Pecan Praline Candy - Candy Makers Throw Away Your Candy Thermometers!

Pecan Praline Candy is a sweet, creamy, yummy confection found in virtually every gift or specialty shop in New Orleans. In the French Quarter, you can even find shops making this delicious candy as you watch.

There is a definite trick when trying to make pecan candy at home.  Traditional pecan praline candy requires the use of a thermometer when cooking the sugary mixture.  If the mixture is not hot enough, the candy will not harden and is a gooey mess. If the mixture hardens too much, the candy will become very brittle.  Most pecan praline recipes call for the thermostat to reach 238 degrees or the mixture to reach the soft-ball stage.  You must constantly stir the mixture or expect disastrous results.

Confection

For the cooking challenged with a sweet tooth, I have the perfect Microwave Pecan Praline Candy Recipe.  Please do not laugh or call me crazy.  I have tried the recipe and it is so easy and almost foolproof.  No need to stand over a hot stove stirring and monitoring your candy sugar mixture.  You do not need to know what the soft-ball stage is, because you can literally throw away your candy thermometer.  It is not needed!

Microwave Pecan Praline Candy Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup whipping cream

1 pound light brown sugar

2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons margarine, softened

Directions

Mix cream and sugar together. Microwave 13 minutes on high. Remove from microwave. Add margarine and pecans. Quickly stir. Drop onto waxed paper using a tablespoon. Let cool, then watch them disappear.

Now, I will be honest.  As good as this microwave pecan praline candy recipe is, nothing beats the smell and texture of Pecan Praline Candy that is slowly cooked, but this is an awesome substitute, especially for the cooking challenged!  You be the judge.

Pecan Praline Candy - Candy Makers Throw Away Your Candy Thermometers!

Dianna Eure Smith is a Cajun cooking enthusiast. When her New Orleans in-laws lost the family recipe book during hurricane Katrina, she decided to create a website, http://www.Cooking-New-Orleans-Style.com where the family recipes could be viewed by all of her displaced friends and family. Dianna's free newsletter, "Cajun Cooking News" is loaded with additional free recipes as well as cooking tips and techniques. Subscribe for FREE recipe alerts and find more Pecan Recipes.

Alzheimers Treatments - Scientific Breakthrough Discovers Root Cause

Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative disorder of the mind that gets progressively worse with time; other types of dementia include Parkinson's disease and Huntingdon's - which isn't entirely restricted to the elderly. Alzheimer's is estimated to affect 1 in 10 people over the age of 65 causing problems with the memory centers of the mind; although current diagnosis is not perfect, the accuracy levels are up to 94 percent at best, 87 percent at worst. The world started focusing on the disease only about thirty years ago although was first discovered in 1906 by Alois Alzheimer, a German physician; even though it has been scientifically studied for many years, knowledge surrounding this disease until very recently has been minimal.

Studies show that your greatest risk of acquiring Alzheimer's is advancing age. Many people experiencing the first signs of Alzheimer's are unwilling to admit to themselves or others that there is anything wrong.

Sweets

While the mental abilities of an Alzheimer's disease sufferer can be improved anything up to six months with the use of prescribed medication like Donepezil, Tacrine, and Rivastigmine, no medication has been discovered that will reverse the debilitating life wasting disease.

Today's top medical scientists, doctors, microbiologists and nutritionists now believe that our human diet for the past 100 years has greatly contributed to the increase in this very modern disease.

They maintain that our two million year old genetically handed down bodies were made to run on water, seeds, nuts, grasses, herbs, roots, fruits, vegetables, and cereals

Only for the past 100 years have we humans been regularly consuming and running on: sugar, sweets, biscuits, crisps, chocolate, cola and soft-drinks, fats & oils, cigarettes and alcohol, pharmaceutical drugs, and chemicals, pesticides and preservatives (loads of them).

It's no wonder that our bodies are Breaking Down. Yes, diet is the single biggest influence on the Alzheimer's condition.

The simple and overlooked truth about Alzheimer's - and many other modern diseases - is that it's infinitely more important to pay attention to what you put inside your body, than to have to deal with the symptoms that drugs can fight on the outside.

Scientists have now discovered... that Alzheimer's CAN be reversed with natural means! You see, in the West, we have an abnormal amount of these "modern diseases"... that practically don't exist in "undeveloped" parts of the world. This has been known for a long time, and for years, these scientists have wondered why.

Well they finally discovered why. They discovered that it is our modern lifestyle that is actively causing these diseases... and that...our modern western diet is having a major impact on our bodies wrecking havoc in the form of Alzheimer's and other modern diseases.

What scientists have now discovered is... that the "Root Cause" of Alzheimer's is the modern lifestyle, causing your body to become diseased by acids, sugars, carbohydrates, excess fats and uric acid (all very common in our modern diets) keep flowing through our bloodstream.

Because our body is a very delicately balanced organism, whatever you ingest can radically destroy that delicate balance...

Here's what leading scientist, Dr Robert O. Young, has to say about the ROOT cause of Alzheimer's:

"There is only One Sickness and One Disease, and this one 'sickness' is the over-acidification of the body due primarily to an inverted way of living, thinking, and eating... there can therefore be only one remedy and treatment, and that is to alkalise the body and break the cycle of imbalance, thus allowing us to experience the energy, vitality and true health we're all meant to have."

Dr. Young is an American microbiologist and nutrition scientist and known as one of the top research scientists in the world. His findings are currently sending shock waves throughout the scientific community.

Published in noted medical journals and having conducted tests in collaboration with the John Hopkins Medical School, his findings are irrefutable and indisputable.

Owing to an increase in the life expectancy of people living in the industrialized world, Alzheimer's disease has become a major health issue and is the fourth largest cause of death in the United States. It is not just the human cost of Alzheimer's that has to be taken into consideration; there are also the monetary costs. The cost of providing care and treating patients is already costing 40 billion dollars every year with this figure expected to increase. Last year the National Institute on Aging spent half of its annual budget on research into age related disease, they are now testing over three hundred compounds at any one time.

One of the few factors that you can change to alter your risk of developing dementia is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Begin now to alkalize the body. Think about what you are eating. Develop the habit of eating a healthy well-balanced diet.

For those of you who have already been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, with this new scientific breakthrough there is now hope that a change to an alkaline diet can gradually bring balance to your body and can gradually reverse day-by-day the effects of Alzheimer's.

Alzheimers Treatments - Scientific Breakthrough Discovers Root Cause

CM Britt is the co-creator of the Squidoo site Alzheimers Treatment. CM Britt specializes in researching and writing articles on emerging treatments and remedies for health related issues. If you found this breakthrough Alzheimer treatment information interesting, empower yourself even further by visiting our Alzheimer's Treatment site. Alzheimers Treatment

Life Is Sweet - Candy Bar Storyboards

Candy now warms the heart as well as delights the taste buds. Clever people have discovered a way to tell one's life history through the use of candy. The story is displayed on large poster boards where candy bars or other treats such as gum or peanuts are glued onto the board to replace words. The story is then read out loud at a party to celebrate the event. These sweet stories are most often used at milestones such as a 40th or 50th birthday but can also be used to celebrate anniversaries, promotions, or a retirement. The only limit is one's imagination!

To illustrate, here is an example of an anniversary tale told with the candy story board. Where the word is capitalized, the treat would be glued to replace the written word. Poetic license is taken with both grammar and the facts in order to use as many pieces of candy as possible. To illustrate, this story board was written for the silver anniversary of Hank and Kathy Thomas.

Sweets

....Kathy Holton moved to California from Indiana looking for her CUP-OF-GOLD in the golden state. She moved to the RED HOT city of Sacramento where she went to work for the phone company. Although Kathy would never earn 100 GRAND, she did survive PAYDAY to PAYDAY.

After years of dating NERDS and GOOBERS with ZERO appeal Kathy found a BIT-O-HONEY when she met Henry (Hank) Thomas.

Hank knew that he could SKOR some points with Kathy by sending her a huge bouquet of roses to her office. "OH HENRY!" Kathy exclaimed. You BIG HUNK, you are the MR. GOODBAR that I have been looking for!" "ABBA ZABBA" thought Hank as he kissed her BIG CHERRY lips. "Marry me, KITKAT and our lives will be MOUNDS of ALMOND JOY. I'll be your SUGAR DADDY and we will have lots of SUGAR BABIES."

Life was GOOD & PLENTY for the Thomas family. As the years went by, the family grew with the addition of the 3 MUSKETEERS, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The boys had STARBURSTS of energy and loved to play sports. Matthew played baseball but because he had BUTTERFINGERS and often dropped the ball, he switched to soccer where he could SKOR more goals.

UNO that parenthood is a WHOPPER of a job. But NOW AND LATER you can enjoy a quiet CAREFREE life, still SWEETTARTS, holding hands with lots of KISSES while gazing out at the MILKY WAY. Congratulations on your 25th wedding anniversary....

Because each life is unique, each Candy story board is different. The key to a unique sweet story is finding a variety of candies to use. Go beyond the typical choice of candy available in most stores and seek out candy stores or serendipity shops that have unusual or nostalgic candies. Of course, the internet can be a terrific resource for this.

Try it! Your own sweet saga will be the highlight of the event.

Life Is Sweet - Candy Bar Storyboards

Christopher Pratt is the Candy Man and President of Candywarehouse.com, an online bulk online candy store that carries all the major brands, novelty candy, and hard to find Old time candy to create your storyboards. Overall, Candywarehouse.com has over 2500 candies to choose from and since turnover is very high, it's always fresh and ready to ship to your doorstep.

Best Sugar Cookie Recipe?

There is nothing like a great sugar cookie recipe. Don't buy the roll of Pillsbury Dough, you can make a superb cookie that will remind you of the days when Grandma made them.

Grandma used to sit by the fire and drink her tea and Grandpa used to sip his coffee made from his French Press, before it was trendy. I loved seeing them sit there enjoying the day. When we walked in the house there were smells coming from the kitchen you just couldn't imagine. The sweet smell of warm sugar cookies invaded your senses. You knew today was going to be a treat.

Confection

It was a tradition that we enjoyed every year. The kitchen was filled with flour storms and the counters were sticky from Buttercream frosting. We had tin cookie cutters spread all over the table. I liked the boot best, my sister liked the angel.

Grandma had a special way with those cookies and she handed down the recipe to me. I was to teach my kids how to make these wonderful holiday sweets. It wouldn't be Christmas time without this recipe of Yummy cookies.
I am publishing it because I want you to enjoy the best sugar cookie recipe ever.

Grandma's Favorite Sugar Cookie

1 cup white sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup butter

2 eggs beaten

1 tsp cream of tarter

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

4 cups flour

½ cup corn oil

Cream the sugars and butter together. Mix the beaten eggs, vanilla and corn oil, in. Add the dry ingredients .Mix all the ingredients well and chill overnight.
Bake at 375 F for 8-10 minutes....DO NOT OVERCOOK.

We used to make the funniest colors to decorate the cookies, most of them looked inedible. They tasted heavenly, though. We figured if we made them look gross enough, the adults would leave them alone. We were wrong. Everyone knew they were Grandma's famous sugar cookies from her handed down recipe book. This page was splattered with all sorts of colors. I have that book now. I love making these cookies with my kids.

Grandma's Favorite Frosting (don't forget the food coloring)

2 cups of powdered sugar

½ cup butter melted

1 ½ T Milk

1 tsp vanilla

Cream sugar, butter and vanilla. Add a small amount of milk (1 to 2 tablespoons). Beat until fluffy. If frosting is too sweet add a little more milk.

Try it this season. Enjoy your family and brew some wonderful tea or coffee and relax. Take the time to make memories with your family or neighbors or friends.

Best Sugar Cookie Recipe?

Linda Cramer is the Owner of Oregon Gourmet Foods and Gifts. She is also the co-owner of The Baby Gift Basket Company. http://www.oregongourmetfoods.com http://www.babygiftbasketco.com

5 Display Tools For Old-Fashioned Candy Stores

If you're thinking of opening an old-fashioned candy store, or you already manage an old-fashioned candy store but need some help giving your business a makeover, some of the first things you should think about are the kinds of display containers and fixtures you should use for your candy displays.

Below are five ideal display tools for old-fashioned candy stores to help you pick the tools that will work best for your store!

Candy

1. Wholesale Glass Jars and Glass Fish Bowls

Wholesale glass jars and glass fish bowls are the epitome of old-fashioned candy store displays. You can find these glass containers in a variety of sizes and styles, as well as with lids for keeping unwrapped candies wrapped and safe from dust and debris.

While wholesale glass jars and glass fish bowls are perfect for displaying candy in old-fashioned candy stores, broken glass is extremely dangerous so you'll want to make sure you use them in low-traffic areas of your store or, at the very least, positioned on sturdy display racks.

2. Fixed and Rotating Countertop Racks and Floor Display Racks

If you manage a candy store, chances are not all of your displays are on countertops. This means you'll other kinds of display tools (besides the glass jars and fish bowls) to hold your candy.

Fixed display racks designed for floors and countertops are ideal for displaying glass containers of candy. At the same time, rotating display racks are great for bags or boxes of candy you can hang from begs or stack on shelves.

3. Wooden Baskets and Wooden Display Racks

Wooden baskets and wooden display racks exude old-fashioned charm and are excellent alternatives for store owners who don't want to use wire display racks like those found in convenience stores.

You can find wooden displays designed for countertop displays and floor displays, but because the wooden baskets generally don't come with lids, these display tools are best suited for wrapped bulk candies like Atomic Fireballs, individual pieces of bubble gum, and gourmet chocolates.

4. Gumball Machines

Gumball machines are classic display tools for candy stores. You can find gumball machines with one head or numerous heads and in a variety of different styles. Choose classic styles with round or square heads or fun styles shaped like rocket ships or designed with clear stands to allow your customers to watch their gumballs traveling down to meet them!

Gumball machines are also quite versatile. You can find machines designed for countertop displays, or you can find them positioned on stands and ready for you to move anywhere in your candy store.

5. Dry Food Dispensers

Some unwrapped bulk candies - like Skittles, M&Ms, Runts, Mike & Ike, Good & Plenty, and Jelly Belly's jelly beans - work well in more than just wholesale glass jars with lids. Because these candies are unwrapped, you can keep them fresh and safe from contamination when you store and display them in dry food dispensers.

You can find dry food dispensers designed to mount on your store's wall or countertop, and they allow customers to select the amount of candies they want while keeping the rest secured inside.

5 Display Tools For Old-Fashioned Candy Stores

You can find all of these display tools for your candy store - as well as the candy to display! - when you visit http://www.candyconceptsinc.com.

Delicious Types of South African Desserts

Here in the United States, we do not often hear about African cooking. This is a shame, because the recipes of Africa offer a lot of flavor and nutrition. Each African nation has their own great food traditions to share. South Africa is a country at the tip of Africa. It has a rich traditional food culture that you may want to check out. South African cuisine covers wild game, soups, stews, seafood, and desserts. The indigenous people built a wonderful cuisine around native foods. During the colonial era, many different culinary influences blended with the traditional foods. French, Dutch, German, British, and Indian cuisines lent their favorite tricks to create today's South African food.

Desserts like koeksisters (similar to fried donuts), mealie-bread and malva pudding are common in South Africa. Melktert, or milk tart, is a traditional custard-like dessert. There is more milk than eggs in this compared to European custards, giving the dessert a light texture and more of a milky flavor. Like many recipes from South Africa, this dessert may trace its history to the Dutch. The Cape of Good Hope was the site of a permanent Dutch settlement during the days of the Dutch East India Company. The name melktert is a combination of Dutch and Afrikaner. Melk is the Dutch term for milk and tert is the Afrikaner version of tart.

Desserts

The recipe for melktert also has a history reaching back to Persia, where similar pastries were known as grasshopper wings due to the delicacy of the texture. Originally known as skilferkors, the recipe was first published in 1653. You can find many versions of this recipe online. Buttermilk pie, a recipe from the Southern United States, is very similar.

Recipe for Melktert

This is an old fashioned milk tart that is a favorite in South Africa.

What You Need

  • 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 cup cake flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 4 cups milk
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

How to Make It

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray the inside of a 9 inch deep dish pie plate with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, cream the sugar and butter together until smooth. Add the egg yolks one at a time, blending them in until the batter is light and fluffy. Sift the salt, baking powder and cake flour and mix well. Add vanilla and milk and mix until well blended. Using a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the batter. Pour the mixture into the pie plate and sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 25 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Let the tart continue to bake for another 25 to 30 minutes or until the center is set when the pie is gently jiggled.

Serve the milk tart hot or cold.

Delicious Types of South African Desserts

If you like trying new foods, pick up some Mexican recipes the next time you are recipe hunting. You can find some excellent Mexican desserts, main dishes and side dishes to explore. Try them whenever you want something a little spicy.

MexicanDessertRecipes.net The Sweet Side of Mexican Food

Kaak Bi Haleeb: Lebanese Dessert

Lebanon country is much talked about for its diverse culinary tradition and since many years, people have accepted Lebanese food due to its association with modernity as well as fast paced life.

Lebanon was under the control of several foreign powers and therefore we could see that influence the types of food the Lebanese generally eat. In the year 1516-1918, Lebanon was ruled by Ottoman turks who had presented many foods that actually became staples in the Lebanese diet, for instance cooking with lamb. Some of the famous dishes which are enjoyed all around the world are shawarma and kibbeh. Another very important Lebanese dish which you can get easily in every restaurant is knefe which is prepared with cheese and phyllo. Phyllo is nothing but a paper-thin sheets of flour dough.

Dessert

No meal is complete without the dessert part. So why not try a great Lebanese dessert Kaak Bi Haleeb.This dish will give you a big reason to cheer! Take a look at this simplest recipe to explore on yummy Lebanese desserts.

The major ingredients required for making kaak Bi Haleeb are:

1 kg flour
200g melted butter
4 tbsp cooking oil
2 cups milk
400g sugar
2 tsp yeast
2 tsp powdered aromatic plants such as cherry seed, marjoram and aniseed

Instructions:

Take a bowl and mix the flour, yeast and aromatic plants and add oil and melted butter into that. Mix them appropriately. Take another bowl and dilute the sugar and milk and add to the previous mixture. Knead the mixture to make a soft dough. Keep the dough for 2 hours. Roll out flat cakes and keep them in a pre heated oven. Bake them on medium heat until they become kaaks. Once they are baked, you can take out from the oven and sprinkle some sugar on top. Allow them to dry. After they are completely dried, you can enjoy the tasty kaak Bi Haleeb.

Kaak Bi Haleeb: Lebanese Dessert

For more details on some fantastic lebanese recipes please look at lebanese recipes.
You may also take a peek at filipino recipe by clicking filipino recipes

Easy Sugar Free Desserts For Everyone!

Are you looking for some easy desserts and sugar free cookie recipes for your special sugar free diet friends? Are you searching for some new sugar free cookie and dessert recipes for this coming Christmas party? How about creating some new and delicious sugar free recipes for everyone?

Mary is busy searching for sugar free desserts for her coming Christmas party. She is going to invite a numbers of sugar free diet friends .

Desserts

According to her, her friends were very pleased to be included in her Christmas party list. Because most of the host cannot provide sugar free food for them, therefore they will not be invited.

She found some amazing sugar free recipes here...

Special Pudding

Ingredients
1000 ml milk
280g flour
6 eggs
Action
a. Mix the flour and milk together, and beat well.
b. Whip eggs to a froth and add the eggs to the milk mixture.
c. Boil it for 2 hours, and serve hot with rich cream.

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Nutmeg and Muskmelons

Ingredients
Nutmegs
Ripe muskmelons
Ice lump
Pepper and salt
Action
a. Wash nutmegs and melons.
b. Whip dry and cut into two.
c. Shake out the seeds lightly and put a lump of ice in each half.
d. Eat with pepper and salt.

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Milk Rice

Ingredients
750 ml hot milk
100g rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Raisins (seeded)
Action
a. Wash and drain the rice.
b. Soak the rice with water for 20 minutes.
c. Pour away the water, add the rice and salt into the milk and boil.
d. When done, press the rice into small cups and serve with cream and raisins.

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Cream Puff Dough

Ingredients
500 ml water
4 level tablespoons butter
500g flour (sifted)
4 eggs
Action
a. In a saucepan, combine the water and butter and mix thoroughly.
b. When the water is boiling and butter thoroughly melted, turn instantly the flour and stir rapidly over the heat. In a moment you will have a perfectly smooth and soft dough free from sticky-ness.
c. Remove from heat and stand it aside till partly cold.
d. Break the egg into a cup, then turn it into the batter.
e. Beat for a moment, then add another and another.
f. Beat thoroughly and add the fourth good egg from the cup.
g. Beat he batter for 5 minutes and stand it aside for 1-1.5 hours.
h. Drop by tablespoonfuls into greased shallow pans and bake in a 170°C oven for 35-40 minutes.
i. When the puffs are done, they will be hollow and light.
Note:
a. The batter must be dropped far enough apart to leave rooms for swelling.
b. You may fill the puff shell with a little cold mashed fresh banana pulp, chopped nuts and raisins.

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Tea Biscuits

Ingredients
240g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter (melted
Water
Action
a. Mix the dry ingredients and rub in butter with the tips of your fingers.
b. Add water to make a dough just stiff enough to roll out.
b. Roll 1 cm thick and cut with a round cutter and bake in a greased pan in a preheated 200°C oven for about 10 minutes.

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Drop Biscuits

Ingredients
240g flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter (melted)
Milk
Action
a. Mix he dry ingredients and rub in the butter.
b. Add milk to make a mixture that may be dropped from a spoon without spreading.
c. Drop on a buttered pan 1 cm apart and bake in a preheated 200°C oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

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Banana Raisins Pie

Ingredients
100g seeded raisins (chopped)
250 ml water
2 tablespoons sifted cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon butter
1 large banana (in thin slices)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 lemon rind (grated)
1 egg (well beaten)
2 tablespoons seeded raisins (cut in pieces)
Action
a. Cook 100g chopped raisins in water until plump.
b. Remove from fire. Add crumbs and mix with flour and butter.
c. Let it stand and covered until cold.
d. Add cinnamon, lemon juice, lemon rind, honey and the lemon extract to the slices of banana.
e. Combine mixture, add egg and pieces of raisins.
f. Bake between two crust.

Now she has enough easy desserts and sugar free recipes for her coming Christmas party!

Easy Sugar Free Desserts For Everyone!

Food and Drink Paradise club is a wonderful gateway to meet all food lovers over the world.

Extraordinary recipes, cooking tips, and a free e-book will be given to all my newsletter subscribers. I shall show you how to create wonderful recipes for all occasions, including weddings, birthdays, parties, and many more. Please feel free to explore my work at http://www.allcookmakeeasy.com

Thank you very much, and I love to see you soon again.

Joan Chang

Japanese Dessert Recipe - Dorayaki Cake

Dorayaki cake is a traditional Japanese dessert recipe that is a sweet cake with an anko filling. Anko filling consists of sweet azuki bean paste. It is a delicious addition to any traditional Japanese meal and you will love the texture, taste and flavor.

Ingredients for Japanese dessert recipe - Dorayaki Cake:
o 3 eggs
o 2/3 cup of white sugar
o ½ teaspoon of baking soda
o 3 tablespoons of water
o 1 cup of white flour - sifted
o ¾ pound of anko - sweet azuki beans
o Oil for frying

Dessert

Directions to make Japanese dessert recipe - Dorayaki Cake:
o Put the eggs and the sugar into a bowl and whisk together well
o Dissolve the baking soda into the water
o Add the water into the egg mixture
o Add the sifted flour into the egg mixture gradually
o Heat a skillet or a hot plate and put a little bit of oil into it
o Pour a scoop of the batter into the skillet and form a small pancake
o Turn the pancake over in the pan when bubbles begin to form and appear of the surface of the cake
o Repeat this process to make 8 to 10 pancakes
o Cool the pancakes
o Put a scoop of the anko sweet beans between the pancakes
o This recipe makes about 4 to 5 dorayaki cakes

This Japanese dessert recipe for Dorayaki cake is easy to make and delicious. It is a rich in the Japanese culture. All sweets in Japanese are called wa-gashi and common ingredients that are used in Japanese dessert recipes are rice flour, red beans and sugar. There are very few recipes that actually call for the use of milk or butter. This kind of cooking tends to be much lower in fat that other forms of western dessert cooking.

Anko or the sweet red beans are a typical ingredient that is used in wa-gashi. They are also used as fillers fro manju and taiyaki. Japanese cakes are used and made on a variety of occasions and some are used for formal dinners and meetings while others are used as a common dessert after a meal.

It is best to serve your Dorayaki cake with green tea or other kinds of Japanese tea to get the true authentic flavor and feel of making a Japanese dessert. Japanese Christmas cakes are a favorite among the Japanese culture and are light and fluffy. Most of the cakes and desserts made from Japanese recipes are lower in fat and more healthy than other kinds of dessert recipes. They also require few ingredients and are relatively easy to make and prepare.

Japanese Dessert Recipe - Dorayaki Cake

Katie Appleby is an accomplished niche website developer and author.

To learn more about japanese dessert recipe [http://myholidayfoods.info/japanese-dessert-recipe-%e2%80%93-dorayaki-cake], please visit My Holiday Foods [http://myholidayfoods.info] for current articles and discussions.

Best Dessert Ideas for New Year's Eve

Are you having a New Year's Eve party but are unsure what desserts to serve? This is actually the easiest part of planning and not something you should worry about. Desserts are what many look forward to after every meal and finding delicious treats to offer guests or family and friends is actually quite fun and exciting. To help you in your task, here are the best dessert ideas you can serve on New Year's Eve.

Cakes
Serving cake is a great option for dessert especially with the different kinds to choose from. A favorite of many is chocolate fudge cake, but of course there are plenty others to choose from such as vanilla, white chocolate, banana caramel, chocolate truffles, chocolate raspberry, hazelnut, marble cake, and many more. Just about any cake is available to suit your taste palette, which is why this is a great dessert idea for New Year's.

Dessert

Cheesecake
Other than cakes, a favorite New Year's dessert is cheesecake, which certainly no one can resist. There are different kinds of cheesecake from the famous New York style cheesecake, Oreo, Hershey's, chocolate, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, cherry, mocha, key lime, vanilla, peanut butter, and a lot more that you can choose from. With cheesecake, the list is endless and the best part is, you can easily order online for cheesecake delivery and get all your dessert in an instant with no trouble at all. If you can't decide on just one cake, you can order an assortment of snack-size or mini cheesecakes that come in all flavors to ensure that you and your guests get the best of everything.

Brownies and Cookies
Brownies and cookies will always be yummy desserts on everyone's list. Chocolate fudge brownies and mouth-watering cookies in all flavors are an instant hit no matter what the occasion. Simply order a party pack online that contains a variety of brownies and cookies and you can easily serve this as a dessert on New Year's Eve.

Tarts and Pies
Tarts and pies are also great dessert ideas that can easily impress guests on New Year's Eve. Tarts come in a variety of fruit flavors from apple to berries, pecan, and even caramel. If you are a fan of pies, these are also yummy treats you can serve from apple, pecan, chocolate fudge, and many other flavors.

With all these New Year's dessert ideas, certainly you have a lot on your list. If you have a large guest list, having one of each kind of dessert for variety would be an excellent choice. Whichever one you choose will surely be delicious and one that all your friends and family will enjoy during this holiday season. To save you time and trouble, you don't even have to make these desserts yourself. You can easily order and buy cheesecake online and have it delivered to your doorstep before the big night. During this time of year, make your job easier for you by visiting the online cheesecake store to get delicious dessert ideas.

Best Dessert Ideas for New Year's Eve

About this Author

Jay Wesley writes mostly about food and entertaining. For more recipes, tips, and articles and to buy delicious cheesecake, brownies, cookies, and more, visit Cheesecake.com at http://www.cheesecake.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jay_Wesley

Quick Napoleon Dessert Recipes

A traditional Napoleon is a French dessert made from layers of puff pastry spread with a vanilla pastry cream. The top of the rectangle or triangular shaped sweet is drizzled with chocolate and or dusted with powdered sugar. Historians say that the Napoleon was created by a Danish royal chef in honor of a visit by a French emperor. And that Emperor Bonaparte's defeat at Waterloo was the result of an overindulgence of his now famous namesake pastry.

You may have a hard time distinguishing after eating a Napoleon what part is the best part. Is it the puff pastry or the pastry cream? I think all of the flavor combinations work very well together, so, I say all of it! This is a very quick and easy dessert recipe, and you will not spend all day in the kitchen. We are going to take the shortcut method and make it work for our recipe.

Dessert

Making puff pastry from scratch is not an easy task to undertake. It is a labor and time intensive endeavor. Perfectly chilled ingredients, repeated rolling to the correct thickness, and precision folding are the keys to faultless puff pastry. Not to mention working in a kitchen that is not humid. The meticulous rolling and folding, along with the moisture in the butter, creates steam which causes the dough to puff and separate into the flaky layers that the pastry is known for. Some chef's recommend anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours chilling time between rolling and folding. Consider that the roll, fold and chill process is done four times, you need to block off two to eight hours to make puff pastry. Or, take a trip to the frozen food section of the grocery store and buy it.

Ready made puff pastry is available in sheets or shells. To thaw it at room temperature takes about thirty minutes, in the refrigerator about four hours. It will keep in the refrigerator up to two days. When shaping the dough, work with one sheet at a time, refrigerating remaining sheets until ready to use. As with all dough handle as little as possible. A pastry wheel, pizza cutter or sharp knife are the best utensils for cutting the dough. Cut edges should be crisp to keep the layers separate so that they puff during baking. Always bake puff pastry in a conventional oven and keep in mind that darker baking sheets cook faster.

Vanilla pastry cream is the standard filling for a Napoleon. This is a very short recipe for making quick Napoleons.

1 Package of frozen puff pastry dough

2 Packages of Vanilla instant pudding

1 Bottle of a good chocolate fudge or chocolate drizzle

3 Ounces of confectioners sugar

Prepare instant pudding according to package directions. While pudding is chilling follow directions for thawing, unfolding and baking puff pastry sheets. Cut into desired shape at bake at 400° for twelve minutes or until golden. Pay close attention to baking time, sheets burn easily. Let cool to room temperature.

To assemble you will place a layer of pastry in bottom of a sheet pan. You will then gently spread with a layer of pudding, then another layer of pastry. Repeat the layering process until ingredients are used up. You will then heat your chocolate fudge until it is at a pouring consistency. You will pour or drizzle over the tops of your Napoleons, and dust very lightly with the confectioners sugar. You will need a serrated knife to cut these into bars to sreve. Keep refrigerated until serving time.

If you want to substitute a low fat, or zero fat pudding in this recipe, there is still enough sugar to give it flavor with half or no fat in the pudding.

Quick Napoleon Dessert Recipes

Chef Shelley Pogue, a Cum Laude, Le Cordon Blue graduate and Executive Research and Development Chef, for Vertical Sales and Marketing, San Ramon, CA. Shelley is also the desserts editor for http://www.BellaOnline.com

Fun and Creative Dessert Ideas

How many of us don't finish our main courses to ensure that we leave enough room for dessert? I certainly do. A meal to me just doesn't seem complete with out something sweet at the end of it.

A dessert at the end of a meal is a necessity for me, so you can imagine how many I've eaten in my time. Here are just a few that I have enjoyed.

Dessert

There are some classic desserts here; along with others you may have heard of but haven't yet tried. If you don't eat out often, some of these are very easy to create yourself.

If you like mousse made from regular chocolate, try it for a change using white. There is a long standing debate between brown and white chocolate, but I personally find them to be equally delicious.

Fruit and chocolate go so well together, I don't know what more people don't put them together. The fruity drizzles you can by these days meld do well with the chocolate in the mousse.

The humble drinking glass is a great container to serve an elaborate dessert in. The ingredients are simplicity itself, so there are no worries that it won't taste good. This means you can spend more time on what it looks like.

You really have no boundaries with this kind of dessert. You can keep it simple but classy looking, or really go to town to create a magnificent sundae which will never fail to impress.

The internet is great for showing us how things that look complicated are really quite easy to do. This dessert is a prime example, an ice cream filled mango that has been cut into the shape of a rose.

Both ice cream and sorbet are suitable fillings for your mango rose, and you can have it in any flavor you wish. If you want to play it safe with Vanilla, then fine, but why not try something a bit more adventurous?

Fun and Creative Dessert Ideas

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All-Filipino Desserts

All Filipinos seem to be born with a sweet tooth, and most of us never really outgrow it. We're never too old for a candy bar or a rich filled doughnut. That's why desserts have always been a big part of Filipino cuisine. For many of us, a meal isn't a meal without something cold and sweet to top it off. It doesn't matter if your meal consists of rice and dried fish; without dessert, it's simply not complete.

However, our idea of dessert has evolved a lot through the years. Ask any kid what his favorite dessert is and he'll most likely say ice cream, cake, or something not really Filipino. If you think the same way, maybe it's time you tried the old favorites and rediscover Filipino food. Here's a quick guide to local desserts and some Filipino desserts recipes you can make on your own.

Desserts

Rice cakes

With rice as our staple food, it's really no surprise that we'd turn it into a dessert as well. In fact, we have more than a dozen varieties of kakanin, the local term for rice desserts, most of them sold at practically every corner. Because they are rice-based, they are seldom eaten after regular meals (which already have rice as the main course). People prefer them for merienda in the late morning or afternoon. Some of the most popular Filipino rice cakes are puto, suman, biko, bibingka, and kalamay.

Native pastries

If you're looking for a lighter dessert, Filipino pastries may be just what you need. Our native pastries cover everything from small bite-size tarts to tropical fruit pies. They may seem complicated at first glance, but they are actually one of the easiest Filipino food recipes. In fact, if you're just starting out, pastries make a great beginner recipe. Start with simple snack tarts such as this one.

Easy Caramel Tarts

Ingredients:

1 tbsp flour

1 c milk

1 c golden syrup

1 c brown sugar

1 tbsp white sugar

1 tbsp butter

2 eggs, separated

½ tsp vanilla

Procedure: Beat the egg whites until stiff, then beat in the white sugar. Set aside. In a saucepan, combine the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Pour into baked pastry shells. Top with the egg white mixture and bake for about 10 minutes or until the meringue turns brown.

Puto and kutsinta

Puto a steamed cake made from rice flour, often topped with cheese or salted eggs. It is often sold with kutsinta, a brown jelly cake served with grated coconut. The two go together because the soft, grainy texture of the puto contrasts the tart smoothness of kutsinta. Both are among the simplest Filipino recipes; you can make a batch of each cake in less than two hours.

Puto

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 cups milk

6 tsps baking powder

3 eggs (use only egg whites for a lighter cake)

Procedure: Combine all the ingredients except the egg whites. Mix well and let stand for one hour, then fold in the eggs. Pour into baking pan or muffin pans and steam for about one hour.

Kutsinta

Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour

1 tsp lye water

3 cups water

2 cups packed brown sugar

Procedure: Mix all the ingredients in a bowl; beat well. Half-fill a muffin pan with the batter, then steam covered over 2 inches of water for about 30 minutes. Top with grated coconut.

Bibingka

Bibingka is actually an Indian dish (bebinca), but the Filipino variety is unique because it uses rice flour instead of white. It also comes with a variety of toppings such as butter or margarine, cheese, salted eggs, or grated coconuts. Bibingka is a popular snack in the Christmas season, where it is often sold with puto bumbong (same as puto, but cooked in bamboo vessels and flavored with coconut or purple yam)and other Filipino cooking recipes. It is traditionally cooked in charcoal ovens, which gives it a smoky flavor. Of course, you can also tweak the recipe and bake it in modern ovens. Here's how.

Ingredients:

2 c plain flour

¼ c baking powder

¾ c sugar

1 ¼ c coconut milk

3 eggs, beaten

½ c Edam cheese, grated

½ butter, melted

½ c grated coconut

1 tsp salt

Procedure: Preheat your oven to 375oF. In a bowl, dissolve the sugar in coconut milks and add in the eggs. In a separate bow, sift the flour, add the baking powder and salt, then sift again. Combine with the egg mixture and beat well. Pour into prepared pans and bake for about 15 minutes. Top with cheese and resume baking for another 20 minutes, brushing with margarine occasionally. Give it a final brush when done, and serve with coconut on the side.

All-Filipino Desserts

Carlo Villamayor is the owner and co-author of the Filipino food [http://www.kusina.ph/] blog, Kusina.ph. A devoted cook, he makes it his personal mission to spread the joy of Filipino recipes [http://www.kusina.ph/low-fat-filipino-desserts-recipes/] with food lovers the world over. Bon appetit!

Best Dessert Recipes - The Best Desserts Are "Just" Desserts

A lovely dinner doesn't feel complete until dessert is served. Desserts should always compliment the menu. Our taste buds focus on sweet, sour and salty. If you prepared a menu that includes sweet and sour, you'll want to offer a less complex dessert. The best desserts for meals of this kind suggest simplicity - pears poached in a plum wine sauce, blood orange slices sauted in pineapple juice and rum or bananas rolled in coconut and pecans and baked in Cointreau sauce.

For meals that are standard meat and potatoes, your menu's theme is a good guide. With roast beef or chicken entrees, the best dessert recipes may be typical rice pudding or apple pie. Try adding coconut to your rice pudding and top them with orange slices sauted in brown sugar. Serve apple pie with a slice of a really great cheddar cheese for ultra-sophisticated simplicity. Or, try glazing it with apricot preserves and then broiling until the top turns slightly bubbly.

Dessert

Planning main menus ahead very carefully is an opportunity to coordinate food flavors. When serving Italian food, for instance, a great idea is to serve one of the best dessert recipes that's simply delicious - cassata, an Italian cheesecake that's easy to make. Some cassata recipes call for ricotta, a heavier-textured Italian cheese. Try using mascarpone instead of ricotta. You will need a springform pan for this recipe.

Cassata:

16 oz. Mascarpone or Ricotta cheese. (If you are using Ricotta, sieve until smooth.)
4 eggs separated, slightly chilled
1 1/4 cups superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange rind
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond liqueur
1/2 cup white raisins soaked in Sambucca liqueur, drained (reserve liqueur)
1/4 cup pignoli nuts
1 sponge cake - May be purchased or use standard recipe for sponge cake

Beat eggs yolks until they reach a pale yellow color. Add vanilla and almond liqueur. Blend with beater. Beat egg white until stiff but not dried, adding sugar slowly. Fold egg yolk mixture with cheese and raisins. Add orange rind. Slowly fold in egg whites.

Line bottom and sides of spring form pan with sponge cake. Brush with reserved liqueur. Do not soak. Pour in cheese mixture. Allow to set overnight or at least 6 hours before serving. Sprinkle top with pignoli nuts.

For casual "Saturday Night" menus, the best dessert recipes can also be fun desserts. Try old fashioned ice cream sodas or sundaes your guests can "build" themselves. Don't throw out that leftover morning coffee. Pour it into your blender, add a dash of cocoa powder and for adults, a little Frangelico liqueur, and a scant dash of chili powder....yes...chili powder. Sweeten to taste. Pour into old-fashioned glasses and add a dollop of chocolate ice cream and a spring of mint.

One of the best dessert recipes for groups is also a lot of fun: Chocolate fondue. Instead of the traditional fondue pot, pour your melted chocolate into individual Irish coffee glasses. Place a dinner plate under each glass. Add strawberries, marshmallows, walnuts, and small chunks of pound cake. Serve with a fondue fork. Unique and fun for guests.

Best Dessert Recipes - The Best Desserts Are "Just" Desserts

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Dessert Recipe Ideas: How To Make A Huckleberry Cheesecake

When you consider the different types of dessert recipe ideas you can find to make today, you might be delighted to find out how to make a huckleberry cheesecake recipe. Huckleberries are an old fashioned type of fruit that even the ancient American Indians as well as others since that time have enjoyed eating.

Whether you are eating them raw in the wild or you are incorporating huckleberries in your recipes, you will find that they provide you with an interesting flavor that no other type of fruit or berry can. Huckleberries have a distinctive taste that is somewhat like that of eating blueberries. However, the taste is not exactly the same.

Dessert

Actually, there are even more than one type of huckleberries, but they are not the type of fruits that you will commonly find at the local superstore. The berries will range in their color from bright reds to dark purples and deep blue. Their appearance is easy to confuse with that of blueberries.

Trying to describe the flavor of huckleberries is not such an easy task. However, they are flavorful as a sweet yet tart berry. Historically, many a loving couple may have courted while picking huckleberries while in group settings. This makes choosing to make and serve a huckleberry cheesecake around Valentine's Day or any other day.

Recipe for Huckleberry Cheesecake

What You Need

  • 1/3 cup butter or margarine
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 ¾ cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1 package softened cream cheese
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
  • 1 can condensed milk 15 ounce
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 4 cups huckleberries
  • 1 ¾ cups sugar
  • 6 Tablespoons cornstarch
  • ½ envelope unflavored gelatin mix
  • 2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

How to Make It

Allow the cream cheese to soften to room temperature by placing it on the counter about 20 minutes before you are ready to prepare the dessert.

Melt the butter or margarine in a saucepan or in the microwave and then add the sugar and graham cracker crumbs. Mix thoroughly to combine while moistening the crumbs. Press this mixture into the bottom and along the sides of a 9 inch pie pan. Place in the refrigerator to chill.

Using a medium size mixing bowl and an electric mixer, you will add the softened cream cheese, vanilla flavoring, condensed milk, and lemon juice and then beat to blend thoroughly. Spread this cream cheese filling over the bottom of the crust and then return to the refrigerator to chill until needed.

To prepare the huckleberry topping you will add the huckleberries, sugar, cornstarch, unflavored gelatin mix and the remaining butter or margarine to a large saucepan over a medium heat. Stir to blend while cooking the huckleberries until the mixture is thick and clear in appearance. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool for about 10 minutes. Pour this mixture over the cream cheese layer and then return to the refrigerator. Chill overnight or for at least 3 to 5 hours before cutting and serving.

Dessert Recipe Ideas: How To Make A Huckleberry Cheesecake

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Dessert - Cognac Coffee with Sesame Wafers

Cognac Coffee

1 Pot Strong Coffee or 1 shot espresso per person

Dessert

Cognac, ¼ Cup per cup of coffee

Ground Cardamom, ¼ tsp per cup of coffee

Ground Cinnamon, ¼ tsp per cup of coffee

1 Cup Heavy Cream

¼ Cup Confectioner's Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Whip heavy cream until soft peaks form, and then add in the confectioner's sugar and vanilla. Continue whipping until stiff peaks form.

Pour one cup of strong coffee or espresso for each person; add to each cup ¼ cup Cognac, ¼ tsp. ground cardamom, and ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon. Top each cup of coffee with whipped cream and serve with cooled Sesame Wafers.

Sesame Wafers

¾ Cup Softened Butter

1½ Cups firmly packed, light brown sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 Egg

1 Cup Toasted Sesame Seeds (seeds can be toasted in a 350° oven for 15-20 minutes)

1¼ Cup Flour, sifted*

¼ tsp. Baking Powder

¼ tsp. Salt

Cream together butter and sugar. Add vanilla and egg, beat until well blended. Stir in sesame seeds.

In a separate bowl sift* together flour, baking powder and salt; stir into the cream mixture. Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375° for about 5 to 6 minutes. The cookies should be lightly browned around the edges and crispy. Cool immediately on wire racks.

The sesame wafers can be drizzled or dipped in melted dark chocolate for an added richness.

*Sifting the flour is not a required step. I usually do not sift my flour unless it is old most flour today produces good results without sifting. I included this step because it will yield a finer texture if you sift your flour.

Dessert - Cognac Coffee with Sesame Wafers

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America's Favorite Desserts

There are a wide variety of great desserts in America, many of which have actually been adopted from other cultures, whether we know it or not. But, what are America's favorite desserts? It's hard to say exactly, but the following desserts are definitely crowd-pleasers in the States.

Hot Fudge Sundae

Desserts

The hot fudge sundae is an old-time American favorite. It's also very simple to make. You just need some ice cream and hot fudge. Most people also add their favorite nuts and cherries on top as well. This makes a delicious treat that is easily one of America's favorite desserts.

Class Brownie

Brownies are a big time favorite with kids and seem to bring out the kid in most adults as well. Brownies can be made from pre-made mixes that can be bought from the grocery store, making it very simple and easy. Others might choose to actually make brownies from scratch, but either way you really can't go wrong with this popular dessert.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are probably the most common cookie found in the US. These cookies fill cookie jars all across the country. Again, these are easily made by buying pre-made packages from the grocery store that only require you to throw them in the oven. Really, you can really find these cookies anywhere. You'll find it very difficult to find a store in America that sells cookies that doesn't sell chocolate chip cookies.

Lattice Pies

In American culture, the picture of a hot pie cooling off on a window seal is very common. These pies are usually lattice pies filled with fruits such as cherry or apple. They are not only in the movies though. They are very popular in American homes. Creating the lattice crust is sometimes difficult to pull off in an aesthetically pleasing way. Those that can do it, create a beautiful and delicious dessert.

Given the popularity of these desserts, there are a ton of different ways to make them. Everyone seems to have their own way of making their favorite dessert. Whether it was something that they stumbled upon themselves or a recipe that has been passed through the family or from a friend, you can rarely go wrong with any of these delicious desserts.

The Internet also provides numerous recipe versions for each of these desserts. To find a recipe that is sure to impress, visit this online recipe website today.

America's Favorite Desserts

Joseph Devine

Christmas Dinner Traditions and Dessert Ideas

Christmas is my family's favorite time of year. We have many Christmas traditions that we've developed over the years.  One is that each year one of us daughters (mother and sister-in-laws) is responsible for a part of the dinner.  My favorite part to make is the Christmas desserts.

Our family is large, there are five sisters, four brothers and both parents still living. We also have a lot of wives, husbands, nieces and nephews mixed in. When we get together there are twenty seven people.  Each year one of us cooks for a different segment. We put the dinner segments in a hat. After dinner, after all the dishes are done and we're relaxing we choose what our dishes will be for the next year. The menu is broken up into appetizers, before and after dinner drinks (for the adults), meat, stuffing/potatoes (starch), vegetables, rolls, desserts. Two people are responsible for meat, two for stuffing/potatoes and two for vegetables. One for appetizers, one for before and after dinner drinks and one for desserts. And, now that there are ten of us every year one lucky girl gets a get out of jail free card, which means she doesn't have to cook the next year!

Dessert

As I said earlier Christmas dessert is my favorite. I start cooking about a week in advance. I know everybody's favorites, and like to add a few new things.  I like to make lots of different types of desserts for the family. One of my favorites is Black Bottom Cup Cakes. Another is Greek Almond Cookies. These are super simple. Another favorite is definitely a Red Velvet Cake with Butter Cream Icing. It's my Grandmother's recipe and the family loves it. The Red Velvet Cake is the one thing we're guaranteed to have every year, regardless of who is assigned dessert duty.

I also make a Cinnamon Crumb Cake, a Chocolate Truffle with Raspberry Sauce and a Louisiana Roasted Pecan Pie.  All of these things make quite an impressive looking Christmas dessert buffet and everyone is able to find something that they really like.

Over the years we girls have shared recipes between us.  We all love cooking, us sisters were all raised to enjoy being in the kitchen.  When a new item is introduced to the table there is also a menu card for each sister for that new item.  When I added Greek Almond Cookies to the dessert table last year everyone was amazed how easy the recipe is. I got it from an actual Greek friend, Valerie.  The Cinnamon Crumb Cake is also easy to make and goes really well with a cup of coffee after dinner.

One year when my sister-in-law picked the Christmas dessert portion of our meal I gave her a lot of advice on recipes as she really isn't comfortable baking. I went to her home two days before Christmas and helped her make the traditional Red Velvet Cake. She did it really well and is now a pro!

Perhaps if you have a large family you can do something like our family does. We all enjoy our Christmas cooking tradition.

Christmas Dinner Traditions and Dessert Ideas

Catherine Olivia has some tasty and easy Christmas dessert ideas and recipes
at http://www.greenbeansnmore.com

Italian Dessert Cannoli Recipe

Cannolis are a great Italian dessert and they were said to have been developed by Sicilians in Palermo, Italy. These fried wafers are filled with a mixture of ricotta, candied fruit, chocolate, and other ingredients, and they are very, very tasty! Sicilians are supposed to have created this great dessert recipe, and I think that they are just delicious. I hope that this recipe is fairly easy to follow. You will need some type of dowel or metal tube that you will use to form out your cannoli shells. If you have a 3 ½ inch in diameter ring or even a 3 inch ring, you will need this to form the shape of your shells, also. You will also need a deep fryer, or a pan that is deep enough for these shells to float in oil.

Ingredients for Cannoli Shells:

Dessert

3 Cups of unsifted flour

1/4 Teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon of salt

3 Tablespoon of granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 Tablespoon of firm butter cut into small cubes

1/4 Cup of a good Marsala wine

1-2 egg whites, whisked slightly

First thing is to sift the flour with salt, cinnamon, and granulated sugar. You will make a well in the center of your sifted flour mixture. In the middle of the well you have made you will add the egg and butter and start mixing with a fork. You will work the egg mixture with the fork from the center out, to incorporate the moist egg with the flour mixture. You will then add your Marsala wine slowly until dough begins to come together like a playdough mixture. You will then start working the dough with your hands to form the dough into a dough ball. You will then cover and let the dough rise for about 10-15 minutes.

If you have a stainless area to work on great, if not you will need a wooden cutting board. You will need to slightly dust the area you plan to work on with a small amount of flour. You will then roll out the dough into 1/4 inch thickness. You will then use your 3 ½ rings and cut the cannoli shell circles. You will then use a rolling pin to roll the circles into oblongs or ovals. You will then take your dowels or tubes and wrap the dough around cannoli forms. You will then whisk your egg white, and seal your dough edges by using a brush or very clean hands if you have no brush. You will then roll up ever so slightly the ends so they will have a very faint lip or ring on the edge of the cooked product.

At some point when you are ready to get your shells into the oil to start cooking them you will heat your oil to around 350 degrees. Once it is at the proper temperature you will begin to fry two, or three at a time in deep hot fat for about 1 minute, or until lightly golden. Remove with tongs to paper towels to drain, you will then let cool for about 30 seconds to one minute and then slip out cannoli form, holding shell carefully so you will not break it. Cool shells before filling. Let them hang out while you will start to make your filling.

Ingredients for the Cannoli filling:

3 lb. ricotta cheese, that has had moisture removed

2 1/2 Cup of confectioners' sugar

1/4 Cup of semi-sweet chocolate pieces or grated sweet chocolate

1/4 Cup candied cherries, finely chopped

1/2 Teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 Cup of chopped pistachio nuts

Confectioners' sugar to dust each of the finished Cannoli's maybe about 1/2 Cup

First thing you will want to do is take your ricotta and place into cheesecloth and wrap it into a ball and then you will tie a knot in the top part of the ball you have made. You will want to hold over night if possible to drain the water from the ricotta. If you have some way to hang the cheese ball in your refrigerator that would be best. You will need to have a bowl under the cheese to catch all of the moisture that will drain off of the ricotta. The shells that you have made will hole for a couple of days if you want to make these in stages. They are worth the wait, and the time taken to make these little delicacies.

First you will take the drained ricotta and get it into the bowl and work it for a minute or two to get it more pliable. You will gently start to combine the cheese, and the sugar into a mixing bowl, and fold in with a spatula until you obtain a light, airy blend of ingredients. You will start to fold in the minced candied fruit and the chocolate very gently. You will then start to spoon the cheese filling into a pastry bag, or a large Ziploc if you do not have a pastry bag. You will then twist the top into a knot to keep the filling from emerging, and fill each of the Cannoli shells, squirting the filling in from either end.

Once you have all of the shells filled you will dip the ends of the cannoli in the pistachios. You will then arrange all of the Cannolis on a platter, and sprinkle with a little powdered sugar, and they're ready. If you would like to garnish you can save some of the candied cherries and place them on the center of each Cannoli after the powdered sugar has been applied. Then serve, and enjoy.

Italian Dessert Cannoli Recipe

Chef Shelley Pogue, a Cum Laude, Le Cordon Blue graduate and Executive Research and Development Chef, for Vertical Sales and Marketing, San Ramon, CA. Shelley is also the desserts editor for http://www.BellaOnline.com

Vanilla and Rum Sauces Make Holiday Desserts Special

My mother's parents were English and many of the meals she fixed for us reflected this heritage. Christmas dinner was always roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Dessert was always plum pudding with warm sauce. There are many recipes for plum pudding and all are labor intensive. Mom made plum pudding from scratch a few times, but it was so much work she finally bought Crosse and Blackwell pudding imported from England.

The plum pudding was served with warm vanilla or rum sauce. I did not like the rich pudding, so I only ate a spoonful. But I could have eaten an entire bowl of sauce. Mom also served apple pie with warm vanilla sauce. The combination of warm sauce and fresh pie from the oven was heavenly. With a couple of changes the vanilla sauce recipe becomes rum sauce or rum-raisin sauce.

Desserts

I have lightened the recipe by using Splenda Blend for Baking instead of sugar and elminating the half cup of butter in the original recipe. However, I have added a tablespoon of butter for flavor. Warm vanilla and rum sauce turn simple cakes -- vanilla, apple, and spice -- into special desserts. Top frozen waffles with vanilla ice cream and sauce and you have one of the best desserts on the planet. Garnish with a twist of orange peel and fresh mint to make your holiday desserts more festive.

WARM VANILLA SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup Splenda Blend for Baking

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon light salt

2 cups hot water

1 tablespoon butter (no substitutions)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

dash of freshly grated nutmeg

METHOD

Combine the Splenda Blend for Baking, cornstarch, and salt in a small saucepan. Whisk in hot water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat. Add vanilla extract and nutmeg. Makes 8 servings.

WARM RUM SAUCE

Omit the vanilla and nutmeg. Make the sauce and remove from heat. Add 2 teaspoons of rum extract.

WARM RUM-RAISIN SAUCE

Omit the vanilla and nutmeg. Add 1/4 cup raisins to the sauce and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and add 2 teaspoons of rum extract.

Copyright 2006 by Harriet Hodgson

Vanilla and Rum Sauces Make Holiday Desserts Special

http://www.harriethodgson.com

http://www.healthwriter.blogspot.com

Harriet Hodgson has been a freelance nonfiction writer for 28 years. She is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Before she became a health writer Hodgson was a food writer for the former "Rochester Magazine" in her home town of Rochester, MN. Her 24th book, "Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief," written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from http://www.amazon.com. A five-star review of the book is posted on Amazon. Another revies is posted on the American Hospice Foundation Website under the "School Corner" heading.

Diabetic Dessert Recipes - Delicious Sugar Free Desserts That Anyone Can Eat

We've all heard it before, avoiding exercise and eating lots of fats and sugar as well as being overweight can cause type 2 diabetes. The good news however is that if you act now you can prevent this form of diabetes from occurring, or reduce and even cure the condition if you've been recently diagnosed.

As type 2 diabetes is usually in direct relation to your lifestyle it's important to make changes to the way you live your life to see improvements. Now this isn't as bad as it sounds and in most cases you can continue eating the foods you like; you just need to be more selective.

Desserts

One of the ways to follow a diabetic diet is to consume foods from all of the four food groups, as well as limiting your intake of alcohol, fat, and sugars. You can incorporate a wide variety of nutritious foods into a diabetic diet plan and combined with regular exercise will help you control your condition.

Now don't think that desserts and snacks are out of the question. In most cases they're not. If you've got a sweet tooth then check out these delicious diabetic desserts.

DIABETIC PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

1/3 c. plain flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 tbsp. shortening

2 tbsp. peanut butter

1 tsp. Sweet 'n Low

1 egg, beaten

Mix and stir all ingredients in order (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, shortening, peanut butter and Sweet 'n Low). Add beaten egg and mix well. Drop by large teaspoon on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

DIABETIC FUDGE

1 14 1/2 oz. evaporated milk

3 tbsp. cocoa

1/4 c. oleo

Liquid Sweetner to equal 1/2 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

1/4 c. nuts

Combine milk and cocoa in saucepan. Beat well. Add oleo, sweetner, salt. Bring to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients except 1/4 cup graham crackers. Cool about 15 minutes. Divide mixture into 32 balls. Roll in remaining cracker crumbs and chill.

These recipes look delicious don't they? Believe me, they taste even better too. So by combining sensible eating with regular exercise you can control and even beat your type 2 diabetes for good. It just goes to show that with a little research you can still eat the delicious types of foods and snacks that you did before.

Diabetic Dessert Recipes - Delicious Sugar Free Desserts That Anyone Can Eat

For free information on the symptoms of diabetes including more delicious diabetic dessert recipes make sure you visit http://www.symptomsofdiabetes.org.uk today.

Healthy Desserts

Healthy and dessert are two words that are not usually linked together. Maybe that's because we consider dessert to be a combination of sugar and fat, loaded with calories and other bad stuff. The reality of a healthy dessert can be yours though if you are willing to try something different. Oh yeah, fruit is already a dessert in some countries, but in the USA we consider it a treat only when it's baked inside some kind of crust and loaded with sugar.

Granted, if you have a serious sweet tooth, this alternative healthy stuff is probably not going to satisfy you but if you are also trying to be healthier and weigh less, it will help a lot. The easiest way to give yourself a healthy treat is to go for a really good yogurt-like Bulgarian yogurt, or Greek yogurt-which can be found in your local health food store. Then wander down the aisle where they keep the cacao products and grab yourself a package of cacao nibs. To that you can add some Goji berries or golden currants but stay away from the Incan golden-berries unless you are a great fan of TART and sour tastes (those little things may be packed with great antioxidant power but boy, are they tart). Throw in some chopped nuts, add a little stevia for sweetness, mix it all up, and you have a great healthy dessert. Another healthy treat is to put the same things in some ricotta cheese. That's a little heavier but just as tasty and usually doesn't require any sweetener.

Desserts

Okay now let's get real and talk about chocolate, which is what you are really reading this for right? Yes, you can have your chocolate and still be eating something healthy. The cacao bean is chock full of antioxidant power; it's the sugar that gets added that is the problem. You can get the cacao bean and grind it up with some coconut oil or organic cream and get yourself a creamy treat but you'll still have to add some sweetness to it. You can get the sweetness either from stevia (a natural-source sweetener called Honey Leaf) or just add honey, fruit juice or sugar. To be healthiest though, use stevia. If you just make the creamy cacao mixture you can spread it on something healthy like apple slices or make some almond bark. Keep in mind that this is supposed to be a healthy dessert, right?

Another healthy alternative is to put some nut butter on fruit; that works best on apple or pear slices but you can always thin the butter out a bit with some coconut oil or cacao and dip strawberries, cherries and the like...and then roll them in nuts. Whipped cream is also an easy addition to make some fresh fruit special and if you fry some bananas in butter or coconut oil, dip them in cacao cream and then throw some chopped nuts on them, with a dollop of whipped cream...well...Elvis would have gone for that, I'm sure.

©2010 Dr.Valerie Olmsted All Rights Reserved

Healthy Desserts

Dr. Valerie Olmsted is an author, naturopathic physician, metaphysician, internet entrepreneur, artist, speaker, and lover of life. Traveling with the Quantum Vortex Experience, she has helped thousands of people reach the inner connection they are seeking and has contributed to the discoveries of manifestation practices via quantum physics applications.

http://www.BeWhoYouReallyAreCoach.com
Contact: Dr. Valerie Olmsted
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Ste.11-#121
Sedona, AZ 86336
928-257-3290