Category: dessert

This recipe is a copycat of a copycat Piccadilly Pecan Delight pie.

Piccadilly Cafeteria came to our little town in 1967.

Quickly taking its place as the big dog restaurant on the block, Piccadilly has been the one word answer to the what and/or where do you want to eat for dinner question asked what seems a gazillion times over all these years.

A recent walk down memory lane conversation began with Dave and I naming our favorite dishes and desserts that sadly are no longer on the menu at Piccadilly.

Southern fried chicken so crisp you could hear the crunch clear across the rows of booths and tables.

Cinnamon crusted egg custard served in dark green pottery custard cups.

Pair of Hall China Custard Cups

A slice of pie so pecan packed with dessert goodness that it made a lasting impression, the one and only Piccadilly Pecan Delight Pie.

Our conversation stirred up memories and this copycat recipe of a copycat recipe for Piccadilly Pecan Delight Pie.

Copycat Piccadilly Pecan Delight Pie

Ingredients

3 egg whites

1 cup white sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon baking powder

30  Ritz crackers

1½  cup chopped pecans

1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Spray a 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray and set aside.

Add pecans and Ritz crackers in small batches to food processor bowl.

Pulse several times until pecans and Ritz crackers reach a fine crush/chop.

Beat egg whites until slightly stiff.

Add to that the sugar, vanilla, baking powder, crushed and chopped Ritz crackers and  pecans.

Using a wooden spoon, mix ingredients together until incorporated.

Spoon mixture into prepared pie plate.

Bake at 350 degrees F  for 25 minutes.

Allow the pie to cool to room temperature.

Spread whipped topping over the top of the pie; cover to desired thickness.

Refrigerate pie for at least 2 hours before serving.

The pie is packed firm with pecan goodness, and is not too sweet- perhaps a wonderful Valentine’s Day dessert choice.

Enjoy!

Show the one you love your decadent side for Valentine’s Day.

The Graphics Fairy

Oh behave.

Better still, don’t behave. ♥

Preparing or purchasing Valentine’s Day sweets for the sweet is a scrumptious tradition.  Sweet logic and delicious justification make Cupid’s case for whipping up one of these Valentine’s Day desserts delectably dedicated to the one you love.

Sharing is caring.

Food is love.

Calories don’t count on Valentine’s Day.

Let’s Valentine’s Day Desserts!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Valentine’s Hearts

Ingredients

¼ cup unsalted butter-softened

½ tsp pure vanilla extract

6 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons peanut butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

7 oz. sweetened condensed milk

1 cup mini chocolate chip morsels

For Dipping and Decoration:

10. oz semi sweet baking chocolate

1.5 oz white chocolate for garnish

A few drops of pink or red food colors

Directions

Beat softened butter and brown sugar until fully combined, then add vanilla and peanut butter and beat until fluffy.  Add flour and sweetened condensed milk and beat until combined.  Fold in the mini chocolate chip morsels.

Press the mixture into an 8 x 8 inch baking dish lined with parchment paper and set in the fridge to chill.

Pull off the parchment paper to lift the dough from the baking dish. Using heart shaped cookie cutter cut off the truffles and place them on a tray lined with parchment paper. Set in the freezer while melting chocolate.

Using a fork dip the truffles into melted chocolate ( one at the time), slightly tap the fork against the side of the bowl to trim the excess chocolate and place the truffle back on the parchment paper.  Set them back in the fridge to firm.

Melt white chocolate, stir in a few drops of red food color, transfer into a small bag, cut the corner off and pipe melted chocolate on top of the truffles.

Oh My Goodness Chocolate Desserts

 

Chocolate Cherry Stack Cake

Ingredients

¾ cup plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup sour cream

recipe Cherry or Chocolate Frosting (see recipe below)

recipe Chocolate-Dipped Cherries (see recipe below) (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease two 6×2-inch round cake pans or springform pans.  Mix 1 teaspoon each flour and cocoa powder; dust pans. Set pans aside. In bowl combine ¾ cup flour, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.  In large bowl with electric mixer beat butter on medium to high for 30 seconds.  Add sugar; beat until smooth and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth.  Beat in sour cream and flour mixture.  Pour batter in pans; spread evenly.

Bake 22 to 26 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched and edges begin to pull away from sides of pan.  Cool in pans on wire rack 10 minutes.  Remove from pans; cool on rack.

Use serrated knife to horizontally cut cakes in half to make 4 layers total.  Place bottom layer on plate; spread with 2/3 cup frosting.  Repeat with layers.  Place top layer on cake.  Heap remaining frosting, swirling in peaks.  Refrigerate.

To serve, top with Chocolate-Dipped Cherries.  Serves 8.

Cherry Frosting

Ingredients

1 ½  cups powdered sugar

1  8 ounce carton sour cream

1  cup whipping cream (do not use ultra-pasteurized whipping cream)

2  tablespoons maraschino cherry juice

Directions

In a chilled large mixing bowl combine powdered sugar, sour cream, whipping cream, and cherry juice.  Beat with the chilled beaters of an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 3 to 5 minutes or until fluffy.

Chocolate-Dipped Cherries

Ingredients

16  maraschino cherries with stems

½  cup semisweet chocolate pieces

1  teaspoon shortening

Directions

Drain cherries; pat dry with paper towels. In small microwave-safe bowl combine semisweet chocolate pieces and shortening.  Cook on 50 percent power (medium) 1½ to 2 minutes or until melted, stirring once.  Dip cherries in chocolate; place on waxed paper until set.  Store, covered, up to 24 hours.

Better Homes and Garden

The red velvet cupcake, molten lava cakes or cheesecake!

Red Velvet Molten Lava Cakes from Spache the Spatula look absolutely divine.   Click on the link to check out this and other tempting recipes from Spache the Spatula.   Red Velvet Molten Lava Cakes

Red Velvet Cheesecake

Ingredients

1 pound milk chocolate, chopped

½ cup butter

19 ounce package chocolate wafer cookies (40 to 45 cookies)

1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces

1 cup slivered almonds

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup butter, melted

48  ounce packages cream cheese, softened

18 ounce carton dairy sour cream

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup buttermilk

11 ounce bottle red food coloring (2 Tbsp.)

4 eggs

2 egg yolks

Chocolate leaves (optional)

Powdered sugar (optional)

Unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)

Fresh raspberries and/or small whole strawberries(optional)

Directions

In a medium saucepan, melt chocolate and ½ cup butter over low heat; transfer to a bowl and cool completely.

Place wafer cookies, chocolate pieces, almonds and brown sugar in a large food processor.  Cover and process until finely ground.  Add the ½ cup melted butter; cover and process until well combined.  Transfer crumbs to a 10×3-inch springform pan with a removable bottom.  Press crumbs onto bottom and up the sides of the pan, leaving a ½-inch space at the top of the pan.  Set aside.

For Filling:

In a very large mixing bowl, beat the cooled chocolate mixture, cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, buttermilk and red food coloring with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until combined.  Add 4 eggs and 2 egg yolks all at once.  Beat on low speed just until combined.

Pour filling into crumb-crust lined springform pan.  Place springform pan in a shallow baking pan on the oven rack.  Bake in a 350 degree F oven about 1 hour, or until 2 inches of outside edge appear set when shaken gently.

Remove springform pan from baking pan.  Cool cheesecake in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.  Use a small metal spatula to loosen cheesecake from sides of pan.  Cool 30 minutes more.  Remove sides of pan.  Cool for 1 hour; cover and chill at least 4 hours.

To serve, use a paper doily to decoratively sift powdered sugar and cocoa powder on the top, if you like.  Garnish the center with chocolate leaves and fresh raspberries, if you like.  Clean knife between each cut.  Makes 20 servings.

Bake and chill up to 24 hours.  Garnish just before serving.

Better Homes & Gardens

Photograph by Ryan Dausch

Cotton Candy Pink Plate

Double-Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

½ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

¾ teaspoon plus a pinch of salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 ¼ cups sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 large egg

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 ounces white chocolate (not chips), chopped

½ cup heavy cream

Directions

Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, ¾ teaspoon salt and the baking powder in a medium bowl.  Beat the sugar and butter in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in the egg
and 1 teaspoon vanilla.  Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the flour mixture until just combined.  Cover the dough and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Roll out the dough until 1/8 inch thick on  a lightly floured surface, then cut out cookies with a 2-inch heart-shaped cutter.

Arrange about 1 inch apart on the prepared pans.  Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are slightly firm, 8 to 10 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes on the  pans, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Make the filling:

Combine the white chocolate, remaining ½ teaspoon vanilla and
pinch of salt in a large bowl.  Bring the heavy cream to a simmer in a saucepan, then pour over the white chocolate.  Stir until smooth, then refrigerate until cold, 25 minutes.  Beat with a mixer until creamy. Sandwich the white chocolate mixture between the cookies.

Food Network Kitchen

Chocolate Strawberry Honey Nests

Ingredients

12 sheets phyllo dough

½ cup sugar

1 stick butter, melted

1 cup strawberries, cleaned and sliced

3 squares dark chocolate, shaved

½ cup milk chocolate chips

3 teaspoons honey  or to individual taste

whipped topping

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

For Phyllo Nests 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough on cookie sheet or counter work surface.

Using soft brush, brush over sheet with melted butter. Lightly sprinkle entire sheet with sugar.  Top with another sheet.  Butter, sprinkle and repeat until  6 sheets thick.  Repeat to create another 6 sheets stack. Using a pizza cutter or large knife, make ten vertical slices and one horizontal slice down the middle of each stack.

Lightly spray a 12 cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Line each muffin cup with 1 of the phyllo pieces at a time, covering sides and bottom to form a cup.  Repeat making 12 cups.

Using a microplane, shave dark chocolate over each cup to dust.

Bake in a preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until light golden brown and crisp. Remove from oven and immediately place desired amount of chocolate chips in each cup allowing to melt.

Top melted chocolate chips with strawberry slices, drizzled honey and whipped topping.  Dust whip topping clouds with cinnamon.

Valentine’s Heart Candy Box Cake from The Cake Blog.  Trust me, this recipe is well worth the time, the effort, and the click on the link to check it out.  Valentine’s Heart Candy Box Cake

Easy as the top ingredient!

Chocolate Sweetheart Cupcakes

Ingredients

2 sticks butter

1 ½  cup sugar

2/3  cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking powder

½  tsp. baking soda

¼  tsp. salt

2  large eggs

1  cup milk

2  tsp. vanilla extract

2 ½  cups all-purpose flour

Ganache

¾  cup heavy cream

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Lettering

3 oz. white chocolate

Directions

Heat oven to 350ºF.   Line 12 regular-size (2 1⁄2-in. diam) muffin cups with paper liners.  Beat butter, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl with mixer on low speed 1 minute or until well blended.  Add eggs; beat 2 minutes or until fluffy.   Beat in milk and vanilla (batter may look curdled), then flour just until blended.

Spoon scant 1⁄4 cup batter into each muffin cup, filling each about 2⁄3 full.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in centers of cupcakes comes out clean.

Cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes before removing from pan to rack.  Repeat steps 3 and 4 with remaining batter.   Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting and decorating.   Each recipe makes 24 cupcakes.

For the ganache:

Gently heat ¾ cup heavy cream over medium heat, then pour over 8 ounces finely chopped bittersweet chocolate.  Let sit for 1 minute; stir until melted and smooth.  Evenly spoon ganache on top of 12 large or 24 small chocolate cupcakes.  Let set for 30 minutes.

For the lettering:

Microwave 3 ounces white chocolate on 50% power in 20-second intervals until melted and smooth.   Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1.5 tip, then get creative!

Woman’s Day

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Engagement festivities reigned supreme this past weekend.  The out of town guests arrived in Louisiana ready to meet and greet our family and to sample the local cuisine.

Boiled crawfish, crawfish étouffée, fried catfish, and Gulf snapper headlined the menu, but it’s important to remember a simple fact of culinary life- Midwesterners can’t survive an entire weekend on Louisiana seafood alone. I’m a born and raised Louisianian, and even I can’t do the crawfish thing too often.

via

It’s not a party until someone bakes, cooks, whips, or stirs! Fresh Louisiana strawberries served with fruit dip, Southern Krispy cheese straws, and dark chocolate brownies with Louisiana pecans threw a culinary life preserver to the anti-crawfish crowd.

To frost or not to frost a brownie is always a consideration. I made a last minute executive chef decision to go with the frosting, scrambling to the grocery store to pick up a can of Duncan Hines home-style milk chocolate frosting. What begins a store bought frosting ends a delicious Kahlua Coffee Frosting delight courtesy of a couple of flavor adjustments and infusions. Things become mighty tasty with the rich flavors of instant coffee granules, Kahlua, Kosher salt, and Hershey’s dark chocolate.

Kahlua Coffee Frosting

Ingredients

1 can Duncan Hines creamy home-style milk chocolate frosting

1½  teaspoon instant coffee granules

1 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt

2 Tablespoons Kahlua

6 squares Hershey’s dark chocolate

Directions

Add instant coffee granules, Kosher salt, and Kahlua to frosting. Stir well to blend all ingredients together. The bite of the coffee granules is pitch perfect, the coarse Kosher salt wakes up the flavors, and the Kahlua complements the coffee so well.

Use a smooth edge knife to frost the tops of the brownies. Make dark chocolate curls with a potato or vegetable peeler by running the peeler across the top of the chocolate, allowing curls to fall on the tops of the brownies. Work quickly with the chocolate-it  melts super fast from the heat of  your hand.