Sweets for Your Valentine Sweetie

 

Valentine's Day is a day for treating your special valentine, and yourself, to a sweet treat. I think cheesecakes are one of the most special sweet treats. I recently made this cheesecake for a family birthday celebration and it was a favorite we'll have again. The strawberry-rhubarb compote is yummy and also tastes great with oatmeal, rice pudding, and even on raisin bread toast. The cheesecake recipe is one I adapted from a favorite applesauce cheesecake we usually have at Thanksgiving. I wanted a coconut flavor like our other favorite birthday treat - coconut cream pie. This cheese cake is sweet, but not too sweet. With fewer eggs and cream cheese than many recipes it isn't overly rich, but more mild and smooth. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

COCONUT CHEESE CAKE WITH RHUBARB-STRAWBERRY COMPOTE

 

Crust: 

1 ¼ cup (20 squares) graham cracker crumbs

½ cup toasted flaked coconut

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup milted butter

 

Filling:

3 packages (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

3 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I may try coconut extract next time)

2/3 cup flaked coconut, toasted

 

Directions:

1.    Heat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, combine all crust ingredients; mix well. Press in bottom of 10-inch springform pan. 

2.    In large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and flour; beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla extract; beat until blended. Stir in coconut. 

3.    Pour into crust-lined pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until center is set. (To minimize cracking, place shallow pan half full of hot water on lower oven rack during baking.) 

4.    Cool. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. 

 

Compote: (I used frozen fruit)

2 cups of rough chopped rhubarb

2 cups of rough chopped strawberries

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup water or orange juice

 

Combine in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered 7-9 minutes or until thickened. Cool slightly and transfer to a covered container. 

 

To serve, carefully remove sides of springform pan from cheesecake. Slice into 16 slices, running knife under water between slices. Warm compote and drizzle over each piece. 

No-Bakes Just Got Even Better!

"There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate" (Linda Grayson). 
I agree! Chocolate is the perfect taste to celebrate friendship, love, and Valentine's Day. These easy to make no-bake cookies are so quick you can make several batches to share with friends. I've loved this basic recipe for years, but this version from Sally's Baking Addiction has a different twist. I used 3 squares of 100% cacao unsweetened chocolate instead of the usual powdered unsweetened chocolate and I think it enriched the flavor. Also soaking the oats for 5 minutes incorporated the ingredients better. Be sure to use quick oats or pulse regular oats in the food processor 4-5 times to make them finer cut. The original recipe suggested using coconut oil instead of butter, I'm going to try that next time. Coconut oil solidifies like butter when cooked and cooked. 

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER NO-BAKE COOKIES

Ingredients:

3 cups quick oats

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

½ cup milk

¼ cup natural unsweetened or dutch-process cocoa

⅔ cup creamy peanut butter

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions: 

1.    Place oats in a large bowl. Set aside. 

2.    Combine the butter sugar, milk, and cocoa together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until the butter melts, then bring to a boil. Allow to boil for 1 minutes without whisking. Remove from heat and, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until completely combined. Pour this mixture over the oats, then stir to combine it all. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes. This allows the oats to soak up some moisture.

3.    During the 5 minutes, line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. And make sure there is enough room in your refrigerator for the baking sheets. 

4.    Using a 1-Tablespoon cookie scoop (or a spoon), drop a tablespoon of dough onto the lined baking sheets. If desired flatten out and shape into a cookie. Repeat with the rest of the dough. 

5.    Refrigerate the cookies for at least 30 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator and enjoy! Store leftovers covered tightly in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. 

Hot soup for a Hygge evening

     There's been a lot of social medial discussion about Hygge this winter. Hygge is a Danish term (pronounced hoo-gah) and a Scandinavian practice to create a cozy atmosphere during the long winter. The Scandinavian origin is to "cherish oneself, to keep or make one's self snug". It is about enjoying simple pleasures of friends, family and graciousness. The Danes are said to be the happiest people in the world, so they must be on to something. 

    Although our winters aren't usually terribly long like theirs, and our temps this year have bounced from 6 degrees to 60 degrees, I thought this sounded like a good idea. What's not to like about soft music, candles, warm decor, popcorn, hot and hardy foods, and warm drinks? 

     So for a recent UMW gathering, that is what we planned. To focus on a conscious appreciation of just being present and to simply enjoy being together. I promised no business meeting, just asked women of our church to come and enjoy an evening together. We dimmed the lights in a classroom, brought in softer seating and an electric flame heater (to mimic an old fashioned warm stove), and the office secretary brought her beautiful vases of Valentine flowers. We enjoyed visiting, a short devotional, and some chair yoga. Warm soups and tasty desserts (as well as some leftover Valentine's Day candy) were the meal. 

I made this Southwest Potato-Corn Chowder as well as the
Toasted Cardamon Nordic Crown bread from NFOB.

SOUTHWEST POTATO-CORN CHOWDER

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, chopped

1 ½ pounds red potatoes (about 5), peeled, cubed

1 small onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 can (10¾ oz) condensed cream of chicken soup

3 cups milk

8 oz pasteurized process cheese food (like Velveeta)

1 package (10 oz) frozen corn, thawed

¼ tsp. pepper

Directions:

Cook bacon in a large saucepan until crisp, stirring frequently. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 Tbsp. drippings in pan. Drain bacon on paper towels.

Add potatoes, onions and celery to drippings; cook and stir 2 minutes.

Stir in soup and milk; bring to a boil. Simmer on low heat 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add remaining ingredients; cook 5 minutes or until process cheese food is completely melted and potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.

Note: I increased the amounts slightly for our gathering, more potatoes and milk. You can thin with additional milk or chicken broth if the chowder gets too thick. You could also add some chopped chicken along with the cheese food, corn and pepper. 

This soup stays warm well in the slow cooker

We enjoyed eating as well as visiting! 

Another Sweet Dessert

Valentines Day brings out the chocolate and red velvet recipes. Here's a twist on one of my favorites that combines both of these flavors. (see Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls post on Dec. 21, 2103 and Molten Chocolate Cake post on Feb. 15, 2012) I made this on Sunday for a couple of my special guys. Rancher and Son both thought it was very good. Didn't have ice cream, so it is topped with whipped topping.

Red Velvet Molten Lava Cakes                    

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

4 ounces white chocolate

1 cup powdered sugar

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon red liquid food coloring

2 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:

Set a rack in the center position and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Spray 4 6-ounce ramekins with nonstick cooking spray.

Melt the butter and white chocolate in the top of a double boiler, stirring until smooth. (or microwave checking every 15 seconds) When completely melted, stir in powdered sugar.

Lightly whisk eggs and egg yolks in a large bowl. Stir in red food coloring and melted chocolate mixture.

Whisk cocoa and flour in a small bowl to combine, Add to the batter and stir until just combined.

This batter fit into 5 ramekins 

Divide the batter evenly among the ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake until the sides of the cake are set but the centers are still soft, 14 – 15 minutes. Let the cakes rest for 2 minutes before serving.

The original directions instruct to invert the cakes onto dessert plates. I never have any luck with this – they don’t hold the shape, so I serve them in the ramekins set on a dessert plate.

 For serving, dust with powdered sugar, you may garnish with berries and drizzle with melted dark chocolate. Also would be good served with ice cream.

Sweet desserts for Valentines Day

Valentines Day always make me think of chocolate and cherries. Maybe the cherries are George Washington, but its all February. And a good combination. The magazines, Pinterest, and Facebook are full of sweet recipes for February, so I know I'm not the only one. We show love of family and friends with food and these two recipes are simple treats to make this week or anytime. The S'More Bars were fun in a cast iron skillet, that would be a good dessert for summer picnics and camping as well.

Chocolate Cherry Blossom Cookies                                

Ingredients:

 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons Maraschino Cherry liquid

red food coloring

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

6 oz jar Maraschino cherries, drained and chopped

3 tablespoons white sugar (or red, or a mixture)

Hershey’s Kisses (about 36), unwrapped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Drain cherries of the liquid, reserving 2 teaspoons of the juice.

Cream butter with a mixer. Gradually stir in powdered sugar.

Stir in cherry juice, red food coloring, and vanilla.

Gradually stir in flour. Mix until just combined.

Fold in chopped cherries.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar. Gently flatten using a small juice glass dipped in sugar.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until the sides are just beginning to brown. Remove from oven and immediately press a kiss into the middle of each cookie.

S’Mores Bars                                                            

 Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup graham cracker crumbs

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

⅓ cup packed dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large milk chocolate Hershey Bars, broken into sections

2 cups mini marshmallows

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and brown sugar, beating with an electric mixer until cream. Add egg and vanilla extract.

Beating on low, slowly add flour mixture and mix until combined.

Press mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x9-inch baking dish, or a greased 10-inch cast iron skillet.

Place chocolate pieces over the top of dough, and then sprinkle with marshmallows. 

Bake, uncovered, on center rack 23-25 minutes or until puffed and golden.

Let bars cool slightly, cut into squares before marshmallows cool completely.