Ed's Apricot-Almond Bread Pudding
12 oz. French bread, crusts trimmed, and broken into chunks 2 cups milk 2 Tbls. butter 5 eggs 1-1/2 cups Half & Half 3/4 cup sugar 1 cup apricot preserves 1/8 cup bourbon 1/8 cup dark rum 1 Tbls. apricot (or peach) brandy 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds 2-3 Tbls. sliced natural almonds Grated nutmeg
Soak bread in milk 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease glass baking dish with butter.
Beat together eggs, Half & Half, sugar, bourbon and rum till smooth and thick; stir in preserves and blanched almonds. Stir into bread, and pour into baking dish. Sprinkle with natural almonds and nutmeg.
Place baking dish in larger pan, and add water to outside pan, filling to about 2/3 up the outside of the baking dish. Bake about 1-1/2 hours, till knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm, with whipped cream (1 cup heavy cream whipped with 3 Tbls. sugar, 1/2+ tsp. grated lemon peel and 1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg).
About 10 servings
Ed K.'s Orange-Pecan Pie
3 eggs, beaten 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup dark corn syrup 1 Tbls. grated orange peel 1/3 cup orange juice 1 Tbls. a.-p. flour 1/4 tsp. salt 1 cup chopped pecans 3/4 cup pecan halves 9 in. unbaked deep-dish pastry shell
Mix the eggs through salt till blended. Stir in the chopped nuts, and pour into the crust. Arrange pecan halves over the top and bake at 350F for 55-60 min.
Yield: 1 pie
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Frangelico
CRUST: 24 gingersnaps 3 Tbls. sugar 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted FILLING: 16 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature 16-oz. can unsweetened solid-pack pumpkin 5 eggs 3/4 cup firmly-packed brown sugar 1/2 cup Frangelico liqueur 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. ground ginger 1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg 1/4 tsp. ground cloves TOPPING: 16 oz. sour cream 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup Frangelico
Grind cookies and sugar to fine crumbs in food processor. With processor running, slowly add butter. Press mixture into bottom of 9-in. springform pan, and freeze 15 min. (to 3 days).
Preheat oven to 350F (using middle rack). Blend filling ingredients together till smooth. Pour into crust and bake about 45 min., until edges begin to pull away from side of pan and the edges start to brown (the center will not be firm).
Whisk topping ingredients together. Without removing cake from oven, pour the topping on the cake; starting at the edges, spread it over evenly. Continue baking about 10 min., till the edges begin to bubble.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 12 hours (to 2 days). Remove form and press 10 whole hazelnuts around the top edge. Let stand at room temp. 30 min. before serving.
Yield: 10 servings
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Scotch
CRUST: 30 gingersnaps 3 Tbls. sugar 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted FILLING: 15-oz. unsweetened pumpkin 5 eggs, slightly beaten 3/4 cup firmly-packed brown sugar 1 Tbls. scotch whiskey (or bourbon) 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 3/4 tsp. ground ginger 1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg pinch ground cloves 1/2 tsp. salt 1 Tbls. cornstarch 1/2 c. granulted sugar 24 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature TOPPING: 16 oz. sour cream 1/4 cup sugar 3Tbls. scotch (or bourbon) OPTIONAL: 10-16 pecan halves.
Grind cookies and brown sugar to fine crumbs in food processor. With processor running, slowly add butter. Press mixture into bottom of 9-in. springform pan, and freeze 15 min. (to 3 days).
Preheat oven to 350F (using middle rack). Blend together pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, scotch and vanilla until smooth. Stir together spices, salt and cornstarch and process with the cream cheese until smooth; add the cream cheese into the pumpkin mixture and stir till well blended. Pour the filling into crust and bake about 50 min., until edges begin to pull away from side of pan and the edges start to brown (the center will not be firm).
Whisk topping ingredients together. Remove cake from oven and spread the topping evenly on the cake; decorate with a ring 0f pecan halves if desired. Return to oven and bake about 10 min. more, till the edges begin to bubble.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 12 hours (to 2 days). Remove form. Let stand at room temp. 30 min. before serving. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Yield: 10 (to 16 smallish) servings
Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies
1/2 cup butter or margerine, softened 8-oz. cream cheese, softened 1 1/2 cups sugar 3 eggs 1 1/2 tsp. instant coffee 1 1/2 tsp. hot water 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup cocoa powder 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1 Tbls. Frangelico ligueur (or 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract) 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts 2 Tbls. blackberry or raspberry jelly
Cream together butter and cheese; gradually add sugar, blending well. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Dissolve coffee in hot water and stir into mixture.
Mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; blend into the cheese mixture. Stir in the liquer (or extract) and nuts.
Pour into greased 9"X9" baking pan; bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and glaze with berry jelly while still hot. Cool and cut into squares.
Yield: 16-20 brownies
Ed's Low-fat Chocolate cheesecake
Butter-flavored cooking spray 8 chocolate wafers, crushed 28-oz. no-fat cottage cheese egg substitute equivalent of 2 eggs 1/2 cup cocoa 3 Tbls. Frangelico liqueur (or 2-3 tsp. almond extract) 1 1/2 tsp. grated orange peel 3/4 cup sugar 4 Tbls. all purpose flour 2 tsp. instant coffee dissolved in 2 tsp. hot water
Spray 9-inch springform pan or pie plate, and dust evenly with crumbs. In blender, process cottage cheese until smooth; blend in remaining ingredients. Pour over crumbs, and bake at 275F for 1 hour, 15 minutes; turn off oven and let stand in oven 30 minutes. Cool, and chill thoroughly.
10 servings
Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce
Made this for Thanksgiving (with dried cranberries)...an interesting substitute for punkin pie.
2 cups half and half 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin 1 cup (packed) plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar 2 large eggs 1/2 tsp. ground ginger 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 Tbls. cocoa powder 1 Tbls. Frangelico liqueur (or Amaretto) 1 teaspoon vanilla (or almond) extract 10 cups 1/2-inch cubes cinnamon-raisin bread (about 10-ounces) 1/2 cup golden raisins or dried cranberries 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts, pecans, or walnuts, toasted Powdered sugar Caramel Sauce (below)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk half and half, pumpkin, sugar, eggs, spices, cocoa, liqueuer and extract in large bowl to blend. Fold in bread cubes. Stir in dried fruit. Transfer mixture to 11x7-inch glass baking dish. Let stand 15 minutes. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
Sift powdered sugar over bread pudding. Serve warm with:
Caramel Sauce
1 1/4 cups (packed) dark brown sugar 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 1/2 cup whipping cream Optional: 2 Tbls. Bourbon
Whisk brown sugar and butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Whisk in cream (and whiskey) and stir until sugar dissolves and sauce is smooth, about 3 minutes.
Yield: 6 servings
Marzell Lein's Yummie Squares
This was a favorite dessert of our Mother's, which, fortunately, my sister Linda saved. (But, I confess, I've never made them myself)
Preheat oven 350 degrees DON'T GREASE PAN Separate two eggs: yolks for batter; whites for the topping Batter 1 stick softened butter (salted or unsalted) 1 cup white sugar 1 and 1/2 cups self-rising flour 1 whole egg 2 egg yolks
Cream sugar and butter well, add egg and egg yolks, vanilla, then flour last; mix well. Spread on medium-size UN-GREASED cookie sheet with sides. (Note: a non-stick pan might be a good choice, but those weren't available when Mom first made these)
Topping 2 egg whites 1 cup dark brown sugar 1 tsp. vanilla At least 1 cup chopped pecans
Beat two egg whites till frothy; add 1 cup of brown sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla. Beat till stiff. Spread over batter and sprinkle with 1 cup or a little more chopped pecans. Bake for about 20 minutes. (Check the middle at about 15 min.-- if still gooey bake another five. Sometimes the outer edges are done but middle isn't.)
Let them cool to set about 15 minutes or so; cut into squares and remove from pan before cooling completely or they will be hard to get off the pan.
Store in air tight container because they dry out pretty quickly.
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