Desserts - Double-Post Tuesday

Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's also Double-Post Tuesday. Today's double post deals with desserts, and includes Frosted Peppermint Brownies and 3-Ingredient Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake. Enjoy!

LEMON SHEET CAKE WITH RASPBERRY WHIPPED CREAM

This is from Erin Jeanne McDowell at The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Erin begins, "This lovely cake was inspired by the colors and flavors of pink lemonade. Don’t be tempted to skip the first step of this recipe, which asks you to rub lemon zest into granulated sugar: The sugar granules help release the essential oils in the zest, making for a brighter lemon flavor and fragrance. (If you’re really short on time, you can skip using your hands and just mix with the paddle attachment inside the mixer bowl on low speed for 1 minute.) Slather this sunny cake with swoopy, easy-to-make raspberry whipped cream then serve as is, or dressed up with lemon zest or sprinkles."

Yield: 1 (9-by-13-inch) cake; Time: 1 1/2 hours

To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021329-lemon-sheet-cake-with-raspberry-whipped-cream.

Ingredients

For the cake:

Nonstick cooking spray

2 cups granulated sugar

3 lemons, zested (about 5 tablespoons), plus 1/3 cup lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature

1/2 cup vegetable oil

6 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups buttermilk, at room temperature

For the frosting:

12 ounces (about 2 3/4 heaping cups) raspberries (thawed, if frozen)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Lemon zest or sprinkles, for finishing (optional)Preparation

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with nonstick spray, then line the pan with parchment paper. Lightly coat the parchment paper with nonstick spray.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, use your hands to rub together the sugar and lemon zest.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the butter and oil to the bowl with the lemon sugar, and transfer it to the mixer. Using the paddle attachment, cream the mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. With the mixer running, add the lemon juice in a slow, steady stream and mix until well combined, 1 minute more. Scrape the bowl well.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed until each is incorporated before adding the next, about 1 to 2 minutes each. Scrape the bowl well every two to three additions.

Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until fully incorporated. With the mixer running on low speed, add the buttermilk in a slow, steady stream, and mix until fully incorporated. Add the remaining flour and mix until it’s evenly incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Transfer to the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 27 to 32 minutes. Cool completely.

While the cake cools, make the frosting: In a medium bowl, mash the raspberries with a potato masher or large fork until broken down. Stir in 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and let macerate for 10 to 15 minutes.

Strain the raspberry mixture. (You should have at least 3/4 cup juice. Reserve any excess for cocktails, stir it into sparkling water, or drizzle over ice cream.)

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream and the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar on medium speed until the mixture reaches soft peaks, about 1 to 2 minutes.

With the mixer still running on medium speed, pour the raspberry juice into the mixer in a slow, steady stream. (Reduce splattering by pouring away from the moving whisk.) Continue to whip until the mixture forms peaks, about 30 seconds to 1 minute more.

Spoon the frosting over the cooled cake and spread into an even layer. If desired, garnish with lemon zest and sprinkles.

FROSTED PEPPERMINT BROWNIES

This is from Betty Crocker, and begins, “Easy brownie-mix brownies get dressed up for the holidays with frosting and crushed peppermint candy.”

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes; Servings: 16

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 box (16 oz) Betty Crocker™ Supreme original brownie mix

Water, oil and egg called for on brownie mix box

1 1/4 cups Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting (from 16 oz container)

1/8 teaspoon mint or peppermint extract

Betty Crocker™ green or pink gel food color

Peppermint or spearmint candies, crushed, if desired

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom of 9-inch square pan with shortening or cooking spray. Make and bake brownie batter as directed on box. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 1 1/2 hours.In small bowl, stir together frosting, extract and food color until smooth. Spread frosting evenly over brownies. Sprinkle with crushed candies. For easier cutting, refrigerate about 15 minutes until frosting is set. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store covered at room temperature.

Expert Tips

Cut brownies into bite-size pieces and serve in holiday paper liners for easy dessert pickups.

TURTLE COOKIE BALLS

This comes from My Food and Family, and begins, "Bite into scrumptious Turtle Cookie Balls. If you like turtle candies, you'll love the caramel, chocolate & nutty flavors of these Turtle Cookie Balls.' Yum!

Prep Time: 30 minutes; Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes; Makes 42 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.myfoodandfamily.com/recipe/128342/turtle-cookie-balls.

Ingredients

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

70 vanilla wafers, finely crushed (about 2-1/3 cups)

3 Tbsp. caramel ice cream topping

4 pkg. (4 oz. each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, broken into pieces, melted

1/4 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans

Directions

Mix first 3 ingredients until blended.

Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls. Freeze 10 min. Dip balls in melted chocolate; place in single layer in shallow waxed paper-lined pan. Sprinkle with nuts.

Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.

3-INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE CHERRY DUMP CAKE

This yumminess comes from Betty Crocker, and begins, "This simple 3-ingredient dump cake results in an addictive chocolate-cherry combo that is best served warm and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you weren’t a chocolate-cherry fan before, you will be after tasting this cake."

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes; Servings: 12

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 cans (21 oz each) cherry pie filling

1 box Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ devil's food cake mix

3/4 cup butter, melted

Whipped topping or vanilla ice cream, if desired

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.

Spread pie filling in baking dish.

Top with dry cake mix; gently shake pan to distribute evenly.

Pour melted butter over top, tilting pan to cover as much of top with butter as possible.

Bake 42 to 45 minutes or until mostly dry on top and bubbly around edges. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with whipped topping or ice cream.

Expert Tips

Canned cherry pie filling may contain an occasional pit. It’s helpful to take a closer look when spreading in pan, before topping with cake mix.

Dump cakes are sometimes difficult to determine doneness. It’s normal to see some wet spots, some dry cake mix and a crisp-like texture on top. Be sure fruit mixture is bubbly around edges of pan.

CALYPSO CUPS

This comes from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list. Yield: about 4 dozen

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

2 pkgs cream cheese (3 ounces each), softened

2 cups all purpose flour

Filling:

1/2 cup flaked coconut

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 can(8 ounces) crushed pineapple, undrained

1 egg

Frosting:

2 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 to 4 tablespoons milk

Finely chopped walnuts, optional

Directions

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and the cream cheese. Gradually add the flour. Cover and refrigerate for one hour or until easy to handle. Roll into one inch balls. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of greased miniature muffin cups. Combine filling ingredients. Spoon into cups. Bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool in pans on wire racks. For frosting, combine the sugar, shortening, and vanilla. Add enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Remove cooled cups from pans. Frost and sprinkle with walnuts, if desired.

LEMON MERINGUE COOKIES

This is from Dorie Greenspan at The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Dorie wrote, "Like their inspiration, lemon meringue pie, these cookies have three elements. They’re built on simple, slice-and-bake French shortbread cookies, rich, buttery and flavored with vanilla. The shortbread base is almost classic, except that the cookies are baked in muffin tins, so they’re straight-sided and deeply golden brown. The 'filling' is lemon curd, and the topping is crunchy bits of meringue. You get crumbly, velvety and crackly, sweet and tart in every bite. These cookies were created for an imaginary friend, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, the hero of 16 Louise Penny novels, and a man who considers lemon meringue divine."

Yield: 24 cookies; Time: 2 hours

This was featured in "A Lemon Meringue Cookie Good Enough to Be Imaginary", and can be found online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021686-lemon-meringue-cookies.

Note: If you didn't click on the link to the featured article that this cookie recipe came from (or if you did, but didn't read the article), you really should read it. Dorie Greenspan's article is well worth the read; heck, it's worth several reads. Maybe make up a batch of these, then sit back to enjoy both cookies and the article. (Thanks for both, Dorie!)

Ingredients

For the Meringue:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons confectioners’ sugar

1 large egg white, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon distilled vinegar (or lemon juice)

Pinch of fine sea salt

For the Shortbread:

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), cut into chunks and brought to room temperature, plus more for greasing the muffin tin

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 large egg yolks, at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

About 1/3 cup store-bought or homemade lemon curd

Preparation

Make the meringue: Heat oven to 250 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, stir together both sugars.

Working with an electric mixer, beat the egg white, vinegar and salt on medium-high speed until the mixture forms soft peaks, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar mixture 1 tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition. Once the sugar is incorporated, beat 2 minutes more; you’ll have stiff, glossy, white peaks. Put the meringue on the baking sheet and spread it 1/4-inch thick. (It will cover only a small part of the sheet.)

Bake the meringue undisturbed for 35 minutes. Turn off the heat, prop open the oven door and let it dry for 1 hour. When you’re ready to use it, chop it into pieces about the size of chocolate chips. Precision doesn’t matter.

Make the shortbread: Working with a mixer (use the paddle if it’s a stand mixer), beat the butter, both sugars and the salt on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until smooth but not fluffy. On low speed, beat in the yolks, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Add the flour in three additions, mixing on low until the dough comes together in large clumps. Turn out the dough and knead it into a ball. Cut the ball in half.

Shape each half into a 6-inch log. Wrap it and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (You could also freeze it for up to 2 months; leave it on the counter for 1 hour before baking.)

When you’re ready to bake the cookies, heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 1 or 2 muffin tins with butter (or nonstick baking spray).

Slice each log into 12 rounds (each 1/2-inch thick); drop one into each muffin cup. (If you don’t have enough tins, you can work in batches.)

Bake for 21 to 23 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown around the rims. Transfer the tin(s) to a rack, cool for 5 minutes, then lift the cookies out and onto racks; cool to room temperature.

Just before serving, top each cookie with lemon curd, then top with ample chunks of meringue, pressing them into the curd. The meringue will keep in a cool, dry place for a few days, and the cookies can be kept at room temperature for about 3 days. But once you top the cookies, they’re best eaten soon after.