Desserts
Three Ingredient Apple Crisp
If you don’t count the salt (and you shouldn’t), you might wonder how the heck anyone can make a delicious apple crisp with just three ingredients. The answer is by starting with granola, which comes equipped with oats, nuts, sugar, and dried fruit. (Is this cheating? Don’t tell anyone.) Makes…
Sticky Buns
Makes 18 Small Buns For the glaze: 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar 1/4 cup honey 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 1/2 cup finely chopped lightly toasted pecans For the buns: 1/2 cup dried cherries 2 tablespoons rum or brandy 2 cups all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 1…
Glazed Roasted Pears with Shortbread Pecan Brittle and Crème Fraiche
Serves 4 For the praline: 2/3 cup chopped (cut into about 1/3-inch pieces) Walkers Shortbread cookies 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped toasted pecans ½ cup sugar For the roasted pears: 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt…
Warm Chocolate Cheesecake
Makes 4 Servings Hands-On Time: 15 Minutes Total Preparation Time: 35 to 40 Minutes One 3.5 oz bar bittersweet chocolate 8 oz full-fat or 1/3 less-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel) 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour 1 large egg Preheat the…
Skillet Apple Cranberry Pie with Shortbread Crust
Note: the filling and the crust can be made several days ahead and kept covered and chilled in the fridge. Just assemble and bake the pie about 25 minutes before you want to eat it. The caramel sauce can also be prepared ahead and then reheated. Start to finish: 1…
Here are some unique and tasty (!) Holiday gifts for your friends and family.
As the air is getting chilly and holiday gifts are filling store windows, it’s time to think about holiday treats. One of my favorites is shortbread cookies, and @walkersshortbreadUS, one of the sponsors of the new season of #SarasWeeknightMeals, you’ll find a selection of special seasonal packages that will make…
Dried Plum and Apricot Potstickers
Servings: 12 potstickers serving 4 Time: 45 minutes 6 large dried pitted plums, cut in half (about 2 ounces) 6 large dried apricots cut in half (about 2 ounces) 12 fresh wonton wrappers, well wrapped Cornstarch for dusting the sheet pan ½ tablespoon vegetable oil ½ tablespoon unsalted butter ½…
French Apple Tart
Note: No, it is not apple season, but I know you can still find apples, although probably not Golden Delicious (they are oddly very hard to find these days, even before the pandemic) so just use any apple that you like and also that you know will hold its shape. You’ll…
Strawberries Baked Alaska
Well it is going to be spring soon and here is a very simple recipe to cheer us all up. This recipe celebrates one of the first – and sweetest — harbingers of spring: local strawberries. Sure, the supermarket offers strawberries all year ‘round, but the gems that are grown locally…
Huguenot Torte
Serves 8 o 10 2 large eggs 1 ½ cups sugar 4 tablespoons flour 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 1 cup finely diced tart apple 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Whipped cream for garnish 1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts Preheat the oven to 325 F. Thoroughly…
Peach and Blackberry Tamales
Makes about 24 tamales Ingredients 1 pound dried corn husks For the dough: 1 cup cornmeal 1 1/2 cups Masa Harina 2 cups boiling water 1 cup unsalted butter 3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed 3/4 cup whole milk 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon baking powder For the filling: 3…
Huguenot Torte
Serves 8 o 10 2 large eggs 1 ½ cups sugar 4 tablespoons flour 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 1 cup finely diced tart apple 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Whipped cream for garnish 1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts Preheat the oven to 325 F.…
Nectarine and Plum Upside-down Cake
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,…
Berry Rice Pudding
I love rice pudding, as does the husband, but I am certainly not going to make it from scratch on a weeknight. However, there is a good chance you have leftover rice every so often from a take-out meal, and this would be a very tasty way to recycle it.…
Butterscotch Pudding Cake
When I was a kid and we visited Cambridge, my parents used to take me to an old-fashioned ice cream parlor in Harvard Square. They served a butterscotch sundae made of coffee ice cream, hot butterscotch sauce, and whipped cream. Boy it was good! This pudding cake reminds me of…
Blueberry Pot Stickers
Summertime is blueberry time, and with local berries abundant in markets right now, it is the perfect time for blueberry desserts. To learn more about this special North American berry, go to USDA Blueberry Blog. Here is an easy blueberry dessert that will surprise and delight family and guests. I…
Blueberry Yogurt Pie
July is Blueberry Month and with local berries arriving in markets right now, it is the perfect time to enjoy some. Go to USDA Blueberry Blog to learn more about this special North American berry. When we came up with the idea for this Blueberry Pie recipe, I was worried because…
Aunt Alice’s Blueberry Muffins
One bite of these muffins and I’m transported back in time to my childhood visits with Aunt Alice and Uncle Pat and my cousins at their summer place in Kittery Point, Maine. On those evenings when Alice herself wasn’t cooking up something wonderful, the whole rowdy bunch of us would…
Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler with Gingered Biscuit Topping
Strawberries and rhubarb are a delicious way to welcome spring. 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…
Baked Alaskan
Everybody knows Baked Alaska, but Baked Alaskan? What can I say—this is a shout-out to Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys, who saluted Sara’s Secrets in the liner notes to To the 5 Boroughs, the Beasties 2004 album. In the middle of a song called “Rhyme the Rhyme Well,” Ad-Rock goes…
Fresh Ginger Gingerbread
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…
Chocolate Bread Pudding
I have never met a bread pudding I didn’t like. In the interest of keeping this version simple, I used bottled chocolate milk and packaged bread when I first stated to test it. The bread worked out fine, but none of the milks was chocolatey enough. Switching gears, I resorted…
Vermont Apple Crisp with Maple Sauce
I developed this recipe for a spot on “Good Morning America.” The key to its deliciousness is Grade B maple syrup, which is more intense than the readily available Grade A. It can be found in specialty food stores or ordered directly from a producer. The topping can be made…
Ruth Moulton's Spice Balls
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…