Posted on December 9th, 2011 by Sara Moulton | Filed under Desserts « Featured Recipe « Recipes | Submit Comment
When I was six or seven months pregnant with Sam, my boss at Gourmet volunteered me to cook a dish at a fund-raising event for 300 to 400 people. I was not thrilled. Even when I’m at the top of my game, that kind of large scale cooking is not my forte. But being pregnant really increased my dread. To top it off, the organizers of this gala charged me with making dessert. Of course! Of the dozen chefs working… 
My grandmother Ruth Moulton was a fabulous old New England cook. She attended the Garland School of Home Economics in Boston, a competitor of the original Fanny Farmer’s cooking school. Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding, fish chowder, Johnny cakes, and other regional fare–these were her signature dishes. When I was about five years old, it was Granny who gave me my first cookbook–Mud Pies and Other Recipes. Even though it was a pretend cookbook, it somehow persuaded me that real… 
For a lot of folks, the first recipe they ever prepared was printed on the back of a box, a package, or a can. Nestlé Semi-sweet Chocolate Morsels gave us Chocolate Chip Cookies. Lipton Onion Soup Mix turned into Lipton Onion Dip. Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup became Classic Green Bean Casserole. After all, why not depend on the makers of a favorite product to have some good ideas about how to use that product?
It was that kind of thinking… 
This delicious dessert was contributed by Andrea Hagan who helped with the testing of Sara Moulton Cooks at Home. A native Seattleite, Andrea was 11 years old when she toured England as a member of the Northwest Girls Choir. Choir members bunked with local citizens in the towns they visited and in Shrewsbury her host served raspberry crumble with boiled custard. “It was the greatest dessert that I had ever tasted and the first fruit dessert that I ever liked,”… 
Technically a vegetable, rhubarb is so darn tart that it’s usually paired with a sweeter buddy, like the strawberry, in an effort to temper its tang. Try to find field-grown rhubarb. Darker in color, it has a much shorter season than the hothouse variety (late winter to early summer) but is more flavorful. In England rhubarb is often paired with ginger, so for a surprise crunch, I added some crystallized ginger to the biscuit topping of this springtime dessert from… 
Each spring I get requests for my Jelly Egg Cookie recipe; it is a perfect showcase for fresh unsweetened coconut and a good make-ahead dessert for Easter. Add some raisins and forget the jelly eggs and they are a good lunchbox treat all year round.
1/2 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2… 
Although I’m not a fool for traditional cheesecake, I’m very partial to this chocolate version, especially when it’s eaten warm. It is deeply chocolate and it boasts the slight tang of cream cheese. Its texture changes completely, depending on when it’s eaten: It’s creamy right out of the oven and quite firm after it’s been refrigerated (although the kids tend to dog it before it makes it to the fridge). I like it in its natural state, ungarnished. Ruthie likes… 
Looking for something decadent and chocolate for a special dessert? These enticing treats from Sara Moulton Cooks at Home couldn’t be easier. Good frozen puff pastry and quality chocolate are both readily available throughout the country these days. I find that the key to success with puff pastry (homemade or store bought) is the proper amount of cooking. If there are any signs of white, undercooked layers of dough after the prescribed time called for here, continue cooking until the… 
To get an idea about what rugelach means to a certain generation of Jewish Americans, there’s no better guide than Philip Roth. American Pastoral, his 1997 novel, begins with a reunion of the Weequahic (New Jersey) High School’s 1950 graduating class. At the end of the evening, everyone is given a coffee mug containing a handful of rugelach, ”each a snail of sugar-dusted pastry dough, the cinnamon-lined chambers microscopically studded with midget raisins and chopped walnuts.” Like Proust’s 
The holiday season always reminds me of these cookies, one of my favorites from Sara Moulton Cooks at Home. Just the aroma of these spicy cookies in the oven will bring the family to the kitchen.
My sister Anne is the baker in our family. Even now, as a doctor at a busy hospital, the mother of two kids, the wife of a doctor husband, and the owner of a generally hectic life, she’ll take time out every so often… 
When Haagen Dazs introduced its dulce de leche ice cream several years ago, the company hoped it would sell well to American Latinos, but I don’t think it had any idea that everyone would quickly end up loving it. Hey, what’s not to love! Long popular throughout South America, where it is known by many names, dulce de leche is condensed milk, heated in the can and caramelized, which gives it a toasty flavor. Rafael Palomino, in his cookbook, Bistro… 
This is a variation of the 10-minute Basic Yellow Cake that you’ll also find in the Easy Desserts chapter of Sara’s Secrets for Weeknight Meals. It takes a little longer because you have to slice and arrange the fruit, but it is really worth it. You could use all nectarines, all plums, or throw peaches into the mix. When fresh stone fruit are in season there’s no better time to try this easy summer dessert.
Makes 9 servings
Hands-on time:… 
Here is everything you want in one candy–chocolate, caramel, and nuts–and these truffles couldn’t be simpler to prepare. Make a big batch, box them attractively, and you have the perfect holiday gift.
Makes about 40 truffles
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup finely chopped peanuts for coating
Place the sugar in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-high… 
