Chocolate Ricotta Mousse

Another dessert that I tried out over Easter weekend was less successful. I thought Chocolate Ricotta Mousse sounded quite intriguing, so I made a half batch to try. It's from the January/February 2011 issue of Everyday Food (aka the "Light" issue), so it's healthier (or at least less bad for you) than traditional chocolate mousse. It was quite a process to make, and required a lot of equipment- food processor, double boiler, and a hand mixer. Basically you mix the ricotta and cocoa in the food processor, make a meringue-like substance with the egg whites and sugar, and then fold to combine.

My mom thought this recipe sounded questionable- and she was right, sort of. The taste was great- rich and satisfyingly chocolatey. However, the texture was the big issue with this dish. I pulsed the ricotta pretty well, and it was still... grainy. Chocolate mousse is supposed to be smooth and silky, and this definitely did not pass that test. I don't think I'll try this one again- I'll just go for the full fat version instead. That being said, we all finished our mousse and licked the bowl...

Lemon Cream Pie

I went to the QC for Easter weekend, and managed to get some cooking/baking in. For Easter dinner, I contributed this yummy and light(er) Lemon Cream Pie from Cooking Light magazine. I love all things lemon, and when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to give it a try. My family agreed to be guinea pigs... and I think they were pretty happy with the results.

The main show in the pie is the lemon custard, which is a bit of a process to make- you need to be very careful cooking the eggs to make sure you don't have lemon/scrambled egg pie. It calls for lighter ingredients, such as 1/3 less fat cream cheese and skim milk to cut some of the fat and calories. Though it's a bit involved to make, I was very happy with how it turned out- it didn't taste light at all! The rest of the pie was pretty simple- just store-bought pie crust and cool whip on top! It was especially pretty with a bit of grated lemon zest as a garnish.

Overall, I was pretty happy with the pie- I'd definitely make it again. Next time, though, I think I'll try a graham cracker crust, which I tend to prefer. I'll also up the lemon quotient. I put in the amount of rind/juice called for, but it still could have been more lemony for me. If you aren't a cool whip fan, you could always use some real whipped cream instead- that would be even more delicious! I'd definitely recommend trying this one if you're a lemon and/or pie fan!

Blueberry Cookie Bars

I finished up my baking for the library spring party tonight by trying a new recipe- Blueberry Cookie Bars. How could I resist the combination of almond shortbread and blueberry preserves? (The almonds and blueberries mean that it's healthy- they're both superfoods, right?) I used Smucker's Orchard's Finest Northwoods Blueberry preserves, and I'm really glad I splurged- it was not too sweet and chock full of whole, juicy blueberries. The recipe made considerably more cookie dough than I was expecting, so I ended up using a 9 x 13 pan instead of the 9 x 9 pan that was called for. All that means is more cookies!!!

They turned out just a tad on the dry side, though I may have overbaked them since I used a bigger pan than was called for (the recipe calls for 35-40 minutes, and I gave them about 30). They were still delicious though- just the right amount of sweet. A few seconds in the microwave and a nice cup of tea make them even better!

Lemon Icebox Cookies

The library spring party is later this week, so I started prepping tonight by making some Lemon Icebox Cookies. I love lemon, and these cookies are light and refreshing. They're also pretty easy, and the dough freezes well. Once you've got the dough mixed, you just roll it into a couple of logs and freeze.

You can bake an hour later or a month later- whenever you're ready for crispy lemony goodness. When you're ready to bake, the recipe suggests rolling the log in sugar and then slicing thinly. I changed it up a little though- I sprinkled the tops with some sugar for a little sparkle. Delicious! 

Cinnamon and Spice Hot Cocoa

Hopefully there aren't tooooo many long cold Iowa winter nights left this year... but until we're done, one of my favorite evening treats is a hot cup of cocoa. As a result, I couldn't resist trying this spicy twist on a classic.

It's pretty simple- just add a dash of cinnamon and cayenne pepper to your traditional cocoa ingredients, and you're good to go! An easy, reasonably healthy treat.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had the day off of work because of the snow today, which is a perfect excuse to bake some cookies. I've been craving chocolate chip cookies, and I decided to make a slightly healthier version and throw in some oatmeal. I used a recipe that I got from  How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food. This is one of my favorite cookbooks to refer to for the basics. 

The cookies turned out to be surprisingly fluffy- I don't know if the photo does them justice. They tasted more like a light cake than a chewy cookie. Since I tend to prefer my cookies chewy, I'll probably try a different recipe the next time a cookie craving hits. Still, there aren't too many cookies that I'll turn down...

Candied Citrus Peel

I'm not much of a winter person, but I do love all the citrus fruit that's around this time of year. I came across this recipe for Candied Citrus Peel, and I thought it was worth a try. It was very simple- all you need is fruit, sugar, and water. To start, you just peel the fruit with a paring knife and boil the pieces for a bit. After that's dried off some, you boil it with some simple syrup until it's candied. Once it's dry, you roll it in sugar and consume!

Though it took awhile, once you've got the oranges peeled it's mostly hands off. I'm not sure whether it's a good or a bad thing, but the recipe didn't make as much as I thought it would (perhaps good because I can't stop popping pieces of it- it tastes almost exactly like those jelly orange slices). On the plus side, I was left with some tasty orange simple syrup to mix in tea as a byproduct.

Citrus Sugar Cookies

To finish up my Christmas baking, I made these Citrus Sugar Cookies from the December 2009 issue of Everyday Food.  I love citrus, and the lemon added a really nice twist to these sugar cookies. This is probably my favorite Christmas cookie recipe of the 3 I tried this year. I mixed the dough in my food processor, which turned out to be a bit of an adventure since I forgot to put in my dough blade, and I used the maximum amount of flour that the processor will hold. If you use a food processor to make these, make sure you check the manual to see what yours can handle! They still managed to come together though- it just took a little extra kneading. 

The original recipe calls for royal icing, but I was too lazy for that, so I just went for sprinkles. I'm sure the icing would have been pretty delicious, but sprinkles seemed more Christmas-y to me (and definitely easier). Though these cookies were more effort than I'll usually go for in a cookie, they still seemed like a walk in the park after the Jam Filled Cream Cheese Cookies.

Jam Filled Cream Cheese Cookies

I continued my Christmas baking with these Jam Filled Cream Cheese Cookies from the December 2009 issue of Everyday Food. I love jam filled thumb print cookies, and these looked like a fun twist. They were definitely a Saturday project, because they were rather involved- mixing the dough, rolling it out, cutting out shapes, and then filling and shaping the cookies. Count on a solid 2 or 3 hours for these...

Another fair warning- no matter what I did, not all of these cookies wanted to keep their shape during baking. Some of my cookies turned out to be pretty (like below) and tasty, but others just turned out to be tasty and misshapen.

Christmas Cookie Fest 2010- Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies

These aren't the most traditional Christmas cookies, but when I saw this recipe for Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies in Rachael Ray Magazine, I knew I had to try them and add chocolate! They remind me of Take 5 bars, and they're a great blend of sweet and salty. Next time I might have to go all the way and include a caramel element...

After making a pretty standard drop cookie dough, the balls are rolled in crushed pretzels and then baked. I ended up with soft, fluffy peanut butter cookies with a nice contrasting salty crunch! Now time for a glass of milk...