's food cake mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs as called for on cake mix box
4 cups milk
4 teaspoons grated orange peel
2 boxes (4-serving size each) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
1 cup chocolate-flavor syrup
2 cans (15 oz each) mandarin orange segments, drained
1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed


1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray.
2. Make and bake cake mix as directed on box, using water, oil and eggs. Run knife around side of pan to loosen cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, in large bowl, mix milk and orange peel. With wire whisk, beat pudding mix into milk mixture about 2 minutes or until blended.
4. Cut or tear cooled cake into 1-inch pieces. Arrange half of pieces in 3 1/2-quart glass serving bowl, cutting pieces to fit shape of bowl. Drizzle 1/2 cup of the chocolate syrup over cake; spread with 2 cups of the pudding. Reserve 1/2 cup orange segments for garnish; arrange remaining orange segments over pudding. Add remaining cake pieces. Top with remaining chocolate syrup, remaining pudding and the whipped topping. Cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours until chilled.
5. Garnish dessert with reserved orange segments. Store covered in refrigerator up to 8 hours.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Make cake mix following high altitude directions on box for 13x9-inch pan.


Substitution
Do you like the flavor of white chocolate? Use white chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix instead of vanilla.
Success
If you don't have a bowl big enough to hold this crowd-size dessert, two smaller bowls will work just as well.
Special Touch
For an extra-special treat, decorate with chocolate-dipped orange segments. Dip half of each orange segment into melted chocolate and place on a waxed paper-covered cookie sheet. Refrigerate 15 to 20 minutes or until chocolate is set. Just before serving, arrange dipped oranges on top of dessert.

Nutrition Information:
1 Serving: Calories 400 (Calories from Fat 130); Total Fat 14g (Saturated Fat 6g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 45mg; Sodium 490mg; Total Carbohydrate 62g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 44g); Protein 6g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 15%; Vitamin C 15%; Calcium 10%; Iron 10% Exchanges: 2 Starch; 2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 2 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 4
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Dancing dessert: Berry-filled Pavlova Submitted by Wata

As my own idea... my thought to make the nest easier -pipe the meringue using the star tip, You could get them taller making for a better presentation. Just make sure you patch any holes before you cook the nests. ~ Gia

Recipe & Photo by Sue Doeden

The meringue crust in this dessert, with its contrasting textures, melts on the tongue. It is filled with rich, fluffy whipped cream and fresh berries, bursting with flavor.

On her blog, Sue makes individual Pavlovas and fills them with Mascarpone Cream and Italian Peppered Strawberries
Perfect Pavlovas
For six years the Pavlova recipe was tucked into my “Summer Recipes” file. A cooking school classmate sent it to me with her penned comment beside the recipe, “This is a great one.” And I knew she was right. She made the delicate meringue shells and filled them with fruit when we were at Tante Marie’s Cooking School in San Francisco.

Pavlova is said to be invented by an Australian chef as a culinary expression of the light-as-a-feather dancing of Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova. Many New Zealanders would dispute this, though, and the delightful dessert has become a treasure for both countries to boast about, each claiming it as their own.

The list of ingredients for Pavlova is short and straightforward. Egg whites, which are pure protein, are whipped with sugar to create a voluminous white cloud. Tiny amounts of vinegar and cornstarch are added right at the end.

The first step in preparing Pavlova is to separate the egg yolks from the whites, being very careful that not even one little speck of yolk gets into the egg whites. (Egg yolks contain fat, and fat interferes with the formation of firm and light whipped egg whites.) Separating eggs is easiest to do when the eggs are chilled, right out of the refrigerator. Store the yolks in a covered container in the refrigerator for another use. Hollandaise sauce, maybe? Allow the bowl of egg whites to sit at room temperature so that the protein strands in the egg whites will be able to easily stretch as they are beaten, resulting in a shiny, firm meringue.

The meringue is baked at a very low temperature, allowing a thin, crisp shell to form on the outside, leaving the inside just slightly chewy. Don’t be bothered by any cracks that may appear around the edges of the Pavlova or even in the middle as it cools. It just happens. The inside cracks will be hidden by whipped cream and berries. Those on the outside add endearing character.

You’ll have so much fun impressing everyone with this lovely light dessert that takes little effort to make. The meringue crust, with its contrasting textures, melts on the tongue. Rich, fluffy whipped cream with just a slight hint of sweetness and fresh berries, bursting with flavor. Working together, they make a perfect team.

The meringue crust of Pavlova is very versatile. Top it with any of your favorite seasonal fruit. Fill the meringue with lemon curd or ice cream. Add a touch of decadence with a drizzle of hot fudge sauce over each serving.


Ingredients

Pavlova with Berries and Whipped Cream

4 egg whites, room temperature
1 cup superfine sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch, sifted
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 pints fresh berries of your choice
Extra powdered sugar for garnish
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet with no sides. Draw a 9- or 10-inch circle on the parchment, using a plate as your guide. Turn the paper over so the drawing is on the bottom. It will show through the parchment.

Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl. If you are using a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites at low speed until they are very foamy. With the mixer on high speed, gradually add superfine sugar, beating until the sugar is dissolved after each addition. Beat the mixture 5 to 10 minutes, until it is very shiny and thick. Fold in cornstarch and vinegar.

Spread meringue mixture into the marked circle on parchment paper. Use the back of a spoon to shape evenly, spreading meringue to the sides and leaving a slight depression in the middle, similar to a nest. Run the flat side of a knife up the edge of meringue mixture, all the way around, making furrows. This strengthens the Pavlova and gives it a nice decorative finish.

Bake the meringue in preheated 250-degree oven for 1 hour. Turn off the oven. Leave Pavlova to cool in the oven with door slightly ajar. It will take at least 2 hours for the Pavlova to cool completely.

Use a wide metal spatula to carefully loosen the baked meringue shell from the parchment paper. Slide the meringue onto a cake platter.

An hour before serving, beat heavy whipping cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until firm.

Spoon sweetened whipped cream into the meringue shell and spread evenly. Spoon berries carefully over the whipped cream, leaving a border of cream and meringue. Sprinkle the Pavlova with powdered sugar just before serving. Serves 6 to 8.

Tips from the cook

--Avoid making Pavlova on a humid day. The meringues will become sticky and soft.

--The meringue shell can be made the day before serving. I bake the meringue the evening before I plan to serve it and just keep it in the turned-off oven overnight. An hour before serving time, I fill it with the whipped cream and berries and just let it sit until time to eat. You can also fill it at the last minute. The meringue will get soggy if it is filled long before eating.

--Be sure to use a glass or stainless steel bowl for whipping the eggs. Avoid a plastic bowl. Fat clings to plastic, and even though the bowl seems clean, there is a good chance that a bit of grease remains. Fat interferes with the formation of a fluffy meringue.

--Superfine sugar, sometimes called caster sugar, dissolves more quickly than regular granulated sugar. Granulated sugar can be used in this recipe, just be sure to beat the egg whites and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Coffee Cake Submitted by Clk

Easy 222 Coffee Cake Recipe

Preheat oven to 350.

In mixing bowl combine:

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking powder

In 2 Cup measuring cup combine:

2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
*Milk

*After putting vanilla, eggs and oil in cup, full cup with milk to the 2 cup line.

Mix all together in a 9 x 13 greased pan for 30-35 minutes at 350.

When it comes out of the oven, rub 1 stick of butter over cake till melted. Sprinkle with cinnamon and powdered sugar.

Tiramisu

My all time favorite dessert is Tiramisu.. nothing compares to this in my opinion. There are quick recipes you can easily find on the net. Me? No way will I bother, It's the classic recipe or nothing. Tiramisu is pretty easy to make once you are familiar with it, and nothing can ever beat the traditional goodness that a "from scratch" recipe can give you, Not only in taste, the satisfaction that you did it, you made it and the proud smile you'll have ...when your friends and family tell you how good it is. I have included 2 videos and one classic recipe written by ~ Michael Chu.. Enjoy and play if you have any questions email me. As always share what you love -- I also wanted to ask you all if anyone is interested in a xmas cookie exchange of recipes for the holidays. It would be nice to get a jump start so that we can plan. Let me know your ideas. ~







This video is more traditional and might have some terms you are unfamiliar with "caster sugar is Super fine sugar"









It turns out it's pretty difficult to find a published recipe of tiramisu more than a decade old. The reason? Tiramisu was probably invented in the late 1960's or early 1970's at a restaurant called Le Beccherie in Treviso, Italy. Heavenly Tiramisu, Google's highest ranked site when doing a search on tiramisu, claims that Tiramisu has the same roots as zuppa inglese dating back to the 19th century. Unfortunately, like the reader that wrote into Heavenly Tiramisu, I have to object to this classification since the use of coffee or espresso is not traditional in zuppa inglese. If you add the espresso, then it is no longer zuppa inglese but tiramisu. This addition did not seem to happen in a regular manner or recorded recipe until Le Beccherie introduced it over thirty years ago.

Anna Maria Volpi has an article on the history of tiramisu that supports the Le Beccherie origin. Having determined the origins of tiramisu, I had to find the recipe. Unfortunately, I have only Anna Maria Volpi's classic tiramisu recipe (which she claims is the original Le Beccherie recipe) to go by. I was unable to determine if this is (or was) indeed the original recipe, but it's the only one that claims to be, so I shall proceed (for the moment) as if it was.

Most of the ingredients were readily available, but I was not looking forward to purchasing 1-1/2 cups of espresso from my local coffee shop. I asked how many ounces were in a shot of espresso and they told me it was one fluid ounce. I quickly did some mental math and realized that it would be over $15 in espresso alone for me to test this dessert. I explained what I was trying to do and they offered to "work something out". Because I was trying a tiramisu recipe, the coffee shop sold me 12 shots of espresso for $1.95. Amazing. I'm bringing those people some tiramisu tomorrow. Now that I've acquired my espresso, it's time to start preparing the tiramisu.

The Original Tiramisu (serves 12)
4 large egg yolks beat beat whisk over steam beat fold assemble sift refrigerate 4 hours
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
1 lb. mascarpone cheese beat
1 cup heavy cream whip to soft peaks
about 40 ladyfinger cookies soak 2 seconds
12 oz. espresso dissolve
2 tsp. granulated sugar
2 Tbs. cocoa powder





I began by assembling four large egg yolks, 1/2 cup sweet marsala wine, 16 ounces mascarpone cheese, 12 ounces espresso, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and enough lady fingers to layer a 12x8 inch pan twice (40). I stirred two tablespoons of granulated sugar into the espresso and put it in the refrigerator to chill.






In a heatproof bowl, I whisked the egg yolks until they became a light and fluffy cream.




I poured in the sugar and wine and whisked briefly until it was well blended.










I poured some water into a saucepan and set it over high heat until it began to boil. Lowering the heat to medium (enough to keep the water boiling), I placed the heatproof bowl over the water (a convenient double boiler) and stirred as the mixture began to thicken and smooth out. I stopped when the mixture began to slowly bubble.







I removed the mixture, which has now become a custard, from the heat and put it on the side. This custard by itself is a great Italian dessert called zabaglione (sabayon in French cooking) and can be served as is or made into a more complicated dessert by mixed with fruit, serving with cookies, or made into tiramisu (and many more possibilities).




While the zabaglione cools a bit, I whipped (with my stand mixer to save time) the heavy cream until soft peaks. Soft peaks is when the whipped cream can almost stand on its own. Dip your whisk or finger into the cream and see if the spike that forms when you withdraw just curls over at the tip. If so, you've got soft peaks. If it stands up by itself, you've over beaten and produced stiff peaks. If the peak just sinks back into the cream, you don't have whipped cream yet. Keep beating.






Now, in a medium bowl, I beat the mascarpone cheese until smooth and creamy. I used alternated between beating with a whisk and mashing it with a spatula to make quick work of the cheese.










I poured the zabaglione onto the cheese and beat until smooth.









I then folded in the whipped cream. Folding prevent the whipped cream from continuing to progress on the path toward butter and separation (which is what happens when you over whip cream). To fold, simply use your spatula to cut into the mixture and scoop up mixture from below and "fold" it over the cream. Rotate and repeat. The final mixture should be have a fairly even distribution, but it's okay to still see some patches of yellow and white.





Now, I began to assemble the tiramisu. The recipe called for filling a 12x8 in. pan, but that's not a readily available size. I decided to try my luck with a 13x9 in. pan, so I prepared enough ladyfinger cookies to fill the pan twice (for two layers). Then I quickly dipped each ladyfinger into espresso. I poured about half the espresso into the bowl at a time, to make it easier to work with and ensure that the bottom layer didn't soak up all the espresso. No need to worry. There's so much espresso that the ladyfingers will fall apart before the espresso will run out. A gave the each ladyfinger cookie a one second soak on each side and then arranged it on the pan. Do each ladyfinger individually or you'll have ladyfingers falling apart.





After the first layer of ladyfingers are done, I used a spatula to spread half the cream mixture over it. Then, I smoothed it out in preparation for the next layer.







I covered the cream layer with another layer of soaked ladyfingers.







The rest of the cream was spread onto the top and cocoa powder sifted over the surface to cover the tiramisu.








The tiramisu was now complete and would require a four hour chill in the refrigerator.






The flavor of this "original" tiramisu is very similar to restaurant tiramisu incarnations, except that the espresso flavor is extremely strong. The soaked ladyfingers were so strong that eating a piece of that layer by itself produced a strong bitter taste. Not something I've experienced with restaurant tiramisu (since many use coffee to dilute the espresso). Also, most of the restaurant recipes have a very strong alcohol component (perhaps because it's served in the evening as dessert instead of in the afternoon as a "pick me up"). I felt that the alcohol flavor was very mild (although my wife felt the alcohol flavor was more than adequate). As a combination (and eaten as a whole), this tiramisu was delicious (but the caffeine kick is strong enough to have me writing this article at almost two in the morning). It's easy to see from this recipe why this dish became so popular so quickly.

Copyright Michael Chu 2004