Desserts

Holiday season involves many things, including cooking for (and with) friends and family. And who doesn't want desserts to go along with those holiday meals? Here are six dessert recipes to help you through the day, including Chai-Spiced Pear Pie and Apple Ginger Crisp. Enjoy!

Note: Happy Hanukkah!

RED VELVET VAMPIRE CUPCAKES

This is from The Food Network, and begins, “No, these cupcakes don't need bandages. What looks like a gory encounter with the Count himself is just raspberry jam brightened with a drop of red food coloring. And if you dare sink your own teeth into them, you'll find that more raspberry jam and chocolate await in the center.”

Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes; Active: 1 hour; Yield: 12 cupcakes; Level: Easy

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

1 3/4 cups cake flour (see Cook's Note)

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon red food coloring, plus a drop for the filling

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg, at room temperature

One 3-ounce semisweet chocolate bar

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1 cup raspberry jam

Cream Cheese Frosting:

One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Special equipment: a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and a plastic straw

For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Sift the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk, oil, sour cream, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and egg in another large bowl.

Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out with a few moist crumbs, 16 to 18 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the tin and cool completely on a wire rack.

Microwave the chocolate and coconut oil together in a small microwave-safe bowl until mostly melted, about 1 minute. Stir, then microwave again until completely smooth, about 15 seconds more.

Use a small sharp knife to cut out and remove a plug from the middle of each cupcake, making sure not to go all the way to the bottom and leaving a 1/4-inch border around the side (eat the plugs). Brush the holes with the melted chocolate and place in the freezer until the chocolate hardens, about 15 minutes.

Whisk together the jam, 1 drop of red food coloring and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until completely smooth. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the jam into each of the chocolate holes; set aside.

For the cream cheese frosting: Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the butter until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe on top of the cupcakes so the jam is covered.

Poke 2 holes into the frosting on each cupcake using the end of a plastic straw to resemble vampire bites, making sure you hit the cupcake and not the jam-filled hole. Drizzle the remaining jam into the holes to resemble blood.

Cook's Note

When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)

MICROWAVE CHOCOLATE FUDGE

This is from that infamous long-since-forgotten-emailing-list.

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 can Eagle Brand milk

2 heaping tbsp. peanut butter

Place chocolate chips and milk in microwave safe bowl. Cook on high for 5 minutes. Remove from microwave, stir in 2 heaping tablespoons of peanut butter. Spread in pan. Cool and cut.

BREAD PUDDING

This is from that infamous long-since-forgotten-emailing-list.

Ingredients

2 cups milk

4 cups cubed or torn stale bread

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or nutmeg

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 to 1/2 cup raisins

Directions

Heat the milk just until scalded.

Place bread cubes in a bowl; pour hot milk over bread. Cool. Add the sugar, salt, nutmeg or cinnamon, eggs, and raisins. Pour mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish.

BLUE RIDGE BLACKBERRY LEMON BARS

I got this in an email from FamilyTime, and begins, “A delicious and healthy snack the whole family will enjoy!”

Serves: 25-30 bars; Prep. time: 20 minutes; Cooking time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups oats, either quick or old-fashioned (uncooked)

2 cups Pillsbury® BEST All Purpose Flour

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup walnuts, chopped and lightly toasted

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup butter or margarine, chilled (cut into small pieces)

Crisco® Original No- Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray

1 (12 oz.) jar Smucker's® Seedless Blackberry Jam

Powdered sugar, if desired

Directions

Heat oven to 325°F. In a large mixing bowl toss together oats, flour, brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and salt until well blended.

Sprinkle mixture with lemon juice, then with a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter pieces until mixture is crumbly.

Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Reserve 2 cups of the oat mixture, then sprinkle remainder in pan, pressing with fingers to form a crust.

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until set. Let cool slightly, then spread blackberry jam evenly over crust.

Sprinkle evenly with reserved oat mixture, pressing down gently.

Return to oven and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

APPLE GINGER CRISP

This comes from GE Appliances. Makes 6 - 8 servings in 10 minutes.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

8 tablespoons butter, divided

1 1/2 tablespoons grated ginger

3/4 cup unbleached flour

1 1/4 cup granola, preferably maple-pecan

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

7 Fuji apples, cored, skinned and wedge-cut into 1/16-inch cubes

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup apple cider

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven 375 degrees F.

In a 12-inch, oven-safe skillet (cast iron works well), melt 6 tablespoons of the butter and add 1/2 tablespoon grated ginger to it. When the ginger releases its aroma, turn off the heat.

For the topping, combine flour, granola (maple-pecan preferably), brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and ginger; mix well and set topping aside.

In large bowl, toss apples together with sugar, and 1/2 tablespoon grated ginger. Set aside.

In the same pan used for the butter and ginger, reduce cider over high heat to 1/2 cup. Mix in lemon juice. Pour mixture into a separate container and set aside.

Return pan to low heat, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Add remaining grated ginger. Mix together thoroughly and let ginger release its aroma. Turn up heat to high and add apple mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, until the apples are translucent and soft. About ten minutes.

Remove from heat and add cider and lemon mixture, toss well. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the apples. Put the skillet into the oven for 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

CHAI-SPICED PEAR PIE

This is from Audra, otherwise known as The Baker Chick. If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you might remember me posting quite a few recipes from Audra (although it’s been a while). Her blog rocks! If you haven’t checked it out, you really should. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

This recipe begins, “I can’t possibly let you enter Thanksgiving week without another pie recipe. As the person in charge of desserts in my family, I’m always looking to make something classic with a twist and this gorgeous pie is just that apples get all the attention in the fall, but baking with firm, sweet pears is in my opinion just as good but way more unique and impressive.

“This pear pie is tossed with warm chai spices like cardamon, cinnamon, ginger and even a crack of black pepper. The result is just a bit more kick than what you’re probably used to with apple pie, but that same warm, melt-in-your-mouth goodness just waiting for a scoop of vanilla.”

Yield: 1 9-inch pie

To view this online on Audra’s blog, click here.

Ingredients

2-3 single layers of Pie Crust (see note)

10 cups of peeled, thinly sliced pears (from about 8-10 pears depending on size, use something firm like bosc)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3-4 twists of freshly ground black pepper (1/8 teaspoon, optional)

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons butter

Instructions

Keep crust chilling in the fridge while you prep the pears.

In a large pot or dutch oven, toss together the pears, brown sugar, flour, and spices. Stir in water and dot with the butter.

Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, tossing everything around to par-cook the pears a bit. Keep checking to see when a pear slice is "bendy" and slightly tender, but for me I cooked them for 10-15 minutes.

Allow pears to cool while you prep your dough. If you are doing a lattice or braided crust, roll some of the dough out now, form the braids, and freeze them until pie is ready to be assembled. If you are just doing a double crust- wait until the pears are mostly cool.

Roll out one layer of crust and drape over the bottom of a 9- inch pie pan leaving a bit of overhang. Pour the cooled pears into the crust and top with another sheet of pie crust, a lattice top, or the braids.

Trim and crimp edge of crust and pop the whole thing in the freezer for 10-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425.F. Place pie onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes, then reducing the heat to 350F and baking for another 45-50 minutes. If the crust seems to be getting too dark you can drape some foil on top for the remainder of the baking.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Notes

*If you want a little extra pie dough to work with for a decorative crust, I like to have a bit extra and usually make 3 batches of crust. If you are just doing a classic top, two single layers is fine!