Desserts
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…
Pumpkin Coconut Bars
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…
Tom's Apple Macaroon
Tom Mackie, a family friend, sent me this recipe during the summer and I saved it to share just as local apple season is reaching it’s peak. Here is the note he sent with it: “I’m sure you have a recipe for something like this already, but for your amusement…
Andrea’s Berry Crumble
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…
Stuffed Strawberries
I’m a big fan of the wonderful Italian pastry called cannoli – especially the filling of fresh ricotta, candied zest and chocolate. My dessert swaps the cannoli’s crunchy cylinder of deep-fried dough for a large succulent strawberry. I’ve also replaced the ricotta in the filling with low-fat cream cheese, because…
Chocolate Bits Pudding
On a shelf in the kitchen at my parents’ old farmhouse in Northern Massachusetts are metal file boxes filled with recipes written by my grandmother Ruth Moulton. I plucked this gem from one of those boxes. Using regular old chocolate chips, Ruth somehow concocted a very dense essence of chocolate…
Three Citrus Flan
This delicious make-ahead dessert is perfect for entertaining. I learned the recipe from my pal Sandy Gluck when I was her sous chef at the Café New Amsterdam in New York’s West Village in the early eighties. We’d met in 1977, both of us fresh out of cooking school, both…
Jelly Egg Cookies
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…
Dried Apple and Cheddar Strudel
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…
BTV Recipes
Blueberry Cinnamon Toast Turnovers with Maple Yogurt Sauce Makes 12 turnovers, serving 6 6 tablespoons unsalted butter plus extra for greasing the pan 1 cup blueberries 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 12 slices homemade-style white bread 3/4 cup Greek yogurt 2…
Warm Chocolate Cheesecake
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…
Giant Chocolate Turnovers with Orange Custard Sauce
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…
Raspberry Almond Rugalach
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…
Dulce de Leche Rice Pudding with Toasted Almonds
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…
Chocolate Caramel Peanut Truffles
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…
Butterscotch Bread Pudding
When I was a kid, one of my all time favorite desserts was coffee ice cream and hot butterscotch sauce. I’m not sure if I loved it for the slightly bitter coffee taste counterbalanced by the sweet buttery sauce or for the canned whipped cream and Day-Glo red cherries on…
Pumpkin Flan with Ginger Whipped Cream
One of our favorite neighborhood restaurants was La Taza de Oro, a great little Puerto Rican spot on Eighth Avenue in Chelsea. The menu always featured five or six entrees, accompanied by your choice of yellow or white rice and several different kinds of beans. (When Ruthie was three and…