Category: Desserts

Banana Bread

Posted on by rchapin

If you wait until your bananas are sufficiently over-ripe they will have enough sugar that you don’t have to add much at all and it makes for a much healthier bread.

You can make a double batch, cut up and freeze and it will stay fresh a very long time. Simply remove a piece from the freezer and microwave on high for 45 seconds to a minute and it will taste like it just came out of the oven.

Ingredients

  • 3 large, over-ripe bananas
  • 1 stick of butter, 1/2 cup
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 TBS sugar or you can substitute for honey
  • 1 TSP baking soda
  • 1/2 TSP salt
  • 1/2 TSP cinnamon
  • 1/2 TSP nutmeg
  • 1/4 TSP allspice
  • 1 TSP vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Rub a pat of butter on the inside of a loaf pan. Then put about 2 TBS of flour on the pan so that the flour coats the entire pan
  3. Measure out all of the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir until well mixed.
  4. Cut up the stick of butter and put it in the microwave. Microwave it for about a minute or so at about 20% until it completely melts, but you don’t want it to be boiling hot
  5. Add the bananas to a large mixing bowl and mash until they are reasonably smooth
  6. Pour the butter into the bananas
  7. Lightly whip the eggs with a fork and add to the banana and butter mixture
  8. Add the vanilla to the wet mixture and the honey if you are using it instead of sugar
  9. Pour the dry ingredient mixture into the wet mixture and stir just enough to combine. The more you stir it the more dense your bread will be after baking it.
  10. You can optionally add chocolate chips, nuts, or raisins
  11. Pour into your baking pan and bake for about 45 minutes. Check to see if the top is firm and starting to brown. If you have doubled your recipe you may need to bake for up to an hour or more. It is hard to over cook it so no need to stress if it stays in the oven a little longer
  12. Remove from the oven and let sit for about 15 minutes. Then smack the pan with your hand to loosen the bread from the pan, remove and place on a cooling rack.
  13. It is really good to eat when still hot from the oven.
  14. Wait until fully cooled and then cut into desired sized pieces and freeze.

Pumpkin Pie

Posted on by rchapin

This recipe is for pumpkin pie made from fresh pumpkin. I have not tried swapping out the pumpkin for the same volume of canned pumpkin. I typically use a Cheese or Galeux d’Eysines pumpkin. The former is a squat, grey colored pumpkin that looks like a cheese wheel and the latter like it was grown in Chernobyl and is grey covered in what can best be described as warts. The more ‘warts’ the sweeter they are. They are both delicious.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups pumpkin, cooked and drained
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground allspice
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 2 tbs flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar (or less depending on how sweet the pumpkin is)
  • Pie crust

Directions

You can either bake, or if you have one, pressure cook the pumpkin

Bake the Pumpkin

Wash and cut the pumpkin in half. You will need a very large, and very sharp kitchen knife and enough umphf to get through pumpkin. Scoop out all of the seeds and stringy material. Scoop out all of the seeds and stringy material.

If you have a dish large enough covered disk, place the pumpkin cut side down in about 1″ of water and bake, covered at 375 F for anywhere from 45 min to 1.5 hours. It depends on the size and density of the pumpkin. If you don’t have a dish large enough cut the pumpkin into as many reasonably large chunks as you can and cook in covered pyrex, or similar, dishes with covers.

Pressure Cook the Pumpkin

Wash and cut the pumpkin into similarly thick slices/chunks that will fit in your pressure cooker. If you have a basket, use it, so that the pumpkin is not immersed in the water as it cooks; you want to steam it, not boil it.

Pressure cook, on high for about 15 minutes. Turn off the pressure cooker and let it sit without letting the steam out, for another 5 minutes.

Separate the Meat from the Skin

Once you can easily pass a fork through the meat, it is done.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a large pot and let drain and cool enough to be able to hold the slice of pumpkin in a towel in your hand, skin side down. Then with a spoon scoop out the meat, separating it from the skin placing in another large bowl or pot.

After the pumpkin cools further, there will probably be some pools of water in or around it. Use a clean cotton towel to sop up as much as you can, but do not try to get it completely dry.

Make the pie filling

Mix the sugar, flour, salt, and spices together in a large mixing bowl until well mixed.

Add the pumpkin and egg and beat with a mixer until smooth.

Pour into crust and bake for 45 min to 1 hour at 375 F.

Snickerdoodle Cookies

Posted on by rchapin

My wife made these cookies and they were, by far, the best snickerdoodle cookies I’ve every had. The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Unsalted Butter (softened)
  • 1 1/2 cups Sugar
  • 2 large Eggs
  • 2 teaspoons Vanilla
  • 2 3/4 cup Flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 teaspoon Salt

Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture

  • 1/4 cup Sugar
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons Cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the eggs and vanilla. Cream for 1-2 minutes longer.
  3. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt, just until combined.
  4. In a small bowl, stir together sugar and cinnamon.
  5. If time allows, wrap the dough and let refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. Roll into small balls until round and smooth. Drop into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and coat well. Using a spoon, coat for a second time, ensuring the cookie balls are completely covered.
  6. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Let cool for several minutes on baking sheet before removing from the pan.

Black Bean Cupcakes

Posted on by rchapin

Makes about 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients

Cupcakes

  • 1/2 cups black beans cooked and drained
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted melted butter
  • 1/2 cups cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon instant cofee
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup of chopped dark chocolate

Glaze

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

Cupcakes

  1. Preheat seep to 350F
  2. In a blender add all at the ingredients except the chocolate and blend until smooth
  3. Add the dark chocolate and blend for about 15 seconds to bleak up the pieces
  4. Pour the batter into the cupcake liners filling each about 3/4 full
  5. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cupcakes spring back to the touch
  6. Let them cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan and glazing

Glaze

  1. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat add all of the ingredients and whisk until butter is melted and the mixture is smooth
  2. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly
  3. Dip the lops of the cupcakes the glaze

Mousse au Chocolat or Chocolate Mousse Recipe

Posted on by rchapin

Serves 8 to 10

  • 4 x 1 ounce-squares unsweetened chocolate
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 6 eggs, separated
  • 2 tablespoons dark rum
  1. In top of double saucepan combine chocolate, sugar and water. Cook over hot water, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted.
  2. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Remove from heat; cool.
  3. Meanwhile, in mixing bowl beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.
  4. Stir rum into chocolate mixture; pour over egg whites. Fold gently until well blended.
  5. Turn into individual dishes or large serving bowl. Refrigerate for 12 hours.

12×9 Sheet Pan Cookie Cake

Posted on by rchapin

This is for a 12×9 inch sheet pan cookie cake.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 TBSP cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 1/4 cups unsalted butter
  • 1 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 TBSP vanilla extract

If you have a stand mixer this is much easier, but if all you have is a hand mixer that will work too.

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F
  2. Line the sheet pan with parchment paper
  3. Cream the butter
  4. Mix the sugar into the creamed butter
  5. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well
  6. Mix the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt
  7. Add the flour slowly, mixing it into the butter/sugar mix
  8. Mix n the chocolate chips
  9. Press the dough into the pan, but don’t pack it too tightly. Ensure that you make it an even layer.
  10. Bake it on the center rack for about 15 minutes. Rotate it about one half way through so that it will cook evenly.
  11. Turn on the broiler and watch it very carefully. You’ll want to take it out as soon as you start to see it browning on the surface. Leave it too long and you can easily burn it. Most likely, less than 1 minute.
  12. Let cool to room temp and then decorate.
Sheet-Pan-Cookie-Cake-Recipe-Peas-And-CrayonsDownload

Homemade Pie Crust

Posted on by rchapin

This is a pie crust recipe from my Nanna (my Father’s mother). I heard that often she used seltzer water, or orange juice in place of the water in her recipe, but never milk. I have not tried either, as of yet, just water.

This is a pie crust recipe for a 9″ or 10″ pie crust pan, for both single and double crust pies.

If you are going to make two, two crust pies, don’t double the recipe, make it twice.

1 Crust Pie

  • 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco it what I use)
  • 1/4 cup cool water (little less than an full 1/4 cup)

2 Crust Pie

  • 2 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt
  • 9/10 cup of vegatable shortening (basically, not an entire cup)
  • 1/2 cup cool water (little less than a full 1/2 cup)

Measure out the pre-sifted flour. Then re-sift in the salt.

In a large mixing bowl cut in the vegetable shorening until it starts to look like corn meal with still a decent amount of loose flour.

Fill up the appropriately sized measuring cup for the water. Hold it in your hand with your fingers covering the top of the container and your thumb on the bottom. With your fingers, mostly held tightly together turn, your hand over and evenly sprinkle about 1/2 of the water over the flour and shortening mixture. Gently, turn over the mixture with a spatula, and then repeat with the remainder of the water.

Turn it over again with the spatula and then turn out the mixture into a large sheet of wax paper. It will look like there is no way that this will stick together to make a crust as it pour out as more of a pile with a seemingly vast amount of loose flour. Push to mixture together with your hands to form a ball and then pull up the edges of the wax paper around it to make a sack. Compress the mixture in the wax paper into a ball fairly firmly and twist the top of the wax paper so that you now have a fairly spherical blob.

Put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

While in the refrigerator, tear off two fairly (long 24″ or so) sheets of wax paper. For each sheet, put about 1/2 tsp of flour on the paper and rub it over the entire surface. Rub a piece of cold butter over the entire inner surface, and edge of the pie pan, then with your hands smear around the butter so that it melts a little and covers the entire surface.

Remove the mixture from the fridge unwrap it. If this is a double-crust pie, cut the ball into 3/5th and 2/5th sections. The 3/5th section is for the bottom, and the rest for the top.

Press mixture to roll out onto the floured side of one of the pieces of wax paper so that it is starting to form a disc about 1 1/2 to 2″ thick, then place the other sheet of wax paper, floured side down, onto the crust. Then roll it out to the desired diameter to match your pan. I will typically hold the pie pan over the crust as I am rolling to it to check the size and stop when the crust is about 3″ or so larger on all sides.

Then, gently peel the top piece of wax paper from the crust. This never goes perfectly for me, and sometimes, tears the crust a little and/or takes a thin layer of it with it in some places so don’t worry about it if it doesn’t separate easily, or cleanly. Then (depending on whether your are right or left-handed, I am right-handed), position your pie pan to the right of the rolled out crust. Grab the left-hand edge of the wax paper with your left hand and place your right hand on the rolled-out dough. Lift the wax paper with your left hand, flipping it over top of the pie pan to your right so that your right hand is now palm up over the pan directly touching the crust. Then position the crust over the pan and slip your hand out from under the crust.

This is the tricky part, and again, it never goes perfectly for me. With the crust draped over the pan, start peeling the wax paper off wherever it seems easiest. It will likely tear in places, and/or the wax paper wil take a thin layer of it with it in some places, but do your best to get it off in one piece.

Once separated, use any chunks that have fallen off the edges to repair any rips and pinch up the remainder around the edge for form a nice crust.

Then, dump in whatever filling you desire and bake away.

This crust tends to cook best between 375 F and 400 F, but depending on your oven and the pies you make, your mileage may vary.

If making two single crust pies, you can double the recipe and then halve the mixture before rolling it out, but do not try to triple, or quadruple it because it does not come out right. Also, do not try to double the recipe for a double crust, just make however many separate batches for double-crust pies you are making.

Alternate Recipe With Oil Instead of Crisco

My Mom gave me an alternate recipe for a two crust pie as follows:

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups sifted flour
  • 2/3 cup of oil, canola or saflour
  • 6 Tbs of ice cold water
  • 1 Tsp of salt

Mix the dry ingredients together. Pour the water into the oil, but do not attempt to mix it. Pour the oil and water mixture into the dry ingredients and mix gently until combined.

Then follow the same steps as above after wrapping in wax paper and refrigerating for 30 minutes.

Oatmeal Raisin and Date Cookies

Posted on by rchapin

This recipe uses honey as the sweetener. You can substitute with sugar.

  • 3 cups oatmeal (not the quick oats)
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup honey
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup chopped dates?

Melt the butter in a sauce pan on the stove over very low heat.

Mix all of the dry ingredients together. Then mix in the raisins and the chopped dates.

Mix the honey into the melted butter and then mix the butter and honey mix into the dry ingredients. Beat the egg, add it, and mix thoroughly.

Drop onto a greased cookie sheet with teaspoons and flatten a little bit. Then bake at 365 F for about 10 – 12 minutes.

© 2005 Ryan Chapin