All posts filed under: Amazing Sweets

The Battle with Holiday Baking

Published by Kathy Hunt

Ah, the holidays! Such a sweet yet complicated time. We baking enthusiasts embrace the excuse to churn out batch upon batch of cookies, cakes, breads and pastries. On the flip side, sweets lovers like me have to battle the urge to conquer each and every one of these homemade confections. All week I’ve waged this war. After spending Monday baking 24 dozen cookies with a college friend, I headed home with 12 dozen luscious temptations. All of them begged me to “eat, eat!” Two days later I tested European holiday cookie recipes and then faced six dozen more sweet adversaries. Although I’d love to say that I fought the good fight, well . . .. Amusingly enough, on the very day that I ate a plateful of ginger cookies for my lunch, I learned that Fish Market had made Weight Watcher’s “Good Enough to Read: Best Cookbooks for Giving and Getting” list for 2013. Ironic, huh? As of last night the cookies and I have reached a compromise. They’ll stay tucked in our freezer, nestled …

Scoop up Mulled Apple Cider Ice Cream

Published by Kathy Hunt

This time of year, along with a surplus of apples, I usually have a refrigerator crammed full of apple cider. In my twenties I could blame this excess on my next-door-neighbors and their prolific orchard. Every fall they’d collect the grubbiest apples, take them to a cider mill and press bushel upon bushel into sweet, murky cider. What they didn’t freeze, they gave away to family, friends, colleagues and me. Although I ended up with more than I could ever consume, this distribution barely put a dent in their cider supply. What did my neighbors do with all that apple cider? They roasted meats and sautéed vegetables in it. They poured it over dry cereal and, of course, drank it. Think of any creative way to use this beverage in your kitchen and, chances are, they did it. Inspired by their resourcefulness, I occasionally cook with cider. As this practice is more rare than regular, I have multiple jugs of cider hiding out in my fridge. When I do dig out a half-gallon container, I …

Swedish Chokladbollar

Published by Kathy Hunt

Six years ago, while visiting a friend in Stockholm, Sweden I tried my first chokladbollar. Rich, chocolatey and with the pleasing chewiness of oats and coconut, this unusual sweet lingered on my mind for months. The next time that I went to Sweden, I tracked down not only the confection but also — and more importantly — a recipe for it. Just what is chokladbollar? Translated, it means “chocolate balls.” Think of them as very hearty truffles or no-bake cookies. Taking mere minutes to make, they feature cocoa, sugar, oats, butter and a smidgen of coffee. Mix the ingredients together, roll a tablespoon or so into balls, blanket them with coconut and refrigerate until you’re ready to nosh. Served alongside coffee or tea, they’re a delicious afternoon pick-me-up or after-dinner treat. Two weeks ago I turned up in Southern Sweden where one of the first things that I looked for, besides a hotel room, was a coconut-dusted chocolate ball. Turns out that I was in the right place, at least when it came to chokladbollar. …

Semifreddo, the Semi-Frozen Wonder

Published by Kathy Hunt

Ask me to name only three fantastic things about summer and I’d have to pick long days, fun getaways and cold foods. Right now I’m hooked on a chilled sweet that I first tried on a sunny, summer holiday in Italy almost a decade ago. Nope, it’s not icy granita, although, on a sultry afternoon, those sugary shards of ice are quite a treat. Instead, semifreddos are what have captured my heart and my spoon. Italian for “half cold,” semifreddo refers to any chilled or partially frozen dessert. This includes gelato as well as cakes, tarts and custards. More often than not, I see semifreddo in the form of semi-soft ice cream. As someone who prefers her ice cream a tad mushy and melting, who leaves half-gallons of Breyers and Ben & Jerry’s on the kitchen counter until the contents turn soupy, I am smitten with these semifreddos. If Spanish cuisine is more to your likening, take heart. In Spain this same sweet dish is known as “semifrio.” No matter what you call it, you’re …

A School of Lemon Sugar Cookies

Published by Kathy Hunt

Two weeks ago, as I cut and baked seven dozen fish-shaped, lemon sugar cookies for the Fish Market launch party, I thought of my late father and all the rolled, sugar cookies that we’d made together when I was a kid. Every Christmas and spring he’d pull out a large, aquamarine, Pyrex mixing bowl, wooden rolling pin and an eclectic collection of tin cookie cutters and spread these tools over the kitchen counter. This display of kitchen equipment could only mean one thing — we were about to kick off our biannual baking spree. No matter the season I’d insist on using every cutter, which meant that we ate bunny- and shamrock-shaped cookies at Christmas and reindeer and Santa Claus cookies at Easter. Then again, by the time that I’d finished slathering the cookies with royal icing, colored sugars, chocolate morsels and candy sprinkles, no one could tell exactly what he was consuming. Unquestionably, my dad was a good sport when it came to cookie making and decorating. Then and now, the secret to cutting …

The Apple Jane-Key Lime Pie Conflict

Published by Kathy Hunt

I’m not a fan of conflict. Ditto for controversy. Yet, in spite of this I’ve become embroiled in a battle to end all battles. No doubt, like most skirmishes, this one began harmlessly enough. Two weeks ago a friend, “Apple Jane,” made a key lime pie, brought it over to our place and served it for dessert. It was a nice, generous gesture but one that kicked off a hot dispute. At issue was the pie’s crust. Jane’s husband, “Apple Frankie,” had definite opinions and questions about it. Should Jane have baked it so that it became firm and toffee-like? Should she have doubled the recipe, adding an extra bit of crunch to every bite? Frank, the crust curmudgeon, thought so. Jane, however, did not. In an attempt to settle the debate last week I made two key lime pies. The first was Apple Frankie-style, with a baked and chewy double crust. As much as I love sweets, I found this concoction cloying and hard to cut. The second was my compromise pie — the …

In Honor of Mother’s Day, My Mom’s Strawberry-Yogurt Pie

Published by Kathy Hunt

Although it’s been a whirlwind of a week, I couldn’t let Mother’s Day pass by without sharing a recipe in honor of my late mother and all the other hardworking moms around the globe. Among the many things that my mother was, she was a huge fan of sweets. At dinnertime she was more apt to enjoy a slice of seasonal pie or quick bread than eat the meal over which she’d labored. At breakfast, while I choked down grainy, bland and much dreaded Cream of Wheat, she nibbled on iced, fruit-filled pastries or glazed May’s donuts. Craving a cookie? We always had a box, bag or tin filled with chocolate chip, date-filled oatmeal or sugar cookies on hand, just in case the need arose. When my mother spoke of her own late mother, she talked of weekends spent making fudge, divinity candy, meringues and cakes. Needless to say, I come from a long line of sweets lovers. If a sweet tooth is hereditary, there’s no question from which side of my family mine came. …

Dreamy Triple Chocolate Coconut Bars

Published by Kathy Hunt

I’m married to a guy who adores coconut. Me? Not so much. Hand me a Mounds or Bounty bar and I’ll nibble off the smooth, rich chocolate, leaving behind a sticky blob of sinewy coconut for my husband to eat. Gross but true. Because of my apathy toward coconut, I rarely bake desserts featuring it. However, when I do, I make Dreamy Triple Chocolate Coconut Bars. Inspired by Amy’s Bread’s coconut dream bars, these luxurious treats feature plenty of coconut for my husband and an ample amount of chocolate for me. They’re the perfect compromise for two only children who love radically different sweets. Dreamy Triple Chocolate Coconut Bars will keep for several days. If you aren’t going to serve them right away, cover them with plastic wrap and store in a cool place. DREAMY TRIPLE CHOCOLATE COCONUT BARS Makes 20 bars 3 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted 1/2 cup white chocolate chips 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 3 1/4 cups sweetened coconut flakes 1 3/4 cups sweetened condensed milk …

Toast St. Patrick’s Day with Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes

Published by Kathy Hunt

Since St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, I thought it fitting to share a recipe inspired by some Irish favorites. No, I’m not talking about fish and chips or Irish stew and soda bread. I mean Guinness, Bailey’s and chocolate. (As an aside, if you don’t think of chocolate as being especially Irish, take a peek at Butlers. And, if you find yourself in Dublin, Cork or Galway, try Butlers hot cocoa and truffles. So, so good.) Considering my enormous sweet tooth, I’ll surprise no one with my choice of dessert over a savory, Irish specialty. Yet, thanks to one of their namesakes, Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes aren’t overwhelmingly sweet. The smokiness of the stout evens out the chocolatey, sugary batter. In turn, the vanilla-infused, cream cheese frosting tempers the tang of the Guinness-enriched cake. It’s the perfect balance of flavors. Along with possessing that ideal taste, these boozy, little cupcakes have an added bonus; they are quite simple to make. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir together. Pour the batter …

Awesome Apple Kuchen

Published by Kathy Hunt

One of the many things that I love about travel is how it opens my eyes to other cuisines. Prior to a recent trip to Switzerland, I hadn’t considered how the country’s cooking has been influenced by its proximity to Germany, France and Italy. Then I traveled to Geneva and beyond and started ordering from Swiss menus. Alongside the expected Swiss fondue, raclette and roesti were Italian pizzas, French tarte tatins and German pretzels and kuchens. Not exactly what I had imagined when I thought of Swiss food. While in Switzerland, I did have a ridiculous number of meals featuring locally produced breads and Appenzeller, Gruyere and Emmental cheeses. Although I could happily eat bread and cheese seven days a week, I needed to balance out the abundance of these dairy-based dinners. Forget Swiss muesli, cabbage salads or barley soup. I went straight to the country’s fruit-filled offerings. Out of the myriad of fruit treats available, my favorite was the German-inspired apple kuchen. In Germany kuchen means cake. In Switzerland it refers to a sweet …