Tag: #easyrecipes

Posted in From My Kitchen

50 Amazing Ways To Make Homemade Ice Cream

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

I scream, you scream, we ALL scream for ice cream, and it’s easy to see why: It’s the perfect dessert whether you’re turning it into a sundae, eating it alongside a fruity cobbler or pie, or enjoying it all on its own (with sprinkles ofc, we’re not monsters). The one issue? Making it at home can be intimidating. We get it, but we’re here to tell you—not only is it completely doable, it’s also SO worth it. From no-churn to completely from scratch, with a few showstopping ice cream cakes thrown in for good measure, we’ve got something here for everyone. Check out our 50 homemade ice cream recipes, then get to scooping!

There are two camps when it comes to homemade ice cream—completely homemade, using milk, eggs, and an ice cream maker; and no-churn, where you combine a little heavy cream with sweetened condensed milk, and freeze. We’ve got a number of recipes here in both categories, each with their own merits. For the former, try our homemade red velvet ice cream, our chocolate ice cream, our peppermint ice cream, or our pumpkin ice cream. For the latter, some of our faves include our mudslide no-churn ice cream, our cookies & cream ice cream, or our cannoli ice cream, but peruse the list and you’ll see—the sky’s really the limit for flavors here. Looking for a fun ice cream project with kids? Our ice cream in a bag or our mason jar ice cream are fun to make and to eat (and are a little educational, to boot).

We’ve also included a few frozen dessert recipes here—while they aren’t ice cream, per se, they’re ice cream-adjacent, so we’re counting them. Our gelato (check out our explainer on it vs. ice cream), sorbet, and granita follow some of the same tenets of ice cream, but with an extra-refreshing twist. Want to turn some of your homemade (or store-bought, we won’t tell) ice cream into something even more spectacular? Check out our copycat Dairy Queen ice cream cake, our baked Alaska, our cookies ‘n’ cream ice cream pie, or our strawberry shortcake ice cream cake for ideas. The best part about these? You can change them up with your favorite flavors and toppings every time you make them!

delish!

Posted in Cookbooks

Sweet Miniatures: The Art of Making Bite-Size Desserts

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Add a special touch to any occasion with this award-winning collection of over 125 mini dessert recipes that are sure to wow any group.

No one knows the art of making sweet miniatures better than acclaimed baking expert Flo Braker. And when it comes to charm and elegance, Sweet Miniatures has all the right ingredients for creating the perfect bite-sized morsel to suit any occasion. Welcome the coming of spring with a tempting bouquet of gorgeous Lemon Sunflowers, exquisite Chocolate Tulips, and a delicate sprig of White Blossom Circles. Chewy Panforte di Siena, crispy Florentine Squares, and tangy Shreveshire Tarts whisk family and friends away on an exotic, mouthwatering journey. Jam-paced with more than 125 delicious treats and luscious full-color photos, this IACP Award–winning cookbook explains, step-by-step, the methods, tricks, and techniques for ensuring a perfect batch of little pastries, cookies, cakes, or candies every time. Plus, you’ll find lots of great do-ahead, planning, and storage information that make miniature baking convenient all year round.

From cheerful Chocolate Hedgehogs to a set of Midas Cups for adding that golden touch to a festive soiree, Sweet Miniatures has all the right ingredients for creating the perfect bite-size morsel to suit any occasion.


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Sweet Miniatures Flo Braker proves that it is a small world after all. But don’t think of this IACP Award-winning cookbook as tiny. Rather, it’s a comprehensive introduction to creating fabulous and impressive miniature desserts. Braker, a contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle and author of the much-loved Simple Art of Perfect Baking, offers step-by-step recipe directions, a complete list of baking needs, and helpful recommendations based on her own bakery and catering experience. Careful consideration is given to the basic art and science of baking, including sage advice on how to stock a kitchen with the necessary tools and ingredients. Novice and advanced bakers alike will find educational tips such as how to temper chocolate, how to use a pastry bag with tips and a coronet, and how to make simple yet elegant decorations. Braker’s focus here, however, is the miniature presentation, and she brings together more than 125 recipes of sought-after minicakes, pastries, cookies, candies, and tarts. Popular favorites include Individual Lemon Meringue Tarts as well as traditional European favorites such as Shortbread Cameos, Viennese Triangles, Krumkake, Pistachio Petit Fours, Neapolitan Wedges, and the holiday favorite, Lebkuchen. Full-color illustrations complement the recipes. Braker even suggests storage ideas to protect the most fragile pastries and to maintain their even more delicate flavor. With such an inclusive, smart, and instructional book Flo Braker lends credibility to the phrase “bite-size.” And it’s a mouthful. –Teresa Simanton

From Publishers Weekly

You’ve seen them at tea parties and fancy bakeries–tiny cakes, cookies, and pastries that offer a tantalizing choice of colors, tastes and textures. Braker ( The Simple Art of Perfect Baking ) launched her cooking career creating these tidbits, and her enthusiasm for them is infectious. She makes an artful craft sound easy, and points out that providing family or guests with several such dessert selections is bound to surpass the unveiling of a single kind of cake or pie. Her directions are invaluable and explicit; her many time-saving or do-ahead steps will maximize time spent in the kitchen. The recipes are precise, but also allow for experimentation. Experience with handling pastry dough or chocolate will give some readers a slight edge, but even newcomers will be able to tackle much of what’s here, baking their way up to the trickiest, airiest echelons. Ingredients are likely to be accessible, but readers will have to invest in miniature tart pans–a purchase well worth it for anyone quickly dazzled by Shreveshire tarts, chocolate galaxy peticakes or pistachio petits fours. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Posted in Cookbooks

The Cooking for One Cookbook: 100 Easy Recipes

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

With these delightful recipes for one, waste and leftovers are done.

If you’re a solo cook, and tired of that all-too-familiar thud of a half-finished pot of mac and cheese hitting the bottom of your trash can, The Cooking for One Cookbook is ready to expand your solo recipe repertoire. The Cooking for One Cookbook presents 100 contemporary, tasty, and perfectly portioned recipes-for-one that will leave your appetite satisfied and your kitchen waste-free.

Less wasted food equals less wasted money, and The Cooking for One Cookbook’s appropriate portions and delicious, diverse meals will make you feel like a professional chef! Cook your way to a happier, healthier, tastier life.

The Cooking for One Cookbook includes:

  • One stop shopping—Delicious recipes including Apple Crumb French Toast and Cuban Pitas use readily available supermarket ingredients that reflect up-to-date dietary preferences fit for a range of palates.
  • The practical gourmet—Become a skillful chef with easy-to-follow pantry and grocery tips designed to make cooking for one and shopping for one a breeze.
  • Dietary goals—Stay on track with suggested menu planning that assists with time-saving and eliminates the “What do I cook now?!” stress.

The Cooking for One Cookbook is a practical, relatable, and modern resource for the at-home solo cook.

Find more recipes like this on my companion blog, “Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let’s Eat!”

Posted in Cookbooks

Cutie Pies: 40 Sweet, Savory, and Adorable Recipes

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

“Move over, cupcakes, there’s another bite-size treat sweetening up a bakery near you . . . they’re bites of home-style dessert that fit in your palm.” —The Seattle Times

Praised by Bon Appétit, DailyCandy, and Sunset magazine, the secrets behind Dani Cone’s signature handmade, all-natural miniature pies are revealed for the first time inside Cutie Pies: 40 Sweet, Savory, and Adorable Recipes. Whether you’re grabbing the perfectly portable Flipside on the way to work, enjoying a Piejar as a tasty afternoon treat, or looking for a fun and impressive dinner party dessert, Cutie Pies provides the perfect morsels to satisfy sweet and savory cravings alike.

Inside Cutie Pies, Cone presents 40 exclusive recipes inspired by the unique line of compact pastries she serves at her Seattle-based Fuel Coffee and High 5 Pie locations, which have received a Best of Seattle Weekly award. Sweet, one-of-a-kind treats like a Mango-Raspberry-Lemon Piepop mingle with savory recipes like Cone’s Curry Veggie Piejar, all in a distinct and delightful design.

Cutie Pies is illustrated throughout with more than 20 mouthwatering, full-color photographs, and its contemporary fashion and straightforward recipes enable bakers everywhere to create these tiny treats with big flavor.

“Pies are quickly becoming the ‘new’ cupcakes. Get in on the ground floor with Cutie Pies. This is such a fun cookbook.” —A Well-Seasoned Life



“If you are looking for great recipes for pies to impress, this will fit that niche. It is also a good selection for those who are following a vegan or gluten-free diet.” —FoodReference.com

Find more recipes like this on my companion blog, “Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let’s Eat!”

Posted in From My Kitchen

These 75 Fourth Of July Desserts Will Get More Attention Than The Fireworks

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

The desserts are coming! The desserts are coming! Okay, so Paul Revere definitely didn’t say that, but we still think you should start a revolution of your own this 4th of July—against boring desserts! These patriotic, star-spangled sweets will add some festive red, white, and blue to your spread… at least until they’re devoured. From fruity cookies to spectacular cakes, all-American pies to summery popsicles, we’ve got something here for everyone, for every occasion Independence Day could throw at you.

Okay, admittedly, some of these desserts aren’t red, white, AND blue all at once, but we believe in your ability to either make it happen by getting creative with additional ingredients, being content with a more subtle patriotic vibe, or, our favorite, serving multiple of them at once for that full flag effect (like we did with our flag cake).

What do we mean by additional ingredients? Fruit, of course! Cherries, raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries are the easiest, tastiest way to add color to your desserts. Start with a white or red base—like our red velvet cake or ice cream, our no-bake whipped ricotta cheesecake, or our white cake—add a variety of fruit, top the whole thing with some whipped cream, and there you have it: the perfect creative interpretation of America’s flag. Check out our red velvet whoopie pies with blueberries, our flag cake, or our berries & cream charcuterie board for inspiration, then get creative with it.

Speaking of fruit, no one would be mad if you served up a variety of classic summer desserts instead of adhering to a colorful theme. Our fruit popsicles, our blueberry surprise, our raspberry tiramisu, or our strawberry crisp are always crowd-pleasers. Looking for something a little more casual? Our strawberry shortcake Rice Krispie treats, our M&M cookie bars, or our cheesecake cupcakes are perfect for sharing at a 4th of July potluck or picnic.

Want to meet somewhere in the middle? A little food coloring, red and blue sanding sugars, and even edible glitter can go a long way in turning something subtle into a show-stopper—check out our lemon-blueberry firecracker Bundt cake to see what we mean. We also aren’t above topping our treats with actual sparklers, so be safe and have fun with it!

delish!

Find more recipes like this on my companion blog, “Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let’s Eat!”