Category Archives: Desserts

Easy Chocolate Pudding Pie

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Since today is “Pi Day” (3.14 — get it?), you can bet there will be a lot of pies flying around the internet. Maybe you’ll even want to make a pie. Especially if it gets you extra credit in math class. For midweek pies, however, I recommend the easy route. Chocolate pudding pie in a store-bought shortbread crust is about as easy as it gets, while still tasting like (and totally qualifying as) homemade. With a couple decorating hacks (piped chocolate and stabilized whipped cream!) the pie will look good all the way through second period.

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Mini Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

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It’s a well-known fact (just ask Oprah) that eating more vegetables is the key to a healthier diet. (We won’t talk about the specter of lectins here. Long live the tomato!) Vegetables = fiber and vitamins with fewer calories. Ergo, by stuffing a ton of zucchini into these cute little chocolate-laced muffins, you get a healthy yet tasty treat. WINNER! Maybe even the next “Too Good to Be Healthy” winner? Let me know what you think. PS – If it seems like I’ve gone link crazy, blame it on theSkimm.  Continue reading →

Molten Chocolate Cakes 2.0

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Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, so if your true love is chocolate, put away the boxed brownie mix and whip up these oozy chocolate cakes instead. Seriously – you have to trust me on this one. Super easy to make, and guaranteed to WOW. Plus, they can be prepped up to 2 days ahead and baked right before serving. Continue reading →

Craving: Chocolate Chex Crunch

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Chocolate Chex Mix Buddies

Maybe you’ve heard of this chocolatey-peanut-buttery snack mix as “Puppy Chow” or “Muddy Buddies” – but I think those are terrible names! So maybe “Chocolate Chex Crunch” isn’t very creative, but at least it’s descriptive (and a little more appetizing). Easier to make than Rice Krispies Treats, this Chex™ cereal recipe should be in every chocolate lover’s repertoire. Truth be told, I can’t stop eating the stuff – to the point where my kids have started to hide the container from me (“for my own good”). I use good-quality Ghirardelli semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips, so the addition of vanilla (per the Chex recipe) isn’t really necessary. You can find the original recipe on the back of Chex cereals, or my version below. Continue reading →

Almond Scone by Day, Strawberry Almond Shortcake by Night

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Almond Scones

It began innocently enough: Demure almond scones served warm from the oven, with a little jam and maybe some clotted cream – perfectly proper fare for breakfast, brunch or tea. A tad decadent, perhaps, but still a fine way to start the day. Then came word of the same almond scones emerging at all hours of the night, dressed provocatively in billows of whipped cream and a slathering of juicy strawberries. When approached for comment, one scone replied: “I may have a soft spot for berries, but I’m no tart.”

Strawberry Almond Shortcake  Continue reading →

Festive Peppermint Patties

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Festive Peppermint Patties

My Ivy-educated, strawberry-blonde sister-in-law Cele has a dry wit and too many talents to itemize, though right up at the top of the list would have to be baking (which she’d deny) and her signature Christmas Cookie Platter. Such precision! Every cookie is perfectly uniform, as if each dough ball were weighed and measured before being shaping into a crescent or whatever. And for me, the stars of Cele’s famous Platter (and the first to disappear) are her quarter-sized, chocolate-dunked peppermint patties. Continue reading →

Dad’s Famous Blackberry Pie

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In my family, nothing says “I love you” like a freshly baked pie. Blackberry pie is my favorite, and my dad knows it. So when I journey back to Tacoma, WA for a visit and there’s a warm, lattice-top blackberry pie on the kitchen counter, the pastry says what words can’t. I love you too, Dad!

Dad with his lovingly crafted lattice-top pie.

Dad with his lovingly crafted lattice-top pie.

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No-Bake Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce

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Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta

A coconut-covered lamb cake sure would be cute right about now, but guess who’d end up eating most of it? Moi. So this year for our spring entertaining, I’m thinking about making Greek Yogurt panna cotta with raspberry sauce. These are cute in their own way, and so good for you they almost shouldn’t be called a dessert. The milk (nonfat!) mellows out the (nonfat!) Greek yogurt’s tang, and the gelatin transforms it all into a giggly, eggless custard. Top with a zingy raspberry purée, and I don’t think anyone will miss the lamb cake. (But I’ll keep some chocolate bunnies on hand just in case.)

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